Traveling Without Access to Kosher Food

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I have traveled abroad and in the US extensively, and recently took a longer road trip across the US with my husband which has made me realize how simple it is to have great traveling experiences even with no access to kosher restaurants. Note that we’re makpid on Cholov Yisroel, but not makpid on Pas Yisroel when traveling.

Have you found hechshered items in unexpected places? Have any tips for your fellow travelers that are cooking on-the-go? Let us know in the comments section below!

Is schlepping food or cooking on the go not for you? Check out our article on kosher hotels & resorts!

Table of Contents

• From Home
• International
• Domestic
• Domestic- Photos
• Ready Meals

From Home

Here is a list of foodstuffs that we have commonly been unable to find when traveling, and will bring with us from home:

• Milk- relevant if you keep CY or if you are traveling to a country with no kosher milk
  • We purchase the 8 oz shelf stable UHT milk from Golden Flow. This is also available in 32 oz bottles, but we prefer the 8 oz as we don’t need to worry about refrigeration after opening, as it used up quickly. (If the Golden Flow product is out of stock, you can get a similar product from Blue Valley instead).
  • If flying to our destination and only traveling with a carryon we freeze the milk until it is solid frozen. Frozen items that do not have any liquid yet are permitted past TSA.
  • If traveling with a cooler bag we freeze the milk until it is solid- this acts as ice packs for several days (depending on the cooler quality- we prefer Polar Bear coolers) and frees up the space and shlep that ice packs would require.
• Cheese- relevant if you keep CY or if you are traveling to a country with no kosher milk
  • Most cheeses freeze extremely well. Additionally, shredded cheese, sliced cheese, and cheese sticks can usually survive several days without refrigeration (these cheeses do not go sour, instead they grow mold- if there’s no visible mold, you’re good to go).
• Meat & Chicken
  • Meat and chicken is one thing that we do without on our travels. While you could freeze and pack these in a cooler (depending on your destination’s import laws), we prefer not to deal with the schlep, customs headache, and health issues that could arise if it was not cold enough at all times. We usually rely on fish while traveling internationally, and on fish & vegan foodstuffs while traveling domestically (see International and Domestic lists below). This has another benefit of not requiring two set of cookware and utensils, since there’s no fleishig. I have also taken along prepared meals (see Ready Meals list below), but since we prefer to only travel with a carryon when flying, we have limited space and have not used these in years.

Here is a list of equipment that we have utilized in our travels, what we have used it for, and how we rate its usefulness:

• Hot water kettle/thermos
  • Hot water for tea, coffee, and instant soups- incredibly useful
• Mini griddle (Betty Crocker)
  • We cook nearly all our meals on this- fish, eggs, pizza, vegan chicken/burgers/ franks, potato kugel, potato slices, french fries, pancakes, toasted rolls/bagels- incredibly useful
• Electric pot
  • We have found this pot to be a lot less useful than we hoped for, and barely use it. If you prefer hard boiled eggs, rice/pasta, or would cook soup/stew on the road, it can be useful.
• Mini toaster oven
  • We have found this oven to be a lot less useful than we hoped for, and barely use it. Everything that we have used this for can be made in the mini griddle, with the exception of warming up whole bread loaves/ challah.
• Polar Bear cooler
  • While expensive, this cooler is a must-have if you would like to keep your food frozen/cold for days. This has kept our stuff frozen/cold from Sunday to Friday- we’d load it up with frozen 8oz bottles of milk each Sunday, which would act as ice packs. We kept some really sensitive items such as fish in the cooler, and with the exception of three times when weather was 100F+ and the cooler was in the car (140F+) all day, we did not add any additional ice throughout the week. For the first few days everything was solid frozen. By Wednesday most of the frozen items had defrosted, but it was still insulated enough to keep things cold til Friday.
• Hot Logic Food Warmer
  • Great for travelers who bring frozen food from home. This can be used to warm food in plastic containers as well as foil pans. It takes ~2-3 hours to warm something from solid frozen to piping hot. It can then keep your food hot without drying it out for up to 12 hours. This is also great for Shabbos use, although consult with your LOR re hatmanah as to closing the bag.
    • HotLogic Mini
      • Since the voltage is so low, this can be used on an airplane or in a car
    • HotLogic Max
      • The Hot Logic Max fits a 9″X13″ tin pan
      • Since the voltage is so low, this can be used on an airplane- it can also be used in a car with an inverter
• Voltage converter
  • If traveling abroad I highly recommend getting a proper voltage converter for your appliances, as you will very likely cause damage by using just an adapter with high voltage appliances.

International

• Items that don’t require a hechsher (Star K)
  • Fruits & Vegetables (CRC)
  • Kosher Fish (Chabad)
    • Keep in mind that when purchasing fish without certification, you should see the whole fish with the fins and scales prior to purchasing to confirm that it is indeed kosher, as it is an industry that is rampant with fraud, and sellers often lie as to the fish type. Read more here (CRC).
    • It’s best to have your own knife if not purchasing an entire fish, as the knife used by the seller is most likely treif.
• Many larger cities worldwide have ‘international supermarkets’ which sell a variety of imported items. While more expensive than local shops, you can often find goods from the US and UK with a hechsher such as OU, OK, Star K, MK, KLBD, etc.
• Acceptable Kashrus Agencies (CRC)
  • This list is great for determining which hechsheirim are acceptable in countries with a large Jewish presence, but lacks information on hechsheirim in countries with fewer practicing Jews.
  • KosherQuest’s Rabbi Eliezer Eidlitz publishes a list of acceptable kashrus agencies as well.
• Kosher Lists via Is It Kosher
  • Disclaimer: We did not independently verify the certifying agencies who issue these lists, so speak to your LOR about which of these are acceptable for your kashrus standard. Additionally, keep in mind that most lists are valid for a period of one year.
  • Once you select a region from the list below, scroll down to “Browse by countries” to select the country you’re traveling to
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Caribbean
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
  • Android App
• EU Virtual Supermarket
  • Kosher4U is an online supermarket located in Antwerp, Belgium, that delivers all over the EU, as well as to Norway, Switzerland, and the UK. A delivery fee applies to all orders. Perishables are shipped in dry ice to maintain freshness.

Domestic

• Acceptable Kashrus Agencies (CRC)
  • KosherQuest’s Rabbi Eliezer Eidlitz publishes a list of acceptable kashrus agencies as well.
• Items that don’t require a hechsher (US & Canada) (CRC)
  • Fruits & Vegetables (CRC)
  • Kosher Fish (Chabad)
    • Keep in mind that when purchasing fish without certification, you should see the whole fish with the fins and scales prior to purchasing to confirm that it is indeed kosher, as it is an industry that is rampant with fraud, and sellers often lie as to the fish type. Read more here (CRC).
    • It’s best to have your own knife if not purchasing an entire fish, as the knife used by the seller is most likely treif.
  • Beverages (CRC)
  • Starbucks (CRC)
  • 7-Eleven Slurpee (CRC)
• OU Dairy Equipment (DE) List (filter by dairy equipement)
  • If you are makpid on Cholov Yisroed but eat OU-DE, the OU has recently added an option to their product search list which allows you to filter for items that are labeled as OU-D, but are in fact not dairy, but rather produced on dairy equipment. This is also useful if you do eat Cholov Stam but want to verify if an item is pareve for purposes of eating separately from a fleishig meal.
• More than 40% of items in US supermarkets are kosher- here’s a short list of foodstuffs we utilized on our road trip across the US:
  • I’ve included a section below, Domestic- Photos, with pictures of some of the items we frequently utilized, to assist in recognizing and finding hechshered items.
  • Supermarkets- we mostly relied on the following chain stores, as they had the largest selection of kosher items. Note that the specific brands and items available will vary across different regions of the country.
    • Walmart
    • Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market
    • Kroger, Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fry’s, QFC, City Market, Owen’s, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker’s, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market, and Mariano’s
    • Trader Joe’s
  • Breakfast:
    • Coffee/Tea
    • Milk- see From Home section- if not makpid on CY this is easy to come by
    • Veggies- purchased mini cucumbers and mini peppers so no need to chop
    • Bagels/rolls/breads- brands like La Brea, Cheesecake Factory, Marketside and more sell various products. We toast these on the mini griddle/betty crocker.
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of some of the bagels/ rolls packaging
    • Eggs
    • Canned tuna & mayonnaise
    • Feta Cheese- Trader Joe’s sells cholov yisroel Israeli feta cheese
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pic of the cheese packaging
    • Great Value (Walmart) gluten free pancake mix (this packet is non-dairy)
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of the pancake packaging
    • Oatmeal
    • Cereals- we barely purchase these as we usually limit ourselves to one 8 oz bottle of milk per day
  • Lunch:
    • Rice cake & peanut butter
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of some of the rice cake packaging
    • Crackers & cheeses- see From Home section re cheeses- if not makpid on CY crackers are very easy to come by, although there are many pareve crackers available as well. If you eat OU-DE see list above for many more options that appear with the OU-D symbol but are in fact not dairy.
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of some of the cracker packaging
    • Fruits
  • Supper:
    • Noodle soup/ ramen cups- these were easily available at Walmart
      • We often bring the Gefen packets from home, as those take up less space than the cups
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of Walmart’s ramen packaging
    • Salmon fish
      • While this can be made in a mini griddle/betty crocker or toaster oven, our favorite way to cook this is on a disposable grill.
      • While all large chains had kosher smoked salmon easily available, Safeway/Albertsons was the only chain that we could rely on to have raw salmon with a hechsher.
      • Target groceries also had raw salmon with a hechsher, but we found that most Target’s did not have a large selection of groceries in general.
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of the salmon packaging
    • Vegan chicken/ burgers/ franks
      • While there are a ton of options available between various brands such as Beyond, Impossible, and more, our favorites are LightLife Smart Dogs (tastes like real hot dogs to me) grilled, and Trader Joe’s Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels done in minutes on the mini griddle/ betty crocker.
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of the hot dog and orange ‘chicken’ packaging
    • Pizza
      • We make this in the mini griddle/ betty crocker using a small flour tortilla for the dough, store bought pizza sauce, and cheeses from home
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of the tortilla & pizza sauce packaging
    • Ready made french fries/ hashbrowns/ taters
      • We make these in the mini griddle/ betty crocker
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of the potato packaging
    • Potato wedges/slices/cubes
      • We make these in the mini griddle/ betty crocker
    • Pasta/ Rice
      • We make these in the electric pot
  • Snacks:
    • Cookies & Cakes
      • if not makpid on CY cookies is very easy to come by, although there are many pareve cookies available as well. Trader Joe’s has a particularly large selection (we’re particularly fond of the Brooklyn Babka). If you eat OU-DE see list above for many more options that appear with the OU-D symbol but are in fact not dairy.
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of some of the pareve cookies & cake packaging
    • Chips and candy- tons of brands and options
    • Ice cream
      • if not makpid on CY ice cream is very easy to come by, although there are many pareve ice cream available as well
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of some of the pareve ice cream packaging
    • Ices
      • if not makpid on CY ices is very easy to come by, although there are many pareve ices available as well. If you eat OU-DE see list above for many more options that appear with the OU-D symbol but are in fact not dairy.
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pics of some of the pareve ices packaging
  • Shabbos:
    • Kosher wine/grape juice is not very easy to come by, so this is something we bring from home or stock up on when we are passing by a Jewish community
    • We purchase La Brea sourdough or Italian loaves for Challah
    • Hummus is easily available, we also make homemade dips such as tomato dip and jalapeno dip
    • Salmon fish- see salmon fish above
    • Soup- see ramen cups above
    • We make homemade potato kugel in the mini griddle/ betty crocker (delicious!)
    • We make farfel using Acini Di Pepe for the pasta
      • See Domestic- Photos section below for pic of Acini Di Pepe
    • We make pareve cholent using navy beans and potatoes
  • Cooking Essentials:
    • Cooking spray with an OU is easily available
    • Cooking oil with an OU is easily available
    • Spices are easily available
    • Condiments such as ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc with an OU are easily available
    • We purchase disposable grills as we love grilling salmon and vegan franks

Domestic- Photos

The photos that do not indicate a specific grocery chain are easily available at most supermarkets.

Ready Meals

Do you prefer purchasing ready meals instead of cooking on the go? You can get these easily at the suppliers listed below. Alternatively cook and freeze meals in advance of your trip to ensure that you have food that is to your liking. Pair these with the Polar Bear cooler to keep things frozen for the duration of your trip, and the Hot Logic Food Warmer to warm things up, and you’re good to go!

• Supermarkets:
  • POM Meals by Pomegranate (Kehilla Kashrus)
  • Avi Glatt (Gornish)
  • Noah’s Ark (Star K)
• Caterers:
  • Satmar Butcher Monsey (Satmar KJ)
    • $269 Shabbos Package shipped nationwide
    • [email protected]
    • 845-782-2900
  • Greenfeld’s (Nirbater, OU)
  • KosherBox (COR)
  • Seuda (Star K)
  • Crispies Deli
    • $299 Shabbos Package shipped nationwide
    • [email protected]
    • 347-380-4984
• Shelf Meals:
  • KJ Poultry Ready Meals (KJ, OU)
  • La Bruite Meals (Magriv, Kof K)

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globetrottinggeek

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