MOZZARELLA CHEESE
We have seen that after eating hard cheese, one must wait before eating meat, just as we are required to wait after meat before eating dairy. This is whether it is six months old or has a hard texture that leaves a strong aftertaste. What is the halacha in regard to mozzarella cheese used in pizza, called by the poskim “yellow cheese”? If a person had pizza for lunch, can they eat meat for supper? Rav Elyashiv ruled that it has the status of hard cheese, and the person must wait six hours. Other poskim hold that it is not necessary, which is the prevalent minhag in America.
PARMESAN CHEESE
There is a big question in the poskim about hard cheeses that were melted, such as in a soup or the like. A prime example of this is Parmesan cheese, which is often used in soup or melted into eggplant. Do we say that once the cheese became “a six-hour cheese,” it retains that status, or should we say that once it is melted and becomes soft, it no longer has the status of hard cheese?
The reason to differentiate is based on the words of the Yad Yehuda, a classic commentary on these halachos. He writes that if someone melts the cheese, it is no longer necessary to wait six hours.
But there are different ways of understanding this ruling. Some explain that it is because the cheese became soft and therefore loses its status of being hard cheese, even if there are still pieces of cheese that are noticeable. According to this understanding, eggplant parmesan with melted cheeses would not be considered six-hour cheese, since the cheese is melted. Although the pieces are noticeable, since the cheese is soft, it loses its status of being hard cheese.
Some take this leniency even further and add that once it is cooked, it loses its status of hard cheese, and even if it becomes hard again, one is no longer required to wait six hours.
Others explain that it is not the cooking per se, but the fact that it gets dissolved, such as when cooked in a soup. According to this understanding, since eggplant parmesan still has distinct pieces, it will retain the status of six-hour cheese.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
What happens if someone ate hard cheese on Friday afternoon, and if he is required to wait six hours until starting the Shabbos meal, this will cause the family to wait many hours for the meal? In this case, there are poskim who rule that there is room to be lenient and not wait six hours. But as with any complicated halachic question, when such situations arise, one should be sure to ask a competent rav.
IN SUMMARY
After pizza, Rav Elyashiv ruled that a person must wait six hours, but the prevalent minhag in America is to follow the poskim who hold that it is not necessary. Some hold that eggplant parmesan with melted cheeses is not considered “six-hour cheese” since the cheese is melted. Others hold that this allowance is only when the cheese dissolves, such as when cooked in a soup, but eggplant parmesan still has distinct pieces and retains the status of a “six-hour cheese.”
RABBI NACHUM SCHEINER
