עברית
Halachot and Customs
What is the blessing for granola with dried fruits?
Question
Greetings to the Rabbi.
1. What blessing do we say on granola with dried fruits? The ingredients list reads: oats, 33% dried fruits (raisins, dates, date syrup), cranberries, apricots, cornflakes, sesame seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, vegetable oil, pumpkin seeds, and rice puffs.
2. If possible, could you explain how to decide what blessing to say in such a case? Is it based on the majority?
Thank you, Roi
Answer
To the inquirer,
I apologize for the delay in my response.
1. It seems that oats are the main ingredient, as they appear before the 33% dried fruits. Therefore, we need to check that the oat grains remain seperated, meaning they are whole grains and not stuck together or have changed form in the case of oatmeal, for example, in which case the blessing for the entire mixture is 'Borei Peri Ha'adamah.'
2. We generally check based on two things: what the majority is and importance of the food. In this case, where it is one of the five grains, we bless with 'Mezonot' (blessing for grain foods) even if they are a minority. However, one does not say 'Mezonot' on the grains unless they have been crushed and stuck together or cooked or baked; in this case for granola, they are mostly whole grains, and their blessing is 'Ha'adamah' rather than 'Mezonot.'
Best regards,
Rabbi Nachum
