Dash

Introduction

1. Included in the prohibition of grinding are chopping up finely, grating, crushing, mashing, shredding, or breaking something into small pieces.
2. This prohibition applies to non-foods as well, for example crushing a clod of dirt, chopping a piece of wood into small chips, sawing to make sawdust.

Utensils designated for grinding

1. Under all circumstances, it’s forbidden to use a utensil designated for grinding such as a grater, mincer, mortar and knife used specifically to chop finely.
2. A vegetable chopper (with blades fitted with springs on a axis) is forbidden since it chops vegetables thinly.
3. An egg slicer (with equally spaced wires that slice the egg when pressed) is permitted.
4. A special cheese knife isn’t a utensil designated to be used for chopping finely.

Foods that grow from the ground

1. One may not chop, shred, mash, or grate a food that grows from the ground such as fruits and vegetables. It’s permissible to cut the food as long as the resulting pieces aren’t too small and it’s done right before the meal.
2. One may not spread a soft fruit such as a banana or avocado. However, this prohibiton wouldn’t apply to food that’s so soft that when pulled the part one is holding comes away in one’s fingers.

Cooked fruits and vegetables

1. There’s no prohibition of grinding concerning fruit or vegetables cooked to the extent that it’s soft and easy to mash such as jam.
2. One shouldn’t use a fork to mash a cooked fruit or vegetable unless it was partly crushed out of shape before or during the cooking and is easily mashed.
3. One shouldn’t use a strainer to puree or cream a cooked fruit or vegetable since the strainer has a designated purpose of being used to mash.

Foods that don’t grow from the ground

1. It’s permissible to grind foods that don’t grow from the ground including fish, meat, eggs, and cheese. However, one may not use a utensil designated for grinding.

Grinding for a small child

1. One can be lenient to cut a food very small for a small child to eat so long as it’s immediately prior to the meal.
2. It’s forbidden to mash or squash a fruit or vegetable such as a banana or tomato. If one has to mash a banana for a small child one should do it with a variation such as using the handle of a fork or a spoon.

Sechita (squeezing)

1. It’s forbidden to squeeze a fruit in order to extract it’s liquid if one squeezes the fruit into a liquid or empty vessel. The prohibition is violated whether it’s done with one’s hand or a utensil. One may not squeeze a fruit into an empty vessel with intent to put solid food in afterwards.
2. It’s permitted to squeeze a fruit with one’s hand onto a solid food if either the food absorbs the liquid or the liquid is meant to improve the flavor of the food.

liquids that oozed out themselves

1. Juice that oozed (by itself) out of fruit, which is specifically designated to be eaten, is permitted to drink.

Squeezing a lemon

1. For example, it’s permitted to squeeze a lemon on sugar even if one’s intent is to put the sugar in a liquid afterwards, however, there are authorities who are strict on this issue.
2. It’s permissible to cut a slice of lemon and put it into a drink.

Squeezing out excess liquid

1. It’s permitted to squeeze out excess liquid in a food to improve it’s taste if it’s done immediately prior to eating. For example it’s permitted to squeeze a pickled cucumber to remove some of it’s vinegar.

Sucking out a liquid

1. One may hold onto a fruit and suck on it (extracting the liquid) while it’s in one’s mouth. However, one shouldn’t squeeze the fruit with one’s hand.
2. It’s permitted to dip bread in a soup or other dip and then suck off the liquid, but it’s preferable to eat a little of the bread with it.

Cutting a grapefruit or watermelon

1. It’s permitted to cut a grapefruit (or watermelon) even if liquids will ooze out as long as one doesn’t intend specifically to drink the juices rather to eat the fruit and that one doesn’t intentionally doesn’t squeeze the fruit.

On Yom Tov

1. It’s permitted to soak matzah and squeeze out the liquid in preparation to cooking.

Squeezing Grapes

1. It’s preferable not to squeeze grapes even onto solid foods that will absorb the liquid or be improved.
2. One shouldn’t suck on grapes while holding them in one’s hand, rather one should put the entire grape in one’s mouth, eat (or suck on it) and take out what’s left.
3. Juice that oozed out of grapes by itself, is forbidden to drink.