this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2026
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Unpopular Opinion

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When I refer to "cold meals", I'm talking about temperature (Cold, cooked meals).

To me, cold meals taste much better compared to hot meals. With chili, for example, the flavor becomes more rich after it has cooled down.

Additionally, cold meals are less messy than hot meals. For instance, melted cheese and grease from meats will harden when refrigerated, thus no longer dirtying the hands.

Finally, consuming hot meals can put you at risk of burning your mouth, causing prolonged pain (which sucks BTW). Cold meals do not have this issue.

IMO, the only benefit hot meals have over cold meals is warming you up and (for some meals) being ready to consume immediately after preparing it.

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[–] DarkSirrush@piefed.ca 106 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wow, I hate this.

Hot things must be hot. Fats must be above room temp or the taste is muted.

Fridge temp anything meant to be eaten warm is depression on a plate.

...though, chocolate belongs in the freezer.

[–] notsure@fedia.io 4 points 1 week ago

I have mixed feelings, here.

[–] xavier_berthiaume@jlai.lu 81 points 1 week ago

Voting up because this opinion is so unpopular to me it's revolting

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 32 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Chilli, curries et al become more flavourful with time. Days later reheated chilli still beats days later cold chilli, even if days later cold chilli beats immediate warm chilli.

Warm food just is more flavourful. Fridge chocolate is objectively less flavourful than room temperature chocolate, for example.

[–] myotheraccount@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

Fridge chocolate is awesome, it has a crunch! And the flavors still come out, because chocolate melts on the tongue. It just takes longer to melt than at room temperature, which extends the chocolate experience. (Of course if you swallow it immediately, fridge chocolate is worse)

[–] Shortstack@reddthat.com 32 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I have to upvote as this is definitely an unpopular opinion

I’m ambivalent about the warmth of food. I don’t really care if it’s warm or cold for the majority of things and as such usually eat things cold right out of the fridge if they’re leftovers. Cold chicken, cold noodles, cold soup. Doesn’t bother me, but it does bother my family that I couldn’t care less.

I cook a decent amount of the time though and absolutely love roasted chicken and veggies, which mostly gets eaten fresh out of the oven. In event of leftovers, yup, cold limp carrots and slightly stodgy roast potato chunks( though I will put some sauce on that last one)

There’s certain things that I will never eat cold, like nachos. Eating cold shredded cheese is a deal breaker in my house

[–] ThoGot@feddit.org 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I have to upvote as this is definitely an unpopular opinion

That feels wrong, but sadly, you're right

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[–] AstroLightz@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah, nachos is another meal I don't think works well cold. At that point, it's just cheese on tortillas.

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[–] Tinks@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago

Wow, an actually unpopular opinion. You get an upvote ya psycho

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

the flavor becomes more rich after it has cooled down.

The opposite is true. Cold mutes flavors.

The richness is due to time, not temperature!

[–] white_nrdy@programming.dev 15 points 1 week ago (2 children)

This is why Coors is "best served ice cold" so it hides the piss flavor 🤣

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[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I appreciate you posting this.

[–] Sunshine@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 week ago

The real content we need on Lemmy

[–] CreativeShotgun@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Temperature is actually an important part of culinary art. Serving something at the right time to be at peak flavor, texture, and Temperature is important.

That being said many foods can and are appreciated at different Temps. Some foods containing those fats thinned by heat are meant to be enjoyed cool (cookies and cakes with a high butter content fornexample) in other contexts.

As a consumate omnivore, eater, and foodie please by all means enjoy.

To those who haven't tried give it a shot. Brisket and it's fat hit different cold and is enjoyable in a new way. For those that like cold foods try warm sweets.

As a final comment you do you boo boo, but when someone prepares and serves you food try and appreciate it the way they intended, they've worked hard on it. They're trying to share something special with you and it's worth a shot if you care (restuarants are not necessarily held to this, if you're paying you have every right to say no fucking way) and try to share your experiences if you can.

[–] notsure@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago

Hear, hear!

[–] kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

To me, cold meals taste much better compared to hot meals.

Cold foods and drinks actually limit the flavors you can taste in food. The temperature of foods change the sensitivity of taste receptors (primarily for sweet, salty, and umami flavors), the amount of/intensity of aromatics released by the food, and the textures of fats, gels, and syrups.

It is all down to preference, of course. But if you prefer the flavor experience of chilled foods that are normally served hot, then you likely prefer foods that are less/more subtly sweet, salty, and savory, and more sour and bitter. You likely do not care as much to the aromatic smells of food that accompany and enhance/alter the flavors of food. And you probably prefer the firmer, thicker textures of foods that would usually be softer and thinner with heat.

The downside with foods being cold, health-wise, if you do like things to be sweeter, for example, is that you need far more sugar to get the same sensation of sweetness from a cold food (like ice cream) than a warm food (like pie). Same with saltiness. A cold soup needs more salt than a hot one, usually.

Alternatively, warm fatty foods spread fat-soluble flavors across the tongue while cold fatty foods usually block taste receptors more while providing little flavor itself. So if you're cooking for the purpose of eating the food cold, maybe you'll use less fats and save yourself some calories/cholesterol and also get more flavor in that form factor at the same time.

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Hey a real live psychopath 👋

[–] SippyCup@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

COLD chili??

[–] nullspace@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (3 children)

This is a true unpopular opinion and not just a DAE [popular thing].

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[–] terranoid@lemmy.cafe 8 points 1 week ago

Truly unpopular and disgusting

[–] notsure@fedia.io 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I disagree on a visceral level. Warm meals are not only more easily digestible, not having to expend energy to make body temperature, they open the flavors and smells to create a much more satisfying meal experience.

[–] altkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 week ago

With opening the flavors and smells, it also signals if it's already spoiled. The basic test I do to long forgoten fridge food is heating it up, and if it's too old it starts to stink accordingly. If it's consumed cold, it would heat up in your mouth or later and that'd become a problem.

[–] TheMuffinMan@piefed.world 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Wow. Upvoting because, on the whole, I disagree.

I love a fresh, cold salad. But maybe the only other things I like cold are... the milk in a bowl of cereal? Cheese and salami or prosciutto on a charcuterie board? That's about it.

But then again, the vast majority of my meals are in the rice + veg + protein + sauce form. Those would be really sad without the heat.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I agree with you but I feel like you're forgetting.....sandwiches

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[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 week ago

I am not a big fan of cold chili.

What I like to do with my chili, tomato based meat sauces and beef and chicken stews is allow them to set up for at least 24 hours before eating them.

Cook them up, put them in the fridge and reheat them later. It allows the flavors to permeate.

[–] fireweed@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Woah I'm the complete opposite of this; cool and room temp food (that's intended to be eaten warm) tastes wrong, and kind of gross. Which makes sense on an evolutionary level: meat that's warm is probably fresh, but if it's cool who knows how long it's been sitting out?

Reading this with a minor education in culinary studies makes me feel sad

[–] crypt0cler1c@infosec.pub 6 points 1 week ago

Fuck no this is psychotic

[–] stopforgettingit@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I agree for pizza.

I also like a lot of meals that area prepared to be cold like cold soups or sandwiches or wraps. But I can't get on board for everything, some stuff needs to be hot.

[–] ScriptSage@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Fresh pizza and cold pizza are basically two completely different meals. They're both great, but out of every food I've eaten the temp changes pizza the most imo

[–] stopforgettingit@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Pizza is the only meal that is normally served hot that I prefer cold.

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[–] Eyekaytee@aussie.zone 5 points 1 week ago

I didn't realise where I was this, this is great

[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago

Agree with this for the most part. Leftover pizza, leftover turkey sandwiches, etc.; however, not all meals are like this. Soup for instance, or any meal that's has a lot of water in it I would prefer to be warmed up.

Pizza... ohhh I almost prefer it to be a day old fridge pizza.

Shout out to refrigerators. Truly a backbone of society.

[–] Onyxonblack@piefed.social 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm with you mate. Don't let anybody tell you how to eat! An obvious big one is Pizza.. It's so much better cold from the fridge!

[–] Bipauler@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Who puts Pizza in the fridge? That's wild. It's good for at least 3 days out on the counter, at least that's the rule in this house lol

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[–] Archimedes@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 week ago

Sacre Bleu!

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Not necessarily cooked. In this heat, a Gaspacho is a treat!

[–] altkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 week ago

I only enjoy cold in fresh fruits, veggies and salads. Primary meals e.g. pasta tastes bland or awful if cold. Most fastfood and streetfood loses texture once it becomes stale, even if you reheat it, the worst of it being fries.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 4 points 1 week ago

Cold pasta can go back to Hell where it came from.

[–] Sunshine@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 week ago

Cold meals are nicer for heatwaves

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 4 points 1 week ago

Nah. Some cheeses hit much better when they're hot/melted over the food. Same goes for meat, I don't want it cold, it tastes better warm to hot.

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Nah, chili and other soup sort of foods are better chilled then reheated.

Some pizza is the same, better next day reheated. Not all of it.

Most warm food is better warm. Beans and rice, pastas, soups, potatoes, eggs, oatmeal, bread & toast, I like most meat based meals warm too (except most sandwiches). Lots of things (not rice) are better when reheated though.

Cold meals rock if they are meant to be cold. I love a salad.

[–] lemmyng@piefed.ca 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Cold French fries become stale and disgusting, and there's no resurrecting them via reheating either. Roasted, mashed, and baked potatoes are acceptable either way.

Cold cooked fish is too fishy (e.g. whitefish, whitebait, etc. Uncooked fish (eg sushi) is fine, as well as cold non-temperature cooked fish (like ceviche).

Cold pasta sauce is too clumpy. It may taste fine, but it detracts from the experience of having the pasta evenly covered with sauce when it's all congealed.

Cold chowder has the mouth feel of eating day old barf, it must be warm.

Cold buttered toast is soggy and sad.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I never expected two simple words could illicit such an extreme feeling but the phrase "cold chowder" made my stomach turn

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