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I saw here that Rav Belsky holds the following:

One of the flavors of Klein's parve ice cream is "Cookies and Cream" which contains cookie crumbs or bits which are sprinkled through areas of vanilla frozen dessert. The appropriate brocha rishona on this product is shehakol, but it is k'dai [worthwhile] to make a borei minei mezonos on another product and have in mind at that time to be motzi the cookie part of the ice cream as well.

Why is the appropriate bracha rishona shehakol? I thought that mezonos was not batel in a mixture because it is always chashuv (see Mishneh Berurah 212:1 or Aruch HaShulchan 212:1)? What is the logic behind Rav Belsky's ruling?

Menachem
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Curiouser
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2 Answers2

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I asked two Rabbonim this question years ago and they both gave me the same answer:

While it is true that 5 minim are not batel (unless insignificant), and normally the rest of the product becomes secondary (tafel) to the primary (ikar) mezonos, in a case such as cookie ice cream where there is so much ice cream relative to a small amount of added mezonos, it is impossible to call the ice cream secondary. The ice cream is considered an ikar and is not batel. Nevertheless, the 5 minnim are not batel and so they get a bracha as well.

YDK
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  • R. Belsky says that m'ikar hadin the bracha is shehakol, so I don't see how your answer solves the problem, if, in your view, one must make 2 brochos? He holds one bracha is sufficient. – Curiouser May 22 '12 at 22:25
  • I thought your question was why is the bracha a shehakol- shouldn't the ice cream be secondary to chameishes minim? That is what I addressed. You can add to your question by asking why or why doesn't the cookie becomes batel to the ice cream. The rabbonim I asked were sure it does not. Rabbi Belsky had concern that it does. – YDK May 22 '12 at 22:53
  • I guess I am confused by your answer then, with the "they get a bracha as well". Do you mean you must make a bracha on both? – Curiouser May 23 '12 at 00:17
  • In short, the ice cream gets a bracha because it cannot be considered tafel relative to the cookies. The cookies get a bracha because 5 minim that is significant does not become tafel (Although R' Belsky is not definitive on that point). – YDK May 23 '12 at 00:35
  • If that is the case, then you are saying your rabbis told you to make 2 brachos, but R. Belsky says 1 is enough. So again, I don't see the relevance of your answer. My question is why is the bracha shehakol; your answer is: it's not -- you need to make 2 brachos. – Curiouser May 23 '12 at 01:13
  • The answer to your question why the bracha is shehakol is because the ice cream is an ikar regardless of the existence of a small quantity of cookie. As a result of that answer, there is a new question- does that mean the cookie is tafel? The answer to that is disputed. – YDK May 23 '12 at 01:39
  • I think I am starting to understand you -- then can you explain why the small quantity of cookie doesn't matter? Is there a principle at work? A particular ratio needed? I think that is really my question to begin with. – Curiouser May 23 '12 at 01:45
  • I can't bring a specific source, but my gut tells me that the question is: When significant 5 minim even in the minority are not tafel, is that a broad rule with no exceptions (therefore we always make mezonos) or is that the general rule because usually the mezonos is an ikar, but there are exceptions where the mezonos is clearly not the ikar (and there would be no bracha). – YDK May 23 '12 at 02:58
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I can't definitively give you his logic, but according to Bruchos 36b, If the flour is there to satisfy you then you always make a Mezonot on it (Kol SheYesh Bo). However, if the flour is there just to hold the food together, like bread-crumbs in a hamburger (or Schnitzel @Shmuel Brin), then it's a Shehakol.

I guess Rav Belsky felt that the cookie-crumbs were dispersed throughout the ice cream more for their consistency than for satisfaction.

zaq
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    But the consistency in ice cream is that it tastes like cookies; in the hamburger example the breading is there as a binding agent -- without it the burger could fall apart. Ice cream won't fall apart without cookies in it; they are added for flavor and texture to the eater. – Curiouser May 22 '12 at 22:26
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    The flavor comes from the chocolate in the cookie, not the flour. – zaq May 24 '12 at 16:12