Halacha Yomis - Melted cheeses, waiting after OU Kosher Halacha Yomis This column is dedicated in memory of: Rav Chaim Yisroel ben Reb Dov Belsky, zt'l Senior OU Kosher Halachic Consultant (1987-2016)

Q. Do I need to wait six hours before meat after eating pizza? What about after eating eggplant parmesan? A. Pizza is typically made with mozzarella cheese, which is aged for only one month and is not pungent. This is not considered a hard cheese, so there is no need to wait 6 hours. The Yad Yehuda (YYK 89:30) maintains that one need not wait before meat after eating aged cheese that has been melted and mixed into a cooked food, such that the cheese is no longer noticeable. The OU’s poskim follow this opinion. Thus, if the pizza or eggplant parmesan is made with a combination of aged and non-aged cheeses, if the cheeses all melt together and are not independently noticeable, the leniency of the Yad Yehuda would apply, and one would not need to wait. However, if a pizza or eggplant parmesan was made exclusively with parmesan cheese, then one who eats this would need to wait. As always, after eating any dairy food, even if the food is not made with aged cheese, one needs to clean and rinse his mouth and wash his hands before eating meat (Yoreh Deah 89:2); some people have the custom to wait half an hour or an hour after all dairy before meat regardless. (Hagahos HaGra Y.D. 89:6 quoting Zohar)