Szőke Judit - Kiss Kitti: A kóser konyha. Skanzen füzetek 3. (Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2010)

were an important income for the state and the religious communities. The quality was different from that of the wines of the time because the must was made by pressing with the feet and it made it less acidic then the machine-pressed wine. The must which was pressed with feet wearing stockings was kept in separate cellars or kosher parts of cellars where one was allowed to enter after washing hands with soap and foods were not permitted to take in. The must was always strained and fermented in new casks. The Jews strictly avoided the antioxidant methods of cask-cleaning, wine-preserving and wine-stabilising known all over the country from the 18th c., which included the spreading of the staves with bacon and hanging a piece of bacon in the casks

5

5 Jewish feasts cannot be imagined without wine. It is still traditional to start ceremonial and Saturday meals with the blessing of wine—kiddus— and the bread is cut only afterwards. The wine, i.e. the fruit of the vines reminds of the country of Israel; it is the symbol of it. The host rises his cup, gives thanks to God and welcomes the feast and then every member of the family drinks a little of the wine. According to the religious rule, the cup is fully filled as Psalm 23 says, "my glass is full to the brim". As known today, kosher wine is made from one type of selected grapes, keeping the rules of cleanliness; it does not contain preservatives and is drawn into new and non-fumigated casks. 5

5 Csoma 1994. Viga 2002. mUmSM^*^' 57