Kosher for Passover rules are different for Ashkenazic (Eastern European) and Sephardic (Spanish/Mediteranean) Jews. Ashkenazic Jews, in addition to prohibitions against grain, can not eash kitniyot, or things that are grain-like (or anything that swells during cooking, so this includes beans and legumes). Corn, as a new world species, is not discussed in the Talmud, but it is so similar to other kitniyot that it also falls under the same prohibition. This posses many challanges that might not be at first obvious - as Aaron writes, confectioners sugar made with corn starch is not Kosher for Passover under Ashkenazi rules - same holds for chocolate (or anything else) sweetened with corn syrup, or margarine made with corn oil. If you are of Eastern European Jewish ancestry and want to know all the rules, check the Orthodox Union's Passover website:
http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/passover
March 26, 2010 at 3:17pm