What to Tovel
1. Function: You only need to tovel klei se’udah, that is utensils
used either in preparing the food or in eating it. For example, dishes,
pots, cutlery, spatulas, and food processor blades all need to toveled.
However, utensils which are not necessary components of neither the cooking
nor the eating processes, such as scissors, bottle- or can-openers, storage
jars, and tea trays, do NOT need to be toveled. (For this reason, some
poskim claim that pop-up toasters do not require tevilah since the bread
can theoretically be eaten as is prior to toasting. However, some poskim
recommend toveling any utensil which comes into contact with the food.)
2. Materials: Materials which can be melted down and re-made require tevilah,
most notably metal and glass. Corningware, Corel, Pyrex, Duralex and enamel
also require tevilah. Materials which cannot be melted down do not require
tevilah. These include all plastics, wood, stone, glazed china, and paper.
3. Durability: Only significant utensils need tevilah. Disposable products
do not need tevilah under any circumstance, even if you plan to re-use
them many times.
4. Appliances: the part which touches the food must be toveled. For example,
the tray in a toaster-oven, the container in an urn, etc. If appliance
will be ruined because of the tevillah, wait for it to snow and dip it
in the snow.
How to Tovel
1. A utensil cannot be used, even once, before toveling. Rather, one
must tovel any utensil before usage.
2. Prior to toveling, be sure to remove any extraneous substance from
the utensil, such as labels, dirt, and stickers. These will invalidate
the tevilah.
3. Start with the metal or glass utensils and make the brachah al tevillat
keilim while holding a utensil in hand. The brachah works for all the
utensils you will tovel, so be sure not to make a hefsek (interruption)
until you finish all the utensils.
4. The utensil needs to be completely submerged in the water, but does
not need to be free from your hands. It is recommended to pass each
utensil underwater from one hand to the other.
The nearest Mikveh is in the Lower East Side, on the corner of Grand
Street and East Broadway. There are set hours for men. For men, mikveh
is open daily between 6-8 am. Please call ahead for more information
212-533-3718 or 212-388-1874. Please contact rabbi.sarna@nyu.edu for
any additional questions.
Kashering your Kitchen
Oven – if self-cleaning, run self-cleaning cycle.
If not, The oven should not be used for twenty-four hours prior to kashering.
Spray all internal surfaces of the oven with a chemical cleanser to
remove all surface dirt.
Disassemble the inner parts of the oven: remove grates, the shelf separating
the oven from broiler, remove the entire broiler and its drawer.
Check all of the above surfaces for dirt. Use chemical cleanser a second
time, scrub with steel wool, screwdriver, and/or a scraper to remove
remaining spots. Carefully check difficult areas (use a flashlight,
if necessary): internal corners, door edges, the area behind the flame
burners, and the grooves of the broiler tray shelves. CAUTION: Do not
disturb the thermostat wire. The interior of oven should look new.
Reassemble the oven. Set the oven dial at top heat (broil) for 1«
hours. Unless the broiler tray is blowtorched (or heated in a self cleaning
oven cycle) food should never be placed directly on it. Cover the tray
with the aluminum foil or place food in a pot or pan on the broiler
tray.
Some have the custom of blowtorching the interior surfaces of the oven
in order to assure the removal of any remaining dirt. (Source: NJOP.org)
Stove – leave burner on high for ten minutes
or until burner is red hot. Recommended: place blech on top of burners
while burners are on high to kasher the part of the stove in between
the burners but be very careful.
Microwave – clean out and boil out one cup of
water for twenty minutes.
Countertop and sink – pour boiling water (ideally from a kettle
plugged into the wall) directly onto each spot.
Dishwasher – if it has been used for non-kosher
within the past 12 months, it is unkasherable. Once 12 months are up,
change the dish racks, clean well, run cycle 3 times with soap.
Kashering Utensils
The following is a list of items and the specific Koshering Processes
required:
o Metal Pots, Metal pot covers, soup ladles, utensils used in cooking,
silverware (Metal), all can be koshered with Hagalah, described above.
o Frying pans, kitchen grills, and barbeque grills can be koshered by
putting the fire on it without anything in it, until it gets pretty
hot. No need to burn the pan.
o Baking pans can be koshered by putting them in the oven for a half
hour on the highest flame.
o Glass, plastic, glazed china, glazed dishes, Corelle, Pyrex, Corningware,
or glazed earthenware does not need any Koshering for Passover, since
they do not retain any flavor.
o Ovens, toaster ovens, and convection ovens can be koshered by putting
them on the highest flame for a half hour. If they have a self-cleaning
option, running the self-cleaning process is certainly good.
o Warming drawers do not need to be koshered if they do not normally
exceed 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
o Microwave Ovens can be koshered by putting a bowl of water on the
highest setting for twenty minutes.
o Keli Cheres (clay type pots, similar to some flower pots) that are
not glazed cannot be koshered, because the flavor it retains cannot
be removed.
o Sinks, refrigerators, trash cans, counters, dishwashers, stovetops,
tables, cutting boards, mixmasters, silver kiddush cups, and anything
not used with hot foods from the fire do not need any koshering.
For any further questions, contact Rabbi Sarna at
rabbi.sarna@nyu.edu
or 212-998-4118.
Source: Kashrut.org
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