8

Does a meat thermometer need to undergo tevillas keilim before use, since it does not really do anything to prepare the food itself?

msh210
  • 73,729
  • 12
  • 120
  • 359
Dave
  • 21,071
  • 3
  • 53
  • 104

1 Answers1

9

According to the Star-K Tevila Guidelines, no tevila is required for a meat thermometer.

jake
  • 28,533
  • 2
  • 72
  • 159
  • The Star-K says http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-containers-tevilas.htm : "Utensils require tevila with a brocha when they have direct contact with food during preparation or meal time and are made from metal such as aluminum, brass, copper, gold, iron, lead, silver, steel, tin, or glass such as pyrex, duralex, and corelle." Why would they say that no tevila is required for a meat thermometer? I've only seem metal meat thermometers, and isn't checking the temperature "direct contact with food during preparation"? – Menachem Jul 01 '11 at 18:38
  • @Menachem No it is not. – avi Feb 02 '12 at 20:05
  • @avi: why not? aren't we talking about one of these: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/5/26/1306401608206/Meat-thermometer-006.jpg – Menachem Feb 02 '12 at 21:53
  • @Menachem yes, that is what we are talking about. But just as tasting cake batter while preparing cake is not the same as eating cake, sticking a thermometer in a piece of meat, and then taking it out is not food preparation. – avi Feb 03 '12 at 11:12
  • @avi: can you please define food preparation, with sources preferably. – Menachem Feb 03 '12 at 15:51
  • @Menachem preparing food... Halacha makes no distinction between preparing food or not preparing food. It only talks about a Kli, and how that kli operates. – avi Feb 04 '12 at 17:09
  • @avi: So a thermometer is not a Kli? Why not? – Menachem Feb 05 '12 at 21:49
  • @Menachem I think you should be asking a seperate question, this is way beyond the comments of this question now. – avi Feb 05 '12 at 21:54
  • @Menachem and avi, that's funny. I was going to vote to close the other as a duplicate. I'll leave it alone. – Seth J Feb 06 '12 at 20:18
  • @Menachem if I can jump in on this. Even a plate which simply holds the food is still having a direct purposeful effect on the food preparation. A thermometer is a a very indirect help for the prep thereby negating it's keli status in this regard. I will admit I'm not sure if I completely agree with this ruling, and I can't say this was in fact the svara used by star-k, but I definitely hear the difference. Enough at least that I started searching for an answer. – user6591 Aug 27 '15 at 14:32