Corn and potato products

From Halachipedia
  1. 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. [1]

Popcorn

  1. Popcorn is HaAdama either because the seed is considered to be recognizable [2] or even though the seed has changed to the point that it’s unrecognizable as corn but nonetheless the seed is still intact [3]. However, some consider it Shehakol. [4]

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.[5]

Corn chips

  1. Corn tortillas and corn chips would be shehakol since both are processed to the point where they loose their ideal brocha. [6]

Potato chips

  1. Potato chips are HaAdama because it’s recognizably a thin slice of a potato that was fried. [7]

Pringles

  1. Some say that pringles are HaAdama since the result retains a resemblance of the original vegetable. [8]

Mashed potatoes

  1. Mashed potatoes are HaAdama. [9]

Instant potatoes

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

Sources

  1. 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. So holds Vezot HaBracha (pg 100, chapter 12) and Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 403-4, chapter 22)
  2. Vezot HaBracha (pg 100, chapter 12) and Or Letzion (vol 2, 14:11)
  3. Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 409, chapter 22) in name of Rav Moshe Feinstein and Rav Shlomo Zalman
  4. Vezot HaBracha (pg 100, chapter 12) quotes Rav Mordechai Eliyahu who says that the Bracha on popcorn is Shehakol.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 407, chapter 22) in name of Rav Shlomo Zalman
  8. Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 407, chapter 22) in name of Rav Shlomo Zalman
  9. 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, Rav Sheinburg, and Rav Elyashiv who agree that mashed potatoes are HaAdama. Yalkut Yosef 202:22 rules that mashed potatoes are HaAdama. See also Sh"t Yabea Omer 7:29.
  10. Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 407, chapter 22) in name of Rav Shlomo Zalman, Rabbi Pinchas Sheinburg, 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.