258. Milk and Cheese

Please note: The 19th-century Kitzur Shulchan Aruch does not account for modern responsa regarding chalav Yisrael (“Jewish milk”) vs. chalav stam (“regular milk”). Please consult your rabbi for guidance in this area.

38:13 Milk that was milked by non-Jew without Jewish supervision is prohibited, even for cheesemaking. A Jew should be present from the beginning of the milking process, when he should check that the pail that will collect the milk is clean. We do not even use a milk pail that has been used to collect non-Jewish milk. If a non-Jewish employee milks a Jew’s cow on the Jew’s property and there is no concern that milk of a non-kosher animal might have been introduced, the milk is permitted. If, however, a non-Jew’s house is in-between them, a Jew must be present for the milk to be usable; a child as young as nine is acceptable for this purpose.

38:14 Non-Jewish-made cheese is not permitted. If a Jew supervised the milking and the cheese-making, and if the cheese belongs to the Jew, then it is permitted. If, during the cheese-making processing, the cheese belonged to the non-Jew, it is forbidden.