Ikar and Tofel (Ikur and Tofeil)

Intro: The Mishna on Berachot 44a states that when one eats an Ikar (primary) and a Tofel (secondary) food, he only makes the beracha on the Ikar food, and that will exempt the beracha for the Tofel food.  

This principle works both for the brocha rishona and for the bracha achrona. However, when it comes to the bracha achrona, one must eat at least a kazayit of the Ikar food in order to make a bracha achrona on it and cover the tofel food. In a case where one ate less than a k’zayis of the ikar food (i.e. crust of a pie) but one did eat at least a kzayis of the tofel food (i.e. filling in a pie) – he would make a bracha rishona on the Ikar (mezonos) and a bracha achrona on the Tofel (bore nefashos).

 

There are 3 different type of Ikar and Tofel scenarios: We shall go through them one by one.
1) Tofel by Function
2) Tofel HaMalefet
3) Tofel by Form

Outline / Summary Chart

Differences	1. Tofel by Function	2. Tofel by Association	3. Tofel by Form
Basic Definition	The tofel item serves the ikar	The secondary item enhances the ikar	Two Items Mixed Together
What form is it in?	Two separate items and can even be eaten separately	Two separate items but must be eat together	A mixture
Tofel Determination?	Subjective	Subjective	Objective
What about bread or mezonos?	Even bread can be tofel	Bread and mezonot can’t be tofel	Is almost always the Ikar

I. Tofel by Function (aka Serving Tofel or Tofeil HaMeshameshet)

Definition: is when you have two separate food items and one item serves the other item.  The Tofel is not eaten for its own enjoyment, but only for the sake of the Ikar, in that sense we say the tofel serves the Ikar. Simply put: had you not eaten the Ikar, then you wouldn’t eat the Tofel either.

Serving can include: when the Tofel helps by taking away the sharp taste of the Ikar, when the Tofel adds color or smell, when the tofel is decorating, or when the Tofel helps bind ingredients together.

Specific Rules of this category:

1. The Tofel item does not need to be eaten in the same bite as the Ikar item (but it needs to either be present in front of you or in your mind as you make the beracha)

2. One must eat the tofel AFTER eating the ikur food. If one were to eat the Tofel BEFORE the ikar item – he should make a bracha on the tofel item.

(What bracha is a harder question – First off, eating the tofel before the Ikar won’t affect the beracha achrona. Regarding the bracha rishona, if one eats the Tofel first, according to the Rema, one makes a shehakol regardless of the item consumed, whereas the Beit Yosef holds one should make the normal bracha for the tofel item. According to most poskim, the minhag Olam is to follow the Beis Yosef on this one)

3. Even bread can be Tofel

4. Example 1: If I were to eat something spicy or sharp, like red hot peppers or whisky, and I wanted to soothe the harsh aftertaste, so I ate a cracker – I would only make a beracha on the peppers/whisky and not on the cracker. The same would work if I ate bread to soothe the taste: I wouldn’t make hamotzei on the bread since it is tofel.

Example 2: If there were little slices of carrots decorating chicken, the slices of carrots are considered tofel by function. Therefore, I wouldn’t make a Ha’adoma on the carrots when eating them in the same bite as the chicken and even in their own bite, provided I already ate some chicken and made a bracha on the chicken.

5. The basic rule of this category is that the tofel item is totally subordinate and I have no desire of the item for its own sake. However, say I wanted to eat the tofel item for its own sake as well, then it wouldn’t be tofel anymore and it would require its own beracha. Back to our example with the whisky and the bread – If I wanted the bread to both soothe the harsh taste AND for some satiation, I would need to say hamotzei. (The poskim advise to avoid eating bread as a tofel because who really knows if they want to be satiated or not and there is a chance you really should make a beracha. So the best thing to do is to have intention to get satiation from the bread and then you can make a beracha without doubt.)

 

II. Tofel by Association (aka Enhancing Tofel or Tofel HaMalefet)

Definition: Until now we have discussed where one doesn’t enjoy the tofel food for its own sake, but what about where one eats two items because he wants them both? Interestingly enough, even in this case, provided he eats them together, he should only make one bracha.

In order to know which bracha, we must determine which is the Ikar and which the tofel. Although he does enjoy them both, he usually will have some preference for one item. One of them is the real reason why he is eating anything now, and the other item enhances the first.

Specific Rules of this category:

1. The tofel item needs to be eaten along with the Ikar. For example, peanut butter on rice cakes would be considered tofel and wouldn’t require its own bracha. If however, after one finished the peanut butter rice cake, he started scooping pure peanut butter from the jar – it would require a bracha.

2. There is an exception, where one is eating the enhancing tofel and by the end the ikar is all gone and there is a little tofel left – he doesn’t need to make a beracha on the tofel. For example, One is eating potato latkes with applesauce and by the end finishes the latke and still has some applesauce left over. He can finish what he has on his plate without making a new bracha – but if one were to pour applesauce to just eat more plain applesauce then he would need to make a brocho.

3. Determining which item is the Ikar is completely subjective and based on the individual.

In most cases it’s fairly obvious – ice cream with fruit topping or rice cakes with peanut butter on top – but there are cases where it could be less clear.

Example: chocolate covered peanuts (or raisins) – if one views the item in such a way that the chocolate is enhancing the nut/fruit and he really wants to eat the nut/fruit – then make a ha’etz/ha’adoma, If he really wants to eat the chocolate but the nut adds a crunch (or whatever) – then make a shehakol. If he really likes them both and thinks they are the perfect combination because he likes them equally then he should make two Berachot. (Procedure: If you have another nut/fruit available, make a beracha on that and have intention to cover the nut/fruit inside the candy. If not, then make a shehakol and have in mind to only cover the chocolate, then nibble at the chocolate shell. Afterwards make a beracha nut/fruit and eat the rest.)

4. Mezonot or bread –cannot become an enhancing tofel and if they were used in such a manner then two berachot would be required. This barely comes up because normally people eat a cracker with tuna and consider the cracker the ikar and the tuna the enhancer. If however, the guy is weird and considers it the other way around, then he would need to make a beracha on the mezonot tofel and the ikar tuna. (This doesn’t include rice. Even though rice is mezonot it doesn’t have the chashivut, importance, that the rest of mezonot things have.)

 

III. Tofel by Form (aka Mixed Tofel or TaArovet Tofel)

Definition: When two or more items are thoroughly mixed together so that they become a single item. In such a case, only one bracha is made and it is upon the ikar component within the mixture.

Mixture Definition: There are several different ways that items could be considered a single item mixture.

1. First off, if the ingredients are so thoroughly mixed so that the individual ingredients are no longer recognizable – it is a mixture (Cake or Hawaiian Punch Fruit Drink).
2. If the ingredients are distinct, it could still be considered a mixture as long as they were cooked or baked together AND are typically eaten in the same spoonful (Chocolate Chip Cookie or Chicken Lo-mein).
3. If the ingredients are distinct and weren’t cooked together, it could still be considered a mixture as long as it is commonly thought of as a single item And is typically eaten in the same spoonful (Salad or Sushi) (Hint: The name often gives it away – The “AND” which separates “Tuna AND Crackers” indicates it’s not a single item whereas salad is just salad)

Specific Rules of this Category:

1. The determination of the ikar component is as follows:

a. If there is mezonot in the mixture – then that is automatically the ikar and you would make a mezonot (Does not apply to rice).

Exception: If the mezonot item is merely serving the other items in the mixture then it wouldn’t be the ikar. For example, if it merely added color or was used as a binding agent like in twizzlers – then it could be tofel. Twizzlers are shehakol.

b. If no mezonos – then go after the majority ingredient by volume.

2. The determination of the ikar component is objective: We go after the mezonos / majority even if you like an other item better.

 

IV. Some Common Foods

Onion Rings / Knishes – mezonot. This is because both the onion and the mezonot batter are cooked together and eaten together and thus qualifies are category 3. In Category 3 we make a beracha on mezonot almost always.

Cheese Cake – depends if there is a lot of mezonot or just a thin layer. If thin layer then shehakol (because it’s clear that it’s serving), if thick dough then mezonot (because it’s clear it is not serving).

Cholent – if all the pieces are generally eaten in one spoonful then would only require one beracha. Assuming there is even a little barley in there – then the one beracha would be a mezonot. If the meat pieces are left big, so big that you only eat them by themselves – then make two berachos, a mezonot on the rest and a shehakol on the meat. If the potatoes are also left really big – then make 3 berachot – mezonot on rest, shehakol on meat and ha’adoma on potatoes.

Fruit Salad –  an example of the 3rd category, even though it’s not cooked since its mixed completely and you eat several pieces per forkful. Therefore make a beracha on the majority food.

Ice Cream in a Cone – If the cone is merely serving the ice cream – then only make a shehakol. If the cone is enhancing the ice cream, which is the case for most people, then you’ll need to make two berachot since mezonot in category 2 still gets a beracha.

Ice Cream Sandwich – Since the mezonot cookie is enhancing the ice cream you need to make a shehakol on the ikar ice cream but since this is category 2, you also make a mezonot on the tofel mezonot

Frank in a Blank – category 3, mezonot

Fried Chicken or Fish (with coating) – category 3, if thin batter (the mezonot is only being used to “serve”) then shehakol, if thick (the batter is adding flavor or crunch) then mezonot.

Corn Muffin – category 3, what you may not know is that most corn muffins have a lot of wheat flour, more than for just binding – so mezonot.

Jelly Donut – the filling is an enhancer to dough and therefore mezonot.

Marshmallow with toasted coconut topping – shehakol since the topping is an enhancer

Meatballs and Spaghetti – category 3, if eaten in same forkful then mezonot. If eaten separately then 2 berachot – mezonot on noodles and shehakol on meatballs.

Pancakes – category 3, so mezonot.

Pie  - since it’s cooked together its category 3 and since it has some mezonot in it we say a mezonot, however like we mentioned above – if you only had one piece you might not have had a kzayit and therefore should say a borei nefashot as the beracha achrona.

Liquorice (Licorice) Twizzlers - shehakol, since the flour is only used as a binding ingredient and therfore tofel.

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