Quinoa and rice for Passover

 Passover is a springtime Jewish festival holiday, celebrating the Exodus of Jews from Egypt. On Passover, Jews are biblically commanded not to eat and not to even own leavened bread, or "chametz" in Hebrew.

There are several places in the Torah (five books of Moses) where the prohibition of Chametz on Passover is mentioned.

First, there is a positive commandment to remove all chametz from one's home before Passover (Exodus 12:15):

"Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; howbeit the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel."

There is a commandment not to possess chametz during Passover :

"Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses; for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a sojourner, or one that is born in the land. " (Exodus 12:19)

"And there shall be no leaven seen with thee in all they borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which thou sacrificest the first day at even, remain all night until the morning." (Deuteronomy 16:4)

There is a commandment not to eat any chametz during Passover:

"And Moses said unto the people: 'Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place; there shall no leavened bread be eaten." (Exodus 13:3)

"Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread." (Exodus 12:20)

"Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for in haste didst thou come forth out of the land of Egypt; that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life." (Deuteronomy 16:3)

What is chametz? Chametz is any flour or grain of wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt, that have come in contact with moisture and was not baked within eighteen minutes of this contact. In practical terms, the only products of those grains that are kosher for Passover, are matza and other packaged items sold especially for Passover with a "kosher for Passover" designation. They are produced in factories under Rabbinical supervision, in a process that ensures fast enough baking, from  a flower that hasn't come in contact with moisture before being used. 

Ashkenazi Jews (Jews who come from Europe) traditionally also don't eat beans, legumes and rice for Passover, plants known in Hebrew as "kitniyot". While technically not biblically forbidden for Passover, they were Rabbinically restricted, because they often were stored with grains and other non-kosher for Passover products, and flour made of those was hard to tell apart from wheat flour.

Many (but not all) Sephardic Jewish communities do eat rice and beans on Passover, but they carefully go through them grain by grain and bean by bean before the holiday, to ensure that no grains of chametz have gotten into rice or beans.

Unlike rice and legumes, quinoa was unknown to Jews and their rabbis and sages until recently in history.

It was not included in the prohibition against kitniyot (rice and grains) on Passover, and is today permitted for both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews by the majority of rabbis.

Quinoa is technically a grass, and is not one of five grains that can become "chametz" by coming in contact with moisture.

Quinoa resembles a grain, and is easy to prepare - it can be cooked just like rice, on the stovetop or in a rice cooker. Quinoa can be made into hot side dishes, cold grain-like salads, it can be used in soups or even made for breakfast as a hot porridge.

In practical terms, when buying quinoa for Passover, it should be a new unopened package - to ensure it didn't come in contact with chametz before Passover. It should also be from a processor that only processes quinoa, and not other grains. How can we ensure buying such quinoa that can be used for Passover? Kosher certifying organizations in America do the research for us. Every year lists of packaged products kosher for Passover without special "kosher for Passover" seal are put out by several American Rabbinical organizations. Every year there are new products on the market, or the manufacturing conditions change, so it is important to obtain the latest information before Passover every year.

Unfortunately, as of this writing, it looks like there is no easy way to buy and use quinoa for Passover; major kashrut organizations cannot ensure than any brand of quinoa was processed in chometz-free facilities.

Here is a link to the OU (Orthodox Union) Kosher for Passover directory for 2011:

http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/passover

OU Passover guide for 2011 states that there is a difference in Rabbinical opinion whether quinoa is kitniyot (and thus is forbidden for Passover for Ashkenazim), and directs one to ask his or her rabbi for guidance. It also mentions that quinoa might be processed in the same plant that processes chametz, and it is a serious concern. From this information the OU verdict for using quinoa for Passover is - ask your local rabbi, and if is allowed, buy only quinoa certified kosher for Passover.

And here is a link to Star-K (another major kosher certifying organization) Passover Directory for 2011:

http://www.star-k.org/cons-pesach-flash.htm

Star-K Passover guide for 2011 states: "As a result of a recent investigation, we have found
it possible that quinoa’s kosher for Passover status is compromised when it grows or is processed in the proximity of chometz grains. Therefore, Quinoa will only
be accepted with reliable Kosher for Passover supervision."

Another reputable kosher-certifying organization that puts out an annual kosher for Passover guide is Chicago Rabbinical Council, or cRc:

http://www.crcweb.org/passover_2011.php

They state in their 2011 guide that quinoa is not kitniyot, but requires special kosher for Passover certification, to ensure that no other grains are mixed in.

The "OK" (another kashrut certifier) Passover 2011 guide doesn't mention quinoa at all, but here is a link to it for completeness: http://www.kashrut.com/Passover/pdf/OK_PassoverFoodGuide2011.pdf

Kof-K, another major kosher organization, doesn't mention quinoa in its annual guide either: http://www.kashrut.com/Passover/pdf/kof-k_2011PassoverList.pdf

In 2011, or Jewish year , there are no commercial packaged quinoa brands that are specially certified for Passover. And according to the consensus between major kosher authorities, it cannot be ensured that quinoa sold in America this year has not been processed or packaged in proximity to chametz products.

Chicago Rabbinical Council had issued a ruling on March 28 2011 on how to use quinoa for Passover this year:  http://www.crcweb.org/alerts.php

Two conditions must be met, this is a quote from cRc website:

"The cRc approves the use of whole grain quinoa for Pesach on the following conditions:

1. The quinoa is imported exclusively from Bolivia and packed by companies that pack whole grain quinoa exclusively.

While there may be others, Ancient Harvest and Trader Joes are two brands that only import quinoa from Bolivia and only pack whole grain quinoa.

2. The quinoa must be carefully inspected by hand before Pesach.

This is done by spreading one layer of quinoa at a time on a board or plate and checked to be sure that there are no other grains or foreign matter mixed in with the quinoa.

This does not apply to Quinoa flour, pasta or any other version of quinoa which are not permitted on Pesach."

In many Sephardic communities, rice and kitniyot are permitted to eat on Passover.

There is a special procedure to inspect rice before Passover, in order to be able to use it during Passover.

Rabbi Eli Mansour, a leader of Sephardic New York congregation Bet Yakob, and a co-author of a Hagadah with Sephardic commentaries, describes the laws and procedures for inspecting rice in the following article:

http://www.dailyhalacha.com/Display.asp?ClipDate=3/28/2010