2,474. Fit for a Royal Table

Maachalos Assuros 17:15

The previous halacha (about food cooked exclusively by a non-Jew) only applies to food that might be served with bread on a royal table, like meat, eggs, fish, etc. If something wouldn’t be served on a royal table to be eaten with bread, like vetch (vicia, a member of the legume family) cooked by non-Jews, it is permitted even if it’s not something that would be eaten raw; the same is true in all similar cases. This is because the main reason for this enactment is to discourage intermarriage, by impeding non-Jews from hosting Jews at a party; if something wouldn’t be served on a royal table with bread, then one wouldn’t invite a friend over to partake from it.

Maachalos Assuros 17:16

If small fish were salted by a Jew or a non-Jew, it’s like they were partially cooked. Accordingly, if a non-Jew later roasts them, they’re permitted. If a Jew performs part of the cooking process, either at the start or the finish, the resulting food is permitted. Therefore, if a non-Jew puts meat or a pot on the fire and a Jew turns the meat over or stirs the pot – or if a Jew places the food and a non-Jew finishes cooking it – in either case, it is permitted.