Cold Food Preparation on Shabbos - part 2
Vegetable salad
Vegetables may not be soaked in water or soap to remove dirt or dust.118 Many poskim, however, permit rinsing vegetables under running water if this is done immediately before eating,119 while other poskim prohibit doing so.120 Note, however, that only actual visible dirt may not be washed off; rinsing fruit for hygienic purposes or for invisible germs, etc. is permitted per all views121.
Leafy vegetables which are likely to be infested with bugs may not be soaked or rinsed in soapy water on Shabbos, since doing so will likely kill the bugs122.
Wet vegetables may be dried with a towel or paper napkin. Avoid using a salad spinner since it is questionable whether using a salad spinner is a violation of borer or not.
Vegetables may be peeled only with a knife123—not a peeler124—and only right before mealtime.125
If the outer leaves of a head of lettuce are rotten, they may be pulled off and discarded.126 But if the leaves have already been separated, then it is prohibited to pick out the rotten leaves from the mixture of good and bad leaves. The good leaves must be the ones that are picked out from the bunch, and the selection must be made immediately before the meal.
Cutting vegetables into large pieces is permissible. Slices that are extremely thin but are long, or extremely short but are thick, are considered larger pieces and are permitted to be cut.127
It is strictly forbidden to cut up vegetables into very small pieces (diced).128 But if the salad is being prepared for someone who has difficulty eating larger pieces, e.g. an elderly person or a child, many poskim permit dicing vegetables into small pieces if they are diced immediately before the meal.129
Oil and salad dressing may be added to a vegetable salad.130
A salad containing vegetables which are commonly pickled or preserved such as radishes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, beans or green tomatoes, may not be salted131 [or soaked in vinegar132] unless oil or salad dressing [or a bit of vinegar] is added before or immediately after the salting.133
Vegetables which are commonly not pickled or preserved such as sliced red tomatoes, sliced peeled cucumbers or pieces of lettuce may be salted for added taste even without adding oil or salad dressing.134
Fresh fruit salad
Instructions for soaking or rinsing fruit are the same as for soaking or rinsing vegetables.
Strawberries or other fruits which are likely to be infested may not be soaked or rinsed in soapy water, since doing so will likely kill the bugs.
Fruits may be peeled for immediate use only. It is forbidden to peel fruit for a fruit salad that is intended for guests who are scheduled to arrive later in the day or for a later meal. Even if some of the fruit will be eaten immediately, it is prohibited to peel extra fruit for later use.135 If, however, the fruit was peeled with the intention of eating it all but some is left over, it is not considered as if it was peeled for later use.136
If guests are scheduled to arrive during a certain part of the day, e.g., “sometime in the afternoon,” it is permitted to peel fruit for them right before the afternoon begins. Even if they do not arrive until late in the afternoon, it is still permitted to peel fruit for them earlier.137
Even when fruits are peeled for immediate use, they may not be peeled with a peeler. Some poskim hold that fruits whose peel is sometimes eaten, e.g., apples and pears, may be peeled at any time and even with a peeler.138 Other poskim, however, do not agree with this leniency and forbid it.139 All authorities agree, however, that fruits which are almost always eaten with their peel, e.g., grapes, peaches, etc., may be peeled at any time and even with a peeler.140
Some fruits have letters or words stamped on the peel, so care should be taken not to destroy the lettering while peeling the fruit.141
Before placing pieces of watermelon or cantaloupe in the salad it is permitted to vigorously shake them, thus allowing the seeds to fall away.142
Stems should preferably be removed immediately before mealtime, not earlier. Some authorities maintain that it is best to remove a stem by holding it with one hand and pulling the fruit with the other hand.143
Cutting fruit into large pieces is permitted. To cut fruit into very small pieces, see the previous Discussion about dicing vegetables.
Some poskim advise against using instruments designed for cutting fruits into special shapes, e.g., melon ballers.144 Others, however, are not particular about cutting fruits into simple shapes.145
It is permitted to mash a banana (when preparing it for a child or an older person) using the handle of a knife, spoon or fork.146 If that is impractical, it may be mashed in the normal manner but only immediately before being served.147
Tuna fish salad, potato salad or chopped liver
Excess oil may be squeezed out of the tuna can148 immediately before mealtime.149
Tuna or liver may be mashed in the usual manner.
If eggs are added, they may be mashed in the usual manner. The eggs must be peeled immediately before mealtime, as detailed above in the Discussion about Eggs and Onions.
If diced vegetables are added, see instructions above in the Discussion about Vegetable Salad.
If mayonnaise is added, it should be mixed with a shinui, as detailed earlier concerning Eggs and Onions.150 One who wishes to satisfy all views should prepare tuna salad etc. before Shabbos.
Soft well-cooked potatoes may be mashed in the regular manner. If they are not completely cooked, it is preferable to employ a shinui when mashing them.151
On Shabbos, it is permitted to mix...
horseradish with mayonnaise or ketchup;152
cottage cheese with sour cream;153
cinnamon with rice or sugar;154
jelly (jam) or sugar with sour cream or yogurt;155
ketchup with chopped liver that is already mixed with mayonnaise;156
mayonnaise with large pieces of potatoes;157
a banana or another fruit in its own juice.158
There is no concern of Kneading regarding dipping baked goods like cookies, pretzels, etc., into warm beverages.159
118. O.C. 319:8.
119. Ketzos ha-Shulchan 125:16; Igros Moshe, O.C. 1:125; Rav S.Z. Auerbach (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 3:22); Rav Y.S. Elyashiv (Ayil Meshulash, pg. 176 and The Laws of Borer, pg. 33); Tzitz Eliezer 6:37.
120. Chazon Ish (oral ruling quoted in Ayil Meshulash, pg. 176 and in Chut Shani, vol. 2, pg. 88); Minchas Yitzchak 5:39; Shevet ha-Levi 1:52.
121. Chazon Ish and Igros Moshe quoted above.
122. See Mishnah Berurah 316:42; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 3:40.
123. Beiur Halachah 321:19, s.v. liklof; Igros Moshe, O.C. 1:124.
124. Eglei Tal (Borer 6); Ashrei ha-Ish (Borer, 25); Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 3:35; Chut Shani (vol. 2, pg. 68 and 87); Orchos Shabbos 3:87; Machazeh Eliyahu 51. [Note, however, that while this ruling is the consensus of contemporary poskim and is the prevalent custom, Rav M. Feinstein is quoted by several sources as being lenient regarding the use of a peeler on Shabbos.]
125. “Right before mealtime” is explained earlier. See more details in the section dealing with fresh fruit salad.
126. Beiur Halachah 319:1, s.v. min.
127. Igros Moshe, O.C. 4:74 (Tochen 3); Minchas Shlomo 1:91-13.
128.O.C. 321:12.
129. See Mishnah Berurah 321:45. While Chazon Ish (O.C. 57) disagrees with this leniency, Igros Moshe (O.C. 4:74-2) rules that when the need arises, even a ba’al nefesh need not be stringent. This is also the ruling of Rav S.Z. Auerbach (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 6:6).
130. Since “kneading” does not apply in the case of large pieces that do not join into one mass.
131. It is permitted, however, to dip one piece at a time in salt and then eat it.
132. See Mishnah Berurah 321:15 and Peri Megadim 321:3. Some of the fat-free salad dressings may contain no oil, only vinegar.
133. Mishnah Berurah 321:14. For an elaboration, see Otzros ha-Shabbos, pg. 482.
134. Rav S.Z. Auerbach (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 11:2); Rav Y.S. Elyashiv (Ashrei ha-Ish 29:1); Otzros ha-Shabbos, pg. 481. See Chut Shani (Shabbos, vol. 2, pg. 200) who is more stringent concerning cucumbers.
135. Mishnah Berurah 319:5. When preparing fruit for guests, however, it is permitted to prepare even more than they can eat, if by doing so one honors them; Rav S.Z. Auerbach (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 3:44); Rav Y.S. Elyashiv (The Laws of Borer, pg. 34).
136. Mishnah Berurah 319:5.
137. Ayil Meshulash, pg. 128.
138. Eglei Tal (Borer 6); Shevisas ha-Shabbos (Borer 24); Ketzos ha-Shulchan 125:16, based on the view of Pri Megadim quoted in Sha’ar ha-Tziyun 321:97.
139. Mishnah Berurah 321:84; Minchas Shabbos 8:69; Igros Moshe, O.C. 4:74-8; Rav Y.S. Elyashiv, (quoted in The Laws of Borer, pg. 20); Az Nidberu 9:10.
140. Rav N. Karelitz (Ayil Meshulash, pg. 159).
141. See Mishnah Berurah 340:16 and 41; Kaf ha-Chayim 340:34.
142. Igros Moshe, O.C. 4:74 (Borer 7); Ashrei ha-Ish, (Borer 46).
143. See Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 3:39 and Ayil Meshulash, pg. 81.
144. Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 11:12. See also Shevet ha-Levi 6:29.
145. See Be’er Moshe 6:43 and Orchos Shabbos 15:23 who permit using a scoop to carve out balls from watermelon. See also Da’as Torah 321:19. See Ohr ha-Shabbos, vol. 16, pg. 26.
146. Chazon Ish, O.C. 57.
147. Igros Moshe, O.C. 4-74 (Tochen 2).
148. Since it is permitted to squeeze cooked foods to enhance their taste; O.C. 320:7.
149. To satisfy the views of the poskim who maintain that the removal of oil constitutes borer. Igros Moshe, O.C. 4:74 (Borer 1-2), however, seems to hold that if some oil remains in the tuna, the prohibition of borer does not apply. Ashrei ha-Ish (Borer 27) maintains that borer does not apply to all to tuna mixed with oil.
150. Igros Moshe, O.C. 4:74:7. [In a certain respect, the halachah is more lenient regarding tuna fish salad or chopped liver than regarding eggs and onions, since some poskim maintain that kneading does not apply to cooked foods; see Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 8, notes 10 and 75. On the other hand, eggs and onions could possibly be a looser mixture than tuna and liver and therefore less likely to be included in the prohibition of kneading.]
151. Igros Moshe, O.C. 4-74 (Tochen 4-5).
152. Since this mixture does not create a single mass.
153. Igros Moshe, O.C. 4:74 (Lash 8).
154. Since mixing two solids is not Kneading. But it is forbidden to mix butter or margarine with cocoa powder; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 8:21.
155. Since this produces even a thinner mixture than the one started with; Rav S.Z. Auerbach (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 8:19). See also Chut Shani, vol. 1, 13-2. But adding jelly to soft cheese and mixing together is forbidden, since this mixture can create a single mass.
156. Sefer Hilchos Shabbos, (Eider) pg. 237.
157. Since the individual potato pieces are distinguishable.
158. Shevisas ha-Shabbos (Lash 8-9); Igros Moshe, O.C. 4:74 (Tochein 2);
159. This does not “knead” the food; it makes it soft. [See CHD to Chapter 318 regarding dipping baked goods into hot beverages.]