Cooking Archives - AskTheRav

If my oven is set on a timer to keep food hot, can I open and close it on Shabbos while it’s still on?

No. When the oven door is opened, the thermostat will detect the cold air that rushes in and will activate the heating element if it is off at that…

Can I put a potato Kugel on top of a plugged in crockpot on Shabbos?

If the potato Kugel is still warm then you may, if however the potato Kugel is completely cold then you are not allowed. #4050

We estimated, based on texture and looks, that a piece of meat was cooked Kimachol Ben Drusoie and put it on the Blech. On Shabbos when we took the meat off, we realized that it was not cooked (the meat was very red), can we still eat the meat on Shabbos? We have other foods to eat as well for the meat course.

If you put it on the Blech before Shabbos, you may even put something which is not cooked Kimachol Ben Drusoie. However, so long it’s not fully cooked, you…

I saw on the website that its forbidden to use a Sous vide for Shabbos, I’ve read elsewhere that its allowed. Can you please clarify?

Full Question: I read the article regarding the usage of Sous Vide on Shabbos, I also noticed an article from the OK on this topic, among other things they…

Can one ask the cleaning lady on Shabbos to fill up the hot water samovar? And if it Is not permissible, are there any lenience’s to still use it for baby formula?

One may not ask a non-Jew to heat up water on Shabbos. However, if you have no hot water for the baby bottle or if needed for baby food,…

If someone told a cleaning lady on Shabbos morning that the Cholent Crock-Pot is too hot, she then went and turned the Crock-Pot off. When he saw what she did, he told her that is not what he meant, so she turned it back on to the lowest setting. Is this okay? Is it okay to eat from the Cholent?

If the cleaning lady made a mistake and you did not tell her anything, for example she mistakenly switched off the light and then she re-lit it, or she…

Can a sous vide be used for Shabbos? What is the correct way to do it? We are thinking about making something in place of Cholent for Shabbos day.

It may not be used on Shabbos, but is permissible for use on Yom Tov. An excellent comprehensive article about Sous Vide for Shabbos has been written by Horav…

Can we take water from our Shabbos kettle, to warm a baby bottle in a paper Kli Shlishi? The baby bottle is Milchig, the kettle is Pareve, and our kitchen sink and all our other kitchen utensils are Fleishig.

You are allowed to put a baby bottle even in a Kli Sheni (assuming that the contents of the bottle consists only of liquid, or previously cooked solid food).…

Is it permissible to add boiling water with a cup from the Shabbos urn to the Cholent in the crock pot, in order to add moisture so that the Cholent should not burn, without mixing or doing anything else?

One is not allowed to take water in a glass and pour into the crock pot because of the Issur of Chazara. The water may be poured directly into the…

Can I place a Challah on a hot plate on Shabbos day to warm it up? Are there details as to how I should place it?

You can put it on top of the hot plate either on top of a pot that is cooking something else on the hot plate, or you can take…

Can one use a Styrofoam cup as a Keli Sheni or Shlishi? Styrofoam doesn’t cool down the liquid very much.

It is considered a Keli Sheni (or Shlishi, when using two cups). However, it should be noted that one should be stringent with boiling water in a Keli Sheni, and…

We are getting a hot plate for Shabbos. On Shabbos, how does one reheat cold food from the fridge on a hot plate? Is it permissible for a Goy to put cold food from the fridge onto the hotplate to reheat it? Our hot plate does not have a timer yet or a temperature adjuster.

Hotplates are permissible to use for Shabbos if used in a kosher manner, i.e. being careful about placing cold food on the hotplate (Nesina Batchillah), and how to return pots…

Is an oven with Sabbath Mode truly acceptable for Shabbos use?

There are many ovens on the market, and it is impossible in this short space to investigate and address every single model. The best we can do is provide a…

We recently bought a 100 cup urn for our Chabad House. It only has an on/off switch. Can we use it on Shabbos?

It depends. If it has a thermostat, then it needs a Hechsher. If it doesn't have a thermostat, then it is okay to use, but the water has to be…

Regarding one of the sinks in my home, the cold water line runs parallel with the heating line of my home and causes my cold water to be warm/hot for the first 30 to 60 seconds of use. Is it permissible to use it on Shabbos?

If you turn off the hot water system completely, so it’s not operational over Shabbos, you may use the cold water. It is worthwhile to test it before Shabbos.

If food is fully cooked before Shabbos, can the pot it is in be uncovered and re-covered while it is on the Blech, as it seems to be described in The Laws of Cooking on Shabbos and The Blech Book?

There is a Machlokes Haposkim. Although most Poskim permit it, L'chatchilla one should be stringent. Even according to the lenient position, there are good reasons to be stringent: 1. The…

Is it permissible to make tea and coffee in a Keli Shlishi using instant coffee or tea bags, or is this considered coloring the water?

Almost all Poskim maintain that there is no issue with coloring food whether solid or liquid. There are those who are stringent L’chatchilla, but their position hasn’t been accepted as…

Can I cook ramen or tradition soup on Shabbos?

Firstly, instant soups contain in them many different ingredients, and although some of them were pre-cooked, some other added ingredients might not be pre-cooked. It is hard to state a…

Is it a problem to pour hot water into a Kli Sheni that still has drops of water in it from being used previously? What about pouring from a Kli Sheni into a Kli Shlishi that still has drops of liquid from being used previously?

When making a cup of coffee or tea on Shabbos, it is common to pour boiling water into a cup that was previously used for hot water or was rinsed…

What Halachos do I need to know regarding using sternos on Shabbos?

Since the sterno is a fire/heat element, it has the same Halacha as a regular stove top. Therefore, first you would have to create some type of Blech if the…