Passover Leaven Guide

Passover (Feast of Unleavened Bread) commemorates our deliverance from Egypt by removing all forms of leaven—both physical and spiritual—so that we remain blameless before the Most High.

“Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.” — Exodus 12:15

During Passover, the Most High commands us to remove all forms of leaven from our homes and to refrain from consuming any leaven for seven days. Make sure to check all food labels for leaven-containing ingredients.

A leaven is an agent that causes bread or other baked goods to rise. It can be a:

• Biological agent like yeast

• Chemical agent like baking soda or powder

• Mechanical method such as whipped eggs or steam

These leavening agents produce gas (typically CO₂), which creates a lighter, airier texture in dough.

“In cooking, a leavening agent or raising agent, also called a leaven or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action that lightens and softens the mixture.”

Scriptural Context

• Exodus 13:6-7 “Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.”

• Mark 15:22-23 – Wine was offered to Yahusha during Passover, but He refused it.

• Mark 14:24-25 – Yahawah references drinking the “fruit of the vine,” not grain-based wine.

• Se’or (H7603) – Barm or yeast cake (swelling by fermentation)

• Hamets (H2557) – Ferment, leavened bread (figuratively: extortion)

• Hamets (H2556) – Root: sour, embittered, fermented, cruel, dyed

Easton Bible Dictionary: Describes “leaven” as a remnant of dough that has fermented and turned acid. It is associated with corruption and decay.

Forbidden grains if fermented:

• Wheat

• Spelt

• Barley

• Oats

• Rye

Also not allowed: Any product produced by grains and processed via fermentation.

The primary ingredient that falls under this is vinegar.

1. YEAST (Biological Leavening)

• Active Dry Yeast

• Barm

• Brewer’s Yeast

• Bovril

• Cenovis

• Marmite

• Nutritional Yeast

• Oxo

• Promite

• Sourdough Starter

• Vegemite

• Yeast

• Yeast Extract

Created by fermenting flour and water — growing colonies of wild yeast and “good” bacteria (lactobacilli)

CHEMICAL LEAVENING AGENTS (Causes Bread to Rise)

Only unclean if used in dough/baked goods. Permitted in drinks and cleaning products.

• Aluminum Bicarbonate

• Ammonium Bicarbonate

• Ammonium Carbonate

• Ammonium Chloride

• Ammonium Dehydration Phosphate

• Ammonium Hydrogen Carbonate

• Ammonium Phosphate (Dibasic, Monobasic)

• Ammonium Sulfate

• Baking Powder

• Baking Soda (Bicarb Soda)

• Bicarb (Bicarbonate abbreviation)

• Bicarbonate of Ammonia

• Bicarbonate of Soda

• Bread Soda

• Calcium Carbonate

• Calcium Lactate

• Calcium Monohydrogen Phosphate

• Calcium Oxide

• Calcium Phosphate (Dibasic, Monobasic)

• Calcium Dihydrogen Phosphate

• Calcium Sulfate

• Cream of Tartar (*also a thickener, not kosher for Passover)

• Diammonium Hydrogen Phosphate

• Dipotassium Hydrogen Phosphate

• Dicalcium Pyrophosphate

• Dimagnesium Phosphate Dihydrate

• Dicalcium Phosphate

• Disodium Phosphate

• Glucono delta-lactone

• Hartshorne (Baker’s Ammonia)

• Magnesium Gluconate

• Mono-Calcium Phosphate

• Potassium Acid Tartrate

• Potassium Bicarbonate

• Potassium Bitartrate

• Potassium Carbonate (Potash)

• Potassium Chloride

• Potassium Dihydrogen Citrate

• Potassium Gluconate

• Potassium Phosphate (Dibasic, Monobasic)

• Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate

• Sodium Aluminum Phosphate

• Sodium Aluminum Sulfate

• Sodium Bitartrate

• Sodium Gluconate

• Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate

• Sodium Pantothenate

• Trisodium Phosphate

• Whipped Eggs (whites & whole)

• Heavy Whipping Cream

⚠ Self-Rising Flour contains leavening agents and is NOT kosher for Passover.

• Acetic Acid

• Acetum

• Ethanoic Acid

• Ethyl Acid

• Ethanol (source-dependent)

• Methane Carboxylic Acid

• Soy Sauce

• Vanilla Extract

• Vinegar

Always check condiments, sauces, pickled foods, and dressings.

Guidelines

• Alcoholic drinks must be checked for their fermentation process. Although alcohol is fermented, it is not always grain-based.

• Refrain from any liquor derived from wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt, or sugarcane if it has undergone grain-based fermentation.

• It is best to have straight liquor or pure juice as a mixer.

• Avoid liqueurs or flavored liquors.

• If a drink is labeled “Kosher for Passover,” it is automatically acceptable.

• For tequila, make sure the label says “100% Agave.”

Whiskey / Bourbon

• Most are wheat- or rye-based; not recommended.

• Examples: Crown Royal, FireBird, Jack Daniels, Jim Bean, Markers Farm

Vodka

• Often from unknown sources; not recommended unless proven otherwise.

• Examples: Absolut, Belvedere, Ciroc, Grey Goose, New Amsterdam, Tito’s

Gin

• Essentially flavored vodka; not recommended.

• Examples: Bombay, Seagram’s, Tanqueray

Rum

• Sugarcane-based; added flavors/fermentation often questionable; not recommended.

• Examples: Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Havana, Meyers

Tequila

• Made from the agave fruit; generally acceptable if labeled “100% Agave.” If not labeled, it is not recommended.

• Examples:

  • Añejo (ensure it’s 100% Agave)

  • Jose Cuervo Gold (not recommended unless labeled 100% Agave)

  • Montezuma Gold (not recommended unless labeled 100% Agave)

  • Reposado (ensure 100% Agave)

  • Sauza Gold (not recommended unless labeled 100% Agave)

  • Silver (ensure 100% Agave)

• Gold variants like Sauza Gold, Jose Cuervo Gold, or Montezuma Gold are generally not recommended unless explicitly labeled 100% Agave.

Brandy / Cognac

• Typically distilled from fruit or wine; most are acceptable for Passover.

• Examples: Hennessy, Rémy Martin

Wine

• Must read the label. Only acceptable if explicitly labeled “Kosher for Passover.”

Liqueurs

• Any flavored liquor is not Kosher for Passover. Avoid pre-made cocktails, malt liquor, beer, and flavored mixers.

• Examples: Baileys, Blue Curaçao, Cutwater, Flavored Puckers, Jose Cuervo Margaritas, Peach Schnapps, Triple Sec, White Claws

• Produced by fermenting sugars from grains, fruits, or vegetables.

• The alcohol in drinks = Ethyl/Ethanol

• Most sanitizers and perfumes use corn-based ethanol (generally permissible), but always verify the source.

If ethanol comes from wheat, barley, spelt, oats, or rye, it is not kosher for Passover.

If an ingredient:

• Causes bread to rise (biological, chemical, or mechanical)

• Is a fermented grain product

• Contains leavening agents in any baked form

…it should be removed during Passover.

Let us be diligent in understanding and obeying the Most High’s command to purge out the leaven and celebrate this feast in sincerity and truth.