Dear Rabbi Simon,
In my nearly-Pesach cookathon, I by mistake tasted the juice under the chicken for seasoning (a tiny spoon smaller than coffee spoon), forgetting I was going to eat milky. Do I now have to wait the full three hours before I can do so? Or can I wait less if I did not eat the meat and it was a small amount?
Thanks so much and hag same’ah
Mel
***
Dear Mel
Thank you for your question.
Since Talmudic times, the Jewish People have regarded the Torah prohibition of cooking meat in milk with such reverence and caution that we have extended it beyond its minimal application in several ways. With this in mind, the ”bottom line” with your chicken juice tasting is that if you consciously only tasted the chicken juice, without swallowing, there are grounds to be lenient. However if you were not specifically attentive to this, and you tasted it in the normal way, halakhic practice is to require the full interval of waiting before consuming dairy products. Hopefully the time will pass quickly!
חג כשר ושמח
Rabbi Rashi Simon