Q: May one cook milk in a pot that was used for meat?

The Shulchan Aruch (YD 93:1) forbids it le-chatchila . If one cooked milk in it within 24 hours (a ben yomo pot), the absorbed taste is still 'good': it is נותן טעם and the dish is forbidden if it imparts taste. But if 24 hours have passed before cooking in it (a non-ben-yomo pot), the taste is נותן טעם לפגם (degraded): the dish is permitted; however the pot remains forbidden for cooking meat or milk. For practical halacha, consult your Rav.

Q: What is נותן טעם לפגם?

It is taste imparted in a degraded / spoiled way. After 24 hours, the taste absorbed in the walls of a vessel becomes rancid (כל הקדרות אינן בני יומן) and can no longer forbid the cooked dish. This is the basis of our common practice of using vessels after a day. The Shulchan Aruch applies this principle here: the dish cooked in a non-ben-yomo pot is permitted. The pot itself remains forbidden le-chatchila for meat and milk. For practical halacha, consult your Rav.

Q: Does the lid have the same status as the pot?

Yes: the Rama rules that the status of the lid is like that of the pot itself (דין כסוי קדרה כדין קדירה עצמה), since the vapor rises and is absorbed into it. Some, however, are stricter on the lid , treating it as ben yomo even when it is not (a חומרא without reason, says the Rama, which he nonetheless keeps by custom). But where there is another reason to permit, or for a Shabbat need or a loss (הפסד), one permits the non-ben-yomo lid like the pot itself. For practical halacha, consult your Rav.

Question 1

May one cook milk in a pot that was used for meat?

Accepted Answer

The Shulchan Aruch (YD 93:1) forbids it le-chatchila. If one cooked milk in it within 24 hours (a ben yomo pot), the absorbed taste is still 'good': it is נותן טעם and the dish is forbidden if it imparts taste. But if 24 hours have passed before cooking in it (a non-ben-yomo pot), the taste is נותן טעם לפגם (degraded): the dish is permitted; however the pot remains forbidden for cooking meat or milk. For practical halacha, consult your Rav.

Question 2

What is נותן טעם לפגם?

Accepted Answer

It is taste imparted in a degraded / spoiled way. After 24 hours, the taste absorbed in the walls of a vessel becomes rancid (כל הקדרות אינן בני יומן) and can no longer forbid the cooked dish. This is the basis of our common practice of using vessels after a day. The Shulchan Aruch applies this principle here: the dish cooked in a non-ben-yomo pot is permitted. The pot itself remains forbidden le-chatchila for meat and milk. For practical halacha, consult your Rav.

Question 3

Does the lid have the same status as the pot?

Accepted Answer

Yes: the Rama rules that the status of the lid is like that of the pot itself (דין כסוי קדרה כדין קדירה עצמה), since the vapor rises and is absorbed into it. Some, however, are stricter on the lid, treating it as ben yomo even when it is not (a חומרא without reason, says the Rama, which he nonetheless keeps by custom). But where there is another reason to permit, or for a Shabbat need or a loss (הפסד), one permits the non-ben-yomo lid like the pot itself. For practical halacha, consult your Rav.

Siman 93 — Cooking Milk in a Meat Pot

The 4 levels of study

רמת המתחיל

Basics — Beginner & Intermediate

רמת הלמדן

Lamdan — Talmid Chacham

חזרה וסיכום

Synthesis — Review

הלכה למעשה

Halacha le-ma'aseh — Psak

Frequently asked questions — Siman 93