| Orthodox Conversion to Judaism |
| cooking |
| Ok, so if you can't cook on Shabbos, how do you eat hot food ????? First, the Melacha of cooking: it is forbidden to cook even with a flame that was kindled before Shabbos. It is forbidden to cook on, or near, any source of heat, be it an actual flame or electric range, hot plate or urn. Cooking with a microwave is also prohibited. Immersing food in hot water or onserting it in a heated pot which was removed from the flame can also be considered cooking. |
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| It is forbidded to cook solid food completely or to a minimal degree of edibility. A food which has already been cooked may not be cooked to et a greater degree of edibility. It is forbidden to place an uncooked item in a hot area where it could eventually become cooked. Therefore you may not warm up a raw or partially cooked food item. You may not heat any liquid to its boiling point. Liquid may not be heaten up to Yad Soledes Bo (temperature so hot that upon contact with the source of the heat, a person reflexively withdraws his hand. Moving food closer to a fire causes it to cook more quickly, Any food on the stove which is not completely cooked, that it would have been eaten at that point may not be shifted to a position closer to the fire even if the fire is covered with a blech (sheet of metal that covers the oven) Reducing the amount of food in a pot causes its remaining contents to cook more quickly. Therefor if a pot of food is not completely cooked then it is forbidden to remove a portion of its contents. For some reason, it is prohibited to stir partially cooked food or cover partially cooked food. Closing an oven door causes its interior temperature to rise and also may not occur. Completely cooked food may be reheated in the manner in which it was originally prepared, however one may not place them directly on a flame or blech. It is forbidden to reheat a food in a manner not previously employed i.e. baking or broiling them. Liquids that have cooled may not be reheated on Shabbos, however while still warm they may be reheated to a higher temperature but not directly on a flame or blech. If the melacha of cooking is violated, either intentionally or inadvertently, it is forbidden to derive any benefit from the cooked food. In some cases the food is forbidden forever, oters after Shabbos and in other cases not at all. |
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| How to keep food warm on Shabbos: You can maintain food warmed on the stove top by convering the flame with a sheet of metal (the blech). The knobs of the stove should also be covered to ensure aderence. To maintain uncooked food inside an oven or crockpot you need to cover the source of eat to indicate you will not raise the temperature. Appliances such as urns may be used without a blech if you can't adjust the temperature. The only way to maintain food in an oven is to use an oven insert and cover the knob. As stated before, you cannot use a blech for foods that are less than half cooked and for liquids below 160% before Shabbos. |