Chapter 7a - ABSORPTION

If forbidden food (or an object that has absorbed forbidden food within the past 24 hours) is in contact even momentarily with hot liquid in a utensil that has been on a fire, or with salty liquid for 18 minutes, or with any liquid for 24 hours, permissible food that was in contact with the liquid for that period of time becomes forbidden unless the forbidden components are less than 1/60 of the total (69:1,9,11,15,18;70:6;98:4; 104:1-2;105:1-3). In estimating 1/60 only food below the surface of the liquid is considered (see 94:1;98:4;99:1,4;105:1). If the utensil has not been on a fire, but a hot component comes from such a utensil (see 68:10-11, 13,15), the surface of the permitted food must be peeled off where it comes in contact with the liquid (105:3). Even if the components are hot, if they do not come from utensils that have been on a fire and the liquid is not salty (see 69:9 and 91:7) and the permitted food remains in it for less than 24 hours, the food need only be washed off and the liquid is permitted (91:1-4;105:2-3). These and the following rules also apply to contact between milk and meat products (87:10;91:4-6; see 92:1,4-6). On absorption from a forbidden egg that is still in its shell see 86:5-6.

If the components are near a fire and hot but not in contact with liquid, and an object that has absorbed forbidden food touches permitted food, it becomes forbidden unless the forbidden components are less than 1/60 of the total; and the same is true if forbidden food of a type that sometimes contains fat touches permitted food, even if the forbidden food is absorbed in other food; but if the forbidden food is of a type that never contains fat, the places where it touched the permitted food need only be removed to a depth of a fingerbreadth, and this must be done in any case if the places where it touched are known (see 68:4,9;105:4-5,7-8). If the components are not near a fire and a hot component that has been on a fire is added, the places where the permitted food touches a forbidden component need only be peeled (68:10-11,15;92:7;94:8;105:6). If no component has been on a fire only washing is needed, and nothing need be done if the components are dry (91:1-4).

If the components are not near a fire, but a forbidden food component is heavily salted (see 69:8;70:6) and not entirely dry (see 91:5;95:7), the places where a permitted component touches it even momentarily (see 69:8,18;70:6;105:1) must be peeled; and if the forbidden food is of a type that sometimes contains fat, the permitted food that touches it becomes forbidden unless the forbidden components are less than 1/60 of the total, and it must also be peeled if the places where it touched are known (64:16,20;65:1;69:9,16,18,20;70:1-4;72:2;105:9-11). Salt causes absorption even in an object (see 69:16-17), but it does not draw out forbidden food that has been absorbed in an object (69:16;70:2;105:12-13). If the forbidden food is meat from which the salt is drawing blood, and the salt is also drawing juices out of the permitted food, or the permitted food is on top, it does not absorb the blood and need only be washed (70:1-4); or if the permitted food is meat that still contains blood, any blood that it absorbs in this way can be extracted together with its own blood, though other blood that it absorbs cannot (69:2;70:2,6;72:2). Similarly, the blood that a fire draws from meat is not absorbed in other meat that is near the fire, but other blood is (69:4,20;76:1-2;77:1).

Shulchan Aruch, Copyright (c) 1999 Project Genesis, Inc.