Blood in an Egg: A Collection of Questions and Answers About Kashrut

1. Hello. First of all, a big shout out to your team for your wonderful work. It's extremely helpful to have someone to turn to when questions and problems come up. Thank you so much and may Hashem reward you!

And now, my question - can oven trays be made kosher?

Hello, and thanks for reaching out. Oven trays can only be made kosher through the process of libun (torching), which entails putting the tray in fire until the metal glows. This is rather difficult to do.

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2. Hello, what should I do if I cooked a hard-boiled egg, and I noticed blood in the yolk when I was eating it? Also, in my home, they're not willing to buy “mehadrin” (the most stringent kosher certification) chicken, so I buy myself chicken with proper kosher certification. If "my" chicken cooks together with the rest of the dish - then I haven't actually accomplished anything, right? Also, does grape juice have the same issue of yayin nesech (wine potentially used for idol worship)?

Hello, and thanks for reaching out. If the egg comes from an egg farm where there aren’t any roosters, it’s fine to eat, and all you need to do is discard the blood spot.

If the mehadrin chicken is cooked with regular kosher chicken - the mehadrin chicken loses its special value. Ideally, one should try to have everyone eat mehadrin chicken or cook the chicken in a separate pot.

Since grape juice is pasteurized, there is no potential yayin nesech issue.

3. We decided to make our kitchen kosher and bought new dairy utensils, but did not get rid of our old utensils. How can I make them kosher? (We don't know which were used for both meat and dairy.) I understood that this can be done through hagalah (immersion of dishes in boiling water). Can you explain exactly what needs to be done? Regarding pots, I understood that they can only be made kosher by the process of libun (torching), but what about plates and cutlery? Do they need hagalah first and then tevilah (ritual immersion)? Can I do this at home? Apologies for the confusion.

Hello, and thanks for reaching out. According to the Sephardic position, glass plates don't need to be made kosher. When it comes to earthenware and porcelain etc. though, there is no way to make them kosher. In cases of significant financial loss, it may be possible to make porcelain kosher by doing hagalah in boiling water three times. Cutlery should be immersed in boiling water after not being used for 24 hours, and placed immediately afterward in cold water.

Small pots can be immersed in a pot of boiling water on the fire, and then rinsed in cold water. For a large pot that cannot be immersed in another pot - fill it completely with water and bring it to a boil. When the water overflows - the pot will be kosher.

After everything has been made kosher, the utensils should be immersed in a mikveh (ritual bath), river, or sea. If you wish, you can do this yourself or ask one of the organizations that specializes in this to do all the work for you. To order a kosher team to your home in Israel, call 1-800-201112.

4. Hello, I work as a chef and eat kosher food. From my experience in various restaurants that have kosher certification, on many occasions, the restaurant’s staff does not adhere to the rules. Rather frustratingly, on many occasions, this occurs under the supervisor’s watch, who gives the impression that it pays off for him to remain silent. I have often found myself in situations where customers ask to see the kosher certificate when the supervisor isn't even in the restaurant. I generally refer them to the owner, on account of my own discomfort knowing that, though there is a kosher certificate, the restaurant is not actually kosher. Personally, I prefer to work in a non-kosher restaurant. This way, customers come to eat non-kosher food intentionally and bear full responsibility, thus avoiding fraud. What is your opinion?

Hello, and thank you for reaching out.

In a non-kosher restaurant, workers cause the restaurant’s patrons to eat foods that are not kosher according to the Torah, such as non-kosher meat, etc. In a kosher restaurant with poor supervision, the stumbling block is far less severe. Therefore, in any case, it is preferable to work in a restaurant that identifies as kosher and maintains the basic principles of keeping kosher. If a restaurant that identifies as kosher does not adhere to minimal standards of kosher, there is no difference between this establishment and a non-kosher restaurant, and it is forbidden to work in either of them.

(The answers in this column were given by Rabbi Menashe Israel and Rabbi Binyamin Shmuli, and collected and edited from the Q&A section on the Hidabroot website)