Hello,
I was wondering if/how one can maintain a kosher kitchen in a small condo. Typically a small kitchen with little space to have seperate counters. One sink, one microwave, one stove, and one dishwasher.
Does one need to give up cooking dairy? Or is there a more practical solution that isn’t extremely tedious?
Thank you!
I grew up in a world where everyone had one sink, one stove, one oven, and zero dishwashers. We all ate kosher. There were no problems.
The main thing to keep in mind is that utensils and pots can only become treif if they’re heated beyond 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, they’re not keli rishon.
Let’s start with the refrigerator. There’s no need for any separation between milk and meat. You can put a pack of cheese on top of a bag of chicken.
The kitchen sink is a place where you clean dirty dishes. You can pile up meat and milk dishes. It can’t treif the other pots and utensils, as you’re not cooking in there and the hot water is always less than 125 degrees by law. You can clean both milk and meat simultaneously.
In a dishwasher you can put milk and meat simultaneously.
The counters can be used for both meat and dairy.
The stove and oven can be used for both, even at the same time. Just be careful, if using the stove or oven with milk and meat at the same time, it’s better to cover one of them, to avoid spraying from one to the other. If the item being cooked is solid and won’t spray, then it’s not necessary.
You should keep a separate set of pots, ladles, dishes, and silverware.
Glass bowls and pans can be used for either.
All serving bowls and platters can be used for both, as long as you don’t cook in them. If they are glass or glazed, they can be used for both even if you cook in them, as glass does not absorb any flavor.