Adding Salt to Cholent
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Hello
According to the law, it is ruled that salt does not cook except in a primary vessel on the fire, like "the meat of an ox," and one who is stringent considers it as easy-to-cook and forbids even in a secondary vessel, may he be blessed.
Therefore, according to the law, even if the cholent is considered a "solid mass," it does not cook, because although the mass is considered like a primary vessel, it is not on the fire.
However, due to stringency, even if it is not considered a "solid mass," it can cook easy-to-cook items.
[Regarding the actual halachic discussion: when there is enough sauce that the dish is liquid, the meat and potatoes inside do not have the status of a solid mass, because the walls cool the sauce and what is inside. And when there is only slight moisture, there is a status of a solid mass, which depends on the dispute among the authorities whether it is considered like a secondary vessel or a primary vessel. The Mishnah Berurah wrote stringently that it is like a primary vessel].
