Kitniyot (Legumes and Similar Foods)The laws of hametz from the Bible and Talmud apply only to food made from the "five species of grain." During the Middle Ages, however, the custom arose among Ashkenazic Jews of not eating kitniyot on Pesah. The reason behind this custom is obscure, but it may have been the possibility of confusing dried, ground, legumes with regular flour. The customary prohibition extends also to some foods which are not really legumes in a botanical sense. The rabbinic definition of kitniyot is "edible seeds of annual plants which are not covered with flesh." Thus, we do not eat peas, beans, corn, rice, millet, mustard, peanuts, lentils, buckwheat, chickpeas or sesame. Some authorities permit the use of oil made from these vegetables. Furthermore, the rabbis were not sure if peanuts are kitniyot. (In 1984, the Rabbinical Assembly permitted the eating of peanuts on Pesah. Nevertheless, peanut products, such a peanut oil or peanut butter, should be eaten on Pesah only if they were made under rabbinical supervision, or if it can be determined that they were made without any contact with hametz.) Thus, peanut oil is sometimes available with rabbinical approval for Pesah. Naturally, only oil which has such approval should be used. Vegetarians or other people with special dietary needs may have an especially difficult time on Pesah if they are not able to eat kitniyot. I would suggest that people in that situation consider eating kitniyot on Pesah, following these guidelines:
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