Plates/dinnerware question

[syntheticjesso]

So when I moved out of my parents' house, my mom bought me some really cheap plastic plates from Walmart. Well, it's been 4 years now, and they are showing their age. Between just being pretty cheap plates, I've also used them as cutting boards since I didn't have one. I'm looking to replace them, and I want to get "real" plates, the kind that

Comments

[tisiphone]

Basically, there are three main materials you're likely to run into for "real" tableware - vitreous glass (Corelle), stoneware, and porcelain. Corelle is sturdy, and is reputably more difficult to break, but when it does break it shatters into about eight million tiny little slivers and is impossible to clean up. I can't stand it, personally, but I know a lot of people that love it. Stoneware tends to be sturdy, and it looks it. It comes in a wide variety of colors, sizes, shapes, and so on, and basically you can find anything you want. It's a good choice for everyday, I think. Porcelain (or china) is more delicate, and tends to be more finely decorated. Depending on the decoration, it may not be dishwasher-safe, and it breaks easily. I'd recommend that if you're looking for something a little bit fancier.

(You may also find things made of clear glass, wood, pottery, and a few other materials, but they tend to be rarer.)
In terms of actual recommendations, I have these. I've had them for years, and they are amazing - sturdy like you would not believe, still looks good, not a scratch on them, and none of them have ever chipped. Plus, they're a reasonable size, which is great - I find a lot of modern dishes are enormous, and that can lead you to eat more than you need.

Unsolicited advice - get a bamboo cutting board, rather than or in addition to the flexible plastic ones. It stands up better to things like bread, meat, and hard vegetables, and is hygienic. Plus, your knives don't slip around on it.

[amerrydeath]

This for the cutting board--I can't stand the thought of those plastic things. They trap bacteria, especially if they're low end, and look horrible after they've been used once...wooden boards last forever if you take care of them and bamboo is antibacterial. Personally I'd spend money on wooden chopping board and eat off that if I was stuck for cash, but I don't think they're really that expensive. And so much more furnishing!

[tisiphone]

You can get them really cheap at TJ Maxx, I got two for under $20. They're nice, too - they've got little grippy legs on the bottom so they don't slide all over the place, which is awesome considering that half the time I am lazy and just chop things on the stove. I just to have the flexible ones, they were OK but they got scarred up rapidly and I never really felt they were clean.

[whisperstar]

On the subject of cutting boards:
How are glass cutting boards? I heard that they make your knives dull... but
are there any plus sides?
Also, with a wooden cutting board, how do you clean them off? Don't they get
ridges cut into them from cutting with a knife? ^-^

Such basic questions, but I look forward to hearing more about this! :3

[tisiphone]

I don't like glass cutting boards at all - they slide all over the counter and your knife slides all over them. Wooden cutting boards don't tend to get ridges cut in them with the knife, more scratches (and not even always that). If you get a hardwood or bamboo board it's not really a problem. I just handwash mine with dishsoap and let them dry, I never put them in the dishwasher or soak them.

[jacquez]

The shattering thing is why I switched away from Corelle for daily use. I got sick of, six months after breaking a plate, getting a shard in my freakin' foot.

My daily stuff these days is Fiestaware, which is stoneware and comes in a bazillion bright colors, and is often on sale at Macy's or Amazon.

[tisiphone]

Yup, I'm super klutzy, and Corelle just doesn't work out for me. My grandmother had it when I was a kid, so did my mother, but theirs seemed a lot more durable than any I've ever had! I love Fiestaware so, so much.

[kamaliitaru]

This is so weird...I'm super super clumsy and have never broken a Corelle dish...I grew up with them and I can't remember when I broke one. I now have Pfaltzgraff because I like stoneware more than Corelle, and I smash a few of those a year. But the Corelle my mom has bounces off her floor...

[oxymoron02]

Old Corelle does bounce. I've actually damaged the floor dropping one. :)

I've also had the displeasure of being at grandma's when one broke. In my whole life, I've only seen it happen once, but it was a gigantic pain in the ass to clean up the 12 million pieces.

[jacquez]

I do think Fiestaware is easier to break in general -- but it breaks into like 3 big pieces. Whereas Corelle will embed shards throughout a hundred square feet of kitchen and they will sneak out and kill you in your sleep.

[oh_cake]

This.

OP: I inherited my late uncle's Johnson Bros. dishes and used them happily until moving in with my fiance. He already had some basic white Crate & Barrel dishes that he flat out refused to part with. They do take abuse well - dishwasher/microwave/clumsiness and still look good, but are kind of large IMO. My mother is now using the Johnson Bros.

I personally covet the Apilco Tuilieries set at W-S, but can neither afford to nor really need to replace the set we've got. :(

I loathe Corelle and Fiestaware, but that's my personal aesthetic.

[tisiphone]

I've been coveting that cutting board for a while now, but haven't quite worked up to buying it.