Normally, you might take meals alone or with only a few close ones. Every day, food serving practice should be as fast and easy as possible. Therefore, you use simple and practical plates and mugs. Fortunately, formal events happen, requiring sophisticated decoration and table setting. Porcelain dinnerware pros and cons are well-known. You might use them to celebrate your birthday, Easter or Mother’s Day. Not only delicious taste of your homemade food matters. Use beautiful, luxurious dinnerware sets. Charming designs and shapes make deep impression on your guests. Table setting in your house delights them with perfect colors and accurate details. Do you want to know how to turn the trick? Keep reading this article, evaluating your eventual purchases.
Is Porcelain Good for Dinnerware?
Have you got a special event? It might be your birthday or graduation of your family member. Will you invite many guests? Unfortunately, CDC doesn’t recommend large gatherings so far. It may increase the risk of spreading COVID-19. Inviting up to 6-8 close friends or relatives is safer and more intimate.
Meanwhile, you’d need a perfect, beautiful dinnerware set to lay the table. Porcelain plates and bowls are:
- versatile;
- classic;
- heat-resistant;
- easy to clean.
Porcelain is non-porous, stain-resistant material. It consists of soft white kaolin clay material. Ancient Chinese artisans have started using it up to 2,000 years ago. Art of tea drinking makes the craft famous and popular.
Is it safe to eat in porcelain plates? They contain only mineral materials, without any chemicals. It’s eco-friendly and non-toxic. Porcelain surface is smooth, creating translucent appearance. Water or humidity doesn’t damage it. Additionally, hard traditional material is absolutely harmless for human beings.
Is Porcelain Dinnerware better than Stoneware?
Are you looking for a new dinnerware set? It might be a challenging task. Style and look are up to you. You might like modern, classic or romantic patterns. Floral and geometric ornaments are common. White and neutral colors are versatile.
Your dining needs are primary. Casual and formal events impose different styles and table setting etiquette. Materials also matter. How to identify each type? Upon outlining their special aspects and differences, it becomes an intuitive task.
| Dinnerware Material | Stoneware | Porcelain |
|---|---|---|
| Use | daily | occasional |
| Look | casual | elegant, upscale |
| Body | opaque | translucent |
| Walls | thick and heavy | fine, delicate |
| Firing Temperature, °F | 1800-1850 | 2,200-2,600 |
| Wash | dishwasher safe | delicate |
Both dinnerware types consist of high-fire clays. Vitrification process makes their surfaces non-porous. It adds strengths to your familiar cups and plates. Meanwhile, ironstone vs porcelain is thicker-built and sturdier. Due to higher sand content, it features grittier texture. This pottery or stoneware variety is more affordable than porcelain. It resembles luxurious fine dinnerware, being easier to produce, but dense opaque.
What is the Most Durable Dinnerware Material?
Antique craftworks emulate each other. Porcelain tea-set adds luxurious feel to your kitchen or dining room. Stoneware has rustic, rugged look. It’s sturdy, easy to maintain. It comes with a layer of ceramic glaze that has glossy or matte finish. Both materials are durable, non-porous.
Being versatile and family-friendly, they commonly withstand:
- heat;
- frost;
- exposure of water;
- most chemicals and detergents;
- scratching.
Most modern stoneware products are microwave-safe. They withstand temperatures up to 570 degrees. You can place your pot into a fridge or freezer. It helps you keep your delicious soup or stew fresh. Quite naturally, you can put your casual mugs and bowls into an automatic dishwasher.
But thermal shock would make your dinnerware crack. Drastic temperature changes are harmful to stoneware items. Do porcelain plates chip easily? They would crack if you drop them to the floor. Featuring thinner, finer construction, porcelain is not more fragile than stoneware. Firing and vitrification at a bit higher temperatures make it the same hard and durable.
Does the Dinnerware that Doesn’t Get Hot in Microwave Exists?
Traditional porcelain items are fine and delicate. They withstand gentle dishwashing cycles pretty well. Food particles and residues don’t stick to non-porous surface. Porcelain has good resistance to stains. Additionally, it warms up fast in a hot environment. So is stoneware. It becomes soothingly warm while you are drinking tea.
If you want to bake a pie in a porcelain or stoneware pot, it’s possible. It would be safe, if:
- The temperature in the oven doesn’t exceed 225°F.
- Time of exposure is not more than 10 minutes.
- You avoid direct sunlight.
- Let the pot or dish cool down before washing it.
Fortunately, modern technologies make traditional material even more durable. Corelle vs porcelain is more chip- and break-resistant. Due to glass lamination, your plates are virtually indestructible. Vitrified glass is opaque and lightweight. It’s safe to use outdoors. If you drop it to a pavement or hard floor, your bowl or mug won’t break. With no or little food, Corelle items don’t get hot, as well as porcelain. Only silicone bakeware doesn’t transfer heat. But it’s soft and flexible, prone to collapsing.
Bottom Line
Which is better porcelain or ceramic dinnerware? Ceramic is more durable, suitable for everyday, casual use. Porcelain is fine, luxurious and translucent. It’s more lightweight and delicate. Meanwhile, choosing a new dinnerware set, consider its design. Plain, white, bold or neutral is versatile, easy to maintain. Decorations and metal rims are cool but problematic. Commonly, you should wash these items by hand, using mild detergents. Otherwise, printed accents may fade away in some years of use. So is glaze surface of stoneware items. Additionally, manufacturers would not recommend microwaving metal-rimmed cups. It would cause sparks, damaging the decorations. So, make your informed choice, considering all factors and material properties.
