Q & A
Every Day Family Questions & Answers
♦♦♦♦♦
Page 4 B - Keeping Kosher - All About Cheese
♦♦♦♦♦
What tipe of Kosher Supervision is needed for hard cheese?
- Chazal, the Talmudic Sages, prohibited cheese that is not made under the special
supervision of a Jew (Avoday Zarah 29b, 35a-b). - Various reasons are advanced for this rabbinic prohibition, but the reason accepted by
most halachic authorities is the concern for the use of rennet enzymes from the stomach
of the flesh of non kosher animals (neveilah). - Unsupervised cheese is termed Gevinas Akum.(cheese made by a non-Jew)
- Cheese is only permitted if it is Gevinas Yisroel (Jewish supervised cheese)
(Yoreh Deah 115.2). - This rule is unrelated to the rules of Cholov Yisroel (Jewish supervised milk) &
Cholov Akuml Cholov Stam (milk not under Jewish supervision).
- Therefore, even if a person eats Cholov Stam dairy products, he may only eat Gevinas
Yisroel cheese. - According to the Rama (Yoreh Deah 115.2) & many other poskim, Gevinas is Yisroel is obtained by the mashgiach visually supervising the incorporation of the enzymes into each
vat of milk in the cheese-making process; this way, the mashgiach will verify that the enzymes are kosher. - Accoring to the Shach (ibid.20) & many other poskim, the mashgiach mush manually add
the enzymes to each vat of milk in the cheese-making process. The Vilna Gaon (ibid. s. 14) provides the rationale for this: - Gevinas Yisroel is similar to Pas Yisroel (bread with onsite Jewish involvement)
- just like Pas Yisroel means that a Jew actually participated in the baking process, so too
does Gevinas Yisroel mean that a Jew Actually participated in the cheese making process.
- Contemporary poskim rule that the basic halacha follows the Rama, although Kashrus
agencies typically endeavor to ful fill the Shach's requirement as well.
♦♦♦♦♦
It was explained that one should wait after eating both hard cheeses as well
as after eating cheeses with a lingering pungent taste (“meshichas ta’am”).
Can you please provide some guidelines?
-
The Shach (Yoreh Deah 89:15) writes that cheese which has aged for six months is
subject to this waiting period, as such cheese does not dislodge from the teeth
& disintegrate without a considerable waiting period. - Although halachic authorities differ on the matter, the OU’s poskim maintain that cheese
varieties which need to be aged for six months in order to properly develop are included
in this rule. - However, cheese which is not aged by its manufacturer for six months but instead
may have been left for six months in a home refrigerator is not subject to a waiting
period, unless this cheese has hardened to a texture similar to that of cheese
which has been professionally aged at a cheese factory. - Rav Belsky, zt”l specified that six months is not a precise measurement; cheeses in
the range of six months are included.
1. Cheeses that are aged approximatey 6 months develop a firm & brittle texture
qualifying as gevinah she’bein ha-shinayim (cheese which gets stuck between
the teeth) (Shach 89:15).
2. However, Rav Belsky, zt"l ruled that very pungent cheeses engender a waiting period
even if they are not aged, as their robust potency of taste may develop quite early.
3. The most common ‘six-month’ cheeses are Parmesan, aged sharp Cheddar & Swiss
when made in Switzerland.
4. Unless otherwise noted on the label, regular Cheddar is typically mild Cheddar, aged
well below six months.The most common 'meshichas ta’am' ( lingering pungent
taste) cheeses are Limburger cheese & some varieties of Bleu cheese.
♦♦♦♦♦
I do know that we are supposed to wait after eating certain cheeses,
before we can then eat meat.
After which cheeses should one wait & what is the basis for this practice?
- The Rama (Yoreh Deah 89:2) writes that the custom is not to eat meat after eating
hard cheese.The waiting time for this is equivalent to the amount of time that one waits
after eating meat, before then eating dairy foods. (See Taz ibid. 89:4, Aruch HaShulchan
ibid.89:11, Chochmas Adam 40:13.) - There are 2 reasons that one needs to wait after meat before then partaking of milk.
These 2 reasons apply as well to eating certain cheeses after meat.
1. The first reason is that of basar she’bein ha-shinayim – meat that gets stuck between
the teeth, which takes a considerable amount of time to dislodge or disintegrate, before
which one may not consume milk. (Rambam, Hilchos Ma’achalos Asuros 9:28)
2. The second reason for waiting after eating meat is meshichas ta’am – an after-taste
left in the mouth, due to meat’s fattiness; only after a substantial lapse of time does
this aftertaste dissipate, whereupon one may then consume milk. (Rashi in Chullin
105a s.v. “Assur”) - Poskim apply both of these reasons to cheese: Hard cheese, due to its firm & brittle texture
is like basar she’bein ha-shinayim & is termed gevinah she’bein ha-shinayim
– cheese that gets stuck between the teeth.
1. One therefore needs to wait a considerable amount of time for such cheese to dislodge
or disintegrate before then consuming meat. (Sifsei Da’as Yoreh 89:2)
2. Also, cheeses that are very pungent & leave a noticeable after-taste are like meat that
has meshichas ta’am; one must wait for the after-taste to dissipate before then eating
meat. (Taz Yoreh Deah 89:4)
3. Although some classical poskim argue as to whether one or both of the above rationales
for waiting apply to cheese, contemporary poskim rule that both apply.
♦♦♦♦♦
Are soft cheeses, such as cottage cheese & cream cheese,
included in the prohibition of Gevinas Akum?
- Most soft cheeses do not use rennet, but are instead produced via acidification.
- Since the main reason for the prohibition of Gevinas Akum is the concern that
non-kosher rennet was used, some poskim maintain that the prohibition does not
apply to soft 'acid-set' (non rennet-based) cheeses. (This is the opinion of
Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin, zt”l, as related by Rav Chaim Yisroel Belsky, zt”l.) - Other poskim rule that the prohibition of Gevinas Akum was decreed uniformly
on all cheeses, and even acid-set cheeses are subject to the prohibition of
Gevinas Akum. (Chochmas Adam 53:38 and Aruch HaShulchan Yoreh Deah
115:16) - Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l (Igros Moshe YD 2:48) justified the rationale of
Rav Henkin’s position but was unwilling to outright permit such cheese absent
supervision. - Not withstanding the above dispute, all opinions agree that even acid-set cheese
must be purchased with reliable kosher supervision, as it might otherwise contain
non-kosher cultures, stabilizers & other ingredients & it might otherwise be processed
on hot non-kosher equipment.
♦♦♦♦♦
Is Whey subject to the restriction of Gevinas Akum?
- No, as is clear from Teshuvos Chasam Sofer YD 79.
- The restriction of Gevinas Akum was declared only on actual cheese. .
- Whey, however, is merely the components of milk which did not form into cheese.
Since whey is a mere residual by-product & is not cheese, it is not subject to the special Gevinas Akum restriction.
- Nonetheless, whey requires very tight kosher supervision, due to numerous concerns of
added non-kosher ingredients & shared hot use of non-kosher processing equipment in
whey facilities. (See Mesorah Publication Vol. 24, page 87 here for further halachic
analysis of whey.)
♦♦♦♦♦
Do I have to wait 6 hours to eat meat after eating aged cheese?
- One must wait six hours to eat meat after eating cheese that is aged for six months or longer.
This Minhag has become excepted practice for Ashkenazim. - The following 23 cheeses are the ones you must wait for 6 hours to eat meat.
Appenzeller Extra, Asiago (except young),Caciotta Alpina,Cheddar (medium, sharp & aged),
Chevre -Goat Cheese (aged),Fiore Sardo, Gruyer, Havarti (aged),Marble Cheese (aged)
Monchego Viejo,Monterey Jack (Foreign Market & Dry),Parmesan,Pecorino Romano
Pecorino Sardo, Pepper Jack (Foreign Market), Picante Provolone, Provola dei Nebrodi,
Provolone Piccantge, Reggianito, Romano, Speedy Piccante, Stravecchio & Tilsit.
♦♦♦♦♦
Every Day Family Questions & Answers
Page 1 - Family | Page 1 B - Family | Page 2 - Family | Page 2B - Family
Page 2C - Family | Page 2D - Family - Cats & Dogs | Page 3 - Family - Kosher
Page 3B - Family - Kosher | Page 5 B - Family Kosher
Page 4 - Family - Medical
Page 5 - Family - Harsh Circumstances | Page 6 - Dire Circumstances
♦♦♦♦♦
Q & A Shabbas 1 | Q & A Shabbas 2 | Q & A Shabbas 3
Q & A Davening | Q & A Business 1 | Q & A Business 2
♦♦♦♦♦
Copyright © 2012 - 2017 KosherWoman.com
All rights reserved
