Corn and potato products

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General Guidelines

  1. A cooked or baked dish made from any other flour other than flour of the 5 grains or rice is Shehakol. Therefore, the bracha on a cooked or baked dish, which is primarily made from corn or potato flour and does not include the 5 grains, is Shehakol. [1]
  2. If one grinds a vegetable or grain not from the five grains and cook it, if the vegetable is still recognizable in the product then the Bracha is the same the vegetable, however if it’s ground and unrecognizable then the Bracha is shehakol unless it’s still intact. [2]

Popcorn

  1. Popcorn is HaAdama either because the seed is considered to be recognizable [3] or even though the seed has changed to the point that it’s unrecognizable as corn but nonetheless the seed is still intact [4]. However, some consider it Shehakol. [5]

Corn flakes

  1. Corn flakes can either be shehakol or haadoma depending on how they are made. If made from flour – then shehakol. If made from rolled grits – then haadoma.[6]

Corn chips

  1. Corn tortillas and corn chips would be shehakol since both are processed to the point where they loose their ideal brocha. [7]

Potato chips

  1. Potato chips are HaAdama because it’s recognizably a thin slice of a potato that was fried. [8]

Pringles

  1. Some say that pringles are HaAdama since the result retains a resemblance of the original vegetable. [9]

Mashed potatoes

  1. Mashed potatoes are HaAdama. [10]
  2. Many say that instant mashed potatoes are HaAdama since the result retains a resemblance of the original vegetable. [11]

Bamba

  1. Many are of the opinion that since the corn flour is totally unrecognizable, Bamba is Shehakol.[12] However, some claim that since the corn is grown specifically for Bamba, and there are few ingredients but the puffed corn flour itself, the Beracha remains Haadama.[13]

Sources

  1. ↑
    • Gemara: Rav and Shmuel (Gemara Brachot 37a-b) hold that mixtures made from orez or dochen are not mezonot. The gemara finally rejects their opinion and concludes that the bracha rishona on orez bread is mezonot and bracha achrona is Boreh Nefashot.
    • Dispute amongst the rishonim about dochen: The Rif (Brachot 26a) rules that cooked orez is mezonot, while bread made from dochen is shehakol. The Rambam (Brachot 3:10) agrees that orez that’s cooked or baked into bread is mezonot, but dochen bread is shehakol.
    • One anonymous gaon (quoted by Talmidei Rabbenu Yonah Berachot 26a s.v. VePat), Rabbenu Yonah (Berachot 26a), and the Rosh (Brachot 6:8) argue that the bracha on dochen bread is mezonot since dochen is filling just like orez.
    • Identifying orez and dochen: Tosfot 37a s.v. Rashi explain that orez is rice and dochen is millet. Bet Yosef 208:8 sides with the opinion of Tosfot.
    • Halachic ruling: S”A 208:7-8 rules like the Rif and Rambam that cooked rice or rice bread is mezonot, but dochen bread is shehakol. Beiur Halacha s.v. Al Pat asks why Shulchan Aruch ruled like the Rif and Rambam against the majority of rishonim. He concludes that one who wants to make mezonot on dochen bread may do so.
    • Other satiating grains: The Talmidei Rabbenu Yonah (Brachot 26a s.v. VePat) quotes one Goan and Rabbenu Yonah as having ruled that any grain, which we know provides sustenance is mezonot. Tur 208:8 agrees. Beiur Halacha s.v. Al Pat quotes the Tosfot HaRosh as agreeing as well.
    • Halachic ruling: The Beiur Halacha points out that Shulchan Aruch who ruled that dochen bread and panisu bread was Shehakol, clearly ruled against the Rabbenu Yonah. Accordingly, Chatom Sofer (responsa O.C. #50) originally assumes that bread made from born flour can not be mezonot considering that we hold like the Rif and Rambam as opposed to the Rabbenu Yonah.
    • Corn products: The Talmidei Rabbenu Yonah (Brachot 26a s.v. VeHaPat) offers two explanations as to why the bracha on bread made from lentils is shehakol and not haadama. First, the baked product is a complete change from the lentils themselves and does not warrant boreh pri haadama. Second, lentils are not usually eaten in the form of bread. The Chatom Sofer O.C. 50 applies these two answers to bread made from corn flour. According to the first one, the bracha is shehakol, but according to the second, since the primary way to eat corn is in this way, the bracha is haadama. See there for his other arguments.
    • Bottom line about corn products: The Laws of Brachos (p. 304) and Halachos of Brachos (p. 405) rule that foods made from corn flour are shehakol since the flour is ground to the extent that it is not recognizable as corn. Their rulings are based on the Rama 202:7. Vezot HaBracha (p. 200), Badatz Yerushalayim (Madrich Kashrut 5771 p. 130), and Rav Yisrael Belsky in Shulchan HaLevi (3:13 p. 37) agree.
    • Potato products: Badatz Yerushalayim (Madrich Kashrut 5771 p. 130) writes that foods which are primarily made from potato flour is Shehakol based on the Rama 202:7. Sefer Yemei HaPesach (p. 157) writes that cakes made from potato starch are Shehakol.
  2. ↑ Mishna Brurah 202:42 writes that the halacha is if the vegetables were crushed but still it’s intact then it retains the original Bracha, whereas if it’s crushed and unrecognizable the Bracha is Shehakol. This is also the opinion of Vezot HaBracha (pg 100, chapter 12) and Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 403-4, chapter 22)
  3. ↑ Vezot HaBracha (pg 100, chapter 12) and Or Letzion (vol 2, 14:11)
  4. ↑ Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 409, chapter 22) in name of Rav Moshe Feinstein and Rav Shlomo Zalman
  5. ↑ Vezot HaBracha (pg 100, chapter 12) quotes Rav Mordechai Eliyahu who says that the Bracha on popcorn is Shehakol.
  6. ↑ Rav Yisrael Belsky in Shulchan HaLevi (3:13 p. 37) rules that cornflakes which are made from corn flour is Shehakol, while if it is made from corn that was ground into grits, the bracha is HaAdama. He adds that if it is made from a combination of flour and grits, the bracha is HaAdama.
  7. ↑ Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 410, chapter 22) writes that corn tortillas and corn chips would be shehakol since both are processed to the point where they loose their ideal brocha. Rav Yisrael Belsky in Shulchan HaLevi (3:13 p. 37) rules that corn chips or corn tortillas are Shehakol in America or any country in which the majority of the corn isn't planted in order to be eaten as corn chips or tortillas. He explains that corn chips are made from cornmeal (corn flour) and so the bracha is Shehakol.
  8. ↑ Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 407, chapter 22) in name of Rav Shlomo Zalman
  9. ↑ Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 407, chapter 22) in name of Rav Shlomo Zalman and Rav Moshe Feinstein, Vezot haberacha pg. 239 in the name of Rav Elyashiv. see Rav Meir Bransdorfer who is quoted as saying that pringles are shehakol.
  10. ↑ Vezot HaBracha (chap 12, pg 99) writes that mashed potatoes are HaAdama and explains (pg 251) that since the texture and color are the same as the original vegetable the Bracha is the HaAdama. Halachos of Brachos (pg 406) quotes Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Sheinburg, and Rav Elyashiv who agree that mashed potatoes are HaAdama. Halacha Brurah 202:25 and Yalkut Yosef 202:22 rule that mashed potatoes are HaAdama. See also Sh"t Yabia Omer 7:29.
  11. ↑ Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 407, chapter 22) in name of Rav Shlomo Zalman, Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinburg, and Rav Elyashiv. Rav Yisrael Belsky in Shulchan HaLevi (3:12 p. 37) quotes Rav Moshe Feinstein as saying that instant mashed potatoes are HaAdama. Halacha Brurah 202:25 agrees.
  12. ↑ Vezot Habracha pg. 389, Birkhot Eliyahu pg. 100
  13. ↑ Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef (Yalkut Yosef Kitzur Shulchan Aruch vol. 1 Siman 203 Seif 6), where he testifies that he saw his father (Chacham Ovadia Yosef) make a Haadama on Bamba publicly on Pesach. The gist of Rav Yitzchak Yosef's argument is that the species of corn used in all the different Bamba recipes is different from the standard corn eaten worldwide, in shape, color, and edibility. Since it is only grown for Bamba and popcorn, and it remains discernible throughout the cooking process (he went to the factory to see for himself), it's Beracha is Haadama. He claims that he has received his father's support numerous times in writing and in the context of his father's shiurim. See further Yalkut Yosef vol. 3 on Berachot (page 422 and in the Miluim at the end of the volume), Ein Yitzchak (Vol. 2, pg 577), Yated HaMeir journal (Tamuz 5765), Shulchan HaMaarechet (Vol. 1, pg 428), Yalkut Yosef Berachot (5771, articles in the end of the Sefer, Siman 6, found in Otzar HaChochma). See Rabbi David Yosef (Halacha Brurahh vol. 8 pg 222) who claims like the first opinion in the name of his father that anything that undergoes a change of shape and taste becomes Shehakol. Though he doesn't explicitly reference Bamba, he is widely quoted to disagree with the Yalkut Yosef on this matter by popular media outlets specifically because the corn for Bamba is not grown just for Bamba and such parameters are likely to change. See Haskama in introduction to the 10th volume, where his father seems to support his opinion of saying shehakol. Rabbi Meir Mazuz also says to say shehakol on Bamba. Rabbi Avraham Yosef agrees but adds that if one says haadama that is good too. Most recently, Rav Yitzchak Yosef reviewed the issue at length in his Motzei Shabbat Shiur (Beshalach 5775, about 50:00). He tells the story about how originally everyone thought the Beracha was Shehakol, until he chanced upon touring the Bamba factory in Migdal HaEmek, was showed the entire process from start to finish, and discussed it with his father, who agreed that it should be Haadamah. That very year, his father made a Haadama on Bamba at the Seder and instructed the rest of the family to do the same. He added that this species of corn can only be used for popcorn, Bamba, and tortillas.
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