07-017 Stogel long-life Kosher Meal

07-017
Stogel long-life Kosher Meal 

After writing many posts on Chinese translations of the Bible and other extra-Biblical texts, I am going to move a bit backward this time. In this post, I will talk about Judaism.

The twin pillars of Judaism are the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament, and the Talmud. (For sure, in Jewish point of view, there is nothing called “Old” testament. In Judaism, there is only one Testament always.)

I have listed out all vernacular Chinese translations of the Bible in my previous posts. Some of those translations were based on the Hebrew Masoretic Text, such as the 1970 Lü Chen Chung’s translation (呂振中譯本). So technically, Chinese translations of the Old Testament are readily available. But whether Jews would accept those Christian translations is another case.

On the other hand, translation of the Talmud into Chinese is still underway. Translation of the Babylonian Talmud is being done by the Chinese government and would still take some years to complete. And the translation of the Jerusalem Talmud is not even under any plan. So, instead of talking about the translations of Jewish sacred texts, I would rather share with you my recent Jewish experience.

 

Back in summer 2023, a colleague from Germany visited our office. He is a Jew, born in Ukraine and immigrated to Germany at the age of 10. I learned some Jewish stories from him. I was surprised to know that there are still Jews living in Germany as I always think that all Jews that survived the Holocaust must now be either living in Israel or in the US.

Weeks later, I was given an opportunity to visit Munich. The trip would be in the mid of October. I decided to turn the trip to a religious one. I carefully arranged my flights so that I can have 2 extra days to travel around Munich. I hope I can visit some religious sites in those 2 days, especially to those Jewish religious sites in the city.

However, after everything was planned, things happened. Just one week before my flight, Hamas entered Israel, shooting everywhere, killed more than 1000 Israelis and kidnapped 200 more to Gaza.

Is it still safe to visit those Jewish religious sites? Would I become a target? Should I change my plan? Luckily, it was still the second week of the Israel-Hamas war when I arrived Munich. At that time, the majorities were still supporting Israel. Now, it seems to be the other way round. So, I braved my heart, hopped onto my Finnair flight, heading to Helsinki, then Munich. My Jewish experience started immediately after boarding. Yes, I have reserved kosher meals for my flights.

Before take-off, the cabin crew showed me the meal box and asked if I prefer to break the seal myself or they can open it for me. I let them to open the box for me to reheat the content. About an hour after, my Stogel long-life kosher meal was in front of me during the meal serving time.

Let me show you what is inside.

Stogel long-life Kosher Meal

Like the Hermolis kosher meal on my previous Cathay Pacific flights, Stogel kosher meal was sealed to guarantee kashrut. The ingredients of the meal are also clearly written. But Stogel uses paper box while Hermolis uses plastic.

I was served “Hot Lunch Schnitzel” as dinner. It is a meaty meal and is not suitable for Passover, because of the crackers inside. The meal set has a code, LL-HLM4. Main course is Poultry Schnitzel with Rice & Vegetable (58%), with a missing ‘c’ in the word ‘Schnitzel’. Side dishes include Fish Cocktail, Coffee Pudding, Fruit Compote, Crackers and Halva. Ingredients of the side dishes are printed on the seal. Ingredients of the main course are printed on another label, affixed on top of the main course package.

Inside the Stogel long-life kosher meal box

Kosher certificate

Main course, side dishes and snacks are neatly packed.

I opened the box and found all the dishes were neatly packed inside. The main course was reheated by the cabin crew and the kosher certificate was on top of the side dishes.

I decided to finish the side dishes first, from Fish Cocktail to Coffee Pudding and then Fruit Compote.

First side dish - The fish cocktail

The interior looks like this. Taste is overall not bad.

Second side dish - Coffee Pudding

It is actually a dessert. But pudding with a coffee taste?

The third side dish - Fruit Compote

The taste of Fruit Compote is really awful!

Many on travel forums compare Stogel long-life meals with dog food. The Fruit Compote is just mashed tomato and is horrible. But Fish Cocktail tasted good. Coffee Pudding was so-so. It was not good but not bad either.

After the side dishes, it is time for the main course.

Ingredients of the main course are printed on the label
affixed on the package, not on the meal box.

After unwrapped the double layer plastic bags,
I was surprised to see the main course was also sealed.

The main course is turkey, rice, carrot and peas.
It is reheated and the taste is not bad.

After finished all the side dishes, I curiously opened the package of the main course. It was completely sealed in double layer plastic bags. I teared the bags and found that the plastic tray inside was also sealed. The schnitzel is made with turkey meat and rice is mixed with carrot, peas and corn.

Crackers are normal crackers but it is under Stogel's own brand.

And it got a kosher seal on the package.

Crackers were just crackers. But it got a kosher seal printed on its package. Halva was quite nice. We have something similar in Chinese cuisine but ours are made with peanuts. Taste of the whole meal was not bad overall.

Halva

There is also a kosher seal on the package of the halva.

I have never eaten any Halva before. I don't know what it is.
But taste is not bad.

The meal has an expiry date of 02/June/2025. According to the website of Stogel, their long-life meals require no refrigeration and are fully self-contained. I am not sure how can they make this possible. Rice in the main course is soft and the carrot is juicy. How come this kind of food can be stored in room temperature for 2 years without being spoiled? I asked the question on a forum but no one can answer me.

Stogel "Hot Breakfast"

Since it was a long haul flight, I was being served a second Stogel meal in the morning, a long-life “Hot Breakfast”. The code of the meal is LL-HB and this time, it is parve. Main course was Egg quiche with vegetables. Side dishes were again Fruit Compote and Fish Cocktail. The meal set was served with Crackers, Halva, and a pack of Jam.

Inside the "Hot Breakfast" meal box

After removing the meal box, the breakfast set looks like this.

I was given a pack of kosher jam. But there is no bread to spread, only crackers.

Side dishes are the same as the previous meal.
Let us open the main course. Again, the ingredients were printed on the package.

This is the main course, hot and sealed.

The quiche was served with potatoes and carrots. To be honest, I have never seen a slice of quiche in that shape. The taste was not bad but it definitely did not taste like quiche.

Bon Appétit!

Everything in the meal box is kosher.

Even the salt and pepper are kosher.

On the return flight, I was being served the exact same food. My advice to Stogel KSML meal is, if you are picky, try your best to stay away from them. But if you can eat anything and would like to know how Stogel looks like, then give it a try.

So, that was the beginning of my religious tour and also my first Stogel KSML in-flight meals. In the next posts, I will show you more about my Jewish experience in that trip.

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