Make The Kitchen Kosher
Setting Up From Scratch
When you make your kitchen kosher everything -
utensils, appliances, fixtures - is examined.
Some is "kashered", some replaced.
To make a kitchen kosher is something of a restoration project.
The reasons for this are explained in some of the
other articles in this "How Do I Handle It?" section.
(I'll provide links below)
In summary, the physical reality is that non-kosher
status can spread from food to surfaces to
other food and other surfaces and so on.
The "restoration project" is your pot, pan or oven
that was kosher, but is now not kosher.
How and Why Kosher Status is Restored
Let me say at the outset that,
if a picture is worth a thousand words,
then a demonstration is worth an instruction manual.
This article is about only the basics involved in
making a kitchen kosher.
The one to show you how is a rabbi or qualified expert.
Kosher status is lost when a utensil comes into
transferable contact with non-kosher food or impermissible mixtures.
The utensil can only be re-used if it is "kashered".
To kasher a utensil means to make it kosher.
The first consideration is, "Can it be kashered at all?"
The Utensils That Can Be Kashered
Two factors matter: - What is the material of which the utensil is made?
- How was it used?
There are three possibilities with respect to materials.
- The material does not absorb food or the taste of it.
- The material absorbs but will never fully release it.
- The material absorbs and releases the taste of the food.
Only the last category matters here.
Why?
If it never absorbs food, the utensil always remains kosher.
If it absorbs, but never releases, you can't make it kosher again.
If a material does both, then it can be kashered.
Below is a brief summary of materials that belong in each category.
Note please, that they are the subject of disagreement
among authorities and are partly based on tradition.
As usual your rabbi will be your guide in these matters.
The Categories of Materials
Category one - materials which may not absorb:
some types of plastic and glassware. This tradition
holds that this material absorbs nothing and,
as long as the surface is clean, you can use it for both meat and milk.
(But make sure it's your tradition).Category two - materials which absorb but do not release:
stoneware such as ceramics and porcelain. If it loses its
kosher status it usually cannot be kashered.
Wait though, before discarding anything.
Ask your rabbi about mitigating circumstances.
It's possible that a lengthy interval - one year
- between uses may permit them.Metal utensils are the primary material in category three.
Utensils, stoves and sinks which are made of metal can
usually be kashered.
Once you have established that you can kasher
the item, our second question comes up.
How Was The Utensil Used?
The answer to this question is important because
making anything kosher involves the following principle:
The way the taste of the food was absorbed is the only way
it can be released. In modern terms I guess that would
mean using the "undo" button! Examples: - You boil meat and milk in a pot.
You kasher the pot by boiling it. - An oven roasts using a high temperature.
You kasher the oven using a higher temperature. - A knife absorbs food by its own pressure.
You may kasher the knife by scouring (or by other means).
Immersion in a Mikve
When making a kitchen kosher there is a
process in addition to kashering used utensils.
Many utensils, even new, require immersion in a mikve.
A mikve is "a pool of live water".
This process is called tevila and is known in the
vernacular as "toiveling". Almost any movable
object used to prepare or serve food will need it.
The main exceptions are those made of plastic or wood.
Further information on tevila is available here
Summary - You Can Do It
It's my opinion (and I know I have been repetitive)
that, in matters of kashering you kitchen or any
utensil, a rabbi's active participation is essential.
As stated earlier, a demonstration is even more
valuable than a picture. Don't be shy!
Why do you think they became rabbis?!
Having said that, here is a further set of written
guidelines to making your kitchen kosher:
The article you are reading now is meant
to show that making your kitchen kosher
is as feasable as any other aspect of keeping kosher.
1) The contents of the kitchen are divided by material.
Those that cannot be kashered are replaced.
2) The ones that can be kashered are divided by usage.
The correct method of kashering is then chosen.
3)Utensils that need it will be taken for immersion.
If you have undertaken to make your kitchen kosher
your next step might be to read our articles on how to keep it kosher.
Avoiding mistakes in your kosher kitchen
and
Dealing with mistakes that you couldn't avoid.
Experience is of course the best teacher.
Most of what you are now reading will be
second nature to you in very short order.
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