What makes something “worthy of being honored”?

Question

When a piece of meat is in a mixture that should nullify it, we don't consider it nullified if it is ראוי להתכבד, or "worthy of being honored", something you would serve to a guest. Is there some kind of objective measure for this, or is it dependent on the time and place, or even the dish or the guest?

Answer 1

It is subject to current societal standards.

Aruch HaShulchan YD 101:21:

כבר נתבאר דחה"ל תלוי לפי המקום ולפי הזמן והכל לפי ראות עיני המורה

It has already been explained that chaticha hare'uya lehischabed depends on the place and the time, and it all goes according to the way it appears before the [particular] rabbi.

An important aside, the piece can only be a חה"ל if by itself it is ראויה להתכבד. If it's a small piece of meat that is only ראויה להתכבד when served with more pieces of meat, it is disqualified. (AhS ibid. 27)

Answer 2

Tosafos on the g'mara that is the source of this discussion (Chulin 100a) says that even if this criterion is not always objective, there are objective (dis)qualifications, such as isur. If eating the food in question is prohibited it is automatically not ra'ui l'hiskabed.