Aino Ben Yomo - Boiling Water

QUESTION: I have a pot that has not been used with non-kosher for three days. However, every morning the pot is used to boil water. Is this pot considered an aino ben yomo (a pot that has not been used with non-kosher for 24 hours)?

ANSWER: No, a pot does not become aino ben yomo if any food, even water or kosher food was cooked within 24 hours of the non-kosher use. This is because the second food item itself becomes non-kosher, as it absorbs non-kosher flavor from the pot. The flavor of the second food is now absorbed in the pot, and the 24 hours restarts from the time of the later event. However, if the pot was left idle for twenty-four hours and then water or other kosher food items were cooked in the pot, the status of the utensil remains an aino ben yomo.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.