Heating plates before serving up

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Does anybody here do this? I very rarely do. Have recently spent some time staying with my 90=year-old mum, who always, always, always heats the plates for the main course, and generally also heats bowls for soup. I think this is odd. She thinks it's the rest of the world that's odd.

*When I say 'heats', she puts them in the oven for a few minutes with whatever's cooking, and on removal you would risk getting burnt if you touched the plates without an oven glove.

Do it if having people over especially Christmas and people are helping themselves at the table

Yes, I have a plate warmer for the purpose. It means the food is still hot when it reaches the table.

Yes sometimes use the plate warmer

My mum does it, i never do.

We are all slow eaters (no teeth issues!) including my two adult children. It takes us at least twenty minutes to eat a main meal - eg roast dinner. I'd rather warm plates than speed up.

My parents never did and I think that is why I eat quickly as I hate hot food getting cold.

It really opened my eyes when someone did this and the food stayed hot so yes I do all the time now (and I am trying to eat more slowly).

I do for pasta. I hate it when the pasta cools down to much.

A splash of water from a boiled kettle in each for 30 seconds before serving.

My mum and gran did this so think it's definitely something older generations did. I actually did it last night because my son is so slow to come downstairs and I figured his food might stay warmer longer!

Yes I do it for all hot meals.

No way in hell am i going to start using extra energy to heat plates either.

Thinking about it, I can see that up until the time when central heating became widespread, most UK houses might have been really quite cold - but also most people would have had some sort of stove that stayed warm for a while after the cooking was done. So warming plates - a sensible move - wouldn’t actually have used any extra energy.

I do it because my parents (probably mostly my mother) did it when I was growing up. (With central heating.) Neither of them grew up in cold countries - so I guess it’s something they learned quickly once they arrived here!

I assumed everybody did ?

I do, DH does, my parents do. My DCs don't though.

Yes, same with cups before a brew so the drink stays hotter longer.

I don’t cook but my husband always heats the plates. Hot food on a cold plate is not good.

Never, as generally I'll have some sort of salad with dinner so wouldn't want warm limp lettuce.

It's not extra energy - I just pop the plates in the bottom of the oven 5 minutes before the food is due to come out.

@Hbh17 😂 their reply was a tad dramatic wasn't it? 😂

I do use extra energy as I put the plates in the small top oven to heat up. So worth it and if I forget it is so noticeable how quickly the hot food cools down.

Depends on the meal.

I do this. I'm not 90.

My controlling anal twat of an ex used to insist on this so naturally I will never again warm a bloody plate.

We usually do or the food cools too quickly. Just a few minutes in the oven, or for bowls some boiling water for a minute or so before emptying and quickly drying.

I do because our plate cupboard is on an outside wall, I'm also a slow eater and I find it infuriatingly disappointing and unappetising when the last quarter of my meal is stone cold.

Room temperature plates would be OK - it's when it's midwinter and freezing outside so the plates are about 10-15 degrees that it's unacceptably cold IMO.

I suppose one reason I don't bother is because my husband and I eat quite fast. Probably a bad habit. It never takes me so long to eat my food that the last part is cold.