362. Tasting Food; Medicinal Purposes

50:7 If someone is tasting food to see what seasoning it may need, he certainly doesn’t need to make a bracha if he spits it out. If he swallows it, however, it is questionable whether or not a bracha is required. On the one hand, he swallowed it, but on the other hand, his intention was not to eat! Therefore, when one is in this situation, he should intend to have the benefit of what he tastes as food, make a bracha, and swallow it.

50:8 If someone eats or drinks something for medicinal purposes, if the food is appetizing (or even just not unpleasant – Shaar HaTziyon 204:37) and he benefits from it, he should say the usual brachos before and after eating it. This is the case even if the food is normally prohibited and he is eating it only because it is medically necessary. Since the Torah has rendered the food permitted to him under these circumstances, a bracha is required. However, if the food is unpleasant and he doesn’t enjoy having to eat it, one does not recite a bracha. If someone drinks a raw egg for his voice, even though he doesn't enjoy the taste, he does benefit from its nutritional value, so a bracha is required. (Editor’s note: not an endorsement of drinking raw eggs, which carry a risk of salmonella; consult your doctor.)