Are You Supposed To Heat Up Crab Dip?

I'm originally from Maryland, a state with its own official crustacean (the blue crab), so I do have some decided opinions on the subject of crab dip; mainly that I'm very much in favor of it. Whether the dip involves fresh-caught crab, frozen crab, canned crab, or imitation crab made from Alaskan pollock, I say bring it on, it's all good. As to whether it should be hot or cold? Really, anything goes. 

There's not just one type of crab dip, something you may want to consider when deciding the serving temperature. Some crab dips are meant to be served warm, such as the cheesy hot crab dip that made The Takeout's fantasy food draft as one of our all-time top party dips. This type of dip consists of crab combined with cream cheese and cheddar which is then flavored with hot sauce, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Heating is necessary to make it since it melts the cheese together. Many people like to serve it hot with sliced bread, soft pretzel sticks, or Ritz crackers for dunking. In my own personal opinion, though, this dip tastes just as delicious when you eat the leftovers straight out of the fridge. (With Triscuits, since I'm a Ritz apostate. Sorry, just don't like them.)

While cheesy crab dip, like most cheesy things, requires heat to be melty, another type of crab dip relies on a different type of dairy: sour cream. For this dip, crab meat is mixed with a combination of sour cream (or plain yogurt, since the two are often interchangeable) and mayonnaise then flavored with lemon (a traditional accompaniment to seafood of all sorts) as well as chopped green onions and herbs such as dill, parsley, or cilantro. Other possible ingredients include things like lemon zest and Worcestershire sauce.

For a cold crab dip like this, instead of the flavors being melded through baking, it needs to be chilled for several hours in the fridge for everything to come together. It can then be served with crackers, like a hot dip, but also works well with crudités. As it is of a thinner consistency than the cheesy hot crab dip, it could also be used with a more delicate dipper such as potato chips.