How long do you wait between meat and dairy?

The source

The Torah forbids cooking a kid in its mother’s milk, and the sages extended this to eating meat and dairy together. The Talmud tells of Mar Ukva, who said that his father would not eat cheese until the next meal after eating meat, while he himself waited “from meal to meal”. Most authorities understood this as about six hours – the usual time between the morning and evening meals – and because meat leaves taste in the mouth and between the teeth.

The customs

The Shulchan Aruch rules six hours, and that is the custom of Sephardim and most Ashkenazim. The Rema mentions a custom to wait one hour and say a blessing after the meal; Jews of Dutch origin follow it. Some German communities wait three hours. Each family should keep its tradition. Many count six hours from finishing the meat, not from the end of the meal.

Dairy, then meat

After dairy one does not need to wait: rinse the mouth, eat something pareve such as bread, and wash the hands. After hard cheese aged for six months or more, many wait six hours, because it is considered to leave strong taste like meat.

Poultry and children

The wait applies to poultry as well. For young children, rabbis allow a shorter wait according to age; ask your rabbi.