By Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz

On all of your offerings you shall bring salt.

Vayikra 2:13 Introduction

In today’s day and age, it is common for observant Jews to have separate ovens, sinks, and other utensils for meat and dairy. This is an outgrowth of both our desire to observe the halachos properly and the wealth of our generation, the spaciousness of our kitchens, and the relatively low cost of purchasing such items.

Many are also careful to use separate salt shakers for meat and dairy, a practice rooted in a minhag cited by the Rema. However, as we will see, there may be a more important reason to use separate salt shakers, unrelated to the Rema’s reason, which might necessitate changes in how we prepare food in the kitchen.

The Original Minhag

The Rema (YD 88:2) writes that there is a minhag to have separate salt dishes for meat and dairy, since food is often dipped into these dishes, and remnants of meat may remain in the salt when it is served at a dairy meal or vice versa.

Although one should certainly observe this minhag if he utilizes an open salt dish for dipping, the custom does not necessarily apply to our salt shakers, which have closed tops and do not allow food remnants or particles to enter.

The Main Concern – Zei’ah

Most of the halachos of basar bechalav relate to actual milk coming into contact with actual meat. The Poskim also attempt to clarify whether there is an issur for the steam of milk and meat to mix.

The earliest source to discuss this matter explicitly is a teshuvah of the Rosh (20:26). The Rosh cites mishnayos in Machshirin (2:1-3) that teach, in the context of tumah and taharah, that the steam of an item has the same status as the item itself.

A second source cited as proof that steam has the status of food is the Gemara in Chullin (108b), which discusses a scenario in which a drop of milk falls into a pot of meat. The Gemara distinguishes between a case in which one either mixes the contents of the pot together or covers the pot and one in which one allows the pot to continue to cook uncovered. The obvious difference between a covered and uncovered pot in this case is that the covered pot will contain all of the steam, such that it is similar to mixing the meat and milk contents of the pot together. The Gemara seems to assume that the steam in the pot has the same status as the actual contents. The Shulchan Aruch (YD 92:8) rules that if a pot of milk is boiling and the steam rises and comes into contact with a pot of meat that is above it, this results in a forbidden basar bechalav mixture. The Rema adds the proviso that this is true only if the steam is yad soledes bo (approximately 120 degrees Fahrenheit) when it touches the meat; otherwise, the moisture can be simply wiped away. By extension, if one is eating soup at the table and shakes salt onto the soup, some of the steam from the soup rises and comes into contact with the salt shaker, perhaps making the salt shaker adopt the status of the soup.

Leniencies Related to Zei’ah

The greatest kulah regarding zei’ah is the opinion of the Mishkenos Yaakov (34), who holds that steam has no relevance to the halachos of kashrus at all. He rejects the Rosh’s source from Machshirin as relating specifically to tumah and taharah. He understands the Gemara in Chullin to be referring to a case in which the pot is covered and jostled to the extent that the contents are actually mixing together; the contents are not simply being contained beneath the cover while the steam is allowed to circulate. The Mishkenos Yaakov therefore rules that there is no problem utilizing keilim that contact the steam of milk together with meat or vice versa.

The opinion of the Mishkenos Yaakov is not accepted lehalacha, as the Rosh, the Terumas HaDeshen, and the Shulchan Aruch all consider steam to have the same status as its source. Nevertheless, his view is sometimes used as a consideration when deciding whether to be machmir or meikil in a particular situation.

Another leniency related to steam is that of the Bach (Shu”t Chadashos 24), who suggests that we are concerned for zei’ah only in an enclosed area, where there is no room for the steam or its accompanying heat to escape. However, in an open area, we do not assume that steam can create a kashrus problem. The Rema seems to disagree with this ruling, as he mentions only the kulah of the steam not being yad soledes bo and omits any mention of a distinction between an open and a closed area. Thus, this ruling of the Bach is not fully accepted, but it does offer an additional snif lehakeil.

Zei’ah of a Food

Does steam rising from a solid food pose the same degree of a problem as steam from a liquid? The Pri Megadim (OC 451, cited in Pischei Teshuvah, YD 92:6) rules that we do not consider steam that rises from solid foods to have halachic significance; it is not comparable to a liquid evaporating into a gaseous state. However, the Tur in Hilchos Pesach (OC 451) does discuss steam that arises from a loaf of bread having the status of chametz, which seems to argue with the view of the Pri Megadim.

Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, YD 1:40, 59) rules that we are concerned for zei’ah of a solid food, but with a major caveat: Since most solid foods do not give off a great deal of steam, one need not be concerned for zei’ah of a solid food unless he actually sees a thick steam rising from the food. Otherwise, it is not considered problematic.

Application to Salt Shakers and Spices

Although many people are more careful to have separate salt shakers for use at the table, the concerns of zei’ah are more applicable to spices being used in the kitchen. First, these spices are often added to items that are cooking directly on a fire and have much more steam rising from them. Moreover, the spices used in the kitchen often have much larger openings than salt and pepper shakers used at the table. Yet it is rare to find a kosher home in which separate spices are used to cook for meat and dairy meals.

The Badei HaShulchan (92:165) rules that one should definitely use separate spices to prepare dairy and meat meals. He first raises the concern of zei’ah as it is normally understood, expressing concern that the heat of the meat or dairy steam that contacts the spice jar will cause the flavor to be absorbed into it, thereby making it assur to use with the alternate food. In addition, he notes another major concern in the case of spices. Even if the steam is not sufficiently hot to be absorbed into the spice utensil, it may still enter the holes and mix together with the spices themselves, remaining there as actual milk or meat. Even when the Rema permits the meat that sits atop a pot of boiling milk if the steam is not yad soledes bo, he still requires it to be wiped away from the meat, and that may be impossible in this case.

Nevertheless, most poskim are not concerned for this. The fact that one is holding the spices over the pot would seem to indicate that the steam is not yad soledes bo; otherwise, one’s hand would be hurt. In addition, one can rely on the view of the Bach that the spices are being added in an open area and the concerns of zei’ah do not apply, and the Mishkenos Yaakov does not consider zei’ah to be problematic at all. We can also assume that since the spices are filling the holes as they fall into the pot, they are preventing the steam from entering the container. This is evident from the fact that spices do not constantly clump together due to significant moisture being absorbed into them. It therefore seems that even if some steam enters into the spice shakers, it is so insignificant that it is clearly batel to the spices themselves.

Conclusion

Although it is permissible to be lenient and use the same spices for both meat and dairy cooking, there is also room to be machmir to avoid any problems that steam may cause.

Another possible solution is to measure out the quantity of spices one wishes to add into one’s hand or a separate kli and to pour from it into the pot.

When dealing with many issues of kashrus in the kitchen, one has the right to rely on the mesorah they received from their righteous parents and grandparents as to how to properly prepare foods.