Ikar v'tafel (Hebrew: עיקר וטפל, lit.
'primary and secondary') is a principle in Jewish law that governs the proper blessing that is assigned to any particular food prior to consumption.
[1] Prior to consuming any food or beverage, a Jew must recite a blessing to express his or her gratitude to God for providing sustenance; additionally, because the entire world is believed to be in the possession of the Almighty, specific praise must be offered to God prior to deriving benefit.
"[3] While the laws governing this principle are complex, some of its basic rules are straightforward.
It is when one is eating something akin to apple pie, beef stew or stuffed cabbage, which are foods consisting of multiple parts (crust and pie, beef and potatoes or meat and cabbage, respectively) that the principle of ikar v'tafel is applied (Aruch Hashulchan 212:1, 2).