Why do we still bother using plates instead of relying on bowls?

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Listener Sila Dey from Yardley, Pennsylvania: 

I've begun to wonder how plates came to be. Why not just bowls? Bowls work for soups, salads, for people, for cats, but plates — pretty much pizza and steaks it is. Were plates motivated by the advent of eating meat, then?

It’s difficult to pinpoint a single origin point for plates, because plates emerged in different regions and served different functions at different times.

“It all depends on the culinary tradition and the dining practices of any particular group,” said Nicholas Hudson, a professor of ancient art and archaeology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.

But plates, or objects resembling what we think of as plates, have been prevalent throughout history and used as platters to serve food, receptacles to eat individual meals from and as decorative objects. 

“Early plate-like surfaces like, leaves or flat stones, date to prehistoric times but clay plates fired for durability emerge in the Neolithic era and coincide with settled agricultural life and more permanent domestic settings,” said Maite Gomez-Rejón, a culinary historian and the co-host of the podcast “Hungry for History.” The Neolithic period began around 10,000 B.C.E. and lasted until 2,200 B.C.E., according to some scholars.

People would eat foods like flatbreads, roasted meats, cheese, legumes and cooked vegetables from these plates if they were used individually, Gomez-Rejón said.

Bowls predate plates by thousands of years, Gomez-Rejón said.

"Bowls are more ancient. They're communal. They're designed for liquids and for grains,” she said.

But while bowls are more convenient for certain types of food, plates are the more practical option for other dishes, especially meat, which explains their popularity.  

“If you need to cut up meat, or you need to cut up fish, it's better to have a flat surface than a rounded one. It’s hard to cut meat in a bowl,” said Suzanne Marchand, a history professor at Louisiana State University . 

Some people may also associate plates with more refined dining, experts said. 

Greater acceptance – and resentment  – toward the bowl 

In modern times, bowls have become increasingly dominant thanks to the rise of fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle, Cava and Sweetgreen. 

“Instead of paying for multiple versions of receptacles or containers, you can just have a bowl, and the bowl will do the heavy lifting for everything that you need,” Hudson said. 

At a place like Chipotle, you’ve got your rice, your finely cut meats and lettuce, Hudson said. 

“Those things don't really work very well on a plate. You can put them on a plate, but it's going to get messy quickly,” Hudson said. 

Marchand said she thinks the rise of bowl cuisine is due to the burgeoning demand for quick meals that are healthier than other fast-food options.

But as the bowl has become more popular, that’s led to criticism toward lunch bowl cuisine, with some referring to these meals as “slop bowls,” perhaps highlighting subconscious attitudes people have toward tableware, what it should be used for, and generational differences in how we perceive different dishes.

Marchand said that she thinks her mother’s generation would find it strange to have a meal where everything was mixed together. Plates are also more compatible with a certain type of eating style, which entails keeping each element on your plate separately, Marchand said.

Some people may perceive that as “a more elegant type of service,” Marchand said. “People who eat one-pot meals and not many courses use bowls,” Marchand said. 

Hudson, whose work focuses on late Roman pottery, said that the bowls he studies are used to serve items like gruel or food for the peasantry. Meanwhile, plates can signal wealth because they can be better suited to serve meats and fancier dishes, Hudson said. 

“The plate offers an element of refinement,” he said. 

But throughout history, there have been exceptions. “There are plenty of instances of bowls that are just absolutely stunning, made of gold or silver, and they have their place high up in society,” Hudson said.