2w ago

how tf do you warm up plates?

i recently learned you're not supposed to run a microwave with nothing in it/it can fry itself broken.

but i want to heat up a plate to help keep the pancakes i put on it warm like they do in diners. putting just a plate in my microwave causes it to start freaking out 'cause i guess there's not enough stuff in there to absorb the energy(? this is what google tells me).

are the diners just putting the plates on a burner on low? that feels wrong.

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Stick a bowl of water on top of it.

Put them in the oven on low setting?
- You can use any temp, really. There's a pretty good window of a minute or two for being able to touch them. Just don't leave them in too long and always use a potholder to pull them out just in case.
- but that's so much woooork though! for slightly-warmed plates! i gotta wait for it to heat up just to put a plate in there? my time is too valuable for such lengths!
  ...bah, this is probably the right answer.
  
  I just put them in, set it to 150 (lowest it will go), and set the timer for like 3 minutes. At that low of a temp, it really doesn't take long to warm the plates. If you're really in a hurry, you could move the top rack as high as it will go, put the plate there, and set it to broil for 1-2 minutes.
  
  Just put them in before you start making the pancake batter, and you don't need to wait for it to preheat, actually better not to.

If you want to use the microwave for this, pop in a plate with some water, then heat it up for 1-2 minutes, take it out with something that doesn't absorb water (or the hot water will wick through the material to your hand and burn you) dump the water in the sink and quickly wipe with a dish towel to dry before using.
Other methods include warming it in an oven set very low, or heating it in hot water from a sink.
In a restaurant, they may just grab a plate that has just come out of the dishwasher since industrial dishwashers are really fucking hot.
- In a restaurant, they may just grab a plate that has just come out of the dishwasher since industrial dishwashers are really fucking hot.
  I guess part of me knew this was the real reason the plates were hot and not because the diner warmed them up for me.
  
  Diners put food on a special counter called a "pass" that has heat lamps above it. This keeps the food warm, and the plates warm. Keeps the counter warm, too. A lot of them store plates above the pass, an area that's also pretty warm all the time.
- You can also just use a soaked towel or paper towel instead of a puddle of water. Easier cleanup and heats faster.

Put it in the oven on lowest setting

Microwaves work by using, well, microwaves to rotate polar molecules very fast, causing them to heat up. Like spinning a magnet around your food thousands of times a second. Normally it rotates and heats water in most foods. Soak a towel or paper towel in water, put it on the plate and heat it up.
Bonus: metal can't hold on to their electrons, so instead of the molecules spinning, the electrons rotate through the entire metal, which is why there can be electrical arcs if you put some metals in the microwave.

I put my oven on low when making pancakes to keep them warm until I finish a batch. I guess there's nothing stopping me from adding empty plates in there before serving.

Our preferred way of doing this is have a pot of near boiling water with the plate on top next to the pan I'm baking the pancakes on. Pile the pancakes directly on the plate.
This keeps the plate hot and maintains the temperature of the bottom pancakes while you're making a larger batch. remove the plate carefully after baking, wipe the bottom of the plate dry and put it on the table. Hot pancakes for the entire meal!
This is for dutch pancakes BTW, no clue how it would go for American or other more fluffy pancakes.

In restaurants they keep plates warm under heat lamps. Microwaves don't actually transfer heat the way heat lamps do. They heat things up by "vibrating" the molecules (it's more complicated than that, but that's the idea). Things with less rigid molecular bonds (like liquids) tend to heat faster because the molecules can vibrate more readily. Using the microwave dry can potentially damage things because there isn't anything to absorb the microwave energy.
- There are actual devices that house dozens of plates at a time and keep them warm. They are called...plate warmers.
- Do you happen to know if most microwaves throw a fit when they're run while empty/with nothing to heat, or if it just some of them? I feel like i should've known that little factoid by now.
  
  I've never had that happen, but I suppose it's possible.

Microwave, 2 plates, the upper one turned upside down.
Half a teaspoon of water between them, or even a little less.
15 seconds, and already that little amount of water is turned into steam and your plates are hot.
When you take them out, wipe them dry immediately, otherwise they could cool down quickly.

The oven? I never used anything else. Just put on warm and throw them in while making food and also move the food off to as I finish some.

If you're to the level of warming plates in your pancake game, those must be some kickass flapjacks.
Flappy flabby fatbastard fluffy flapjacks, ferda.

You're right the cold plate sucks out a lot of heat! I sit them in hot water and dry them off before putting the food on

Dig a pit, build a fire there, then once it gets going you cover it with dirt and place your plates in the dirt. Wait about 4 hours and then use a rake to find them. Nice and toasty.

Put some water on the plate before putting them into the microwave.
Microwave heats water, water heats plate.

Ovens typically have a "warm" setting that can be used to keep plates and food warm, but not too hot to handle.

They use a salamander. (A broiler.) A sort of oven with the heating elements on the top of the chamber.
https://www.katom.com/083-TASM36NG.html
- No, they use plate warmers.
- My kitchen does not have enough room to accommodate something of that magnitude. Phooey.
  
  Do you have an oven?
  
  Maybe a heat lamp?

I put the plates upside down in the sink at let the hot water run over them for a little bit.

Can you use hot water? Or water on the plate in microwave

Usually what I do is put the plate in the oven towards the end of whenever I need to take food out so it heats up a couple of mins or so then take everything out. Use oven mitts in case you left the plate in there a bit too long.

Options:
Very Wet paper towel on the plate, microwave the plate for 30-60s
Heat it up over a flame, a ways away (ie. Butane torch under it, but like 12" away)
If you have a small countertop over or air fryer/toaster. Heat it up in there briefly
If you're making toast, place it on top of the toaster (not too long, it can still break).
You can also use an oven, but that's a lot of air to heat up for just a plate. If you're already using it though, that's a win.
I heat my plates up alllll the time.

The microwave works fine, been doing so for years

Restaurants either are giving you plates straight out if the dishwasher or they have a plate warmer. Professional plate warmers will warm a few dozen plates at a time and cost $1k USD. You can get crappy versions for the home for like $50.

If you have a grill directly above the oven, put them in there whilst the oven is on. They'll warm up nicely.

Lol you guys are so innocent.

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