Milk Splattering on Meat Hotplate
Question
A little bit of milk splattered on to my shabbos electric hot plate (used for meat) If I just clean away the milk stains, is the hot plate good to go?
Answer
Shalom!
Thank you for your question!
One need only wipe away an unwanted spill on a hotplate (even if the hot plate was hot at the time) and one may continue to use it as normal. No further kashering is needed.
It is worth mentioning that one can, in theory at least, use a hotplate for both meat and dairy as long as the hotplate is completely clean and dry, and the food is in a pot, so that the food will not be in direct contact with the hotplate. This is permitted due to the principle that one vessel cannot absorb taste from another vessel unless there is a hot liquid between them , with such usage one should have a covering on one’s hotplate, such as aluminum foil, which will better maintain its kashrus status when spilling occurs. So too, the covering should be changed when one wants to use the hotplate for the opposite type.
Source
Shach, YD 105:22, 24; Aruch Hashulchan, YD 105:42; Mishna Berura 451:34