24
votes
Lets talk kitchen dishes
I'm in the market for a set of dishes. The consensus is:
- Corelle - lightweight and solid
- Fiestaware - built to last
I'm not a fan of either unfortunately. Not because these brands are bad, but I'm looking for a particular look. Something akin to stoneware with a darker color. I also prefer heavier dishes. Unfortunately stoneware is known (or said) to chip easily. I'm not looking for something that will survive being dropped (I don't remember the last time I dropped a plate). This is the first selling point that gets brought up I've noticed.
What did you choose and what has been your experience? Has your stoneware chipped after washing & stacking?
EDIT
I forgot to provide more details about my situation to help with recommendations.
- I'm in the US
- No family/single, but plan to host for a small group on an occasion (~4 people)
- I'm starting from scratch and would like a set that works in all situations + everyday use. I'm willing to splurge (assuming it's quality and lasts).
I think with stuff like this it's worth mentioning where you are. I have excellent kitchenware purchasing advice for people in Europe. In the US, perhaps not so much.
Anyway, I gave up on having a "set" of tableware. What I do now is buy X of each item (where x depends on what it is, I want six dinner plates but need more like ten side plates) in either matched or not-matched sets depending how I'm feeling. Which means I have this increasingly huge range of weird and interesting plates, bowls and so on in all sorts of sizes. I will admit to having a Bowl Problem, we have at least eight different size classes for bowls and 4-8 bowls in each class. But we eat lots of bowl-y food and you can't put pasta in a ramen bowl or dukkah in an ice-cream bowl. Bonus being that if something does get broken, I can just replace it with something else that catches my eye, no need to find a matching thing. I think I've dinged one plate in the last five years, but not enough to replace it.
I currently try to buy mostly from local ceramicists whenever nice stuff shows up at markets and so on, but also Nordic Nest are my go-to at the moment. They're also excellent for cutlery.
Thanks for the suggestion, I edited my post with more details.
I happen to be starting from scratch, so I'm leaning towards a set to start me off. I'm keeping in mind the option for "open stock" if I do need to replace/add to the set.
Thanks for the Nordic Nest recommendation. I'm looking over their Bitz selection and the design is what I'm looking for.
Local pottery places are great, and the handmade nature makes mismatched items less of an aesthetic issue. But this is generally an expensive route, because handmade stuff is pricey. If you don't have a bunch of money to dump all at once, you can visit places regularly and pick items up piecemeal from sales or seconds, but it'll take years to accumulate a reasonable number of place settings that way.
It's not a bad long-term plan—having handmade pottery is great for both entertaining and everyday use—but for most people, it's a long-term plan at best.
Most of my tableware isn't handmade, but it is all mismatched. Or at least only in sets of itself (eg, all my pasta bowls match each other, but not the rest of the bowls).
The last handmade thing I bought was a 6x4cm bowl and it was £8. It's a nice bowl but definitely a fairly luxury item!
Just out of interest, what do you consider a 'reasonable' number of place settings? I'd say six each dinner and side plates and the same of dessert bowls. I have far more than that now, because of my aforementioned Bowl Problem, but as a basic 'set' that sounds about right to me. We can't fit more than six people around our table so if we're having more people than that to eat we can't do sit-down dining anyway.
Reasonable will probably depend on how many people live in your household and how many people you typically have over (however often that happens). I'd say that four settings of one dinner plate and bowl (and drinking glass, plus utensils) would probably be a minimum threshold for a single person or couple without kids. Six settings, with dinner plate, small plate (for dessert or salad), soup bowl, utensils, drinking glass, and optional coffee mug or tea cup, would probably work well for a lot of people.
That's something I had to think about. I'm single, but might host for 2/3 people from time to time. The set I chose is relatively pricey, so I ordered only 2 sets (at least to start). It's probably enough for just 1 person, but I would need to increase by at least x2 sets to be comfortable hosting semi-formal.
Paper diahes should be good enough for cocktail/drink nights. I wouldn't trust fancier sets with something so carefree.
I'm just using Ikea 365, it's bland, cheap, indestructible and comes in a large variety of shapes and forms.
It's the one they use in the restaurant if you're curious.
I've seen recommendations to visit restaurant supply stores for this exact reason; you can buy a lot of decent quality stuff.
Uniformity and replaceability are #1 for me. I like having uniform dinnerware: they stack perfectly and look less cluttered.
I break or damage (beyond chipping) 1~2 dishes a year. I worry that if I buy some nice-looking, bespoke set, it's going to become wildly inconsistent and mismatched in a few years as I replace broken dishes.
That's why I also use only IKEA dishes. They're unfortunately boring, but I know that I can always replace a broken dish with an exact copy.
I mainly have IKEA as well. Like you said, it's bland. Nothing fancy.
My parents gave me some of their stuff when I moved out -- some of it they bought when they moved out in their 20s! -- which I still have, but I ended up going to IKEA for additional plates, silverware, and glassware.
That was like 8yrs ago when I bought the IKEA ware and I still have all but maybe one glass? Either way, I'm expecting to have this stuff forever. And if not, it's cheap to replace.
I'm not going to be much help except for possibly the two links below.
My parents have had plain white Corelle for 40+ years that I and siblings like so much we got the exact same thing at our houses.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/how-to-shop-for-dinnerware/
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-dinnerware-set/
Yep. White Corelle may be boring but it's a classic for a reason. I love it because they're lightweight, non-reactive, dishwasher safe, hygienic, microwaveable, last decades and if one breaks I can get another exactly like it no problem. I tried getting some with a pattern I loved but found it impossible to find replacements, so after having a kid I decided to play it safe and just get the white.
I had a beautiful stoneware set for a while, and I wouldn't ever go back to it. They were heavy, they did chip and when you put it in the microwave things took twice as long to heat up because the dish took a lot of it. I needed pot holders to hold them even if it had only been in for a minute or two. It was difficult to hold multiple dishes in one hand or to hand wash or rinse with slippery fingers. The chips meant I had a lot of experience with super glue and there were still porous, unhygienic gaps.
Believe me I get the appeal of something more aesthetically pleasing and personally expressive, but dishes are something you deal with every day, often multiple times daily. For me at least, practicality won out.
Thanks for the links, I'll definitely check them out as I'm only beginning to get into the "meat" of dishes. I guess this is the next thing I'm going to educate myself on.
That's also a consistent thing I hear about Corelle. Siblings starting out being given 2nd hand dishes which are in remarkably good condition and are in use to this day.
We have Corelle and they are fine/economical but I too dislike the look to a certain extent. Those kinto stoneware look amazing but damn the gap in pricing from Corelle to those is pretty large! May have to start out with just some mugs and bowls.
I have a stoneware set by Denby that I absolutely love. They have held up beautifully over the ~10 years I've had them. They are hardy and oven safe. They are good for every day use, but also classy enough for a nice meal. Highly recommend this brand!
https://www.denbypottery.com
we got Noritake for wedding presents .... they're great. heavy, stoneware, lots of colors. had em for 3 years now (almost four!) and they're still going strong
Thanks for the suggestion! I really like their "colorwave" selection. This is more towards the style that I like vs a plain white / single color I'm used to seeing.
yeah I think we have colorwave!
Have you held Fiestaware in person? They are fairly heavy, and come in a variety of colors, some darker— but all have a shiny glaze, with the exception of the retired Foundry set, which has a “cast iron” look to it.
One valuable thing about both Corelle and Fiestaware is that they’ve maintained their form factor for many decades. Even if breakage is unlikely, it’s nice to have the option to expand the collection or get replacements.
Regarding stone wear being easily chipped, it really depends on the brand. I’ve found Fiestaware to be quite sturdy. Oddly, it’s my Corelle that I’ve broken more often— and when that breaks it shatters into a fine shardy dust.
I haven't held it (or seen in person), but I've heard it's on the heavier side. At least when compared to Corelle.
One thing I'm starting to learn is I'm fussy when it comes to dinnerware and lean towards a certain "style" (e.g. Bitz pasta bowl Ø20 cm black). I'm not a fan of the traditional white / Fiestaware glaze.
That's something I'll need to keep in mind. I don't imagine "fancier" dinnerware keeps the same look for long periods of time.
USA - I have Corelle plates, salad plates, saucers & bowels that have held up through years of microwaving. Very occasionally I’ve dropped one & then it shattered, yes they do shatter unfortunately if they do break but that’s hardly ever; these dishes have been dropped and banged together a lot before I ever lost one that way. I also like that they’re so light-weight & thin, so when stacked they aren’t heavy to move around & also don’t take up a lot of space. Plus they’re pretty economical.
When my husband and I got married, we decided on classic white coupe dinnerware in porcelain. You may already know this but I learned that porcelain is much more durable due to longer firing times, which causes vitrification that results in the formation of the glassy bond that makes porcelain so strong. It isn't that it's made of "a better material" or anything like that. It's about firing it longer. We chose coupe dinnerware from Crate & Barrel in the non-rimmed style in white because they're suitable for everyday use but can be dressed up for formal occasions. So we got the basic pieces of dinnerware in white porcelain but I'll dress it up with crystal glassware, nice linen napkins/rings, serving platters and bowls in silver or pretty colors. Sometimes I'll use a pretty glass b&b/salad plate and set the table with it placed on top of the dinner plate. When you add the tablecloth, centerpieces and candles, you can easily dress up basic white dinnerware.
Having said that, I got married in 2007 and the coupe dinnerware we registered for is no longer available. I posted a link to something close to what we have but it's not the same. However, the quality is good. We still have the majority of the set, having lost a few pieces over the years, but the pieces still in use look great. Very little scratching and not easily chipped. C&B also has the Mercer collection, which is made of porcelain but has a more natural stoneware appearance and comes in different colors. I wasn't sure if the Mercer line would appeal to you but thought I'd link it anyway.
Another place I've bought dinnerware from that performed well was World Market. They have a porcelain coupe dinnerware set that's really affordable. I have bought individual pieces from WM and the quality has been good. It does get the little grey scratches from flatware but doesn't chip too easily.
I've actually visited a local C&B to see their offerings in person. I'm leaning towards this style. I'm not sure how to describe this style. C&B didn't exactly have this kind of style unfortunately. The closest was too clean/sleek (single black or grey color).
I can’t help except to note that brands will cycle through designs and so to investigate how long that design will be around so you can get replacements. Some brands, eg crate and barrel, cycle really quickly.
The dishes I'm looking at tend to not be the traditional shape/color. That complicates the longevity/replacement aspect. Thanks for calling this out. I'm surprised Crate & Barrel would be one of the ones that cycle quickly as I assumed they'd be more "stable" considering how big their name is.
Just something to consider if you have the budget: Find a local ceramics artist and buy a set of dishes you love from them. We have a lovely pair of mugs from an artist in Door County, WI that we adore for morning tea. Not cheap, but now I wish we would have gotten 2 bowls and 2 small plates to match.
So it sounds as if you're interested in something that looks a bit artisan, but want some durability and replaceability.
To be honest, our daily use dishes are a fairly restrained inexpensive restaurant porcelain.
But we've been eyeing this style from West Elm for a while.
There's always been a substantial artisan pottery market around various places in Michigan. I inherited some nice serving pieces, we've bought odds and ends over the years, and it seems like it would be nice to compose a table where everything is more or less in harmony. OTOH, the fiscal priority for this is way down the list.
If our friends and (tiny) family have a problem with the presentation, that means we're not cooking well enough.
Pretty much, yeah. I really want it to look nice while not needing careful handling. These artisanal styles are generally stoneware it looks like. I haven't checked local markets yet, but I'll look into it. I automatically assumed I'll be purchasing online even though it's better to see them in person first.
The biggest problem with less expensive commercial stoneware is that the glaze chips easily. The pottery itself is tougher than glass or porcelain. It's generally oven-proof, microwaveable, and dishwasher-safe.
It's always worth seeing dinnerware in person and handling it if possible. You don't want mugs with uncomfortable handles, or bowls that tip easily.
The only thing militating in favor of the West Elm products is that we've seen and handled the dinnerware in-store, and were pleased with the design, as well as quality for price. They've had that style in stock for at least the past 5 years, so we could be reasonably confident of getting replacements for breakage. (We got 16 place settings of the cheap restaurantware about 12 years ago, and we're nowhere near needing to replace the whole set yet - we haven't seated more than 8 people at a time in many years.)
USA resident here. We’ve had both styles. My spouse and I started with a full matched set of stoneware we love. That was fine until we had kids, and then the attrition rate shot up. So after about a decade, we bought a set of Corelle with a simple pattern. They’ve been metaphorically bulletproof. They take anything we can dish out (pun intended), from drops onto hard surfaces to microwaving to reheating food in a gas oven.
After the kids grow up and move out we may go back to stoneware. But for our current situation, Corelle is perfect.
Side note: Corelle is glass, but an unusually flexible type. That’s what gives it its resistance to damage. But, the edges can bend slightly from drops. The good news is that you can bend them back in your hands. Just apply strong, steady pressure.
(This alarms my spouse, because glass and a lifetime of experience showing that glass shatters. So I do it while they are out of the room. 😆)
Thanks for your insight. I was under the impression stoneware was fragile. But that's larger concern with kids it sounds like. I didn't want to dismiss stoneware because the style I lean towards is stoneware (rugged/rustic).
I’m glad it was helpful. Stoneware is fragile, but no more than any other ceramic serving ware. It’s quite comparable to the average coffee mug: subject to chipping if knocked against things, but otherwise sturdy.
But one other reason to maybe choose Corelle (or porcelain) is microwavability. With time, tiny fractures in stoneware’s surface glazing can admit a bit of moisture. That’s fine (it’s nothing like the amount of water that wood takes up!). But I have learned that once such a surface fracture starts, then water + microwave = rapid & localized heat expansion = fully cracked plate. (On the other hand, this has happened to two dishes in 18 years. Maybe I’m oversensitive to it. Still: No microwave if you can see any surface fractures in glaze!)