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For the second of three times in total, the Torah informs us in parashat Ki Tisa that one may not cook a goat in its mother’s milk (Shemot 34:26; see also Shemot 23:19 and Devarim 14:21). Rashi here (s.v. lo tevashel) explains that this is a general warning against mixing meat with milk and that it appears three times in the Torah because there are three different aspects of the prohibition concerning a mixture of meat and dairy: it is forbidden to eat it, it is forbidden to benefit from it, and it is forbidden to cook it (see Chullin 115b and Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De’ah 87:1).

The Gemara in Pesachim (76a-b) discusses the question of eating Kosher meat which has been cooked together with non-Kosher meat in the same oven, an oven large enough for the two items not to be in any physical contact with one another when placed inside simultaneously, as Rashi there (76b, s.v. basar) points out. Rav holds that it is forbidden to eat any meat cooked in this manner because the aroma (“reicha”) of the prohibited non-Kosher meat will be absorbed by and thus impact the flavor of the Kosher meat, rendering the Kosher meat no longer permissible. Leivi, however, disagrees, maintaining that the aroma of non-Kosher food by itself is not a sufficiently significant factor to prohibit the Kosher meat (reicha lav milta hi). This same dispute regarding the halachic significance of an aroma pertains as well to the question of eating Kosher meat and a Kosher dairy product which were cooked together in the same oven, as implied by the conclusion of the Gemara there; Rav would not permit it due to the concern of the aroma’s impact, whereas Leivi would allow it. In terms of the halachah, Rashi (ibid., s.v. amar lach) asserts that the lenient opinion of Leivi is accepted, but Rabbeinu Tam is cited in Tosafot (ibid., s.v. asrah) as ruling in accordance with the more stringent view of Rav.

The Rambam (Hilchot Ma’achalot Asurot 15:33) writes that one should not cook Kosher meat together with non-Kosher meat in the same oven, but that if one did, the Kosher meat may be eaten; in other words, he accepts the position of Leivi that the mere aroma of the non-Kosher meat does not prohibit the Kosher meat, but maintains that one should not deliberately cook Kosher and non-Kosher items together. The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 108:1) states this as well; the Rama (ibid.), after affirming that the same rules apply to cooking meat and dairy together in the same oven (see Shach No. 4 and Biur HaGra No. 5), lists a number of qualifications, including that the restriction applies even if the oven is very large, that even a pareve item, like bread, cooked in a single oven together with either meat or dairy should not be eaten with the opposite kind of food, that the leniency applies only if the particular oven is ventilated (otherwise the aroma does have a halachic impact), and that it does not apply if one of the items has a very sharp flavor, in which case its aroma will indeed impact the other item. The Shach (No. 9) adds that if one’s very intent in placing one or the other of the items in the oven was to transmit its aroma to the opposite item, the aroma is indeed considered significant enough to prohibit that item. In view of the above, it is obviously best to avoid cooking meat and dairy together in the same oven. It should also be noted that as pointed out by the Rama earlier (Yoreh De’ah 97:1), one must also be concerned in such a case about the possibility of some of the content of one of the pots or pans spilling into the pot or pan containing the food of the other type. 

Up to this point, the discussion has focused upon cooking meat and dairy simultaneously in the same oven. The question, however, is what about cooking meat and dairy consecutively in the same oven? Would this be permitted? The Mishnah in Machshirin (2:2) speaks of steam (zei’ah) which rises from a bathhouse that is ritually unclean (tamei) and states that the steam has the same status as that from which it rises. Based upon this idea, the Rosh (Teshuvot HaRosh 2:26) concludes that steam which emerges from a dairy item is itself considered dairy and if it is absorbed into a meat item, it is like milk itself has gotten into the meat and the meat can thus become forbidden. The Rama (Yoreh De’ah 108:1) thus rules that there is a concern even with cooking meat and dairy consecutively in the same oven where steam is generated. The Shulchan Aruch states earlier (Yoreh De’ah 92:8) that one may not cook a pan of dairy food underneath a pot of meat in the same oven because the steam from the dairy food will be absorbed into the meat thereby prohibiting the meat; the Rama there, however, notes that there is no problem if the dairy food is covered and that in order for the steam to have the capacity to prohibit the other food item, it must be hot – too hot to touch (yad soledet bo) -  at the time it is absorbed. In general, though, it is clear that there is halachic concern regarding the steam generated by either the meat or the dairy item and its impact on the other item.

The Vilna Gaon (Biur HaGra ibid. No. 39) cites another source for this ruling, namely, the Gemara in Chullin (108b) which equates covering a pot with stirring a pot because, as explained by Rashi (ibid. s.v. ni’er), when one covers a pot, the steam stays inside and circulates throughout the pot, spreading whatever flavor it contains throughout the pot, just as the act of stirring spreads flavor throughout the pot. We thus see that steam can transmit flavor to whatever it comes in contact with; it would thus stand to reason that an oven which contains steam from a meat or dairy food item could not be used for the opposite item. It emerges from all this that the halachah is more concerned about the steam (zei’ah) generated by a cooked food item than about the aroma (reicha) generated by a cooked food item, as the former has the capacity to actually prohibit an item of the opposite kind with which it comes into contact, while the latter does not, and is thus subject to a restriction only against deliberately cooking opposite items together. Cooking meat and dairy items consecutively in the same oven can therefore be a problem because the steam from the first cooked item can become absorbed and transfer flavor into the oven, eventually impacting the other cooked item and because it can condense in the oven and subsequently fall back into the other item when the oven is reheated (see Shu”t Igrot Moshe, Yoreh De’ah I:40).

An overarching question here, though, is why the Gemara in Pesachim, which discusses the problem of reicha with regards to cooking different items together, says nothing at all about the problem of zei’ah. Because of this glaring omission, the Mishkenot Yaakov (Shu”t Mishkenot Yaakov, Yoreh De’ah No. 34) suggests, citing an earlier authority, that despite the aforementioned rulings of the Shulchan Aruch and the Rama, zei’ah is not in fact a uniform concern, and even the comment of Rashi in Chullin (ibid.) about covering a pot focuses upon the circulation of water in the pot, not of steam. Based on this, one may posit that it is indeed permissible to cook meat and dairy consecutively in the same oven, because zei’ah is halachically irrelevant. This does not, however, appear to be the majority viewpoint among the Poskim. The Pitchei Teshuvah, for example (Yoreh De’ah 92:6), quotes from the Pri Megadim that zei’ah is certainly of halachic concern; the only time it is not is if it emerges from a solid food item that is completely dry (that is, it contains no juices, liquid or gravy), which explains why the Gemara, which was discussing only roasted meat, did not bring it up. (See, among others, Shu”t Chelkat Yaakov, Yoreh De’ah No. 23, Shu”t Igrot Moshe, Yoreh De’ah I:40, and Shu”t Yabia Omer Volume 5, Yoreh De’ah 7:4-5  for an analysis of whether even this assertion that zei’ah is not of concern when emerging from a dry, solid food is correct). Zei’ah emerging from any other kind of food, however, must definitely be taken into account in terms of its effect on other food cooked in the same oven.

The Aruch HaShulchan (Yoreh De’ah 92:55) agrees that zei’ah is a concern, but only in a very small, confined, enclosed area (which explains why the Gemara, which was discussing cooking in a larger type of oven, does not bring it up). In the kinds of ovens presently used, however, there is no problem because the steam has plenty of open space in which to circulate and will thus not be absorbed by the other food in the oven. According to this approach, it would certainly be permissible to cook meat and dairy consecutively in the same oven if the oven is clean of any meat (or dairy) residue, thus averting the problem of reicha, and if the oven has open air space (as all standard ovens do today), thus averting the problem of zei’ah. Many people indeed follow this practice, although it would seem preferable, based on an earlier Gemara in Pesachim (26b; see Rashi there s.v. yutzan), to wait before cooking the second item until the oven has completely cooled off after the cooking of the first item. Another suggestion along these lines, followed by many others, is to wait for at least 24 hours after cooking one type of food before cooking an item of the opposite type; in light of the Gemara in Avodah Zarah (75b-76a; see Rashi to 76a s.v. bat yoma), and the ruling in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 103:5), there is much more room for leniency after this time period has elapsed.

Rav Moshe Feinstein (Shu”t Igrot Moshe, Yoreh De’ah I:40; see also Yoreh De’ah III:10) writes that one may use the same oven for the consecutive cooking of meat and dairy as long as one of the items is tightly covered; this eliminates the problem of zei’ah, as stated by the Rama (Yoreh De’ah 92:8) cited above. Although the Rama there concludes that it is preferable to be stringent and not deliberately rely on that leniency, Rav Feinstein asserts that that refers only to when cooking the two items simultaneously, not when cooking them consecutively. It may also be noted that Rav Feinstein posits that the entire problem of zei’ah is of concern only when one can actually see that steam has emerged (which is another reason why the original Gemara in Pesachim did not bring up the issue of zei’ah, as it was talking about a case where no steam was perceived). Finally, there are authorities who suggest that because of all of these halachic concerns, and the potential problems encountered by adopting any of the above leniencies, it is best to avoid all of these issues by having separate ovens for meat and dairy, if one is able to do so (see Shu”t Chelkat Yaakov, Yoreh De’ah No. 23 and Shu”t Minchat Yitzchak 5:20, among others).