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.