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When all is said and done, whether something is kosher depends a lot on one's interpretation of the rules. Most of what I wrote above may be easily challenged by someone who's going to say their rabbi has a different view on this detail or another. There's more than one kosher certifying agency and their criteria aren't exactly the same. There's even more discrepancy among ordinary Jews, both in theory (defining what is or isn't kosher) and in practice (deciding to what extent one is willing to actually follow the rules).
[[File:Katz's Deli - Lunch.jpg|thumb|left|A Reuben sandwich contains meat and cheese, so it isn't kosher, but it is Jewish.]]
There are Jews whose lips will never touch anything they aren't 100% sure to be kosher. On the other hand, there are many Jews who consider the kosher dietary laws ancient superstition and break them with full premeditation. Jewish delicatessens in the United States often sell a snack called Reuben sandwich composed of corned beef and Emmentaler cheese grilled between slices of wheat-and-rye bread. While obviously unkosher, it is nonetheless part of Jewish culinary culture. In Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter of Cracow, you will find a lot restaurants serving dishes which may look and taste just like traditional kosher delicacies, such as Jewish caviar, cholent or geflite fish. But as long as these establishments use ingredients with no kosher certification, employ cook with the same equipment for both meat and dairy and don't sell their "leaven" before Passover, then they may be "kosher style", but certainly not kosher. Again, there are Jews who will never patronize such places, but there are plenty of those who wouldn't mind.
And then, there are Jews who try to find the middle ground by following the rules of ''kashrut'', but rather liberally. So, for instance, they keep kosher at home (often treating it more as part of their ethnic heritage than a religious requirement), but then they go to unkosher restaurants. Some employ a kind of presumption of kosherness: if you can't see with your naked eye that something is evidently unkosher, then it's probably safe to eat. There's a custom among the moderately religious part of American Jews to frequent Chinese restaurants (especially on Christmas, when Christian restaurants tended to be closed). Chinese cuisine isn't kosher, but the low amount of dairy ingredients, along with the fact that pork and prawns are finely chopped and hidden inside dumplings or spring rolls, makes it acceptable for those Jews who wish to keep kosher, but not too tightly.<ref> {{Cyt
