If you collect vintage and antique dinnerware and kitchenware items, it helps to keep a few things in mind if you want to use them for preparing recipes and serving meals. Washing these heirloom pieces after you're done is just as important as making sure they're adequately prepared for food before using them. The items we spend a significant amount of time and money to collect should be properly taken care of, because we want to keep them in top condition for many more years to come. Delicate china, glassware, stoneware, earthenware and ironstone that has survived decades can continue to do so in your very own home if you're cautious.
Over the course of my keeping home, entertaining and enjoying the antiques I own, I've had a few mishaps with my antique & vintage dinnerware due to simple errors on my part. These accidents could have been avoided if I had just paid closer attention to what I was doing at the time. When I look back at those instances I say to myself: if only. Don't let that be you.
With these tips and things to consider whenever you want to use your antique & vintage dinnerware, you'll avoid the mistakes I've made and you'll enjoy your dinnerware, your serving platters, tureens and more, for many years to come.
Warming Your Dinnerware & Serving Pieces
It's a very good idea to warm up whatever vintage & antique pieces you plan on using, before you add food to them. Even if these vintage items claim to be oven-proof or heat-proof, you'll be thanking yourself if you take this small step. I don't recommend warming them up in a hot oven because the thermal shock may actually crack them.
Taking this step is a must if you live in an older home like mine which gets drafty in the winter. It's not wise to have a cold plate receive hot food straight from the oven or skillet. Let me give you some examples.
This wonderful ironstone under tray for a larger tureen is one that I love using for salads, breads & muffins every once in awhile. I once decided to use it to hold some hot food straight from a wok. Big mistake!
Since I did not preheat this serving plate, as soon as the hot food hit the ironstone it cracked. I heard a pop and a loud crack. Can you see that hairline crack along the rim of the tray?
It's more apparent when you flip the plate over. This is how big the crack became in a matter of seconds. Very upsetting to have a perfectly nice piece of ironstone go from good to bad.
Here's an example of a plate with a potential weak spot. That metal pointer shows a flaw in the glass of this jadeite plate from the 1940s. It is not a crack and it is not a hairline fissure either. It's just a point in the glass which didn't mix smoothly running in an arch pattern; I have several dinner plates which have this flaw. You have to really examine your plates for these types of weak spots so that you're aware of potential problems when using them.
I didn't know at the time that it could lead to problems.
You don't have to worry about this if you're serving items at room temperature, but if you plan on serving something hot from the stovetop, preheat the plate.
Look at that awful crack! This happened to me one evening as I was getting ready to plate our dinner. The plates were next to my stove, people were seated at the table and the chicken cutlets were ready to come off the saute pan. As I began plating the chicken, I heard two loud pops. I knew immediately what had happened. Cold plate, hot food...not good.
On the flip side, you can see how the crack just traveled down the entire length of the plate. This jadeite dinner plate is completely useless to me now. It had to get pulled out of the cupboard.
Gasp! That evening, I lost 2 dinner plates. One had several cracks and one just came apart on me. It's awful isn't it?
A stack of perfectly fine jadeite dinner plates. Some have those flaws in the glass and some do not. If you're setting hot food onto vintage & antique plates, make sure you know what condition each piece is in. I don't recommend using dinnerware that has a known crack or hairline fracture, because any type of heat will eventually weaken the piece even more and split it.
As for methods of preheating, I have one. I now run the plates & serving pieces under warm water and then dry them off right before I'm going to use them for hot food. I don't like the idea of putting them in the oven or a dishwasher to warm them up. The heat from both of these sources may be too hot for your delicate plates.
Once you've dried your warmed plates, keep them next to the stove so that they're ready to go.
The same goes for tureens, platters, vegetable bowls and pedestal serving pieces that are going to hold hot food. If you have very very old pieces of heirloom china, do take this extra step to ensure their safety.
Hand Washing is Best
At the end of the day when you've finished using those cherished pieces of dinnerware, please hand wash them instead of using a convenient dishwasher. My rule of thumb is that if my dinnerware is older than 20 years and they are pieces I love immensely, I hand wash them in sudsy water in the sink, the old-fashioned way.
Here are two examples of milk glass. The bowl on the left is pristine and white. The set on the left has taken on a yellowed hue due to probably having been put in the dishwasher repeatedly (not my doing). Over time, a dishwasher with its harsh detergents and extreme water temperatures, may discolor your pieces of antique and vintage glass, earthenware or fine china. Hand wash!
I keep a simple white dish rack set over a baking sheet when I do this. After I've finished washing every single piece, I use fluffy cotton bar mops or flour sack cloth towels to dry up the dinnerware. Drip drying overnight is not something I like because the pieces end up with water spots. Maddening.
The dish rack can be emptied of all that water, dried and get tucked into a cabinet so that it's not occupying precious counter space.
Take care of your vintage and antique treasures. Whether they've cost you a small fortune or whether they've been handed down to you by a thoughtful family member, it's good to keep your dinnerware and serving pieces in top form. I love setting a nice table with a mix of old and new. Some of you do the same in your wonderful homes and I'm glad, because it's nice knowing that there are like-minded individuals who appreciate the old and the antique. Enjoy using your antique & vintage dinnerware.
Happy Entertaining!