What is the proper <em>bracha</em> for corn tortillas or tortilla chips? | OU Kosher Certification (2024)

FAQs

What is the proper <em>bracha</em> for corn tortillas or tortilla chips? | OU Kosher Certification? ›

The bracha for corn tortillas and tortilla chips is shehakol, because the identity of corn is lost when ground into flour. Even if the corn flour is subsequently made into dough and is baked, the bracha remains shehakol, because the corn has permanently lost its identity.

The Bracha Rishona on Tortilla Wrap is Shehakol, and the Bracha Acharona is Borei Nefashos. This is because tortillas are generally made from corn flour, however if it is made from wheat flour the Bracha is Hamotzi.

It is possible for corn tortillas to be kosher for Passover if the tortillas do not contain any wheat flour or wheat products. However, as corn fits into a subcategory called 'kitniyot', Ashkenazi Jews would not eat them, only some Sephardi groups.

If the cereal panel lists corn flour, the corn has been ground and reformed into pellets; therefore the brocha is Shehakol (if wheat and oat flour are not present). If the cereal lists corn or milled corn, it may be a whole grain product and the brocha is Hoadama, or it may be ground and the brocha is Shehakol.

Therefore, even nowadays wraps are mezonos. However, others argue that Magen Avraham is just describing the reality of his day where no one used a thin wrap like bread, but nowadays it is common for people to make “sandwiches” with wraps; accordingly, wraps are considered to have tzuras hapas and the bracha is hamotzi.

The bracha for corn tortillas and tortilla chips is shehakol, because the identity of corn is lost when ground into flour. Even if the corn flour is subsequently made into dough and is baked, the bracha remains shehakol, because the corn has permanently lost its identity.

This group of foods—which includes rice, beans, corn and peanuts—was originally banned because the items were often mixed with wheat, which Jews refrain from eating during Passover except in the form of an unleavened flatbread called matzah, David Holzel reports for the Times of Israel.

The original reasons behind the custom of not eating kitniyot during Passover are not clear. Suggestions include: The grains which form chametz are commonly found mixed into kitniyot. Therefore, someone who cooks kitniyot may inadvertently eat chametz.

Bracha Info

The Bracha Rishona on Corn on the Cob is Borei Pri Hoadama, and the Bracha Acharona is Borei Nefashos.

What bracha is mashed potato? ›

Vezos HaBracha (chap 12, pg 99) writes that mashed potatoes are HaAdama and explains (pg 251) that since the texture and color are the same as the original vegetable the Bracha is the HaAdama.

The Talmud provides a brief discourse regarding the correct bracha one makes before eating orez. If one chews the kernel, the blessing made is the same as for vegetables, Ha'adama. However, if the orez is ground, baked or cooked, the bracha is Mezonos, the same as for cakes and cookies.

A banana is a perfect example of a tropical fruit that grows on an annual plant. After one season the banana bush dies and a new shoot grows in its place. Hence a banana is halachically considered a vegetable and the bracha, the blessing, made on a banana is borei pri hoadama .

It should be noted that if the pizza dough is fully baked prior to adding the cheese (as is the case with some frozen Pizzas) the bracha would be Hamotzi. When the dough is baked alone, its status at that time is Hamotzi, and that does not change when a filling is added.

Note: Pas habah b'kisnin should not be confused with pita bread that is bread with a pocket, full-fledged bread, on which one recites hamotzi.

If the pretzel tastes like cake then a mezonos would be made, but such pretzels are not manufactured. The beracha for this pita is hamotzei since it is regular bread. Toast is regular bread put into a toaster. Once bread attained the status of bread, the bread cannot be transformed into a cracker by toasting it.

Wheat-flour tortillas rolled around a filling of beans and meat or cheese form burritos. Sopes, chalupas, quesadillas, and panuchos are all formed of tortilla dough molded into various shapes to hold a savoury filling.

Tortillas are made from grains, either wheat flour or ground maize. Bread is also made from grain, ground into flour. The difference, though, is that tortillas are unleavened. 'Bread' is leavened, which means the yeast is added to it in order to make the dough rise when it's baked.

A tortilla is a flat bread that is unleavened (does not use yeast or a chemical leavening agent) and uses corn or wheat as its flour source. Tortillas do not contain any spices or flavors and are often smaller in size. A wrap, on the other hand, is a soft bread made with a dough that contains yeast.