S0489 - Meleches Shabbos - (Klal 19 Siman 2) - Losh - 9 - Mayonnaise - 2

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Losh 9 - Mayonnaise 2 (Klal 19 Siman 2) Hilchos Shabbos - S0489

We have finished siman 2, and are discussing making various dishes with mayonnaise. We learned about the unique status of an item such as mayonnaise, in that since it functions as a binder rather than as a combiner, the placement of other ingredients with mayonnaise does not create an issue of losh (and the concern will only apply to the second stage). We have discussed making potato, egg and tuna salad on Shabbos. Today, we will discuss adding ingredients to one of these dishes which was made before Shabbos.

If a person wants to add ingredients to a mayonnaise-based dish which was prepared before Shabbos, the question is whether there is a concept of yeish lisha achar lisha or not, meaning, once losh has been performed, is there a concept that losh can apply to the same item again or not. The Biur Halacha discusses this question in siman 321, and brings an opinion that one is not chayav for losh a second time on the same item. However, he clarifies that if there was an improvement to the dish when the second losh took place, there will be an issue of losh. Additionally, when adding a solid to a mixture (eg, spices), the solid had not been part of the mixture until now, and it needs to be absorbed into the mixture. If the mixture is already thick (eg, mayonnaise), when the new ingredients are added to the dish, they do not absorb, so there is no issue of losh in that first stage, as we have discussed. The issue would only come up when the ingredients are mixed into the dish, at which point one could employ a shinui to avoid the losh issue. However, if the mixture is thin enough that the new ingredients will naturally seep into the dish, there would be a concern for losh in the first stage as well. One could change the order of the ingredients, since, as a belilah raka, it is an issur derabanan. Thus, whether due to the improvement of the dish, or due to the absorption of the new solid ingredients into the mixture, there will be concerns of losh when adding ingredients to a mayonnaise-based dish which was prepared before Shabbos.

There may be a mixture which is between belilah avah and belilah raka, in that it does not have the heter of switching the order of ingredients of a belilah raka, yet there is some amount of natural mixing which takes place immediately such that it also does not have the heter of mayonnaise. An example would be where the dish is made of fine particles or flakes, such that they naturally absorb into the mixture. It is not thick enough that one can be confident that no binding takes place until the second stage, yet it is not thin enough that one can assume it is derabanan and employ the shinui of changing the order of ingredients. In such a case, there will be no heter that can be applied to the first step.

When adding liquid to a mixture, such as adding oil to egg salad, the additional liquid usually performs the opposite of losh, in that it thins out the mixture, and it is muttar. However, if the mixture is so dry that the liquid is necessary for the mixture to gain the desired consistency, the issues of losh would apply.

Another question regards adding liquid to liquid, or semi-solid to semi-solid. Examples include adding jelly to leben, where neither is an actual solid. There is no concern for losh in such cases.

Summary
Although mayonnaise has a unique characteristic that it does not absorb other items but rather glues them together, once it has been made into a dish, one cannot add other ingredients afterwards on Shabbos.
Certain viscosities of mixtures will be too thick to qualify for the shinui of changing the order of ingredients, yet too thin to have the quality of mayonnaise and the heter that the mayonnaise does not absorb other items.
Adding liquid to a mixture generally does not create an issue of losh, unless the mixture is dried out to the point that adding liquid allows for mixing to occur.
There is no issue of losh when adding liquid to liquid, or semi-liquids to semi-liquids..