Koshering Kitchenware

Kitchenware used all year for ĥametz may not be used for Passover unless it is thoroughly cleaned and then kashered. Utensils that one does not plan to use on Passover should be cleaned and put away, so no one accidentally uses it during the holiday.

The most basic principle of koshering is that forbidden taste is purged in the same manner it was absorbed. (During the year, this principle applies to the taste of non-kosher food. Before Passover, it applies to the taste of ĥametz.) There are three ways in which ĥametz may have been absorbed:

1. Items used with boiling liquids – such as pots and some cutlery – are kashered by immersing them in boiling water for a few seconds.
2. Items that absorbed ĥametz through direct exposure to fire without a liquid medium – such as skewers and baking pans – are kashered by heating them with fire. Ideally, this fire should reach a temperature of 400ºC (about 750ºF). If this might ruin the items, they can be kashered with fire at the same temperature at which they were used for ĥametz.
3. Items used only for cold ĥametz – such as some dishes – may be kashered by cleaning them and rinsing them off with cold water.

The same process followed to kasher kitchenware for Passover is used during the rest of the year to kasher dishes from non-kosher to kosher.