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Chicken is classified as "meat" and cannot be eaten with dairy. Chicken eggs are considered parve and can be eaten with meat or dairy.

Fish and meat cannot be eaten together either. Does the same logic apply to fish eggs/roe/caviar, allowing them to be eaten with meat, or are they still considered "fish"?

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    judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/8961/…
    – Gershon Gold
    Commented Jan 12, 2012 at 20:38
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    Sakanta Chamura MaIsura - eating fish and meat together is a Sakana.
    – Gershon Gold
    Commented Jan 12, 2012 at 20:53
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    I see that the reasons for separating chicken/dairy and meat/fish are different. I also see that eggs removed from the body of a chicken are "meat" -- and caviar is likewise removed from the fish, so unless a different principle applies there is still every reason to consider fish eggs as fish.
    – Premundane
    Commented Jan 12, 2012 at 21:03
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    FWIW, I have seen jars of caviar labeled "OU - fish" This designation does not appear on OU certified packages of tuna fish or lox. Perhaps they write "fish" on caviar because not everyone knows the source of caviar, and they want to alert the consumer not to mix caviar with meat.
    – user1095
    Commented Jan 13, 2012 at 9:00
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    @Will, I can confirm that the 'fish' designation is most likely to prevent people's eating it with meat, because I once called the OU to ask why some OU-certified Worcestershire sauces have that designation and others do not, and they replied IIRC that those that may not be eaten with meat are so designated. (Worcestershire sauce is made with fish, but only a bit; apparently, it's batel in some such sauces.)
    – msh210 ♦
    Commented Jan 13, 2012 at 15:52

3 Answers 3

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There is a fundamental difference between eggs and caviar. Chicken eggs come in a totally separate shell - however caviar does not come in a seperate shell therefore it is still considered fish.

Although I do not have a source - the reason there is no source is that it must be clear that fish eggs are considered as fish. A small proof to this is on Rosh HaShana the Minhag is to eat roe of a fish and say Shenifre V'Nirbe K'Dagim.

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    In the meantime could you find sources?
    – Kazi bácsi
    Commented May 31, 2020 at 5:03
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The Shevet Halevi (in Kovetz MiBeis Levi Yoreh Deah, page 87. Also quoted in Ohel Yaakov Yoreh Deah Volume 2 Siman 116, page 302, #30, footnote 42) says that it's Mutar to have meat with fish eggs.

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It probably depends what the mechanism is whereby mixing fish and meat becomes dangerous. Since whatever protein that is unique to fish to cause this issue likely is found also in their eggs, I would say you can't mix the eggs with meat. The issue is not one of Halachik Status, but one of a potential poison.

Caveat: modern science has yet to find any reason that we should actually be worried about eating fish with meat, and in fact has discovered many other foods that are way more unhealthy.

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  • When the Gemara says that eating fish and meat is "dangerous", some meforshim understand that to mean a physical danger (choking on bones), others understand it to be some kind of spiritual danger (perhaps similar to the "timtum halev" caused by eating treif).
    – user1095
    Commented Jan 13, 2012 at 8:57
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    @Will, which mefarshim say the latter? The expression in the Gemara (Pesachim 76b) is that fish-and-meat is harmful "because of [body] odor and 'something else'" - the latter being the Gemara's usual term for tzaraas, and indeed Rashi explains it so. I'd be interested to see who indeed explains it differently.
    – Alex
    Commented Jan 13, 2012 at 17:41
  • @DoubleAA Why do you assume that the issue is a protein in particular?
    – mevaqesh
    Commented Aug 1, 2016 at 23:58
  • @mevaqesh Lav davka.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Aug 2, 2016 at 0:59

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