Kosher Fish and Kashrut

Milkfish, sold as bangus or awa, is kosher. It has fins and small, removable cycloid scales, backed by an OU-authored list and Star-K policy. Canned or smoked bangus still needs a hechsher.

Chalav Yisrael is milk a Jewish mashgiach supervises from milking on. Here is the fraud it prevents, Rav Moshe Feinstein’s US milk ruling, and how the OU and Star-K label it.

Yes, drum fish kosher status is settled. Red drum, black drum, and freshwater drum all carry the fins and removable scales Jewish law requires.

Shechita is the halachic method of slaughtering kosher animals and birds: a single expert cut with a flawless blade, done only by a certified shochet. Fish never need it. Their kosher status comes from fins and scales alone.

No, uni is not kosher. Sea urchin is an echinoderm with no fins or scales, so it fails the Torah’s kosher-fish test, unlike true fish roe such as ikura or tobiko.

No, cuttlefish isn’t kosher. It’s a cephalopod mollusk with no fins and no scales at all, the same non-kosher category as squid and octopus, according to the Orthodox Union and Chicago Rabbinical Council.

Yes, eggs are kosher and pareve on their own, no hechsher needed. Here is the halachic rule on checking eggs for blood before you cook, and when egg products need certification.

Yes, haddock is kosher. It has fins and easily removable scales, and the OU and cRc both list it. Here’s the market-name trap to know and when smoked haddock needs a hechsher.

Yes, honey is kosher. Bees aren’t a kosher species, but the Talmud makes a specific exception for honey because it isn’t a bodily secretion. Here’s the reasoning, the OU’s ruling, and when a hechsher still matters.