I mean milk and meat. I need more coffee.
Some of the dietary laws may have been imposed to maintain cultural barriers with surrounding people and their cults, which remained quite attractive throughout the centuries. There was a favorite recipe among neighboring Semites, calf boiled in its mother’s milk (presumably colostrum?), that was staggeringly popular and beguiling to the Hebrews.
In the case of pork, the ban *may* have grown out of the fact that it’s basically indistinguishable from human flesh, and the latter was often easier to obtain.
God wanted the Ancient Hebrews to be separate and different from the inhabitants of Canaan. He forbade them from doing some very nasty things, such as sacrificing their children to Molech by causing them to “pass through the fire”, certain incestuous behavior, and so on.
One of the ritualistic practices of the Canaanites was to boil a baby animal in its own mother’s milk! Not only was this idolatry, it was just plain CREEPY. So God specifically told Moses NOT to do this.
Over the years the Sages decided that complete separation of milk products and meat products would ensure that this would never happen even by accident.
It has evolved into the very detailed system of separate dishes, dish soap, and sometimes even separate kitchens (in Kosher hospitals and institutions).
And i have run out of coffee! Yeearrgghh!