Is Quinoa Kosher For Passover?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Add to the four questions a fifth. Is grain-like and gluten-free quinoa Kosher for Passover?
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond: Rabbis Are In Disagreement
Podcast
"It's sort of on the shelf, but not the Kosher for Passover shelves," says Aaron Rothberg, general manager of Seasons Kosher Market on the Upper West Side.
He says you must ask for it: "Rabbinical supervision [from the Orthodox Union] does not officially authorize it."
RELATED: Set A Virtual Seder Table
Tanya Tolsen keeps Kosher for Passover, but says she's not stressing out over quinoa today.
"No, I'm more worried about the IRS authority today than that one. So, I'm sorry," she says.
RELATED: Guide to Passover 2011 in NYC
Moishe Novikov doesn't care.
"Absolutely it is," says Novikov. "I've been eating it forever. I love it, you know. But I'm also somebody who will eat all of the kidney yolks on Passover, even though I'm not Sephardic."
Vivian Delberman says she used to eat quinoa on Passover, but she says, "Now that I hear this controversy I guess maybe I wouldn't. I'd have to ask my rabbi."
Some Ashkenazic Jews have been incorporating quinoa into Passover with the blessing of their rabbi. Other rabbis are suspect of the crop.
No two rabbis can seem to agree.
Some say a decision won't be possible until a rabbi can be dispatched to a remote mountain region of Bolivia to inspect operations.
Passover, one of the most significant holidays on the Jewish calendar, begins at sunset tonight and continues for eight days.
It commemorates the freeing of Jews from slavery in Egypt thousands of years ago.
The first night of Passover begins with a ceremonial dinner called a seder, when the story of the Exodus is told.
The meal features a special seder plate containing symbolic foods, including a roasted egg representing life and re-birth.
What do you think of the quinoa debate? Is it Kosher? Sound off below
