Search results for: ""Kashrut""
Kashrut: Dairy/Meat: Microwave Oven Dishes
You may microwave a dairy food in a meat (or meat food in a dairy) glass (or Pyrex or Corelle) utensil. Even if the food gets hotter than 120 degrees, the food and utensil are still both kosher. (This is not true if placed in a conventional oven!)
Kashrut: Cheese: Jew at Time of Rennet
Cheese/Gvinas Akum
Gvinas akum is cheese which has been made by non-Jews and by rabbinical prohibition is only kosher if a Jew was present during the cheese making OR if a Jew put the rennet into the milk.
Note If a Jew owns the milk before processing, a non-Jew can add kosher rennet as long as it can be confirmed that the rennet is kosher, even if no Jew is present during the cheese making.
Origin of the Problem: Chazal were concerned that the rennet used to make cheese might be from a non-kosher animal or even from a kosher animal that had not been slaughtered properly. Shulchan aruch says that even cheese curdled by kosher plant enzymes (such as fig branch sap or substances from certain thistle plants) are subject to the takana.
Note Gvinas Akum is not related to chalav yisrael; they are separate halachot.
Note Even rennet-less cheeses need hashgacha (religious supervision), but some non-hard cheeses may be an exception. Ask a rabbi.
Gvinas akum is cheese which has been made by non-Jews and by rabbinical prohibition is only kosher if a Jew was present during the cheese making OR if a Jew put the rennet into the milk.
Note If a Jew owns the milk before processing, a non-Jew can add kosher rennet as long as it can be confirmed that the rennet is kosher, even if no Jew is present during the cheese making.
Origin of the Problem: Chazal were concerned that the rennet used to make cheese might be from a non-kosher animal or even from a kosher animal that had not been slaughtered properly. Shulchan aruch says that even cheese curdled by kosher plant enzymes (such as fig branch sap or substances from certain thistle plants) are subject to the takana.
Note Gvinas Akum is not related to chalav yisrael; they are separate halachot.
Note Even rennet-less cheeses need hashgacha (religious supervision), but some non-hard cheeses may be an exception. Ask a rabbi.
Kashrut: Dairy/Meat: Spills: Food onto Opposite Gender Utensil: Flow Chart
WERE BOTH FOOD AND UTENSIL LESS THAN 120° F?
YES
What to Do Wash off with cold water and soap.
Status Everything is kosher and may be used immediately.
NO
WAS THE UTENSIL CLEAN AND UNUSED at 120° F or more FOR MORE THAN 24 HOURS?
Note Clean means no residual food, including pareve; this IS essential since the food or utensil or both were hot! If used at 120° F or more for pareve within 24 hours, ask a rabbi.
YES
Status
NO
IS THE SPILLED FOOD LESS THAN 1/60th of the volume of the commonly used capacity of the utensil (if the utensil is empty) OR less than 1/60th of the actual volume of food contained within the utensil?
YES
Status
Note If utensil had food in it and the spilled food was less than 1/60th of the volume of the food in the utensil, you may use the utensil immediately after cleaning it and you do not need to wait 24 hours.
NO (Spilled food was 120° F or more, OR the utensil not clean, OR the utensil was used within 24 hours, and spilled food is more than 1/60th of the utensil's volume)
Status
YES
What to Do Wash off with cold water and soap.
Status Everything is kosher and may be used immediately.
NO
WAS THE UTENSIL CLEAN AND UNUSED at 120° F or more FOR MORE THAN 24 HOURS?
Note Clean means no residual food, including pareve; this IS essential since the food or utensil or both were hot! If used at 120° F or more for pareve within 24 hours, ask a rabbi.
YES
Status
- Food is kosher
- Utensil requires kashering.
- Wash utensil with cold water and soap.
- Wait 24 hours after the spill occurred before kashering it.
NO
IS THE SPILLED FOOD LESS THAN 1/60th of the volume of the commonly used capacity of the utensil (if the utensil is empty) OR less than 1/60th of the actual volume of food contained within the utensil?
YES
Status
- Food is kosher.
- Utensil is kosher after 24 hours.
Note If utensil had food in it and the spilled food was less than 1/60th of the volume of the food in the utensil, you may use the utensil immediately after cleaning it and you do not need to wait 24 hours.
NO (Spilled food was 120° F or more, OR the utensil not clean, OR the utensil was used within 24 hours, and spilled food is more than 1/60th of the utensil's volume)
Status
- Food is non-kosher.
- Utensil is non-kosher.
Kashrut: Dairy/Meat: Dishwashers: Neutral/Pareve Item
You may not wash a neutral/ pareve dish in a meat or milk dishwasher--even if there are no dirty dishes with milk or meat on them and even if there are no other dishes in the dishwasher. If you did, the neutral/pareve dish may have become the gender of the dishwasher, but consult a rabbi for leniencies.
Situation You have a meat or milk dishwasher and you washed a neutral/pareve utensil in it.
What To Do If the dishwasher has dirty dishes containing milk or meat food, the neutral/pareve utensil will become that gender. However, if the dishwasher does not have any dirty dishes with food of either gender on them and the dishwasher has not been used for at least 24 hours, the pareve dish will remain pareve.
NoteThis is a b'di'avad (after the fact) case. You may not intentionally (l'chatchila) wash the pareve utensil in a gendered dishwasher.
What To Do If the dishwasher has dirty dishes containing milk or meat food, the neutral/pareve utensil will become that gender. However, if the dishwasher does not have any dirty dishes with food of either gender on them and the dishwasher has not been used for at least 24 hours, the pareve dish will remain pareve.
NoteThis is a b'di'avad (after the fact) case. You may not intentionally (l'chatchila) wash the pareve utensil in a gendered dishwasher.
Kashrut: Yashan
See Yashan.
Kashrut: Orla
See Orla.
Kashrut: Kilayim
Kashrut: Open, Uncooked Wine: From When May a Non-Observant Person Not Handle?
A non-Jew or non-shomer Shabbat Jew may not handle wine (or grape juice) once the juice has been separated from the lees (the remaining solid parts of the grapes).
Note Once ANY juice has been removed from the vat, all of the remaining grape juice or wine becomes subject to becoming non-kosher if contacted by anyone other than a shomer-Shabbat Jew.
Kashrut: Open, Uncooked Wine: Drinking or Benefiting From
You may not DRINK or DERIVE ANY BENEFIT FROM open (unsealed), non-mevushal (uncooked, previously kosher) wine or grape juice that has been handled by:
- A non-Jew, or
- Any Jew who intentionally does not observe the laws of Shabbat.
Note Even though some people are not stringent about this, they should be since the prohibition is from the Talmud.
Note “Deriving benefit” includes that you may not sell it, feed it to an animal, etc.
Note There may be exceptions for cases involving large losses. A large loss is subjective to the individual's actual wealth and also to that person's perception of what is a large loss. Consult a rabbi.
Note “Deriving benefit” includes that you may not sell it, feed it to an animal, etc.
Note There may be exceptions for cases involving large losses. A large loss is subjective to the individual's actual wealth and also to that person's perception of what is a large loss. Consult a rabbi.
Kashrut: Non-Certified Dishwashing Liquids/Powders
Dishwashing detergents may be assumed to be kosher unless known to be non-kosher.
Kashrut: Non-Certified Soap
Soap must be considered non-kosher unless it is certified kosher. Soap without kosher supervision should not l'chatchila be used on food utensils--even if you use cold water and even on glass--because a soap residue adheres to the surfaces, even after careful rinsing.
Soaps/Detergents
Bar soap is generally made from animal fat. Since all soaps do have taste and might be edible by a dog, they might not be nifsal for a dog and therefore cannot be used on eating utensils.
Soaps/Detergents
Bar soap is generally made from animal fat. Since all soaps do have taste and might be edible by a dog, they might not be nifsal for a dog and therefore cannot be used on eating utensils.
Note However, a dish remains kosher b'di'avad if washed with cold water and non-kosher soap made from non-kosher fat.
Kashrut and Non-Kosher Nutritional Supplements
If kosher supplements are not available or are not as good as the non-kosher ones, you may use non-kosher nutritional supplements, including non-kosher gelatin capsules:
- If you are sick (disease, headaches, weakness....), or
- To improve your health if you have deficient nutrition
Note You may not take non-kosher supplements to prevent disease.
Kashrut: Dairy/Meat: Pot Lids
Pot lids are treated as if they are utensils.
Situation
- You put a lid of one gender on a pot of the opposite gender.
- The pot is more than 120° F (49° C).
Kashrut: Dairy/Meat: Microwave Ovens
As with conventional ovens, these factors determine kosher/non-kosher status for a microwave oven:
- Was it clean?
- Did the interior surfaces get hot (120° F--49° C--or more)?
- Was it used in the previous 24 hours?
Note Microwave ovens do not have the problems of bishul akum that conventional ovens have.
Kashrut: Dairy/Meat: Drawers
Situation You find an eating or cooking utensil of one gender in a drawer of the opposite gender.
Status You may use the item without kashering it.
Status You may use the item without kashering it.