It’s always daunting to kasher your own kitchen for Passover. You’re trying to live your life and cook food, you’re preparing for the holiday, and you also have to switch the kitchen’s status from “regular life” to “kosher for Passover.”
Every year, it is both exciting and overwhelming.
One big challenge is that everything I’m going to kasher must be fully clean for 24 hours before kashering. Here’s how I approach this—and how the Rabbinical Assembly’s Passover Guide helps me to kasher my Passover kitchen.
I plan on kashering my kitchen over two days.
The first day is all about clearing surfaces, closing and covering cabinets, and cleaning anything that I know will need to be kashering the next day. I identify and gather any Passover-only items together and make sure they are ready to put into the cabinets. Then I put Passover foods into the cleaned spaces.
I like to do this kashering around midday. That way, I have plenty of time the next day to kasher, which tends to take me a while. Then, I review the RA Passover Guide to make sure I haven’t missed anything.
I figure out what I’ll need to kasher my metal items (pg 5), like pots, silverware, and cooking utensils. Some stains I can scrub out, and I clean those items thoroughly.
Then I identify all of the glass items (pg 6) that I’m going to use for Passover. I make sure they are fully clean. I gather all of my ceramic dishes (pg 7) and put them away, since they cannot be kashered. Lastly, I clean my appliances (pg 9) and make sure they are ready for kashering the next day.
Knowing that cleaning and kashering are two big steps and that I’m going to do them on different days gives me time to do this in a low-stress environment. Using the RA Passover Guide, I make sure I don’t miss any steps. I use it to organize myself efficiently.
Day Two is all about getting it done in the right order.
The first thing I do is kasher my stove top and oven. Starting here means I can boil water and cook in the oven without concern.
Then, I bring a huge pot of water to a boil. First I kasher a large set of tongs, which lets me get things into and out of the pot safely without burning myself. I set a towel on the countertop, and when I pull out the steaming, dripping utensils, I place them on the towel to cool and dry.
Little by little, I kasher everything. I make sure my laptop is handy to check the Guide, and put on music to get myself into the Passover mood.
Just remember: it is going to be okay!
Kashering for Passover can be intimidating. But getting organized and setting your own expectations can make a big difference.
If you want to check out the RA Passover Guide in full, click here to download it.
