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"plata" tips
Topic Started: Sep 7 2010, 05:17 PM (571 Views)
npl
Bala Buste
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I finally bought a "plata" (Israeli-style one-temperature hot plate for warming food on shabbos and yom tov). I bought one made by Judaica Selections.
I hear that they get very hot.
Any hints for using it?
What kinds of foods do you put on it, when, how?
TIA!
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realeez
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Brain Freeze
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I bought one a few years ago and lent it to my parents but got it back now. The one thing I remember is to put some tiles under it since it gets very hot underneath... otherwise, i'd love to hear tips too!
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Marion
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aishes chayil
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My plata goes on my stovetop grills, so no issue of getting too hot. I also leave it on a timer so that it's not on all of Shabbat/chag (way too hot for that in the summer!). You can put anything on a plata that you can put on a blech, so anything too saucy is an issue, but anything "dry" is not. If your plata has hot spots then you want to avoid placing kugels/baked goods (anything that can burn) directly on that spot. My MIL uses an inverted cookie sheet/pizza circle over the centre of the plata to put a little more space between the hot spot and the food. I've been told it's better to put the food on when the plata is still cold (before the timer goes on), and I feel better taking the food out earlier anyway so the Pyrex/crockery is not going from so cold to so warm in an instant. I find that the heavier (thicker) the food the longer it takes to heat all the way through. On yom tov I like to add water (from the urn, so it's already hot) to the pot of rice to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom, although on Shabbat that's not an option.
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rikal
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Rebbetzin
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Food should generally be put on before Shabbos and should be totally cooked. There are differing opinions to what constitutes "mosif hevel", a type of adding heat that is said to increase cooking. Some say if you cover the top of the pots and some sqay the sides. In short, there are several malachas involved with using gas or electric blechs that each person should get their particular psak from their LOR as there is quite a bit of disagreement on what may or may not be done.

Technically, get to know your plata, where is it coolest and hottest. Dry foods will get dryer. If its a good plata things won't go off. It is also a good idea to get a pot like Moroccans use to make couscous to have a pot on a pot. There was an Israeli company that sells a 3 tiered set of stacking pots. Wet dishes on a good plata should have plenty of liquid.
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npl
Bala Buste
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Thanks everyone!
Actually, the halacha wasn't the issue - I had learned, relearned and asked shailos about what and how and when I could put on different types of heating places.
I was actually looking for ways of using the hotplate effectively (ie getting the food hot but not burned).
Glad to be able to report that I quickly discovered the hotter and cooler parts, and that the model I bought wasn't nearly as hot as the ones I had heard about, so that while everything got warm enough (depending on if I was able to put it to warm early enough) the only thing that I wasn't totally happy with was a kugel that caught a bit on the bottom, but while I was embarrassed to serve it slightly burned to the guest who had made it for us, her dh loved those bits and scraped them up!
I did end up using a wire rack for some foods, and resorted to an old foil pan for shabbos lunch, but I'm glad I bought it and will be happy to use it again!
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