Pesach for dummies

amother

Wed, Jan 18 2023, 10:44 pm

Thank you everyone! There is great advice here that I can keep referencing back as we get through the next few weeks so I really appreciate that you took the time to answer.

One more question for now- when would you recommend turning over the kitchen with the way Yom tov falls out this year?

jewishmommy1

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 1:20 am

amother OP wrote:

That depends on your cooking style- do you want to cook for more days before yom tov and freeze food or do you want everything very fresh? I like to freeze food in advance but I am also lucky to have a pesach kitchen.

Golde

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 4:34 am

Have in mind that in order to keep costs down, you can actually kasher some of your equipment rather than buying everything new. Cutlery and metal saucepans for instance are not so hard or time-consuming to kasher for Pesach.
We did this the first years and then bought more and more Pesach stuff over the years. Now I think I have everything, but it has taken me over a decade!

imasinger

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 7:05 am

amother OP wrote:

Here's a long answer, sorry for the novel.

The kashering date often gets determined by the other planning. That's why it's sensible to start the process by meal planning and menus, as well as cleaning goals.

For example, for my own family, I'll do some Pesach baking, I'll make and freeze my soup ahead of time, and I set aside time to prepare spreads. There's plenty available in stores, even OOT, but I prefer the health and taste of things we make. In our home, DH takes care of making meats and fish in the sous vide and smoker, and I do the rest.

Let's imagine you decide to go with bought desserts and fruit. You decide you'll make gefilte fish, soup, a brisket and a potato kugel in advance for the first 2 days, then do any other sides just before the meal. (You've decided the sedarim are too late to eat a huge meal anyway).

What equipment will you buy? Did you remember to set aside time to toveil your new equipment? Will you cook the fish in a clean new pot, then use it for soup, or will you buy a pareve pot and a meat pot? Which of your cooking can happen at the same time -- can you use your oven for one thing and your stove for another?

How will you want your entry into Pesach to look -- what time do you want to be done in the kitchen? Which things will you plan to use the eruv tavshilin and spend some time cooking for Shabbos on Friday, and which things will you want to make and freeze?

I don't have a Pesach kitchen, and I've decided I'd like to kasher early, so I can work slowly, prepare in quantity, and not stress out on the last day or two -- and I'll be working at least some hours until Shabbos Hagadol this year. Each "day" will only be after work till bedtime. I'll want a day for kashering and covering, a day for baking, a day for making soups, a day for almond shnitzel and meatballs to freeze, a day for prepping spreads.

I also gave some thought to what my family would eat in the week or two before Pesach, so that figured into my decision of when to kasher. We bring our microwave and our toaster oven into the dining room, kasher the kitchen early, and cook/heat up chametz only in the dining room. Your mileage may vary.

IMPORTANT NOTE - make sure to set aside prep time for the seder items! Checking maror can take quite a while, and although most of the rest is quick, you need to save time for the roasting and the chopping.

So, I'm at one end of the extreme. I'll kasher the Sunday before Shabbos Hagadol, finish covering and setting up the kitchen Monday, bake after work on Tuesday, soups Wednesday, shnitzel and meatballs Thursday. We might eat out for Shabbos meals, or I'll carefully wrap and save a couple of challah rolls for the meal, and then cook chicken and sides on Friday in the kashered kitchen. Sometime during that week, I'll clean the cars. Sunday, I'll make mayo and some spreads, plus do a big shopping trip for produce -- everything else is bought in advance over time. Monday will be for any other cooking, Tuesday, we'll clean the dining room where we've still had chametz, I'll prep what's needed for the seders (roast, check, chop), and I'll be cooking dinner for my arriving family then. We'll also do haircuts. Bedika that night. Wednesday after biur, we'll make hot food for erev Pesach (kugel, fish), then do a final cleaning of the kitchen. We'll have time for baths and other prep. Friday afternoon ,(2nd day YT), I'll put together my meal for Shabbos lunch, taking into account the challenge of how to handle hot food for Shabbos -- crockpot on for 3 days? Blech?

On the other hand, my good friend plans to kasher her kitchen on Tuesday, just before Pesach. She'll clean Sunday and Monday, kasher Tuesday, then get to cooking. She'll do it all Tuesday and Wednesday. Her prep time is less than a week, mine is a month or more, a bit at a time.

For her, my long drawn out process would be stressful; for me, her marathon would be stressful.

You have to know how you function best, and what you want.

WitchKitty

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 7:51 am

I agree that your style of cooking and cleaning determines when you'll turn over.
This year I'll probably turn over motzaei shabbos hagadol- it makes kashering simpler. Since I can't use hot water for 24 hours before kashering, and I'm not using hot water on shabbos anyway.

Another thing to remember is to make sure no one is hungry. It's not easy, especially if you don't use store bought snacks.
Have KLP snacks for the weeks before. Make sure there is always cake/snacks/cut fruit/veggies/kugel available. Make enough meals.
A lot of my meal planning for pesach includes meal plans for the weeks before pesach.

amother

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 8:56 am

WitchKitty wrote:

I thought I can't use my kitchen at all for 24 hours before. If it's just not using hot water that could work for me because like you said my hot water and oven are off for shabbos anyway.

amother

Starflower

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 9:07 am

amother OP wrote:

I thought I can't use my kitchen at all for 24 hours before. If it's just not using hot water that could work for me because like you said my hot water and oven are off for shabbos anyway.

It shouldn't be used for chometz nor anything hot. So serving Shabbos can be challenging since nothing hot can be placed in the clean sink or on the clean counters. It's still my best bet because I set up a hot plate in another room and serve on disposables. Otherwise the 24 hours of not using the kitchen takes up a whole day and with it beign shabbos anyway, I woldn't be doing anything for pesach so it works well.
Also some people find it challenging to get the kitchen kasherably clean on Friday

amother

Peony

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 9:27 am

I've been doing this for 20 years, you'd think I have this down pat. Every year is a bit different because of the timing or or other circumstances and has to be figured out all over again.
Motzai shabbos is a great time to kasher after not using hot water all shabbos in the kitchen sink. The friday before is a nice long friday, perfect for getting the kitchen scrubbed and ready.
I need about 3 days to cook for the first days so that works well.

amother

PlumPink

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 10:03 am

I have been making Pesach for 25 years, BH!, and here are some tips I learned from experience:

1. As much as possible, and I know this will largely depend on the size of your kitchen/house, minimize emptying cabinets. It is so much easier to just close them up and put out a plastic shelving unit, or even a folding table or two in a different room, to keep your Pesach things during the 2 weeks you will actually need them (week before Pesach for cooking and week of Yom Tov). I used to empty and scrub so many kitchen cabinets and a pantry, shoving the chometz things where ever I could find room, but then after Pesach you have to put it all back.

2. Start eating things in your freezer now and don't stock anything chometz! Once you start cooking, you will need the space for Pesach food. It's a lot of meals, so double anything you can and freeze.

3. Don't forget to build in to your to do list all the extras that have nothing to do with cleaning and cooking, like clothing shopping, haircuts, sheitel appointment, dry cleaners...

4. I love kitchen gadgets and have bought something new every year so by now am really well stocked for Pesach, but you don't really need all that much to start off. Keep your budget in mind and pace yourself. For example, you need a large soup pot, a regular size pot and a good frying pan or two, but you really don't need to start off with buying a huge set of pots & pans. Let your Pesach kitchen build over time, although I do agree with other posters that a good peeler, can opener and knives are essential. Same for cookbooks - it's fun to get a new one every year, but there is so much available on kosher.com that you really don't need any.

5. The meals during the sedarim vary greatly by family minhag. Just keep in mind that even if you grew up with a large full meal, no one is hungry that late and after matza, marror, korech... Keep it simple or plan on using the using the leftovers for the day meals.

6. Make sure to buy large plastic bins, or at the minimum have a good number of high quality cardboard boxes available, so that you can pack up the Pesach stuff afterwards and turn back over to chometz easily. Your kids will be wanting real cereal and noodles the next day.

7. Most importantly, have fun!! I really enjoy making Pesach in my own home and it does not have to be overwhelming. Everything does eventually get done!

amother

Ballota

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 11:57 am

Another 25+ year Pesach maker here. The one big thing I want to emphasize is that you want to have kitchen equipment that you can rely on. So buy good quality knives, corkscrew, peeler and pots. I've had too much trouble over the years with sub-par equipment when I need to be cooking quickly and safely. Those are the items I've had to replace from my first year purchases.

The other thing I prefer to do is to make food purchases in the months leading up to Pesach, so the cost doesn't all hit in one month - canned goods, meats for freezer, cheese, etc.

Iymnok

Thu, Jan 19 2023, 12:31 pm

I was one time given amazing advice by the mother of a few teenage boys. Put up a pot of meat, bones and potatoes every morning of chol hamoed. That gives you lunch and supper every day.
Just a pot of potatoes gives you what to work with.

amother

Acacia

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 11:48 pm

Iymnok wrote:

sorry for asking but do you mean
as in three separate pots?