Question:
Hello. I typically make instant mashed potatoes from a kosher brand in a certain pot, but mistakenly picked up another brand at the store that lacks a hechsher last week. I only realized this after having made and served the dish a few times with the pot, various plates, and utensils. The listed ingredients on the uncertified instant mash are listed as only “dehydrated potatoes [potato flakes, mono/diglycerides, sodium acid pyrophosphate as preservative, sodium bisulfite as preservative, citric acid as preservative]”. What should I do with my cookware and utensils? I am unsure of which utensils were used in the pot to make the dish, since they have all been cleaned and put away by now, and they may have then gone on to be used in other pots to make other dishes. Are my other pots suspect now as well? Thank you in advance for your guidance in rectifying this issue.
Answer:
The potatoes are problematic because of bishul akum. This is because they first fully cook the potatoes, then they mash them and mix them with the other ingredients, and then dry it to flakes. We pasken that the keilim need kashering. Therefore the pot should be kasher and whatever serving things are in the safek. The cutlery can be used.
Best wishes
