“Question: I would like to serve hot mincemeat together with chummus (spread) on Shabbos. Is this an issue of bishul?
Discussion: First of all, although the main component of chummus is chickpeas, which have previously been cooked and therefore there is no further prohibition of bishul because ein bishul achar bishul (Shulchan Aruch Siman 318 se’if 4), the spread also contains other ingredients (such as water, oil and spices) that have not been previously cooked, and therefore they are subject to the prohibition of bishul. To pour the hot mincemeat directly onto the chummus would be forbidden, because this constitutes bishul of the uncooked ingredients in the chummus (i.e. this constitutes irui kli rishon which has the Halachic ability to cook a minimal amount [the thickness of a kelipah] of the food on which it is poured – see Yoreh De’ah Siman 105).
Even transferring the hot mincemeat first to another bowl or plate, which would render the mincemeat kli sheni, and then adding it to the chummus would not completely avoid the issue. This is because dry mincemeat appears to be a dovor gush (i.e. solid entity) that according to some Poskim retains its kli rishon status even after being transferred to another receptacle. This is because the ability of a solid to retain its shape means that it does not come into contact with the walls of the receptacle into which it is placed; consequently it retains its heat longer than a liquid and is still subject to a kli rishon status.
The Shach (Yoreh De’ah Siman 105 s.k. 8) writes that rice is included in dovor gush. We can presumably extrapolate to mincemeat which is similar in composition to rice.
It should be noted that the first Halachic authority to differentiate and write that dovor gush is subject to different rules than liquids is the Maharshal (quoted in the Shach Yoreh De’ah Siman 105 s.k. 8). Although this opinion is not quoted by the Shulchan Aruch or by the Remo (in Orach Chayim Siman 318 or in Yoreh De’ah Siman 105) various Poskim do mention this distinction; namely the Magen Avraham (Siman 318 s.k. 45), Shach (Yoreh De’ah Siman 105 s.k. 8), Taz (Yoreh De’ah Siman 105) and Mishna Berura (Siman 318 s.k. 65). The conclusion of the Mishna Berura (ibid) is that one should be cautious and consider a dovor gush as a kli rishon.
The solution here would be to transfer the mincemeat to a second receptacle with the liquid in which it was cooked. Since the mincemeat is now submerged in liquid in a kli sheni, it will lose its kli rishon status because of the liquid surrounding it and will be subject to normal rules of kli sheni (this opinion is quoted in Pischei Teshuva Yoreh De’ah Siman 94 se’if 7). Consequently, it can now be transferred to the chummus and does not pose a problem of bishul.
Conclusion: Serving hot mincemeat together with chummus does pose a potential issue of bishul. This is because raw ingredients in the chummus will be cooked by the hot mincemeat. Even placing the mincemeat first into another receptacle in order to render it kli sheni will not completely solve the problem, because according to several authorities a dovor gush retains its kli rishon status even after it is transferred into another receptacle.
The solution would be to first transfer the hot mincemeat together with a substantial amount of liquid into another receptacle. Since the mincemeat is surrounded by liquid it is no longer a dovor gush and is now subject to regular kli sheni status and can now be served together with chummus.
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