Some people of the Jewish faith follow the kashruth, which are the dietary laws of Judaism that denote what foods and cooking preparations are considered kosher, and dairy is a big factor.

About nine days after the holiday ended, they received the news from the Houston Kashruth Association that they had lost their Kosher certification.

On our way home, my father told me that Danny probably didn’t eat anywhere except in his own home, or in the home or one or his father’s followers, because of kashruth, and that it would be wise for me not to embarrass him again with another invitation.

Not that he bought it with a light heart: rather superstitious than religious, he felt uneasy about breaking the rules of kashruth, but he liked prosciutto so much that, before the temptation of the shop windows, he yielded every time, sighing, cursing under his breath, and looking at me furtively, as if he feared my judgment or hoped for my complicity.

If there is no Sabbath observance, there is no kashruth.