daf bit: Zevachim 78

[cellio]

The mishna, continuing on the theme of mixing offerings, discusses the case where the blood from an offering becomes mixed with other substances (water and wine are mentioned). The g'mara compares this to issues with mixing in food. Rabba brings this example: if one makes a dough of wheat and rice and it tastes of wheat, do you treat it as wheat even if the greater part was actually rice? (Do you take challah? Does it fulfill the obligation of matzah?) There is then a discussion of like and unlike kinds, ending in the following summary on tomorrow's daf: when one kind is mixed with another (e.g. two different grains) you go by taste; when one kind is mixed with like kind (e.g. wines of two different status) you go by the greater portion; and if there is a difference of appearance you go by what it looks like. (78a-79a)

I'm surprised that taste would trump quantity and wonder if this is the last word on this matter.

Comments

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That is interesting that taste trumps quantity. I suppose, though, that if you mixed (say) cardamom and flour at a 1:2 ratio, it would be so strongly like cardamom that you would consider it to be simply flour-coated cardamom. That's not similar kinds being mixed, but some grains do have a stronger taste than others, so the analogy isn't imperfect.