Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the material. Some materials (such as earthenware) cannot be * kashered * (made kosher again) while other can, with the specific method depending on the material.
Zev Steinhardt
But, Zev & Co, is the plate “unclean” for NON-observant Jews?
I’m gonna tell my joke, anyway, as it seems to be non-offensive. A very Orthodox couple had their grandson’s
Bar-Mitzva coming up. They asked him what he wanted, as the wanted to please him. He said; “I want a Yamaha 250”- now they did not want to appear to be ignorant in front of the boy, but they had no idea what a “Yamaha 250” was. So the went to thier Rabbi, Sol Levi. They asked him “Rabbi, do you know what a ‘Yamaha 250’ is, and is it a proper gift for a Bar-Mitzva?”. The Rabbi replied “The Bar-Mitza is a joyous occasion, and should be celebrated with a suitable gift. That said, I must admit I can find nothing in the Talmud about what a ‘Yamaha 120’ is, or whether it would make a proper gift”. The Holy man continued: "I recomend you see Rabbi Goldstein, at the Conservative Temple- he is much more worldly than I, and perhaps he can answer your
question. The elderly couple go there, and pose the same query. The Rabbi replied: “We live in modern times, and it is the custom now to go overboard with presents on the Bar-Mitzva, so I find nothing wrong with your desire to please your grandson–However, I do not know what a ‘Yamaha
250’ is, so I cannot give you guidance on that. However, there is the Rabbi Brown, at the Reform Temple, he works a lot with younger people, maybe he can answer you on that.” They go to Rabbi Brown, and ask; “Rabbi, do you know what a ‘Yamaha 250’ is, and is it a proper gift for the Bar-Mitzva?” The rabbi replies “Sure, a ‘Yamaha 250’ is a small motorbike. My cousin is a dealer, and he’ll give you a good price.” The Rabbi continues: “But I have a question for YOU-- what is this ‘Bar-Mitzva’ thing?” 
The question “Is the plate [on which meat and milk have been mixed] unclean for non-Jews” is a difficult one.
The plate on which meat and milk have been mixed is no longer kosher. If the restaurant advertises itself as kosher, it cannot use that plate, not for anyone. It’s sort of like, could a restaurant call itself “kosher” and only serve ham-and-cheese to non-Jews? The answer is no, legally (under US food labelling laws) and religiously (under Orthodox Jewish rules.) If the restaurant calls itself kosher, it cannot sell non-kosher items, nor use non-kosher items.
Now, there are delis called “kosher-style” which do not hold to the strict standard, that’s a different matter entirely.
No, CDK, I meant do non-Orthodox Jews consider it unclean?
Most non-Orthodox Jews do not keep kosher and therefore, for them, there would be no problem using the plate.
Some Conservative Jews do keep kosher. Others keep a kosher home, but will eat non-kosher outside.
Zev Steinhardt
Danielinthewolvesden:
Well, if the food in question was hot, or if the plate was hot (e.g., it just came out of one of those steam-bath industrial dishwashers), then it renders the plate non-kosher. But I’m pretty sure that if both plate and food were cold, all you have to do is wash the plate and a kosher-observant Jew would have no problem eating off it.
Thanks, CMK, I did not THINK I was crazy. But come to think of it, if I remeber right, all the sandwiches with meat did not normally have cheese, but one could add it for a small charge. Maybe they set aside a few odd plates for this, or something. (RB w/chee, slam it on a goy plate!)
Slight thread hijack: but how about butter or sour cream served with a steak? They are side-by-side, but not actually served “together”, so is that kosher?
umberto
Not kosher, or not socially acceptable. If I served food to a observant Jew and knew what I was doing,
I would be incredibly insulting.
HOWEVER, say an observant Jew is a guest in a home that is gentile, or non-Jewish, and is served
a non-kosher meal. THEN the Jewish guest may eat the food as it is considered RUDE not to eat what
is offered. (I think I’ve got this right.)
No. Milk and meat products cannot be mixed at all. Milk and meat products cannot share the same meal. In fact, you can’t eat dairy for 6 hours after meat, meat is 4 hours after dairy.
ETA: Are zombies kosher?
Also, observant Jews who keep strict kosher would not eat at all from a home that doesn’t keep kosher.
I once was in a kosher deli and a customer wanted milk with his meal (which had meat). They refused to serve it to him. He tried to argue, but still got a refusal. Finally, he thought he was smart and asked, “If you don’t serve milk with meat, why do you serve cream in your coffee?”
The waitress didn’t even blink. “It’s non-dairy creamer.”
Non-dairy creamer still contains dairy, apparently. I had to go on a dairy-free diet recently and that was one of the “things that you may be surprised to learn contain dairy”. The explanation was that dairy-free in this case indicated it was lactose free, but it still contains dairy proteins (which is what I was supposed to be avoiding).
This is an 8 year old thread, so you can start your own thread if you desire.
Nope. A Jew who keeps kosher will politely decline the non-kosher meal. Being rude doesn’t override kosher laws.
I have had to answer brief accusations of “hypocrisy” about this. It is a practice I and others follow (although I do no follow strict Kashrut at home, which is part of my point): if you say so, you follow your own faith path, now in the West, thank God, without fear of stoning.
My take is that our family’s home has a greater sanctity that should be preserved.
Plus if pork in Chinese restaurants is all ground up and you can’t recognize it by sight God doesn’t notice.
Cazzle:
Not all of them, and not the ones served in a genuinely kosher deli.
People who like Reuben sandwiches would love Cuban sandwiches: meat, dairy, and pickly flavor (like sauerkraut):
Buttered bread, sliced pork, Swiss cheese, swath of mustard, little circles of pickles. Put two of the bread-things into a grill press (a panini, but good luck using that word with people who serve Cubanos).
All kosher restaurant are either kosher: dairy (dairy products, no meat) or kosher: meat (meat products, no dairy). It’s usually pretty obvious by the nature of thee place which one it is.
I’ve been in Kosher-ish delis that offered a Reuben without the cheese.
How Kosher a restaurant is depends on the prospective customer. There are Conservative Jews with varying levels of adherence to Kosher practices, and Orthodox Jews who wouldn’t eat at a restaurant unless it was approved by a Rabbi they know personally.
Also, pastrami or corned beef with coleslaw and russian dressing makes a delicious sandwich.
If only there were Kosher delis around here!
Cazzle, do you live outside of the Melbourne area, then? Because there are plenty of Kosher restaurants, at least one of which calls itself a Deli, in Melbourne.
An observant Jew would not eat non-kosher food unless somehow someone’s life was at stake.