Blender Kashrus Question

amother

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 9:31 am

Hi I’m embarrassed to ask my rabbi this Shayla so can someone help me?

If I use my blender for cold ingredients that include dairy Greek yogurt, is the entire blender now considered dairy?

Ema of 5

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 9:34 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Hi I’m embarrassed to ask my rabbi this Shayla so can someone help me?

If I use my blender for cold ingredients that include dairy Greek yogurt, is the entire blender now considered dairy?

You need to speak to YOUR rabbi, not go by how I (or anyone else) hold.

cbsp

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 9:37 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Hi I’m embarrassed to ask my rabbi this Shayla so can someone help me?

If I use my blender for cold ingredients that include dairy Greek yogurt, is the entire blender now considered dairy?

When you ask your LOR please make sure to include whether there were any ingredients that are considered "charif" (sharp) such as onions or lemons.

amother

Black

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 9:38 am

Even though normally cold things don’t affect status, a blender has knives in it to blend with and a knife is a different category.
You should speak to a rav and specify why you need to know. Do you want it to be pareve so you can blend something for your fleishig meal? Or do you want to switch it to fleishig to blend your chicken soup?
It makes a difference.

Shmoozinator

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:01 am

Don't be embarrassed to ask your Rav anything! Trust me, they get so many difficult, heavy shaylas, it's nice to get a "lighter" kashrus shayla as well. All halachos are important, this is what they're here for. Trust me, he's not judging you Wink

malki2

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:02 am

amother [ Black ] wrote:

The knife only “cut” the yogurt, so there’s probably no issue there.

What it basically boils down to is that if you use something for cold only, it doesn’t become milchig or fleishig, meaning that technically you could switch it as long as you wash it out really well. But the way a lot of women run their kitchens is that they will never allow milk and meat items to come into contact whatsoever. So it really depends on your personal sensitivity and the way you were brought up. But, as always, go ahead and ask your LOR.

amother

Magenta

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:11 am

malki2 wrote:

Knives are different.
It’s dairy.

malki2

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:19 am

amother [ Magenta ] wrote:

Knives are different.
It’s dairy.

No, knives are different because they “press” into what they are cutting, as opposed to a spoon. Here the knife was blending yogurt. So no pressing.

malki2

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:39 am

Ema of 4 wrote:

I believe there may also be a question if the blade gets hot, because the motor is right under the cup....

If the yogurt is cold or cool when it pours out, then the blades did not get any hotter than the yogurt. When you boil water on the stove, the fire is much hotter than 212 degrees F. But the water doesn’t get any hotter than 212 degrees F. So neither does the pot. Same as the blender blades.

f101

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:40 am

Meat/dairy status is transferred to a utensil in three ways:

1. Heat
2. Duchka d’sakinah (pressure from a knife/blade or other concentrated pressure) applied to a davar charif ("sharp" tasting food item). See https://www.star-k.org/article.....chen/
3. Kvishah (soaking). The length of time at which "soaking" transfers meat/dairy status depends on whether the food is charif or not.

Even if one of these applies to your scenario, there are some leniencies that may apply bidieved, depending on the specifics. So, you should really consult your LOR. As you can see, depending on what was in the blender, the answer is not necessarily an obvious one.

malki2

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 10:43 am

f101 wrote:

Thanks

amother

Gold

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 2:27 pm

I have a ninja. Didn't ask a rabbi about it but I called the company and asked how much to buy a spare blade (it comes with 2 cups). They sent me a blade for free. Worth a try.

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 2:30 pm

amother [ Magenta ] wrote:

Yes.
Because the blender piece you’re talking about is actually a knife.
(Maybe buy a hand blender, it’s cheap)

The status of the knife only changes if it used for something sharp (or hot).

lilies

Mon, Dec 23 2019, 3:14 pm

Never be ashamed to ask a shayla! You may also not be aware of other details that will make a difference in the psak, so always ask if you are not sure.