There's a fleishig spoon in my coffee — and other kitchen conundrums

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman

My daughter used a fleishig spoon to mix her hot coffee. Is drinking the coffee now problematic? How about the spoon? The mug?

Most of the time that this happens, the fleishig spoon will not be a ben yomo, meaning that it didn’t come in contact with hot yad soledes bo fleishig food within the past 24 hours. If so, the coffee is permitted to be drunk and the mug remains dairy. The spoon, however, will l’chatchilah need to be kashered through hagalah. [If the fleishig spoon was a ben yomo, the halachah will depend on several factors, including how much of the spoon was inserted into the coffee, how large or small is the mug, and whether or not the mug is glass or ceramic. Present the facts of the question to a rav.]

I have a vegetable slicer that dices veggies, and I’ve kept it pareve so far. Recently, my daughter sliced a clove of garlic with a fleishig knife, and then diced it in the slicer. Is my slicer now fleishig?

Although l’chatchila she shouldn’t have diced the garlic in the slicer, if she already did it then the slicer remains pareve. [Many people mistakenly assume that all the knives that are part of their fleishig cutlery set are classified as a “fleishig knife.” In reality, only a knife that was previously used to cut hot yad soledes bo meat or chicken (in a kli rishon) is classified as a fleishig knife, which means that many knives that are part of your fleishig cutlery set aren’t necessarily fleishig knives.]

I have a large pareve glass pitcher that we use for only water and serve it at suppers. Recently, my son, without telling me, filled the pitcher with ice coffee. When I found it, I assumed that I can wash it and the pitcher would still be pareve since the coffee was cold. However, my husband said if the coffee had been there longer than a day the pitcher is now milchig…?

It is true that [according to some poskim] the pitcher has now lost its pareve status and became a “dairy pitcher” because it absorbed the taam of the cold milk after it was in the pitcher for 24 consecutive hours. You are, therefore, not allowed [according to this opinion] to use this pitcher for hot chicken soup. But you may still continue to use the glass pitcher to serve cold water for supper, even if the supper being served is fleishig. [It is also permitted to use the same glass pitcher for both dairy and meat meals.]

As a busy mom, I like to prep in advance, so I will often prepare meals or even just ingredients in advance. Can I chop onions and store them in the fridge overnight in advance of a cooking marathon?

Chazal warn against eating completely peeled onions [and eggs and garlic] that were left overnight, even if they were enclosed in a bag and stored away. Although this advisory is not quoted in Shulchan Aruch and isn’t a binding obligation, it has nevertheless become accepted practice in most (but not all) families and communities. So whether or not you’re allowed to peel onions in advance and store them will depend on your family and community custom.

We recently moved into an old apartment that only has one sink. How am I supposed to wash dishes?

The preferable solution to this issue is to lower the temperature in your hot water boiler to less than 110˚F (43˚F), which means that the water will never reach yad soledes bo. This way, the sink never really becomes either meat or dairy [or treif] but remains pareve.

I have a fleishig oven and a milchig toaster oven. But recently I wanted to make a large tray of lasagna that wouldn’t fit into my toaster oven. Is there any way I can use my fleishig oven?

If you can bake the lasagna while it is double covered, then just cover the rack with aluminum foil and bake it. If the lasagna needs to be uncovered, it is recommended to first kasher the oven, either by turning on the self-clean system (the shortest cycle is sufficient), or by first cleaning the oven and then burning it out on the highest level for  30 to 45 minutes.

I see people having separate salt shakers for milchig and fleishig, and even separate mustard and ketchup bottles. Is this really necessary?

Although not halachically required, some people feel that this is an appropriate stringency to keep their meat and milk completely separate. The main concern is that in some homes, particularly when there are little children around, it sometime happens that the salt shaker or ketchup bottle are inserted right into hot meat or milk food, which could render them either meat or dairy. The best way to avoid this issue is by having separate shakers or bottles that are dedicated for either meat or milk.

Must I have separate dish towels for meat and dairy if I wash them in between?

There is no requirement to have separate dish towels for meat and dairy, especially if they’re washed in between with hot water and detergent.

I keep my kitchen table spotlessly clean. Must I cover it with placemats or a tablecloth to differentiate between dairy and meat meals?

According to the basic halachah, it’s permitted to use the same table for both meat and dairy, as long as the table is scrubbed and cleaned between the two meals. This remains true even if pots or plates of hot food were placed directly on the table. But the poskim write that it’s an age-old minhag Yisrael not to use the same table for both meat and dairy. Since most people don’t have a separate table for meat and dairy, it has become customary to use a tablecloth or a placemat for at least one of the foods. So for example, it is permitted to dedicate the table to be a “dairy table” and use a table cloth or a placemat when meat is served at that table.

If I am cooking a dairy dish on my stove, which sits next to my meat counter, is there a problem with the steam from the pot landing on the counter?

Steam from a boiling pot only rises; it doesn’t travel sideways and certainly not downward. Thus we’re not concerned that steam will rise from the pot on the stove and land on the meat counter to the side of it. But while steam is not an issue, there could be a problem if some of the food cooking in the pot will splash or splatter and then land on the meat counter.

I found a fleishig fork in my milchig drawer — what now?

You don’t need to be concerned; the fleishig fork remains fleishig and the rest of the cutlery in the milchig drawer remain milchig. The fork doesn’t require kashering.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 926)