Crockery

Crockery is synonymous with elegance, charm, sophistication and style. Crockery is a blend of artistic beauty reflected in attractive designs and various manufacturing techniques. Once considered a luxury kitchenware and reserved for the elite, crockery is now part of food habit in almost every household.

Selecting the right crockery can accentuate and make food presentation highly appealing. Embark and explore interesting ways to enhance your dining experience by making well-informed decisions while selecting suitable crockery. Read on to find out the elements to be considered while selecting crockery sets and also how to take care of your cherished crockery collections.

Crockery

Crockery refers to dishes, jars made out of baked clay or earthenware. Porcelain, China, bone china crockery - What exactly is the difference. Understanding this can add value to your process of selecting suitable crockery. The difference lies in the type of clay and the temperature it is fired in the kiln to lose its fragility. Crockery is popular on account of its durability. La-opala and Corelle are some of the world's famous crockery brands. Both are known for wide range of designs, highly durable, dishwasher and microwave safe.

China: The Chinese were using jade, a semi-precious stone to make bowls to drink from. They soon realized that jade was not only rare but also very expensive. Looking for a suitable replacement, they discovered white clay in the hills of Kao-Lin, South-East of China. It wasn't long before when they discovered that this clay could be molded into different shapes. When it is fired at very high temperatures, it can result in a solid piece. This marked the emergence of beautiful, white-bodied, translucent china.

Porcelain: Porcelain is white clay mixed with a ground rock (pentuse). Heated at temperatures between 1200 and 1400 degrees Celsius, porcelain is valued for its beauty and strength. Often porcelain is used as a synonym for china but in reality the two are not identical. Though they do resemble one another quite closely, china, otherwise known as soft-paste or tender porcelain is much softer. China can be cut with a file while porcelain due to its greater hardness cannot be cut. You can differentiate between porcelain and china by checking whether it is opaque or translucent. While porcelain is always translucent, china is opaque.

Bone China: Bone China is referred to as English form of porcelain. True to its name, the English improvised porcelain by adding ash from cattle bone to clay, feldspar and quartz. Bone ash adds strength and white color. Bone China is usually more expensive than other china and is particularly popular in United States and Britain.

Selecting crockery

• Is the crockery is being used for daily use or special occasions?
  
  
• Does the crockery have a minimum guarantee against possible chippage?
  
  
• Will your new crockery set complement other existing collection of glassware and other tabletop accessories.
  
  
• Decide if the crockery set can accommodate your basic needs as well as possible increase in usage.
  

Care for Crockery

Having selected suitable crockery, you also need to care and maintain it well. Precious crockery can be passed down from generation to generation.

• Use crockery only for serving and not for cooking.
  
  
• Never store cups rim down. Do not hang the cups as the handles may weaken.
  
  
• While storing crockery items, separate each item with paper or tissue to avoid scratches.
  
  
• Crockery patterns with gold or metallic trims must not be used in microwave.
  
  
• Use recommended detergents specially formulated while cleaning crockery in dishwasher. Use the right detergent so as not to affect the glaze surface. Check dishwasher for recommended temperature and follow instructions.
  
  
• Never use harsh scourers or abrasive materials that may damage the surface of crockery.
  
  
• To remove stains or burnt particles, let the crockery piece be soaked in warm water for few minutes before washing.
  
  
• Wash cutlery and crockery separately to avoid metal markings.