The  Basur  IS  Asur

I Scream for Ice Cream (and Popcorn)...but is it Kosher?

                               by Estie Wolf and Ellie Burger


           What is a movie without popcorn? Everyone knows that while watching your favorite, KOSHER film, there is nothing like a warm, buttery bag of KOSHER popcorn! However, when at the movies, one is presented with a quite perplexing moral dilemma: to buy the popcorn or not to buy the popcorn? That is the question. In other words, is movie theatre popcorn kosher? In addition, if one decides not to buy the popcorn and instead settles on a good, old-fashioned ice cream cone, can he or she purchase ice cream from the ice cream parlor next door to the movies? Surprisingly, the answer to these questions is not a simple yes or no. There are many issues involved, with varied Rabbinical opinions.

          The popcorn riddle is by far the simpler of the two. Of the several Rabbis consulted, they were all in agreement that it is not a good idea to buy popcorn when at the movies. However, arriving at this conclusion was a multi-step process. A popular misnomer concerning popcorn is that it is permissible to purchase the theatre’s popcorn if it is known to be a kosher brand, and if the customer makes sure to leave out the butter (the only obviously non-kosher ingredient). What a horrible misconception! Although the popcorn itself may be kosher, the machine it is popped in is almost certainly asur. The reason for this lies in the absence of any certainty that the Kosher popcorn being made in the machine today is the same popcorn the machine popped last week.
The reader may wonder why this makes any difference at all if any absorbed non-kosher taam becomes pagum after twenty-four hours. Adding to this question is the possibility that, perhaps, the heat generated by the popcorn-making process kashers the machine, thereby ridding it of any non-kosher taam that may have remained from the previously cooked non-kosher brand. This question stems from the concept in kashrut of "kibolo kach polto," meaning the same manner in which the taam was absorbed is the manner in which it will be secreted.

            The solution involves an idea in kashrut known as b’ayn, residue. In this case, the b’ayn is a significant amount of non-kosher oil left on the popcorn machines that is rauy la’achila, fit to be consumed. This oil possesses a higher status than does ordinary taam, and can not become pagum after twenty-four hours. Were the machines to be so perfectly cleaned with water of at least two hundred and twelve degrees Fahrenheit (the minimum halachic temperature necessary to perform hagalah), so that not a trace of b’ayn remained, the popcorn would be permissible.  If the floors of the actual theatres are any indication, then it is highly unlikely that the machines that produce the popcorn are so meticulously cleaned to the extent that no b’ayn can be found.

            In addition, since there is no way to ensure that the popcorn used in the past was, in fact, kosher, one must assume that the machines do contain traces of non-kosher b’ayn, rendering the machine and its contents asur gamur! Concerning the possibility that the machine is itself kashered during the popcorn-making process, there are two reasons why this is not a practical solution. First of all, the heat is not necessarily evenly distributed, meaning the heat of the popcorn making process is not necessarily equal to the heat in which the taam was originally absorbed. However, the main reason is that the b'ayn from the non-kosher popcorn cannot be fully nullified unless boiling water is used!

            Now that popcorn has been ruled out as a snack for the movies, what about the ice cream? Is it permissible to buy ice cream from an ice cream parlor, or are all moviegoers doomed to sit through the movie with NOTHING to eat? The answer to that one depends on the Local Orthodox Rabbi of choice. There are many Rabbis who hold that ice cream from a store such as Baskin-Robbins is one hundred percent mutar, while still others are vehemently opposed to the concept, claiming one should not purchase ice cream from these places. The Rabbis that were consulted in this case each gave different reasons for their stance. The question on everyone’s mind now is, of course, the quite puzzling problem of why certain Rabbis consider the store’s ice cream asur if it has a Teudah certifying its kashrut?

            The Teudah certifies that the ice cream being sold in the store comes from a kosher manufacturer, and that no additional ice cream is brought in from anywhere else. Meaning, all ice cream is kosher if one scoops the ice cream by themselves from a sealed tub. The problems begin once the ice cream is opened and distributed by the staff at the ice cream parlor. The following is a list of possible problems that may occur from the moment the tub of ice cream is opened: Duchikah D’sakinah caused by the knife-like pressure of the scoopers onto the ice cream, Shamnunit Sh’al Hasakin remaining on the scoopers, particles of non-kosher ice cream flavors (such as bubble gum at Baskin-Robbins) left on the scoopers and transferred to tubs of kosher ice cream, ice cream scoopers dipped in non-kosher ice cream flavors being soaked in the same possibly hot water as scoopers from kosher ice cream flavors, and the problem of kelim used in the store that have not been toveled.    

            Immediately, one can eliminate the problems of duchikah d’sakinah and shamnunit since they are not relevant in this case. Duchikah d’sakinah does not apply to a substance as soft as ice cream and the Rabbis do not recognize ice cream as an element that leaves shamnunit behind.

            Concerning the problem of particles of non-kosher ice cream flavors left on the scoopers and transferred to tubs of kosher ice cream, the buyer must be his or her own mashgiyach or mashgichah by simply looking into the tubs and seeing if he or she can spot any non-kosher ice cream. If there is a significant amount of ice cream present in the tub, one should refrain from purchasing that flavor. When buying at Baskin-Robbins, there are, after all, thirty more flavors to choose from!

            In between scoopings of bubble gum swirl and jamoca almond fudge, the ice cream scoopers are all placed in the same tub of water to be "cleaned."  Is it possible that there is taam transfer between the kosher and non-kosher flavors on the scoopers while they are sitting in the water?  Well, unless the water is yad soledes bo, which is highly unlikely since that would burn the hands of the workers, the taam can not transfer instantly. K'visha, transfer of taam through soaking in cold water, does not either apply because the scoopers are not in the water for an uninterrupted period of twenty-four hours or more.

        A well known concept in Halacha is that of t'veila. The Gemara Yerushalmi , Masechet Avoda Zora (Daf Ayin Hay, Amud Beis) states that a Jew, who buys an eating utensil made of metal or glass from a gentile, is required to immerse the vessel in a kosher mikveh. So it would seem logical that a Jew cannot eat off of any keilim not kashered in a mikveh.  But the differences concerning ice cream parlors and any non-kosher restaurants are, in regard to t'veila; A: the restaurants are usually not owned by Jews so the dishes do not require t’veila and B: even if the stores are owned by Jews, the kelim are being used for business purposes by the owners and not to feed their families. They therefore do not have a chiyuv to tovel them. 

        Also, the buyer is considered a borrower of the keilim, and therefore does not have to tovel them because a Jew is lending them. The bottom line is that the scoopers do not require t'veila, and the buyer is permitted to eat off of kelim in the ice cream parlor that have not been toveled. However, if one wishes to be extra cautious, he or she may use a plastic spoon in place of the metal one provided by the store when eating an eating an ice cream sundae or banana split.
In summation, one is allowed, according to most halachic authorities, to eat at an ice cream store that is certified by a trustworthy kashrut organization. It is up to the buyer to decide what he deems trustworthy. However, there are Rabbis who feel it is considered to be a "davar maus" to rely on the gentile staff at an ice cream parlor in matters of kashrut. Davar maus, which literally means "a disgusting thing," refers to the problem with putting something in one’s mouth, that is a safek. Since one can not know for sure that the gentile staff at the ice cream parlor distributed the ice cream according to the guidelines of Halacha, one is obligated to be wary of purchasing ice cream from a tub that has been opened. It should be known though, that not all Rabbis abide by this opinion.