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October 01, 2004
Hot Tip
Scattered throughout Jacques Pépin's new book, Fast Food My Way, are brief sidebars with tips and suggestions intended to speed prep time ("The custards can be baked a day in advance") or dispense a kernel of kitchen wisdom ("winter lobsters tend to be heavier, with more juicy meat than summer ones").
One sidebar in particular -- on warming plates -- was a (minor) revelation. "We all know that hot food stays hot much longer when served on warmed plates," writes Mr. Pépin. He's right, but truth be told, I very rarely do this. Whether it's forgetfulness, laziness, or maybe a subconscious way of editing down the number of steps in a recipe, I almost never take the step of turning on the oven just to warm plates. But, Mr. Pépin shares a shortcut, suggesting the use of a microwave oven to accomplish the task, noting that his friend Jean-Claude Szurdak will microwave a stack of four to six plates on high for one and a half to two minutes before plating a meal. This tip may not be a surprise to many of you, but it's never crossed my mind before. It just may make me a plate-warming convert.
Posted by Josh Friedland on Oct 1, 2004 in Technique | Permalink
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Or you can fill the sink with hot water and put the plates in for a couple of minutes....
Posted by: Hande at Oct 1, 2004 11:48:57 AM
Hande, thanks for yet another idea I never thought of. But, I don't know if this would work in my case. No matter how much I may try to clean the pots, pans, and bowls I use as I cook, at the time the meal is ready to be served, the sink would invariably be full (not to mention lined with all sorts of bacteria you wouldn't want your dishes to be bathed in).
Posted by: josh at Oct 1, 2004 2:19:15 PM
For our wedding we got a plate warmer. It's essentially an accordion-folded electric blanket which holds about twelve plates in its pleats. But you have to put the plates in there well in advance. When we have dinners I put an item on my checklist: put the plates in the plate warmer. Even then, I don't always remember. The microwave tip is a cute idea.
Posted by: Derrick Schneider at Oct 1, 2004 11:20:00 PM
It should be logic, but ... dishes with a gold/silver rim or ornaments do not go well in the microwave. It's the metal in the paint or powders.
When my oven is involved, I put in the plates after I have taken out the meat/souffle/etc. and while I prepare that for serving. I basically use the rest heat of the switched-out oven, which is more than enough.
Posted by: mademoiselle a. at Oct 4, 2004 5:12:07 AM
A note about using the microwave for heating plates. Microwave manufacturers do not recomend heating plates without food on them. Plates are very poor microwave energy absorbers. The microwave energy that is not absorbed bounces around in the microwave and can damage the magnatron. Some plates will heat this way but many do not. This is due to the moisture content of the plate material and the pigments used in manufacturing. Because of these issues I developed a disk that is placed on the plate and placed in the microwave. These disks are designed to be microwave absorbing, heat quickly and transfer the heat to the plate.
Posted by: Scott Rheinish at Feb 25, 2005 1:42:14 PM
that's great do you sell this invention?
Posted by: Karen at Jan 30, 2006 11:36:10 AM
