What is "pareve"

a. 1 (lb en Judaism of food) That has no meat or milk in any form as an ingredient. 2 (lb en figuratively by extension) neutral, bland, inoffensive

adj. containing no meat or milk (or their derivatives) and thus eatable with both meat and dairy dishes according to the dietary laws of Judaism; "pareve margarine"; "parvebread" [syn: parve]

Pareve (from Yiddish פאַרעוו for "neutral", in Hebrew פרווה, and also parve and other variant English spellings) is a classification of food in kashrut (known as kosher in many English-speaking countries) for edible substances that contain neither dairy nor meat ingredients. Food in this category includes all items that grow from the ground (fruits, vegetables, grains, etc.), fish, eggs, and non-biological edible items (such as water and salt).

In colloquial use, the word pareve can occasionally be used to describe anything that is neither one thing nor another.

Halakha (Jewish law) forbids consuming mixtures of milk and meat, consuming milk and meat at the same meal, consuming dairy foods within a period of time after meat which varies by custom, and using the same dishes for both dairy and meat. Pareve foods accordingly can be consumed together with either dairy or meat.

While fish has the status of pareve, the Talmud warns not to consume fish mixed together with meat, and the custom is not to eat both on the same plate. A less common practice is to refrain from eating fish with dairy.

Eggs that have been laid by a chicken are considered pareve because they are separate from the animal and not considered to be part of the animal. But eggs found inside a chicken after its slaughter are considered to be part of the animal and therefore have the status of fleishig. Commercially marketed eggs generally are not taken from slaughtered animals and therefore are pareve.

Halakha requires that common bread must be made pareve and not contain dairy or meat ingredients, since bread is a staple food, and there is a strong chance one may forget the bread contains the dairy or meat ingredients. Bread need not be made pareve if it is made in an unusual shape or consumed on the same day it is made. Even vegetarians are required to refrain from baking non-pareve bread because halakha applies equally to all Jews.

Food that contains only pareve ingredients but that comes in contact with dairy or meat dishes in the home or that is manufactured on equipment also used to manufacture dairy or meat equipment maintains the status of pareve, and may be consumed after eating dairy or meat. However, if such contact is made, it may only be consumed on dairy or meat dishes respectively. Some commercial products that are pareve but have been manufactured on dairy equipment bear the letters DE after the hechscher to let the consumer know the product cannot be consumed together with meat. Still, such an item can be consumed after a meat meal.

Pharmaceuticals taken for medical purposes that contain animal ingredients, while not technically pareve, do not require a waiting period following their consumption, as they are generally swallowed without being chewed and have little contact with the mouth. The laws of kashrut do not apply to pharmaceuticals taken for medical reasons. Vitamins, on the other hand, have the status of nourishment, and therefore, the laws of kashrut must be followed. The laws of kashrut do not apply at all to substances not taken orally.

While kosher households generally have two sets of dishes, one for dairy and another for meat, some kosher households also include a third set of pareve dishes, or at least cooking utensils, in order to enable pareve foods to be prepared and then later served with either dairy or meat meals.