# Cold Plates



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Is it only me that gets annoyed when hot food is served on cold plates in restaurants?


We get all sorts of excuses about waiters not being able to handle hot plates to the salad goes limp. Well they are limp excuses imho.
Unless we pay over the odds and dine in 5* establishments we usually get stone cold dishes plonked in front of us.
This annoys me intensely as it forces me to eat faster than I normally would and end up with indigestion.
I often comment but by the time it's served it always too late. I now put reviews on Google and Tripadvisor suggesting a 5* rating would be forthcoming if only the plates were hot.


Ray.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Nope, me too, err no brainer, also a salad on warm plates, DUH


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I agree whole heartedly Ray, I complain about it and one place we have been to a few times after my complaint we always get hot plates now :grin2:
In Slovakia we had a hot desert served up on plates that felt as if they had come out of the freezer, we sent it back and it was returned on warm plates. We had a little chat with the owner as we ate there each day and said he should invest in a plate warmer.


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Spot on Ray. I never go looking for trouble in restaurants but this one really bugs me. The worst are the Chinese establishments who go to the bother of supplying table food heaters followed by freezing plates!

Ron


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yes we often go to a superb Chinese buffet restaurant in Cherbourg where the stack of plates are very cold. So I always put mine in their microwave to their amazement as the plate is empty.


If I remember I ask for a hot plate but thats difficult if in a group. 



Ray.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Ray


Don't come to Poland then because nobody heats plates at home or in retaurants.


I agree with you, especially about the food getting cold and causing one to rush the food. Also kills conversation.- with the added consequence that less lubrication is needed:surprise:


As for the salad reason, it should be served on a salad dish anyway.



Geoff


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Used to drive me nuts, but it's so common I've given up commenting.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Do I warm plates ?

Sometimes

I depends on what I’m cooking 

How much wine I’ve enjoyed whilst cooking it

How many I’m serving 

My plates can be warm to piping hot 

So really as long as the food is piping hot 

I fail on plates 

Sandra


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Maybe I have been spoilt. My wife does hot plates since we married. In fact so hot I have never had a soft fried egg in 54 years. Not complaining.!



Ray.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

And yes I have be careful

My grandkids eat here 

And I have watched them hands held high trying to avoid the plate 

Sandra


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Thats another conundrum. As soon as you put a hot plate in front of a guest and say "Don't touch it's hot". They immediately touch it and in our case go sh1t thats hot?


Ray.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

If only that was the only culinary standard that was slipping.


In UK I always warm the plates but in South Africa I don't usually bother, unless formally entertaining, as the plates are never cold anyway. Plus we eat a much higher percentage of cold/room temperature food.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Even if I’m bbq-ing get I always stand the plates on top of the bbq lid.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

When I'm cooking I pop em in the mickey for 3 minutes.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

If Chris is cooking the plates need to be cold as he cooks everything to within an inch of its life! Rather than rushing to eat it hot you have to pick around the edges to find a bit that will not sear your tongue

I’m the opposite and need the plates to be hot in order to finish cooking the food! I adhere to my dad’s old mantra of “you can always add but can’t always take away “.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> When I'm cooking I pop em in the mickey for 3 minutes.


Do you put a cup of water or something in with the plates because I have been told, read and instructed that the microwave only heats the food and not what its being cooked in/on and its only the cooked food that heats the receptacle.

I stand my plates on top of a saucepan thats cooking something, if the food comes from the oven the plates go in there for a minute, if non of these its under the hot tap. I hate cold plates with hot food.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

JanHank said:


> Do you put a cup of water or something in with the plates..


A cup with just a spoonful of water set on top of the plates for a minute max is plenty.


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## iandsm (May 18, 2007)

raynipper said:


> Is it only me that gets annoyed when hot food is served on cold plates in restaurants?
> 
> We get all sorts of excuses about waiters not being able to handle hot plates to the salad goes limp. Well they are limp excuses imho.
> Unless we pay over the odds and dine in 5* establishments we usually get stone cold dishes plonked in front of us.
> ...


No, it's not only you. I do all the cooking at home and away. The rule is, hot food on hot plates, cold food on cold plates. If in a little cafe I might just let them get away with it but in any half decent place I won't. Presentation is part of the dish and if that's wrong with a cold plate I will send it back. I am not paying good money for sub standard food or service. Probably one of the most annoying things id when no one approaches you when you are eating but leaves it til they clear plates away to ask if everything is alright. Too bloody late then.

Cold plates and poor service are usually reflected in the tip, if any.

Having said that, one has to follow the usual habits of the country you happen to be in and if cold plates is the norm, cest la vie.


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## DJMotorhomer (Apr 15, 2010)

Right behind you Ray...it is my biggest bug bear AAARRRGGGHH !!!!!!

I told review restaurants and always note if only the plates were at least warm.

Being an ex Chef it infuriates me.

I always warm plates at home as Jan is a slow slow eater.

The other thing I hate (which indicates cold plates) is when the waiter or waitress has their greasy thumb on my plate !!

Dave


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

JanHank said:


> Do you put a cup of water or something in with the plates because I have been told, read and instructed that the microwave only heats the food and not what its being cooked in/on and its only the cooked food that heats the receptacle.
> 
> I stand my plates on top of a saucepan thats cooking something, if the food comes from the oven the plates go in there for a minute, if non of these its under the hot tap. I hate cold plates with hot food.


I put the plates in the microwave on their own Jan, if going out for fish n chips, 10 mins so they are hot when I get back, no need to add anything if you did it would heat that first.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

I had heard this could damage the microwave, hence my addition of a little water.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> I put the plates in the microwave on their own Jan, if going out for fish n chips, 10 mins so they are hot when I get back, no need to add anything if you did it would heat that first.


Cor, pudsey, what setting do you put them on???

I flick some drops of water on the plate and give them 1 minute per plate on high, max!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Full power, never had a problem been doing it for years.


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## Matchlock (Jun 26, 2010)

If I am using the oven for cooking I place the plates in the grill above the oven to warm up otherwise I stick them in the microwave for a minute.


This time last year Karen and I stayed in Shaftsbury for a few days, went out for a meal one night, nice restaurant and they heated the plates up but too bloody hot and burnt my fingers badly when I picked it up, they gave me no warning.
Had to ask for a bowl of iced water and sat for the meal soaking my burnt fingers, they where sore for several days.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

jiwawa said:


> I had heard this could damage the microwave, hence my addition of a little water.


I heard that as well Jean.

Ray.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I think there's a lot of unknowns about micro wave ovens, for over 2 years we have defrosted slices of bread in a stainless steel toast rack which Drew said was definitely a no no, the oven is still going as at has for the past umpteen years and Kevs is still going so that's 2 myths proved wrong.


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> I put the plates in the microwave on their own Jan,..... 10 mins so they are hot when I get back, no need to add anything if you did it would heat that first.


Microwave cookers are highly efficient because they emit electro-magnetic waves (similar to radar) with a frequency which is very close to the natural frequency of vibration of water and fat molecules. :nerd:

[Think about how you get a swing to go higher: you push it at the same frequency as it normally swings with. This is called resonance.]

This transfers energy to these specific molecules, which then pass on the energy ("heat") to adjoining molecules ("conduction").

[That is why you are advised to allow food to "stand" for a short time after cooking in the microwave!]

A plate will not have any molecules which are capable of absorbing the microwave energy, so will not get hot.

[If a plate has a micro-crack in it, this may well have water in it and that can easily turn to steam, exploding the plate - seen it happen! >]

It IS possible to damage the microwave transmitter because that may be the only thing in the oven capable of "resonating" with the emitted frequency of the waves.

But please don't let a scientific explanation affect your own views on this sort of thing. :wink2:

Gordon

From: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/oct/18/foodanddrink.shopping

_Although food science as a subject has been in existence for a couple of centuries, Nicholas Kurti is, in my opinion, the father of molecular gastronomy. In March 1969, during a presentation to the Royal Institution in London, entitled The Physicist In The Kitchen, Kurti spoke about microwaves and explained why water is a particularly good absorber of them - meaning that they are agitated quite significantly, converting their kinetic energy into heat. When water is frozen, however, the ice crystal lattice is such that the water molecules are rigidly anchored and have little freedom to move. The microwaves pass through the ice almost unhindered. Kurti demonstrated this by placing a hollowed-out block of ice in a microwave and filling it with water. The water inside the ice block boiled after 30 seconds of microwaves, yet the ice block remained intact._

Unfortunately, this also led to the idea that microwave cookers cook from the inside out: in reality they affect the first affectable-molecules which they meet and are absorbed as they pass deeper into that layer of molecules.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

If you say so >

BTW I have also put plates or cups with a silver/ gold ring round them in the microwave, after the first spark or two they don't spark anymore. :smile2:


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

H1-GBV said:


> Microwave cookers are highly efficient because they emit electro-magnetic waves (similar to radar) with a frequency which is very close to the natural frequency of vibration of water and fat molecules. :nerd:
> 
> [Think about how you get a swing to go higher: you push it at the same frequency as it normally swings with. This is called resonance.]
> 
> ...


Anytime you want proof just put a plate in the microwave and put it on full for a few minutes, we don't have special plates or a special microwave.


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

[BTW I have also put plates or cups with a silver/ gold ring round them in the microwave, after the first spark or two they don't spark anymore. :smile2:[/QUOTE]

My mug after 20 seconds warming my tea. The metallic ring round the rim was completely pitted.

Proof of the pudding.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

My cups and saucers are 12 years old, used twice a day at least.
In all the vulnerable places the colour is wearing off, the outside edge of the saucers where they lays on the draining board for example are worn, the inner ring not. The cup handles where we hold them is worn and the top ring wearing off from washing up and draining, the centre ring is still as good as new.

Cups are often put in the microwave, saucers not. You´re making a different pudding to me Drew.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Personally Jan, we find any crockery with gold lines usually creates sparking within the microwave.

Ray.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

raynipper said:


> Personally Jan, we find any crockery with gold lines usually creates sparking within the microwave.
> 
> Ray.


So did mine, but only the first time. Each to his own risk Ray :grin2:


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> Anytime you want proof just put a plate in the microwave and put it on full for a few minutes, we don't have special plates or a special microwave.


OK, I'll accept that you succeed: do you have a scientific explanation or could it be magic? :wink2:

HOWEVER: please let me try another bit of science on you -

One equation for "energy used" (and that is what you pay for :smile2 is

_energy = power x time
_
Assuming you have a low power microwave (700W) and use it for 10mins (600s), the energy you use is

energy = power x time
= 700 x 600
= 420 000 joules

Another equation for energy is

_energy = mass x specific heat capacity x temperature change
_
[specific heat capacity is the energy needed to heat 1kg of the substance by 1degC; it is 4 200J/kg/degC for water]

A small kettle will be full with 1 litre (=1kg) of water. Assuming it comes out of the tap at 15degC and you heat it to boiling point (100degC), the energy required is

energy = mass x specific heat capacity x temperature change
= 1 x 4200 x 85
= 357 000 joules

So boiling the kettle and submerging the plates will use less energy AND give you a bowl full of hot water to wash them up in later. :laugh:

Save money, probably save time, save the planet 0. - Gordon

PS Not sure if you will want the plates at approx 100degC, so switch off the kettle sooner and save even more money. :smile2:

PPS a 700W microwave probably converts to microwaves from electricity with a consumption of more than 700W, so the saving will be even greater.


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

Ah, the *magic *of Google! :wink2:

"It's important to remember that not all ceramic is created equally. Dry, unglazed ceramic is usually microwave safe, but there is a caveat. The material is porous and can absorb water. When this happens the microwaves heat the water in the ceramic dish. If the water gets hot enough it can cause uneven thermal expansion (some things get bigger when they are heated) which can break your dish."

https://www.home-ec101.com/microwave-cookware/

I've seen it happen and it wasn't a pretty sight!

Gordon


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

H1-GBV said:


> Ah, the *magic *of Google! :wink2:
> 
> "It's important to remember that not all ceramic is created equally. Dry, unglazed ceramic is usually microwave safe, but there is a caveat. The material is porous and can absorb water. When this happens the microwaves heat the water in the ceramic dish. If the water gets hot enough it can cause uneven thermal expansion (*some things get bigger when they are heated*) which can break your dish."
> 
> ...


Very interesting >


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

H1-GBV said:


> Ah, the *magic *of Google! :wink2:
> 
> "It's important to remember that not all ceramic is created equally. Dry, unglazed ceramic is usually microwave safe, but there is a caveat. The material is porous and can absorb water. When this happens the microwaves heat the water in the ceramic dish. If the water gets hot enough it can cause uneven thermal expansion (some things get bigger when they are heated) which can break your dish."
> 
> *https://www.home-ec101.com/microwav...t empty or did it have food on it?:microwave:*


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

EMPTY: MiL was "warming" 3 plates for our meal when there was a [email protected]£l of a bang.

"I always do this" she said, but not any longer!

Gordon


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Bluddy solid egg again.!!!!

Ray.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Time to go home Ray!


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I am home Viv...….

Ray.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

Thought that Ray - but that's not Prue's usual standard!?!


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Only for 54 years Jean.

Ray.


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## Cazzie (Feb 13, 2009)

Tried to defrost half a carton of pasatta in the microwave last week forgetting they are lined with foil.
Outer carton burst into flames ! 😲😲

Cazzie


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