# Hot and cold foods

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 1, 2000, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198 "2000-11-01T05:01:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![galen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@galen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198/1 "2000-11-01T05:01:26Z")

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Why do we prefer foods which are either hot or cold, but not at room temperature. We love hot drinks and cold drinks, but not drinks luke warm. Hot food, yes. Cold cuts and ice cream, sure, but nothing tepid. Why?

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**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198/2 "2000-11-01T05:16:09Z")

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Speak for yourself, or do not call yourself "we’.  
I do not like hot food or cold drinks.  
And how cold are your cold cuts? Try them at room temperature, they are much tastier.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198/3 "2000-11-01T05:43:12Z")

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I don’t know about cold cuts, but fruit and cheese certainly taste best (to me) at room temperature.

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**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198/4 "2000-11-01T06:27:26Z")

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Other things that taste better at room temperature:  
peanut butter sandwiches  
Oreos  
Potato chips (well, pretty much any kind of chips)

True certain foods taste better cold (e.g. ice cream, because otherwise it melts) and other foods taste better hot (like homemade chocolate chip cookies), but that doesn’t mean there are no foods that taste better “in between”.

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**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198/5 "2000-11-01T13:19:49Z")

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Some foods don’t taste good at _any_ temperature.

Eg.:Twinkies.  
A frozen twinkie has nasty, congealed, tooth-breaking filling.  
A room temperature twinkie is squishy and vile.  
A _microwaved_ twinkie is just too horrible to comtemplate.:eek:

Oh, wait. I forgot that twinkies are not food…  
::slinks out out thread, embarrassed::

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**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198/6 "2000-11-01T14:18:30Z")

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Actually, cold potato chips are interesting once in a while.

Arjuna34

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**Author:** ![Pucette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@Pucette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pucette)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-and-cold-foods/39198/7 "2000-11-01T14:32:07Z")

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My friend drinks his water at room temperature. All the time. Even in the summer, when even the water must be crying out for ice cubes. And he isn’t the only one… \<shudder\>