Frequently Asked Questions
We have tried our best to anticipate your questions. If your question in unanswered, please contact us. It might take us a day or two to get back you; we appreciate your patience.
How KOL Foods is different
- KOL Foods in a nutshell
- KOL Foods Way
- Why are you so expensive?
- Why 100% grass-fed?
- How is your beef and Lamb different from other organic / vegetarian fed / grain fed / pastured kosher meat producers?
- How is your chicken, turkey and duck different than other organic / pastured kosher poultry producers?
- How is your salmon different from the salmon I can buy from my local store?
Kosher, Green & Organic Certifications
Events, Caterers & Wholesale
Our Product Lines
Our Products
Ordering
Shipping / Delivery
- Can I buy your products locally at a retail location?
- How much is shipping?
- Why is shipping so expensive for a small order of 1 to 4 items?
- When and where do we ship?
- I do not want my order to arrive on Friday after sundown or on Saturday.
- How long will it take for my order to arrive after I order?
- How will I know when my order will arrive?
- I need expedited shipping, how can I make that happen?
- Can I have my order arrive on a specific date?
- Do I have to be home when my order is delivered / Is a signature required?
- Do you have to be part of a Buying Club to purchase?
- What is a Buying Club?
- I would like to start a club in my area.
- My order was shipped in a Styrofoam container! How can I recycle it?
- What if I receive something I am not satisfied with?
- Why is the meat a different color than I'm used to?
Thawing / Cooking / Preparation
- Does grass-fed meat cook differently from conventional meat?
- How can I safely defrost meat quickly?
- How long can the meat remain frozen? Can I refreeze meat that has been defrosted?
- What can I do if the meat is salty?
- The meat was not what I expected.
- Cooking Tips and Recipes
Founded in 2008 by Devora Kimelman-Block, KOL Foods provides 100% grass-fed kosher meat shipped to your door. KOL Foods’ products connect you to tradition, the land, a sustainable future, and good health for friends and family. We know our farmers and tell the story of their animals. KOL Foods is committed to Kashrut, transparency, the environment, animal welfare, health and offering the most delicious meat and poultry on the market. We have been featured in the New York Times Magazine, NPR's Marketplace, and Gourmet Magazine. [Read Articles]
KOL Foods offers glatt-kosher, organic-raised, grass-fed beef, lamb and no-nitrate deli; pastured chicken, turkey and duck; wild caught Alaskan salmon and other specialty goods. We ship frozen via FedEx nationwide or via buying clubs in select cities.
The Wild Sockeye Salmon Fillets from KOL Foods follow the Orthodox union (OU) Standards because our fisherman only fishes for salmon and fillets it himself (debones and cleans, etc).
Please see The True Cost of Meat.
Why 100% grass-fed?
How is your chicken, turkey and duck different from other organic / pastured kosher meat producers?
KOL Foods produces glatt kosher, sustainable 100% pastured chicken, turkey and duck. We know our product from farm to fork and tell you its story. We are a small producer working with small family farms. Our process is in harmony with nature.
How can I know when my meat is Kosher for Passover?
According to the OU, raw meat which is unprocessed is always kosher for Passover and doesn't need an added P. This is the same ruling as with raw vegetables or fruit.
There are so many reasons! Did we mention the health benefits compared to conventional meat? A few more lists of 100% grass-fed meat's environmental and ethical benefits can be found in the KOL Foods Way box on the upper right hand corner on every page of this website.
What is American Tradition Beef (AT Beef)?
Please see our AT Beef page.
What is Grassland Range Beef (GR Beef)?
Please see our GR Beef page.
What's the difference between AT and GR Beef?
AT (American Tradition) Beef is sourced on the west coast of the United States and GR (Grassland Range) Beef is sourced from South America. AT tends to be more tender because it goes through a dry aging process and is more forgiving for cooks not used to cooking with 100% grass-fed beef. GR tends to be leaner and less expensive. Both lines are certified by the USDA as 100% grass-fed.
Why don't we use soy-free poultry feed?
We have tried feeding our chickens several different soy-free feeds, however, none of them were successful. We have either found that many of the birds were dying or were growing very slowly on soy-free feed and when switched back to regular feed, their health and weight were restored. Also, we have seen a study (there is only one) that shows that soy-free feed does nothing to reduce the levels of phytoestrogen in pastured poultry when raised in legume rich (clover) pastures. Most every pasture has some clover, which like soy beans is a legume and causes phytoestrogen levels to increase. We're very sorry for this bummer news and hope that someday there will be an economically viable and scientifically proven way to raise legume-free pastured poultry.
What is American Tradition Beef (AT Beef)?
Please see our AT Beef page.
What is Grassland Range Beef (GR Beef)?
Please see our GR Beef page.
What's the difference between AT and GR Beef?
AT (American Tradition) Beef is sourced on the west coast of the United States and GR (Grassland Range) Beef is sourced from South America. AT tends to be more tender because it goes through a dry aging process and is more forgiving for cooks not used to cooking with 100% grass-fed beef. GR tends to be leaner and less expensive. Both lines are certified by the USDA as 100% grass-fed.
Why don't we use soy-free poultry feed?
We have tried feeding our chickens several different soy-free feeds, however, none of them were successful. We have either found that many of the birds were dying or were growing very slowly on soy-free feed and when switched back to regular feed, their health and weight were restored. Also, we have seen a study (there is only one) that shows that soy-free feed does nothing to reduce the levels of phytoestrogen in pastured poultry when raised in legume rich (clover) pastures. Most every pasture has some clover, which like soy beans is a legume and causes phytoestrogen levels to increase. We're very sorry for this bummer news and hope that someday there will be an economically viable and scientifically proven way to raise legume-free pastured poultry.
How is your beef and lamb different from other organic/grain-finished kosher meat producers?
KOL Foods produces glatt kosher, sustainable 100% grass-fed beef and lamb. We know our product from farm to fork and tell you its story. We are a small producer working with small family farms. Our process is in harmony with nature. We are the only nationally available kosher meat provider that exclusively sources grass-fed meat - all others grain finish.
KOL Foods produces glatt kosher, sustainable 100% grass-fed beef and lamb. We know our product from farm to fork and tell you its story. We are a small producer working with small family farms. Our process is in harmony with nature. We are the only nationally available kosher meat provider that exclusively sources grass-fed meat - all others grain finish.
Here are just a few differences:
KOL Foods:
|
Others:
|
How is your chicken, turkey and duck different from other organic / pastured kosher meat producers?
KOL Foods produces glatt kosher, sustainable 100% pastured chicken, turkey and duck. We know our product from farm to fork and tell you its story. We are a small producer working with small family farms. Our process is in harmony with nature.
Here are just a few differences:
KOL Foods:
|
Others:
|
Please see our salmon page.
Flash freezing seals nutrients so it is often fresher than "fresh". Flash frozen tastes as good as fresh and sometimes even better. Flash freezing allows us to eat seasonally all year since pasture raised poultry can't be raised in the winter and the best season for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb is in the fall.
Rib steak or Rib Eye steak, Flat Iron, or any of the AT cuts. For the other cuts, we recommend tenderizing, marinading and/or braising.
100% grass-fed meat has less fat than its grain-fed counterpart. The fat that 100% grass-fed meat has, is much healthier for you as well [Health Info]. Shoulder steak, Silver Tip roast, 1st Cut Brisket or any of the GR cuts.For the other cuts, we recommend trimming or grilling so that the fat drips off.
We would recommend buying a discounted Sampler Pack. Our Samplers contain a variety of cuts in small quantities so they are ideal for people wanting to try a few things without having spend a lot of money buying full cases. Alternatively, many people start with trying our ground beef and either a roast or some steak.
People consistently rave about our lamb. If you want something special then try the AT beef.
If you are cost conscious, then try the GR Cowboy steaks, the GR London broil or for a pot roast, try the GR Dekel. If you are looking to grill for this summer the turkey chops are excellent and provide a certain "caveman” experience for the kids.
Please see our Kids Menu in Bubbie's Kitchen.
According to the OU, raw meat which is unprocessed is always kosher for Passover and doesn't need an added P. This is the same ruling as with raw vegetables or fruit.
The items that do not fit in the raw meat category are meats that are processed. Some examples of our processed products are beef or lamb breakfast strips/bacon, hot dogs, sausages, deli and salts. Kosher for Passover versions of these products are marked with a "(KP)" on the web product name as well as marked with a P on the packaging.
Ground Beef, Lamb and Turkey
Unlike "raw" meat, ground meat usually needs a P (because one can't be sure that sausage wasn't produced in the grinder). HOWEVER, our butcher has two rooms: one for processing (deli, sausages, etc.) and one for "raw" meat. The raw room is kosher for Passover all year round and he makes our ground meat there. So our butcher's ground grinder never has anything in it that is not meat. In other words, the processed meats need to have a KP, but the ground and all the non-processed meats don't.
I placed an order. How will I know the order was received?
We won’t leave you hanging. You will receive an email confirming your order. You will also receive an email (with package tracking information) when your order is shipped.
Can I buy your products locally at a retail location?
We do not currently sell our products at retail locations. With the only exception being True Nature Foods in Chicago. The products can be purchased on the internet and we deliver via Fedex to your door or through a Buying Club in select locations.
The best and quickest way to calculate shipping is to populate your shopping cart with the items you'd like to buy and then click the large purple "Calculate Shipping" button in the shopping cart. You will then be provided with all of you shipping options.
There are certain fixed costs that immediately go into shipping any item such as the cooler and dry ice. We cover these costs through a shipping surcharge, however, there is no surcharge on orders over 4 items. We recommend that you order 5 or more items to maximize your dollar. The shipping surcharges are as follows: 1 item $12, 2 items $10, 3 items $8, 4 items $6, 5+ items $0.
When and where do we ship?
To avoid having your order arrive after sunset on Friday, we ship Monday through Wednesday during the winter and Monday through Thursday during the summer. [More Info] We ship anywhere within the 48 continental United States. Unfortunately, at this time we do not ship to Canada or any other country. Some Canadians have had their orders delivered to a US border location and picked it up from there.
I do not want my order to arrive on Friday after sundown or on Saturday?
This is not an issue because we have already thought about this. In the summer we ship Monday-Thursday (no packages requiring 2 days go on thursday) and Monday-Wednesday in the winter to avoid any conflicts with Shabbat. If you are still nervous about this, the best thing for you to do is to order on a Sunday so that your order with ship on a Monday and arrive on either a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Please see our Shipping Information page.
How will I know when my order will arrive?
When your order ships, you will automatically receive aFedEx tracking number viaemail. Simply click the tracking number and you can watch your package make its way to you.
I need expedited shipping, how can I make that happen?
Please Contact Us and we will do our best to get your order out the door and on your doorstep!
Please Contact Us and we will do our best to get your order out the door and on your doorstep!
Can I have my order arrive on a specific date?
Yes. Please note the date you would like it to arrive in the FedEx comments section during checkout. Please note that we cannot deliver on Mondays and if you request a Saturday, there will be an extra cost. If you have already placed your order, please Contact Us immediately with your request.
Do I have to be home when my order is delivered / Is a signature required?
It depends and here’s the short answer: Yes, if you live in a multi-unit building with no doorman or reception that accepts packages when you are not home. Otherwise, no signature is required. See "Shipping Information" for more information on shipping and delivery.
Do you have to be part of a Buying Club to purchase?
No. You have the option of shipping via FedEx to your door or ordering through a Buying Club where your order will ship as a group with other orders for pick up in a central location. We ship FedEx to all 48 continental states and have buying clubs to selectcities mainly during the holidays.
Yes. Please note the date you would like it to arrive in the FedEx comments section during checkout. Please note that we cannot deliver on Mondays and if you request a Saturday, there will be an extra cost. If you have already placed your order, please Contact Us immediately with your request.
Do I have to be home when my order is delivered / Is a signature required?
It depends and here’s the short answer: Yes, if you live in a multi-unit building with no doorman or reception that accepts packages when you are not home. Otherwise, no signature is required. See "Shipping Information" for more information on shipping and delivery.
Do you have to be part of a Buying Club to purchase?
No. You have the option of shipping via FedEx to your door or ordering through a Buying Club where your order will ship as a group with other orders for pick up in a central location. We ship FedEx to all 48 continental states and have buying clubs to selectcities mainly during the holidays.
A Buying Club is a group order where many people buy within a certain period of time, all orders are shipped together and arrive together for pick-up at a central location. There is no membership fee for our clubs, all you have to do is place an order and selecta club on the shipping method page during checkout. Shipping for clubs is a flat rate rather thancalculatedby weight so it becomes cheaper the more you buy.
I would like to start a Buying Club in my area.
Please see our information page.
How can I "green" my wedding, bar/bat mitzvah or other event?
Serve sustainable kosher meat! KOL Foods works with event planners, caterers and venues. Just tell your caterer or planner to give us a call and we will take it from there!
What about Local?
A large part of the interest in local is in knowing and trusting where your food comes from. KOL Foods is committed to being transparent and sharing our meat's stories. Second, unlike fresh produce, meat does not lose its flavor or nutritional value during transport. Third, KOL Foods is committed to minimizing our carbon footprint, and transport is actually a minimal percentage of the total carbon footprint that it takes to get a piece of meat to your plate. Finally, Due to the industrialization of the kosher meat processing business, there are less than seven kosher slaughterhouses left in the United States and most of them are in very rural locations near feedlots, not kosher consumers. We feel that it is vital for our health, our environment and our ethics for kosher consumers to have access to sustainable meat even if they don't live close to where the meat was p
Please see our information page.
How can I "green" my wedding, bar/bat mitzvah or other event?
Serve sustainable kosher meat! KOL Foods works with event planners, caterers and venues. Just tell your caterer or planner to give us a call and we will take it from there!
What about Local?
A large part of the interest in local is in knowing and trusting where your food comes from. KOL Foods is committed to being transparent and sharing our meat's stories. Second, unlike fresh produce, meat does not lose its flavor or nutritional value during transport. Third, KOL Foods is committed to minimizing our carbon footprint, and transport is actually a minimal percentage of the total carbon footprint that it takes to get a piece of meat to your plate. Finally, Due to the industrialization of the kosher meat processing business, there are less than seven kosher slaughterhouses left in the United States and most of them are in very rural locations near feedlots, not kosher consumers. We feel that it is vital for our health, our environment and our ethics for kosher consumers to have access to sustainable meat even if they don't live close to where the meat was p
processed.
KOL Foods' products are under the OU or the Star K, not the company. We are such a small company that we don't own a butcher shop or anything else! We pay kosher butchers to both butcher and kosher certify. When you get the package, the OU or Star-K hecksher will be on the butcher's label. The OU and Star K both know KOL Foods very well. [More Info]
My order was shipped in a Styrofoam container. What do I do with it?
Great question and we thought long and hard about the "food-print” of shipping our products. Styrofoam shipping containers are necessary to ensure product quality and safety. The polystyrene container that your order arrives in is a reusable insulated cooler that can be reused or recycled. To learn where you can recycle the container, visit www.earth911.org. We also accept coolers via mail or dropoff if you are in the Washington, DC area. Contact us for details.
How can I safely defrost meat quickly?
Put it in a vat of room temp. water. Make sure to get the water inside bird and out. Leave it for 10 - 15 min. until the water is cold. Dump the water and fill up again with room temp water. Do this a couple of times. The USDA says 30min per pound, but they only exchange the water every 30 min. so doing it every 10 min would be 3 times as fast. You can use this technique to defrost any meat - not just turkey.
What if I receive something I am not satisfied with?
We are in business to please our customers. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied please consult our Return Policy page. This page will outline the steps you will need to take to make a return or receive a credit. Please note:We will ask that you submit photographs of all packaging or product issues.Having photographs is required for us to either submit claims to our insurance or to understand what happen so that we may better serve you in the future.
Why is the meat a different color than I'm used to?
Much (non-organic) meat is treated with various color enhancers because meat businesses know that a huge percentage of how people choose their meat is visually based. Many can even call these enhancers "natural" because they aren't synthetic. Our meat is not color enhanced or treated at all - nothing added. In addition, feeding beef grain or corn increases its pigment (myoglobin) level, so our grass-finished beef will be naturally less red than grain-fed meat. Lastly, the freshest meat is actually purplish and turns reddish after exposure to oxygen (this is called "blooming"). When meat is cryovaced and frozen (as ours is), the exposure is less than if it is on a Styrofoam tray and so it may be a purplish color when it arrives.
Will sales tax be added to my order?
No, there is no sales tax on healthy food items.
The meat was not what I expected.
There is a bit of a learning curve to cooking with grass-fed meat because its chemical make up is significantly different (specifically, healthier fat) from grain-fed beef and requires different cooking methods and times. Folks that are used to cooking with conventional meat sometimes have a hard time in the beginning. Be sure to follow these simple steps to achieve delicious grass-fed dishes. Most importantly avoid overcooking. Grass-fed meat is leaner than grain-fed and will cook in less time! Be sure to also check out our recipes. Good luck and let me know if you find any good recipes or wine pairings to share!
I’m a restaurant/caterer/retailer – how can I get KOL Foods products?
Send an email, give a call. We’ll discuss the possibilities. Contact Us
My order was shipped in a Styrofoam container. What do I do with it?
Great question and we thought long and hard about the "food-print” of shipping our products. Styrofoam shipping containers are necessary to ensure product quality and safety. The polystyrene container that your order arrives in is a reusable insulated cooler that can be reused or recycled. To learn where you can recycle the container, visit www.earth911.org. We also accept coolers via mail or dropoff if you are in the Washington, DC area. Contact us for details.
How can I safely defrost meat quickly?
Put it in a vat of room temp. water. Make sure to get the water inside bird and out. Leave it for 10 - 15 min. until the water is cold. Dump the water and fill up again with room temp water. Do this a couple of times. The USDA says 30min per pound, but they only exchange the water every 30 min. so doing it every 10 min would be 3 times as fast. You can use this technique to defrost any meat - not just turkey.
How long can the meat remain frozen? Can I refreeze meat that has been defrosted?
Our products are fresh frozen. We’ll yield to the USDA folks…check out this link: USDA Fact Sheet on Freezing
At the end of the page there is a freezer storage chart and it looks like the quality of taste depends on the kind of meat and cut you are storing. Some things can store well for 12 months
What if I receive something I am not satisfied with?
We are in business to please our customers. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied please consult our Return Policy page. This page will outline the steps you will need to take to make a return or receive a credit. Please note:We will ask that you submit photographs of all packaging or product issues.Having photographs is required for us to either submit claims to our insurance or to understand what happen so that we may better serve you in the future.
We are not able to accept any returns on products whose kosher seal has been broken. We always welcome comments and questions.
Why is the meat a different color than I'm used to?
Much (non-organic) meat is treated with various color enhancers because meat businesses know that a huge percentage of how people choose their meat is visually based. Many can even call these enhancers "natural" because they aren't synthetic. Our meat is not color enhanced or treated at all - nothing added. In addition, feeding beef grain or corn increases its pigment (myoglobin) level, so our grass-finished beef will be naturally less red than grain-fed meat. Lastly, the freshest meat is actually purplish and turns reddish after exposure to oxygen (this is called "blooming"). When meat is cryovaced and frozen (as ours is), the exposure is less than if it is on a Styrofoam tray and so it may be a purplish color when it arrives.
Does KOL Foods offer gift certificates?
Yes! Click here to purchase the gift of KOL Foods for friends and family.
Will sales tax be added to my order?
No, there is no sales tax on healthy food items.
The meat was not what I expected.
There is a bit of a learning curve to cooking with grass-fed meat because its chemical make up is significantly different (specifically, healthier fat) from grain-fed beef and requires different cooking methods and times. Folks that are used to cooking with conventional meat sometimes have a hard time in the beginning. Be sure to follow these simple steps to achieve delicious grass-fed dishes. Most importantly avoid overcooking. Grass-fed meat is leaner than grain-fed and will cook in less time! Be sure to also check out our recipes. Good luck and let me know if you find any good recipes or wine pairings to share!
Does grass-fed meat cook differently from conventional meat?
YES! Check out our Cooking Tips page.
What can I do if the meat is salty?
Kosher meat is salted during the kashering process. This process is done by hand and sometimes one piece of meat gets a little more salt than another. All of our products can be defrosted and soaked in cold water for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator to remove excess salt.
Why not only use USDA Certified Organic farms?
While we don’t require our farms to be officially USDA Certified Organic, we do require that they follow and go beyond those organic standards. They are hormone, antibiotic, arsenic and animal bi-product free. Their animals are raised on grass, free of fertilizers and petroleum, and renewable by the sun. Most importantly, they are never in confinement or feedlots. KOL Foods ranches are small and their customers know them personally and trust their practices so the added expense and headache of official government certification is less appealing. Plus for meat to be USDA certified organic the slaugherhouse and butcher also have to be organic certified. There are fewer than 7 kosher slaughterhouses in the US (most located far from kosher consumers) and practically none are also USDA organic.
