The Truth About Corelle
Ever since I switched out my counter tops to granite, my regular stoneware dinnerware has slowly been chipped away due to my lack of spatial acuity. If you misjudge granite even by a centimeter you'll find it's quite unforgiving. It was time to consider other options. For the first time I included Corelle.
While I've been better about distancing plate from counter, the damage has been done. It was time for a replacement, but which one?
My first option was to do nothing, but it sets my teeth on edge to serve guests on chipped dinnerware. Then I considered, and even bought a set of matching dishes at a garage sale.
The purchase was terrific. A complete service for 12, including serving pieces for $20. I made one fatal mistake though. It was a pretty set and I really liked it, but the seller had it out in bright sunshine and I never realized the band at the edge of the plates was gold.
Banded dinnerware can't be washed in the dishwasher without losing its enamel over time. I ended up giving it to my niece, but that left me once more with a decision to make.
I still had hopes I could find a similar great buy at a garage sale, but the season had ended and nothing new was found.
Enter Corelle. I've known about Corelle since I was a kid. Lots of families used it back then. Over the decades it seemed to go in and out of fashion.
I posed the question to my friends on Facebook. Several people chimed in and said their families still had the same set from 30 or more years ago.
These were some of the other contenders. Click the link to see more. LINK
Corelle is not indestructible, but it is strangely forgiving. Corelle is made of multilayered vitrified glass. It is highly chip resistant. I've used it nearly two months now with nary a chip despite a few (serious) accidents. Most of the sets I looked up had a 3 year warranty.
Greg and I differed on which was the prettier set. I wanted a round white embossed pattern, (the 2nd one on the second row above) but he liked the more artistic black line design on a square plate. Mine was more expensive, but that wasn't a deciding factor.
No matter which one we chose, if the claims about its hardiness were true, it had to be something we'd like for many years to come.
I decided to accede to Greg's choice. We'd never had square dishes before, and I was afraid the embossed white dishes might be susceptible to breakage because the layers weren't all the same depth.Here's what I discovered about Corelle:
• The dishes are lightweight--really lightweight.
• They are deceptively thin. You don't realize how thin it is until you're holding one in your hand. On the plus side, you can store a lot more plates in the same space.
• Because Corelle is made of glass, dishware can become very hot. Beware of pouring hot soup in a bowl. You'll need to carry it on a tray or with an oven mitt.
• Corelle slides. We were eating in front of the tv once and had put the dishes on tv trays. Tilt that tray too far, and your dishes will go with it.
• It comes in an extraordinary number of styles and colors. It took many days to whittle it down to a handful of choices.
So far, I'm pleased with it. The only downside I found with the set we selected is that the dinner plates were larger than I expected. (10 1/4"). We find we tend to use the 8.75 inch lunch plates for dinner more often than not.
Amazon and the Corelle company seem to have virtually the same prices, though Amazon seems to mark theirs down more often depending on the vendor.
If you're interested, go to the Corelle web site first because they have the largest inventory, then see if Amazon carries it for less. They seem to carry the most popular styles so your chances are good to find it for a better price.
For myself, I kind of miss the heftier weight of regular stoneware, but that's my only real complaint. I still have my black-on-black ironstone dishes that we bought as "fancy" china when we got married. I only bring them out for special occasions and take exceptional care of them, so it's withstood the test of time with not a single chip. If only I had been that careful with my regular dishes.
Aw well. Have you heard of Corelle? If you've tried it, what was your experience?
Comments
Because it's so light Corelle is great for people with arthritis in their hands, as I imagine you've learned. It's also fine in the dishwasher. If you get silverware marks on yours, use some baking soda or glasstop stove cleaner to remove them.
I don't do china -- too many years of handwashing my mother's when I was a kid -- but I've been through five sets of good stoneware dishes. Pfaltzgraff Naturewood lasted the longest, about twelve years before the surfaces began etching and pitting. Target's Heather Garden started chipping like immediately; one plate chipped as I took it out of the box. That was the worst (and it was a gift from my guy, who knows zero about dishes.)
Now that we're down to two for dinner I'm going back to Corelle. We were looking at sets the other day and my guy liked that pattern you and Greg picked out, so we might end up with the same dishes. :)
Mostly, I worry about the dogs. I don't want them to get stabbed walking into the kitchen.
It was heavy though! Heavier than most stoneware. I was shocked at how light Corelle was.
I like the style we picked. It's got a timeless quality that I think will last through the years. Besides, Greg liked them and he rarely offers an opinion on dishes. :)
re: Target
Ugh! You reminded me of a set of dishes we bought at Target once. Just like you, they started chipping almost immediately. We never bought anything from them again.
Finally traded the originals out for more Corelle at some point and those sets lasted until the 2011 fire.
Now the only dishes out of the two sets we bought to replace them that I have broken are a couple of the stoneware coffee mugs and I think 1 bowl Maria.
We have tile in our kitchen and it chips before the Corelle does.
I keep using them because we spent the money and I hate to waste things. Do I throw away an entire set of dishes just because nearly every piece has a small chip or two? Sometimes I want to because they do look awful, especially for company. But the world doesn't need more trash. I wonder if they can be recycled usefully?
Granite is nice, but breaking glass containers is not unusual. I've learned to keep a light touch on landing.
re: We have tile in our kitchen and it chips before the Corelle does.
LOL! I believe it.
I honestly didn't think I would like it, but it has more pros than cons. I think it was a good choice for us.
They're all so expensive though, that's why I decided to go with Corelle in the hopes I wouldn't have to replace them again in my lifetime.
I don't need granite to chip a plate, but it seems exceedingly easier with it. :)