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SHAVUOS (eating meat after dairy)

There is a מנהג to eat a dairy meal on שבועות. Some follow the Minhag of the Steipler to eat a dairy meal at night. Others prefer to have an early dairy meal during the morning, Bentch,take a break to have הסך הדעת and then wash again and have a meat meal. This is due to concerns that ושמחת בחגך may require a meat meal.  There are many reasons given for eating dairy on שבועות: Reb Moshe understood from the  רמ”א that having a milk meal followed by a meat meal requires separate Challas. This reminds us of the שתי הלחם. Until מתן תורה milk was אסור as Eiver Min Hachai. The Steipler would eat the dairy meal at night. The גמרא in חולין says that we can eat meat after a dairy meal. In ירה דעה the need for קינוח והדחה after eating dairy is added, washing well one’s mouth in between.to clean it.

 The רמב”ם Paskens that we must wait 6 hours between meat to milk.רש”י says that this is due to lingering taste of the meat. The רמב”ם says the wait is due to strings of meat that may be caught in ones teeth. Most Poskim agree (ש”ע ,(טור לחם משנה  פרי מגדים  בן איש חי ו.   In YD 89 the רמה ומחבר agree that after hard or pungent cheese we need to wait for the same as we do between meat and milk. The שך says that cheese is considered hard after aging for about 6 months.  Rav Aharon Kotler ztl defined hard cheese as having to be grated and not sliced. The יד יהודה (YYK 89:30) says that if the hard cheese was melted one no longer needs to wait before eating meat.

In most cases one must wait after eating hard cheese that was aged 6 months or more before eating meat the same amount of time that they wait after eating meat before eating dairy. For most of the world that is 6 hours. The following list compiled by the o/u shows which types of cheese are generally aged long enough to be called a hard cheese:

• Appenzeller (Swiss-made): Classic: 3-4 months; Surchoix: 4-6 months*; Extra: over 6 months*
• Asiago: Fresh (Asiago/Asiago Pressato: 3-6 weeks); Asiago d´Allevo/Mezzano: 3-8 months*; Asiago d´Allevo/Vecchio: 9-18 months*; Asiago d´Allevo/Stravecchio: over 18 months*
• Caciocavallo:  fresh variety: 2 months;  semi-aged variety: up to 6 months*; aged variety: well beyond six months*
• Caciotta Alpina: up to 1 year*
• Dry Monterey Jack: 7-10 months*
• Cheddar, Medium, Sharp and Aged: close to 6 months, and up to 7 years (!)*
• Chevre (Goat Cheese): usually aged for two weeks or less; however, if label says “aged” or states a specific cheese variety, may be aged much longer   
• Emmental (Swiss Cheese-Switzerland): 6-14 months*
• Feta (goat or sheep milk): brined 3-6 months
• Fiore Sardo: 4-8 months*
• Fontina: 1-8 months*
• Gruyere: 5 months – 12 months
• Havarti (Regular): 3 months; however, Aged Havarti: 1 year*
• Kashkaval: 3-6 months*
• Marble Cheese: 4-6 months*
• Monchego:  Monchego Fresco: 2 weeks; Mochego Curado: 3-6 months*; Monchego Viejo: 1 year*
• Montasio: fresh variety: 2 months; semi-aged variety: 5-9 months*; aged variety: 10 months*
• Monterey Jack (in American market): 2 months (although foreign market Monterey Jack can be aged 6 months to 1 year*); see also Dry Monterey Jack, above
• Parmesan: 10-24 months or more*
• Pecorino Sardo: 8 months*
• Pecorino Romano: 6-8 months*
• Pepper Jack: Same as Monterey Jack (above)
• Piccante Provolone: 6-12 months*
• Provola dei Nebrodi: at least 6 months*
• Provolone: see Dolce Provolone and Piccante Provolone
• Reggianito: 6 months*
• Speedy Piccante: at least 9 months*
• Stravecchio: 1-3 years*
• Swiss – American-made, Baby Swiss and Lacey Swiss: 3-4 months; see Emmental, above, for Swiss made in Switzerland

Note: the following are not hard cheese: American cheese, Brie, Caciocayallo(fresh), Camembert, Mild Chedder, Chevre/goat cheese, Colby, Edam, Emmental Classic, Feta (goat or cow) Golden jack, Gouda, Halloumi, Kashkaval, Montaggio, Monterey Jack (American market), Mozzarella, Muenster, Pepper Jack (American market) Queso Quesadilla, Swiss (American made).  

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