Ken's Kosher Kitchen: Dunking the Dishes

On the day before Yom Kippur: I went to Prospect Lake near the house, said the requisite blessing, and immersed my dishes, pots and pans, and utensils. I did this several times, once for each group of utensils. This was the final step in making my kitchen kosher-functional. Even though I don't have much in the way of utensils, I didn't have enough boxes to hold everything and so made several trips. I had intended to use a nearby creek as my mikvah, but an online search showed some misgivings about immersing in a creek. This had something to do with the creek not being available for immersing women because of snowmelt. Or something. In any case, I chose the lake and am glad I did. The water, at the time, was relatively warm and adequately deep water was just a few steps from shore. Now it's winter, and I will have to wait until late Spring to add to my collection of useable utensils. Schueller House.

Back to Kashering

A Watched Pot Never Boils: I decided to re-kasher my utensils because I wasn't satisfied that I had kashered my large boiling pot well enough I added some bricks to the pot so that it would boil over and then, on another day, rekashered everything. Other than waiting for the darn thing to boil again, it went well and quickly enough. (I don't have a lot of stuff yet.) Now it's on to the "mikvah." Schueller House.

Netzarim Website Is Back Up.

Get War Updates: We've received many inquiries worried that the Netzarim website was down. Concurrent with the Hezbollah attack on Israel, Israeli ISPs, including the one serving the Netzarim, were hacked by anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish elements. The site is back up, with the Netzarim blog especially worth visiting for updates on the war. Schueller House.

Ken's Kosher Kitchen: Immersing Utensils

Immersion Options: I sent this query to Paqid Yirmeyahu of the Netzarim. "Since geirim N^etzârim are not Y^ehudim (Jews), does the requirement to take their dishes to a miqvëh) apply? In my reading, the purpose of dunking dishes and utensils is to prepare them for use by Jews. So since we aren't…"

His first reponse: "The purpose of complying with kashrut is [a] to comply with Halâkhâh and [b] enable you to host Y^ehudim (even though they may still not trust your compliance with kashrut, decline to eat with you out of bigotry or may simply not be geographically proximate. It's part of qualifying your practice to meet community standards. Because of its centrality to all functions in the community, kashrut is one of the least flexible mitzwot."

He sent an additional comment later:"In my experience, there are some locations (notoriously, for example, south Florida and Tampa) where chauvinist Orthodox communities intransigently refuse to allow outsiders – even undisputed Orthodox Jews (much less Conservative or Reform) – to use their miqwëh. If that happens to you, realize that you're not the only one. While they should be helping and encouraging learners, don't allow their myopic arrogance to daunt, discourage or dissuade you because there are halakhically-acceptable alternatives: natural bodies of water such as seas, lakes, rivers and streams (but not bathtubs, swimming pools or the like).

"Some useful guidelines are found at:
www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5757/matos.html

"You'll need at least a couple of feet of water, since each utensil must be placed in the water individually and allowed to drop free and untouched by anything but the water for several seconds. Then remove the utensil from the water and set it aside. After all of the utensils have been immersed, recite the b^erâkhâh once for all of them." (Paqid Yirmeyahu, Ra'anana, Israel )

For more information, see the Netzarim website.

Ken's Kosher Kitchen: Herbs and Spices

Insect Patrol: I've been buying herbs and spices for my kitchen. Slowly. Spices tend to be expensive, at least when you buy them from the Supermarket. Added to that, I have to find certified kosher spices. I hadn't thought of this. I mean, what could herbs and spices have wrong with them? The short answer, as far as I know, is "bugs." If you're trying to keep kosher, you're not supposed to eat non-kosher insects. Yep, theoretically at least, there are kosher bugs. And what's the deal with honey, a substance that comes from the inside of bee, which can not only be kosher but is traditionally eaten on yom t'ruah (rosh ha-shanah)? Anyway, bugs are a big deal. When a rabbi is inspecting seemingly innocuous kernels of corn for canning, he is not looking for stray pork rinds so much as infestations of creeping things. If you grew up in the sweet corn belt like I did, you'll have to admit that the good rabbi's job might not be as easy at it sounds. Anyway, I'm reading that there are assorted procedures for inspecting garden veggies and de-infesting the infested. To be honest, this news was most disconcerting to this gardener. For now, while I contemplate changes in my veggie hygiene, I'm buying spice bottles with Circle U on them. Schueller House.

Ken's Kosher Kitchen: A Blue Dishpan

One More Piece to the Puzzle: Yesterday, I bought a blue dishpan. Because I have a new stainless steel sink and have only introduced dairy items to the kitchen, I probably could wash my dishes right in the sink. However, having a separate dishpan for dairy is a must once I add a meat section to my kitchen. I had my eyes peeled for a blue dishpan--blue is the usual kitchen indicator for "dairy"--so when I saw one at Ace Hardware, I jumped on it. When the time comes, I'll get a red dishpan for washing my "meat" dishes and maybe a green one for "parve" things. Schueller House

Ken's Kosher Kitchen: Meat vs. Dairy

The Decision: I decided to focus first on putting together a dairy kitchen. I noticed that advisers often recommend that newcomers begin their march to kosher by keeping their meat and dairy dishes separate and worrying about kashering, immersing their utensils in a mikvah, and other issues later. This was good to read because it implied that the rabbis--or whomever--understand that you have to start from ground zero and raise your level of kosher gradually. You start with practice. Well, I've done that by developing a habit of separating my meat and dairy meals. However, I have a different problem than a unified household. With two kitchens now in use, I need to make sure I don't contaminate the kosher kitchen--or the dishes and utensils from the kosher kitchen--with things from upstairs. This will be easier, I figure, if I don't have to worry about mixing my dairy and meat things--or getting the parve items mixed with either. Keep it simple. This business is filled with practical decisions like that. Schueller House