We have finished siman 9. We will review the siman and discuss some relevant applications.
The Chayei Adam discussed the concept that taking a food from maachal ben drusai to fully cooked will fall under the issur of bishul, even if it was already edible before it was cooked further. This is known as the issur of kiruv bishul.
Therefore, while it is not yet fully cooked, there is an issur to stir the pot, because it will help the pot cook more quickly. Even though it would cook on its own, hastening the process by stirring it is an issur deoraysa.
This issur applies both on the fire and off of the fire.
Spooning or scooping the food out of the pot is also problematic, because the result is that it gets stirred while it is being removed.
Spooning or scooping the food out of the pot is an extension of the issur of stirring
If the food is fully cooked, and no longer on the fire, there is no longer an issur of hagasah (stirring), and certainly no issue with scooping it out.
The Mishnah Berurah does not seem to see the need to be machmir in this case. He does write that even if one wishes to be machmir, the chumra would only apply to one who intentionally performs hagasah. Hagasah which occurs on its own due to spooning or scooping is certainly muttar.
If the food is fully cooked, but it is still on the fire, there is a problem of hagasah. By extension, there will be a problem of spooning or scooping out as well.
The Chazon Ish disagrees and holds there is no problem of spooning or scooping, but most poskim, including the Mishnah Berurah, hold one should not scoop or spoon. Even according to the Chazon Ish, one may remove it from the fire and then scoop or spoon.
We will go back to the Chayei Adam’s first point, regarding kiruv bishul, and discuss some relevant examples.
If a person has a pot on the fire which is not fully cooked, they cannot return it to the fire, because it would cause it to cook. Even though it would continue cooking within the kli rishon while it is off of the fire, it will certainly speed up the process.
If a person leaves pots on the blech containing food which is not fully cooked, the pots which are directly above the fire will cook more quickly than the pots which are further away from the fire. One must be careful not to move the further pots closer to the fire, because they are hastening the bishul process by doing so.
If one removes the cover off of a pot while the pot is on the fire, they cannot replace the cover, because the cover causes the food to cook more quickly.
Similarly, if one places food into the oven to remain warm, if they open the oven door and realize the food is not fully cooked, they cannot close the oven door, as it would hasten the bishul process. The heat of the oven diminishes when the door is open, so the food will cook more quickly when the door is closed.
Summary
Any act which will hasten the bishul process of a non-fully cooked item, is considered bishul and is assur. This is true even though it would have cooked fully of its own accord, and he is only hastening the bishul. This is known as kiruv bishul.
Even if the item is already cooked to maachal ben Drusai, hastening the process of reaching fully cooked is assur.
Similarly, it is assur to stir such a pot, and, by extension, it is assur to scoop or spoon out of it. This applies both on and off of the fire.
If the food is fully cooked, and no longer on the fire, there is no concern of kiruv bishul to scoop, spoon or stir it. If it is still on the fire, it is appropriate to be machmir not to stir it.
Even if the food is on the fire, if it’s fully cooked, meikar hadin, scooping is muttar. There is a machlokes whether there is even a chumra to refrain from scooping.
