One of the main trademarks of a
Torah observant home is the kosher kitchen. Dual sets of dishes,
cutlery, and cooking utensils are standard features of any
home where adherence to the Shulchan Aruch is the way of life.
And, while every effort is made to keep the milchigs and fleishigs
(dairy and meat) separate, inevitably mistakes occur resulting
in uncertainty as to the status of the food and utensils involved.
Although no printed words can replace the time-cherished practice
of consulting a Rav to resolve any sha’aloh that arises – certainly
not a brief Halacha Encounters – nonetheless I would like to
present some principles that can be useful in determining when
a sha’aloh must be asked.
At the outset, let us understand
why it is necessary to have separate utensils for milchigs
and fleishigs. Assuming the fork I am using is clean of any
meat residue why can’t I use it to eat my cheese lasagna? To
answer this we must introduce the concept of ta’am, or absorbed
flavor. We are taught that when a utensil comes in contact
with hot food, the walls of the utensil absorb and store some
of the ta’am of that food. Subsequently, when the same utensil
touches other hot food, some of that stored ta’am is drawn
out into the second food. So if, for example, I were to use
a fork to eat a hot piece of chicken or meat, if that same
fork would then be used for hot milchig food, the milchigs
would draw out some of the meat flavor which was contained
in the fork, while at the same time the fork would absorb some
ta’am from the milchig food. As a result, both the food
and the fork would be rendered treif since both would now contain
a mixture of milk and meat. This same concept can be applied
to dishes and pots as well.
However, not in all cases would
the infusion of milchig ta’am into fleishig food (or vice-versa)
render the food treif. There are two major exceptions which
are very relevant to our discussion.
The first exception involves the
concept of bitul b’shishim. In most cases, if the volume of
the food item which is receiving the foreign ta’am is sixty
times greater than the volume of the ta’am, the entering ta’am
will be considered batail, or, nullified, and have no effect
on the status of the food.
The second exception is with regard
to ta’am pogum, or, foul flavor. Only ta’am which enhances
the quality of the food has the ability to render the food
treif. Ta’am which is detrimental to the taste of the food
becomes batail upon entry even where there is not a sixty to
one ratio. Furthermore, any ta’am which remains absorbed in
the walls of a utensil for twenty four hours automatically
reverts to the status of ta’am pogum. Hence, although a utensil
of one type (milchig or fleishig) may never be used for hot
food of the other type, not in all cases will using it for
the wrong type render the food treif. If, for example, a fleishig
pot did not come in contact with hot meat within the twenty-four
hours prior to mistakenly using it to heat up milk, the milk
will remain kosher and fit for consumption. The pot, on the
other hand, will now be considered treif and require kashering. For
although the pot had no effect on the milk, the milk which
got absorbed in the pot walls surely affects its status.
Bearing these concepts in mind,
let us examine two cases which tend to occur not infrequently. CASE1:
A milchig spoon was used to stir hot chicken soup. What is
the status of the soup, the spoon, and the pot? (Note: If the
soup was not in the original pot but had been transferred to
a bowl or other container, the nature of the sha’aloh is altogether
different. Just as with regard to hilchos Shabbos we draw distinctions
between a kli rishon and a kli sheini, the same holds true
with regard to the laws of Kashrus. The Rav who is consulted
must be provided with the precise details of the case.)
The first factor to consider is
how hot the soup was when this incident occurred. Only food
which is at a heat of “yad soledes bo” (lit. hot enough o cause
one’s hand to recoil) will cause the transfer of ta’amim which
we described above. The precise temperature of yad doledes
bo is a subject of much discussion amongst Poskim. According
to HaGaon Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l (Igros Moshe O.C. 4:74)
a temperature lower than 110º F is certainly not yad soledes
bo. If one is certain that the soup was not yad soledes bo
when the spoon was inserted, no kashrus problem exists. Simply
wash off the spoon (don’t use hot water so as not to implant
any ta’am from the soup residue into the spoon) and replace
it with the milchig silverware. The chicken soup may be eaten
and the pot is still kosher.
If the soup was yad soledes bo
when it was stirred with the milchig spoon, the spoon is now
treif and should not be used again until it is kashered through
hagolah (purging). Regarding the soup and the pot, one must
first determine if the spoon was a ben-yomo from milchigs at
the time of the stirring. (Ben-yomo refers to a utensil which
was used for hot food within the preceding twenty-four hours,
as explained above.) If the spoon was not a ben-yomo, the soup
and pot are kosher. If the spoon was a ben-yomo the soup will
be kosher only if the volume of the soup was at least sixty
times greater than the volume of the milk absorbed in the spoon.
Since it is generally impossible to know precisely how much
milk is absorbed in the soup, the Shulchan Aruch rules that
the soup must be at least sixty times greater than the section
of the spoon which was actually placed in the soup. (See Yoreh
Deah 94:1 See also Pischei T’shuva s”k 1 and Aruch Hashulchan
that some Poskim hold any part of the spoon which entered beneath
the rim of the pot, even if it didn’t come in direct contact
with the contents, is part of the equation.) When the requisite “sixty” is
present, both the soup and pot are kosher. Without sixty, they
are both rendered non-Kosher; the soup must be discarded and
the pot can be kashered through hagolah.
CASE 2: A milchig spoon
was used to stir a hot pareve soup which was cooking in a fleishig
pot at a temperature of yad soledes bo. The halacha in this
case – for Ashkenazic Jewry – is as follows. If both the pot
and spoon were ben-yomo of their respective food type, everything
is considered treif. The soup must be discarded and the utensils
require kashering. If the pot alone was a ben-yomo, the soup
is kosher, but if possible should not be mixed with anything
but other pareve food. If this is very difficult, or not feasible
(e.g. instead of soup, say it was a sauce which is used exclusively
as a topping for meat) one could mix it with fleishigs, but
certainly never with milchigs. If the spoon was a ben-yomo
and the pot wasn’t the reverse would be true (i.e. the soup
could be mixed with the milchigs if necessary, but not with
fleishigs). In both of these last two cases the minhag is to
kasher the utensil which was not ben-yomo. If, however, in
the case of the ben-yomo spoon, the volume of the soup was
sixty times greater than the part of the spoon which was inserted,
many Poskim hold the pot need not be kashered and the soup
may be mixed with fleishigs.
Even when everything runs smoothly
and no mix-ups occur, there are a few rules of the kitchen
which warrant review. (Please note that there are significant
differences between Ashkenazic and Sefardic practices in these
matters. This discussion follows Ashkenazic laws and customs.)
One who eats pareve food which
was cooked in a fleishig pot does not have to wait six hours
before eating milchigs. Rather, he may eat milchigs immediately
afterwards. Additionally, he may even use milchig dishes and
silverware to eat this pareve food. However, to eat this food
together with actual milchigs, or to mix it with milchig food,
is not permissible. Even so, if this food is accidentally mixed
with milchigs it remains kosher and may be eaten.
These rules apply to pareve food
cooked in a milchig ben-yomo pot. With regard to pareve food
cooked in a non-ben-yomo pot, there is one difference. Initially,
one should not use any fleishig pot to cook food which he intends
to eat with milchigs. Nonetheless if the food was cooked in
a non-ben-yomo without any such intention, one would be permitted
as an afterthought to eat it with or mix it with milchigs.
(This is in contrast to food cooked in a ben-yomo fleishig
pot, where the halacha is one may not eat it or mix it with
milchigs even as an afterthought. Only if it accidentally came
in contact with milchigs did we explain above that it may still
be eaten.)
All of the above laws may be reversed
and applied to pareve food cooked in a milchig pot, with regard
to eating it with fleishigs.
Regarding sharp-tasting foods (e.g.
onions), there are certain differences in the halacha. Foods
of this type if cooked in a fleishig utensil should not be
mixed with milchigs (and vice versa) even if the utensil was
not a ben-yomo. However there are a number of factors to consider
whenever a sha’aloh of this nature arises, and a Rav should
be consulted before eating – or discarding – the food in question.
Lastly, it should be noted that
even fish may be cooked in a fleishig pot, even if the pot
is a ben-yomo from fleishigs.Not withstanding the fact that
certain G-d fearing individuals have the minhag of designating
a separate pot for fish, and that the Tur (Y.D. 116) makes
mention of such a practice, the Shulchan Aruch omits it and
the accepted halacha is that it is not necessary. A number
of Poskim state explicitly that we are only concerned with
a mixture of actual fish and meat, or with the ta’am of one
entering the other directly (e.g. by cooking them together in
one pot), but not with ta’am which is transmitted through the
walls of a pot. (See Taz Y.D. 95:3;Pri Megadim Sifsei Daas
Y.D. 108:18, Hagohos Rabbi Akiva Eiger Y.D. 116 to Shach s”k
1.).