As the name suggests, a dinner set consists of a whole range of cutlery that serves all the diners’ needs. Though the number of pieces in a dinner set varies, the usual type has twenty pieces.
Most sets consist of plates; this includes the plate where the dinner will be served and a smaller one for the side dishes. Also, there are salad plates, teacups, saucers, saucers etc.
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7 Things To Keep In Mind While Buying A New Dinner Set For Yourself
Most people do not buy dinner sets frequently. So when you plan on buying a set for yourself, you must keep the following things in mind to avoid a loss. Choosing a dinner set takes work. The cost, the material, the appearance, and the sustainability all matter in the long term. So here are a few tips that will make your life easy.
Always Give Priority To The Durability Of The Material
It is true that you do not use a dinner set for regular eating. And a set that looks classy and elegant is excellent for a fancy dinner party. But if the set pieces are not durable, they will not last very long.
People who have children or have had plates broken before will realize the importance of durability even more. A piece that is broken disrupts the entire set. After all, you cannot serve a plate when the matching side dish or saucer is missing.
Stoneware is highly durable. They do not break or develop cracks or scratches quickly. A porcelain dinnerware manufacturer will have many materials like ceramics, stone or bone China and if durability is your priority, go for stoneware.
Apart from stoneware, melamine plates are the best in terms of rigidity and durability. Melamine is the best option if you want to use your plates for outdoor use. In short, melamine is so tough that most experts call it indestructible.
Check If The Dinner Set Is Easy To Use
As it has already been said, nobody purchases a dinner set every day, so the one you buy should be easy to use. The first thing is the ease of washing. A plate or a saucer will have curries and sauces on them.
So it is fine if they are easy to clean or if the material tends not to retain stains. However, stone plates tend to retain stains; hence you may have to put in extra effort to clean them.
Another thing you must remember while buying a dinner set is how easy it is to use for your guest. After all, your guest may have to hold the plates in their hand if you have served dinner in a buffet.
A heavy plate is only good if the plate is to be held for a short time. So if you are looking for something lightweight, bone china is the material.
Check If The Pieces Can Be Put In The Microwave Oven Or Freezer
It is not uncommon to land up in a situation where a guest might want to quickly reheat his food. At times you might want to store the leftovers as it is in a freezer.
You must get a dinner set that can withstand cold and hot temperatures for all such eventualities. Stone is good for freezing and microwaving, but glass is unsuitable for heating. So if reheating and freezer storage are a necessity, it is better to avoid glass.
Keep A Tab On The Price
Affordability is a key criterion for any purchase. If your only aim is to get the fanciest set out there, then go for bone china, as the elegance of china is unparalleled.
Also, bone china is easily breakable, so if you break a piece, you might have to spend a lot on replacing the set.
However, if you want something that will not cost you a lot, go for melamine or melamine.
Keep An Eye Out For Aesthetics
When buying a dinner set or any cutlery piece, aesthetics is many people’s primary criterion. If you want various colors and designs, go for bone china. Most of the time, bone china dishes have sides or rims lined with a golden finish. The golden edges add another layer of elegance to the already pretty bone china plates.
Go for earthenware if you want something more organic and available in soft, muted shades. Earthenware is available in muted shades of blue, forest green etc., but they are prone to chipping. Stone plates can also look aesthetically pleasing, especially if they come with a glossy finish.
Have An Eye For Sustainability
Glassware is entirely recyclable. So most likely, your new glass plate is made out of recycled glass cups and plates. Materials like porcelain, on the other hand, cannot be recycled.
So when you buy a porcelain dinner set, you buy something with a limited life cycle; when you break the plates, that is the end.
Like porcelain, melamine is also a material that is meant for one-time use. Melamine is chemically a plastic, and it is challenging to degrade. So if environmentally sustainable is your primary concern, then avoiding porcelain and melamine dinner sets is better.
Be Cautious About Health Implications
Health safety should be the most important criterion when buying dishes. So you must know that melamine is a complex polymer and unsafe when serving hot food. A part of the chemical can leach into the hot food. So unless the manufacturer guarantees health safety and you always adhere to the safety precautions, you should avoid melamine.
Conclusion
Buying a dinner set seems like a simple affair, but if you consider the long-term implications, it is not an easy decision. You will serve food to your guest, so you want the dishes to be safe and easy to carry.
However, you also want the dishes to last long, so ease of washing and durability are vital. So it would be best to keep health, sustainability, price, ease of use and aesthetics in mind before buying a dinner set.
