Hey! Are you wondering about the durability of your porcelain dishes? Well, this blog is all about covering in depth the details on do porcelain dishes break easily or strong enough to withstand the hardships of a busy kitchen along with how durable it usually is.
Do Porcelain Dishes Break Easily?
It is breakable but not very much easily. Somehow porcelain dishes are known to be durable. They can bear pressure and heat to some extent. Although they are break, chip, or crack-resistant but not so much that if you are hitting hard and they remain undamaged.
Porcelain dishes are prone to cracks or break when they are not carefully handled as prescribed by the manufacturers. Otherwise, they are freezer, microwave and oven safe type of ceramics. They are also dishwasher safe and can be easily washed and dried in daily life usage. They are called the refined form, or they are the refined style of ceramics.
Does It Make Sense That Porcelain Is A Refined Style Of Ceramics?
Porcelain is a refined form of Ceramic. It is made up of Ceramic (by cleaning and refining) but it isn’t Ceramic itself. You can say that Porcelain is a branch of a tree which has roots of Ceramic.
So, Now You Are Pondering That What Is The Difference Between Ceramics And Porcelain?
Ceramics are different from porcelain dishes. First of all, let me tell you the factors that cause a difference in both of these two terms. These are.
- What type of clay is used while making ceramic dishes or dinnerware?
- How much water content is used?
- What is the firing temperature?
- What is the duration of firing?
- What kind of additives is mixed up with the clay?
Above are the factors that result in the different types of ceramics products which are more durable and better enough than ceramic itself.
Some differences between porcelain and ceramics:
- Porcelain dishes are made up of Kaolin Clay (which is refined and white clay); while the Ceramics are not composed of Kaolin Clay.
- Ceramics are fired at 1000 F while Porcelain is fired at 2370 F.
- Porcelain is more non- porous and stronger than ceramics.
- Porcelain is translucent while ceramics are opaque.
Which Type Of Ceramics Is Better? Porcelain Vs Earthenware
Let’s cover how porcelain is different and stronger than earthenware, in terms of both being from the ceramic family!
Earthenware is the type of Ceramics, which are less durable and less break resistant. They are porous and absorb moisture from the material you preserved in them. They are that type of ceramics; composed of natural clay and fired at a temperature of 1830 F to 1980 F.
They can be easily breakable and cannot be microwave recommended according to my experience. But porcelain is harder and stronger due to high-temperature endurance and it cannot be easily breakable. Porcelain is better than earthenware.
What Is Stoneware? Is It Better Than Porcelain Dishes?
Stoneware is a better option than earthenware because they have more durability and strength. Stoneware is the form of ceramics that are balanced by the durability, size, and weight, and porosity side. But in comparison; porcelain dishes are more refined and strong because of the temperature difference that lies in all the types and the kinds of additive differences.
Stoneware is less porous because they are glazed before firing into the kiln, so they are less water absorbent. Stoneware is fired at 2185 F in the kiln which is less than the porcelain firing temperature.
Is There Any Difference Between Bone Chine And Porcelain Dishes?
There is a difference between porcelain and bone china. As I explained before that Porcelain is composed of only kaolin clay, but bone china is composed of the combination porcelain clay and the bone ashes. It is the most refined form of ceramics. Bone china is fired at 2200-degree Fahrenheit, but it is more strong, durable, and break-resistant than porcelain.
Some Differences Between Bone China And Porcelain
- The first difference is the kiln temperature used to produce both and the other one is the firing duration; bone china is fired two times in the kiln while porcelain is fired only one time in the kiln.
- The other difference is that porcelain is made up of the small number of additives like silica, quartz, glass, and granite included with clay and water while the bone china is composed of silica sand, fine feldspar minerals and refined clay with water.
- The main difference that lies in both of these types are bone china appears as milky white while the porcelain appears as the white.
Both the materials are good and refined forms and are elegant in appearance and have the capacity to bear little bit pressure without any damage.
How Do I Protect My Porcelain Dishes Or Dinnerware From Breaking?
- According to my research about the porcelain dishes, they are durable and dishwasher safe, but they must have to be handled properly; if they cannot be handled properly, they can be cracked and can breakup.
- They are mostly white in appearance and translucent, so avoid transferring them directly from too cold (freezer) to too hot (microwave or oven) because it can cause a crack in your porcelain dishes.
- When dishwashing your porcelain dishes, try to take good care of dinnerware, and try to read out the recommendations given by the manufacturer of your porcelain dishes or dinnerware on the box.
Recommendation
If you want to choose dinnerware between porcelain and bone china, then you should know that both are of the same material and refined clay.
- Both are good options for formal use in events.
- Porcelain can also be used in daily life.
- For baking, porcelain dishes are a very good choice.
Final Verdict
To wrap it all about do porcelain dishes break easily we can say, porcelain is breakable if it is not properly handled. It is good and more durable than stoneware and earthenware because of more porosity and bone china is almost equally as good as porcelain.
Different types of ceramic products are different on the factors of firing temperature and duration, water amount and additives types used with clay.
The simple way to protect your dinnerware is to wash it carefully and avoid transferring them from too cold to too hot; otherwise, they may be cracked quickly.
