High Cost of Chalav Yisrael/Pas Yisrael/ Heimish Hechsher

I know many ppl are Makpid to only eat chalav yisrael, heimish hechsher, etc. but they are very very expensive. In today's economy, when so many ppl either don't have jobs, or only low paying ones,
What do ppl do when they have a large family and really mamash cannot afford those kinds of foods?
(leave food stamps and wic out of the equation, since not e/o is eligible.)
DO ppl give it up briefly, and eat the regular kosher? How does it work?

Gold Member Joined: Jan 12 2010 Posts: 2272 Location: US

It depends how makpid and serious you are about chalav yisrael.For some, CY is non negotiable, and you just budget it in, just as you would do with rent, tuition etc. and if need be, cut down on other expenses. Maybe for those on the fence about CY, it's possible they might not be as motivated to budget for it, so it's harder.

Gold Member Joined: Jan 27 2010 Posts: 1436

We are makpid on CY. We buy cheese on sale and freeze it. A local company called shtark/oneg makes much more reasonbly priced cheese. I make recipes that are more sprinkle cheese and melt then lasagna etc. We just don't go dairy crazy in general and it helps a lot.

Gold Member Joined: Jan 12 2010 Posts: 2272 Location: US

Not all heimish hechsher food is that expensive. I've found off brand "heimish hechsher" cereals that are cheaper than the (non heimish) name brand cereals. But I don't really shop in places like Shoprite, so I'm not so aware of the prices and they have their own generic stuff which is probably cheap. We're not makpid on hemish hechserim, but we find it more convenient to shop in a kosher store.

And back to the CY - we try to buy the cheaper items and brands, and save the more expensive items for occasionals purchases. I try to limit the amount of yogurt I buy because it's so expensive.

Executive Member Joined: May 22 2012 Posts: 426

I never considered not keeping a standard I find holochikly important because of money. be it in food, clothes, or anything else.

Speaking of CY - I understand company makes it a bit more expensive because they are catering to a relatively small population. The thing that bothers me is that all my friends that do not keep it always tell me how much better the none cholov yisroel stuff is!
And it makes me very upset when I go to the ice-cream isle, and CY ice-cream is considerably more expensive - but the first ingredient on almost every container is WATER. If I'm paying for CY, at least make it with real cream! (Kleins in the cardboard box is the only kind I found that has cream as first ingredient)

In general I find that Jewish brands of everything are poor quality compared to regular brands. This also goes for clothing - and they charge as if it's some high class items. That's why I stare clear of those Jewish stores.

but what if your not even covering rent, tuition etc every month and there is no more to cut back on?

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 14 2009 Posts: 5893

I may be mistaken, but it seems clear enough to me that the higher prices are because there's more personnel and labor involved - if you need a mashgiach throughout all the milking and thereafter, and this also requires the cooperation of the dairy, that's a lot of extra work to finance.

As to the original question, for us it comes down to understanding the halahca or chumra to decide whether it's really necessary. For example, DH has a lot of connections in the kashrus world and after doing some investigation he concluded that for most packaged foods certain mainstream hashgachas are at least as reliable if not more reliable than "heimish" ones. (this may differ if you follow a rav who holds certain chumras more necessary, I don't know) Similar story with Cholov Yisrael, he researched very thoroughly what many different poskim had to say about it and concluded that at least where we live it is an unnecessary chumra (again, if you closely follow a rav who holds otherwise, that's a different valid perspective). So DH did hataras nedarim on Cholov Yisrael. We still keep yoshon (which doesn't hurt the pocket if you stay on top of the game and stock up before chodosh comes out), pas yisrael, and bishul yisrael because we hold those to be more valid "upgrades" so to speak. We also only buy meat from certain places that DH (or his kashrus industry friends) consider more trustworthy.

As someone who has tasted both, there are some areas where CY could use catching up but for the most part I don't find it inferior in taste or quality. Basic cheeses (don't know anything about gourmet flavors, not my style) seem the same, CY milk is great, butter same, chocolate CY is maybe even better - more expensive but the cheap non-CY ones TASTE cheap. Ice cream there is some good stuff but the selection definitely needs to catch up. The price differential in ice cream is absurd, though, that I really can't figure out. Also yogurt - I don't eat yogurt but I'm told it tastes pretty much the same, and the CY stuff is about twice the price even on sale. Bummer.

Diamond Member Joined: Sep 18 2004 Posts: 2600

The other alternative is to just use less of those products.

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 14 2009 Posts: 5893

Less of which products? People who are makpid on "heimishe" hashgachas use them on everything! But I think of all the chumras that must be the most negotiable. I understand that some rabbanim and kehillos hold that CY is halacha and not chumra, and many have chumras involving shechita that are valid too, but for most non-meat, non-dairy, unprepared foods I don't think there's any reason to believe that "heimish" hashgachas represent better supervision than OU or whatever.

Diamond Member Joined: Sep 18 2004 Posts: 2600

I mean in general, use less dairy, less meat, etc. The alternative to buying expensive cholov yisroel doesn't have to be buying cheaper cholov stam. It can be buying less dairy altogether.

Diamond Member Joined: Apr 29 2006 Posts: 4773

I would speak to a Rav about heimish brands, there is not necessarily an advantage there. Cholov Yisroel, Pas Yisroel and Bishul Yisroel are much bigger issues than that and I don't know how much legroom there is there, but speaking to a Rav is vital.
Dry goods you can buy any brand and if you are struggling, eating more pasta, potatoes, beans and vegtables is the way to go. None of those need any special hechsherim.
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"But it's no use going back to yesterday, I was a different person then"- Alice in Wonderland

Silver Member Joined: Apr 14 2010 Posts: 712

Without getting involved in the conversation, I just want to point out that bishul Yisroel is not a chumra; it is strict halacha. There can be "upgrades," so to speak, involved in bishul Yisroel in terms of what foods it applies to and how it is done (Sephardim require more active participation by the Yisroel, for example, than Ashkenazim.) but as an umbrella term, it is not a choice to "keep" bishul Yisroel.

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48155

Right. bishul akum is treif.

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 28 2005 Posts: 4656

Did anyone read the article in Ami magazine a few weeks ago? It was the column of reminices of the Satmar Rebbe and this one was written by Rabbi Berel Wein. He writes how the Satmar chassidim would coming into the OU certified factories and want to put their heimishe hechsher on it (basically, relying on the OU completely). Rabbi Wein was bothered by the lack of yashrus here and went to visit the Satmar Rebbe. The Satmar Rebbe said, you are right, but what can you do? The chassidim need parnassah. Rabbi Wein accepted this. It's an interesting story, not something I would have expected to see in print.

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