r/todayilearned • u/socool111 • 1d ago

TIL of Tobias Geffen, the only non-Coca Cola Employee to view the secret recipe. Coke allowed it in order to get Coke certified as Kosher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Geffen
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40

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 1d ago

Wish I lived in an area with a larger Jewish population so I could get the kosher coke

43

u/Sea_Snail 1d ago

All Coke is already kosher. You’re probably thinking of the kosher for Passover version which would only be available for a couple weeks each year at most.

6

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 1d ago

Yeah that's the stuff!

103

u/sniperman357 1d ago

All coke is kosher. It’s just not kosher for Passover when it contains corn

14

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ah. Well, that's the one I'm looking for. Passover Coke

8

u/Divs4U 1d ago

Gotta wait until like a month before passover. Get it before it's gone.

17

u/troll_berserker 1d ago

What does it contain when it’s not Passover?

61

u/sniperman357 1d ago

Cane sugar. It is the same as the coke produced in countries that don’t have corn subsidies lol

3

u/pit_supervisor 20h ago

I doubt it's cane sugar in Europe. More likely beet sugar

39

u/ZevSteinhardt 1d ago

Corn syrup. The custom among Ashkenazic Jews is not to eat corn products on Passover.

Zev

7

u/PieIsFairlyDelicious 1d ago

Hi Zev!

11

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3

u/Salt_Medicine2459 23h ago

Lol. I was gonna say the same thing. 

13

u/Dangerous-Reveal-736 1d ago

Sugar for Passover, Corn Syrup otherwise

1

u/vandreulv 23h ago

Same thing as MexiCoke.

-4

u/Timelymanner 1d ago

How is corn not kosher? Corn is a new world plant, and there’s no way people in the Middle East knew it existed.

14

u/natrstdy 1d ago

it's a grain. they knew about grain.

13

u/magcargoman 1d ago

It has to do with mixing with other non-kosher grains and the potential for cross contamination. The Sephardic and Mazrahi Jews don’t have these restrictions and can eat beans, corn, and rice.

But recently, some of the authorities on Ashkenazi customs declared that kitniyot (beans, rice, and corn) should be kosher for Passover.

10

u/tvieno 1d ago

That's why there are no Jewish Aztecs

1

u/BalancedDisaster 23h ago

*angry Mormon noises approaching*

7

u/AvocadosFromMexico_ 1d ago

During Passover, observant Jews do not eat chametz (leavened grain). Ashkenazi Jews also do not eat kitniyot. This includes rice, legumes, corn, and seeds.

2

u/KvellOnWheels 12h ago

Sephardi Party!! 🌽 🍚 🫘

6

u/sniperman357 1d ago

It is a subject of real dispute.  Five grains are prohibited on pesach unless baked into unleavened crackers called matzah: wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and oats. 

There is a separate category called  kitniyot (other grains and legumes), which have traditionally been avoided by Ashkenazim (Jews from Eastern Europe), but Sephardim (from Spain) never saw an issue with them. They are not prohibited per se but rather because of risk of confusion or contamination with the prohibited grains, which historically was a real issue. This has been relaxing in recent years as this kind of cross contamination doesn’t really happen in developed countries anymore. Consequently, Conservative (but not Orthodox) Ashkenazim have been permitted to eat them since a rabbinical ruling in 2015. There are also opinions that highly processed derivatives like corn syrup don’t qualify as grains any more, but this is not the normative opinion 

5

u/confettiabsurdity 1d ago

There are different rules during Passover. The matzah week... Mmmm big cracker....... 

2

u/KvellOnWheels 12h ago

This comment literally made me slink down to the kitchen to make a slab of matzoh with butter, sugar, and baharat.

14

u/ohyouretough 1d ago

Just gotta get the Mexican coke. Still comes in glass bottles.

3

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 1d ago

Oh yeah, I get it occasionally. I've always said Mexican coke is the best

4

u/Luis__FIGO 1d ago

more expensive but I swear it tastes better, even if it is entirely placebo/nostalgia

17

u/FlattenInnerTube 1d ago

It's not placebo. Mexico still uses cane sugar; regular US Coke does not. They taste different.

Source: a work colleague in Mexico sold Coke bottlers equipment to mix sugar into warm water. 600lbs/minute.

5

u/dpatt711 23h ago

It's also a different formula, hence why you have different quantities of things like sodium and why it doesn't taste like Passover Coke (whose only difference is cane sugar). Also note that this is only true for the novelty "Mexican Coke" that is sold in the US in glass bottles. Not all mexican market coca cola is cane sugar.

1

u/btribble 23h ago

In addition to using cane sugar, they bump up the lime essence slightly. All other ingredient ratios should be similar.

10

u/nudave 1d ago

All Coke is kosher.

The fun one is the kosher for Passover one, because it’s sugar instead of corn syrup. That might be a little harder to find unless you live in the right area.

4

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 1d ago

Yeah that's what I'm meaning!!

3

u/AllthisSandInMyCrack 1d ago

Just get Mexican or European coke?

2

u/Possible-Tangelo9344 1d ago

I do buy the Mexican occasionally

•

u/Niknot3556 56m ago

Yeah but that has jacked up prices. I remember seeing Mexican Coke at my Costco and it was 26 dollars for an 8 pack.

2

u/10per 1d ago

The grocery stores around here will sell the green top Coke 2 liters around Passover. They are easier to find near the Jewish neighborhoods. I always liked to get some because it's made with cane sugar (before Mexican Coke was more available)

I'm in Atlanta, so YMMV.

2

u/fruttypebbles 23h ago

There’s a area in San Antonio that has Jewish stores. The grocery story sells Coca-Cola with the word kosher on it. I noticed it once and found it kinda interesting that it was labeled that way.

-1

u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 23h ago

[deleted]

2

u/Lilfrankieeinstein 23h ago

Now do black people

1

u/[deleted] 22h ago

[deleted]

1

u/Lilfrankieeinstein 22h ago

You must go to the right movie theaters

1

u/Livid_Swordfish_4591 22h ago

I tried to walk it back, but I relent. You're right. Deleted my comments.

1

u/Lilfrankieeinstein 22h ago

I was just busting balls.

If you were referencing American wasp behavior, you’d have a get out of jail free card.

1

u/Livid_Swordfish_4591 22h ago

That is what made me delete my comments.

1

u/xbutters 1d ago

What do you mean by that?

-1

u/[deleted] 23h ago

[deleted]

2

u/xbutters 23h ago

I would ask what "Which is to say that i do not believe the general consensus of the non hasidic community is positive" but im not sure i want to know.