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AIBU?

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Original poster

To not heat my dinner plate?

236 replies

Jaggy1 · 13/06/2025 20:27

Just a silly one really..

My MIL has been coming to us once a week for a little while now. Every single time we have dinner whether we serve up or she does, even if we get a takeaway she always asks if I want my plate heated? Either with boiling water or in the oven if it’s being used. I just think it’s strange as I’d never do that on a random Tuesday night dinner or anything but she does it all the time 🤣
Also weird that DH never asks or cares for his plate heated any other time but he’ll always have it when she’s here.

Is this a thing? Am I the strange one 🤣
YABU- you religiously heat your plate
YANBU- never heat your plate

OP posts:
WorkingNotTwerking · 13/06/2025 22:26

Yes but if you're eating it piping hot that would make sense...you will have longer before the food loses its heat.

We don't eat ours piping hot. We eat it reasonably hot, where the flavour tends to be best. So it would get cold quite quickly if we were to serve up onto very cold plates.

Solaire18381 · 13/06/2025 22:24

I like my food piping hot. I've never noticed that my failure to heat plates makes the food lose their heat more quickly, never been an issue.

FrangipaniBlue · 13/06/2025 22:22

I don’t, but if I had a bigger kitchen I would have a warming drawer so that I could!!

WorkingNotTwerking · 13/06/2025 22:20

MoistVonL · 13/06/2025 22:11

If it’s something with a gravy or a sauce I heat the plate. A cold plate will absorb the heat from gravy or hollandaise or whatever very quickly. Our plate cupboard is on an external wall shelf if quite cold in winter.

Same for us. Our Victorian kitchen isn't insulated (yet) so our cupboards are cold.

We take dishes out of oven or off the heat and leave to rest - we don't like it burning hot or like lava; that's not generally when food is at its best for serving anyway.

But we warm the plates so that when we do plate up, the food will stay at a pleasant temperature for much longer. But we just gently warm them to avoid the cold plate absorbing heat, it's not like they're burning hot.

I'm 49 so not exactly elderly.

BethDuttonYeHaw · 13/06/2025 22:20

I never bother

ItWasntMyFault · 13/06/2025 22:19

I always warm the plates in the microwave for a minute or so unless it’s m having something with salad in which case I’ll leave it cold.

DramaAlpaca · 13/06/2025 22:19

I always heat plates; I wouldn't dream of serving hot food on a cold plate.

Allseeingallknowing · 13/06/2025 22:19

BlueyNeedsToFuckOff · 13/06/2025 20:36

I never bother, my mother generally does.

I’ve never noticed a difference in the way the food tastes. I’m also confused as to why people think not heating plates makes the food go cold - I’ve never found that (and I hate food that’s cold when it’s not meant to be)

If you put hot food on a cold plate it’s pretty obvious the food is going to cool down. A roast dinner on a cold plate? No thanks? It’s not a generation thing - it’s common sense!

Pinkmoonshine · 13/06/2025 22:19

I warm up plates in the winter when I can be bothered. It does keep the food warm for longer. Matters more in a colder old house

Lazygardener · 13/06/2025 22:17

I've always warmed plates. Luke warm food is truly horrible.

biggreenapple24 · 13/06/2025 22:17

My dad is obsessed with it, and often will microwave his food after we serve up as well.

We never ever do it unless we’re doing dinner for my parents, and even then only remember about half the time.

I’d put it in the same generational camp as ironing.

SailingWonder · 13/06/2025 22:17

I think it depends on how your cold your house is. So it’s an older generational thing as if you don’t have central heating your plates will be likely cold enough that it will make a big difference to the temperature of the food.

Solaire18381 · 13/06/2025 22:16

I should add, despite my in-law's shock at me not heating plates before serving, my parents never did. I therefore didn't even think it was a thing.

Mum2jenny · 13/06/2025 22:16

My DM always wanted hot plates for meals.
And was most upset when I said the kids need their food to cool before eating it, so cold plates please.
I’m not fussed either way, but I don’t heat plates routinely. If I do, I need a board to put my dinner plate on as it burns my lap.

MasterBeth · 13/06/2025 22:15

Shhhhitsmagic · 13/06/2025 20:30

ALWAYS heat my plate! 😂
Nothing worse than cold gravy

Racism?

TiredMame · 13/06/2025 22:14

It’s clearly the older generation thing. Never did it.

PyongyangKipperbang · 13/06/2025 22:14

My mother is obsessed with warmed plates. "But if you dont, the food will go cold quicker!".

But she is in her mid 70's and it wasnt until she was in her late 30's that she lived in a house with central heating. So on the basis that you are eating in a very cold room, yes it makes sense to keep the heat in the food as long as possible. But these days my parents house is hotter than the surface of the sun....but the plates MUST be warmed.

I do not warm plates which she really really hates.

Solaire18381 · 13/06/2025 22:13

I never heat plates!

However, once my MIL was having dinner at ours and said "Fancy not heating the plates!"

Still, it hasn't changed my practise.

MoistVonL · 13/06/2025 22:11

If it’s something with a gravy or a sauce I heat the plate. A cold plate will absorb the heat from gravy or hollandaise or whatever very quickly. Our plate cupboard is on an external wall shelf if quite cold in winter.

Aniceempirebiscuitandacupoftea · 13/06/2025 22:10

If you have a double oven, you can warm them in the smaller top oven. I’d love a warming drawer just for this. I don’t have either double oven or warming drawer so my plates are always at room temperature.

Carrotsurprise · 13/06/2025 22:09

I literally didn't even know it was possible to heat plates.

Shufflebumnessie · 13/06/2025 22:07

fost · 13/06/2025 20:28

i never heat plates, but my dad is rather obsessed with it, so when my parents visit, I do.

Exactly this. I actually don't like my plate heated but my parents are horrified by the idea of not having a heated plate, so when they visit we heat theirs. I absolutely hate it when we visit them and they give me a heated plate and then serve salad and cold food! **

Studyunder · 13/06/2025 22:04

My mum (83) always heat dinner plates and every serving dish. Definitely an older generation thing. They lived in a very draughty old house, only one room with a fire, no central heating, single glazed, gran’s face cream would freeze overnight in winter. I imagine it would make sense to warm all the plates while the stove was on back then.

DanceMumTaxi · 13/06/2025 22:02

I always do. Dd and I had pizza tonight and I popped the plates in the microwave for a minute before I served up.

Ineedanewsofa · 13/06/2025 22:01

My DM and DMIL both have asbestos hands and nuke plates before eating every hot meal. Defo generational, apparently because of small ovens and having to cook the meat and let it completely cool while the potatoes etc were roasting. I bought a middle aisle electric plate warmer which comes out if either of them are over for dinner, otherwise I don’t bother