Glass Dinnerware

Glass Dishes: What You Need to Know

From ornate designs to elegant simplicity, various glass bowls and plates are available to suit your foodservice establishment's aesthetic. Bread, salads, and entrées can be served on modern or traditional glass plates, while oversized glass dishes can be utilized for serving small bites on buffets, dessert tables, and front-of-house displays. There are even cook-and-serve glass bowls and plates that can be used to prepare and present food in one piece of smallware.

We recommend glass plates for fine dining establishments. Quality glass dinnerware doesn't run at low price points, so you should opt for plastic counterparts if you need an economical alternative. Some plastic dishware, such as acrylic, is constructed to mimic the feel and look of glass dishes. However, authentic glass bowls and plates add a classy touch to almost any fine dining facility. Along with having steeper upfront costs, glass plates also break more easily than plastic ones, making it a question of when, not if, you'll need to replace them.

Common Questions About Glass Dinnerware

What are the common types of glass dishes?

There are three main types of glass bowls and plates: rim tempered, fully tempered, and annealed. Rim-tempered glass plates are partially tempered for additional protection, and because the rim is likely to take the most impact, this is the section that's usually tempered. If you need a cost-effective option that has some durability, rim-tempered glass dinnerware is a great choice. Fully tempered glass bowls and plates are stronger and less prone to breakage than other alternatives. When these pieces of smallware break, they come apart in chunks rather than shattering, avoiding the danger of sharp glass shards. Annealed glass plates are the most cost-effective investment up front. These pieces of standard glassware are slowly cooled to reduce internal stress, which makes them capable of withstanding changes in temperature. However, when annealed glass dinnerware breaks, it shatters into glass shards that create a stressful safety and cleaning situation.

What's the difference between crystal and glass bowls and plates?

Glass dinnerware is an umbrella term under which crystal dinnerware is categorized. Crystal dishware is made the same way as glass dishes, but different materials are used. All crystal smallware is glass, but not all glass bowls and plates are crystal. For glass to be considered crystal, it must meet specific criteria: a 1.545 reflective index, a density higher than 2.9, and lead content that exceeds 24 percent. The term crystal is often used when referring to glass plates that have a more elegant form than casual glass dinnerware, though this differentiation isn't official. Glass dishes can be made from various materials, such as titanium, barium, lead, zinc, potash, soda-lime, soda-ash, and silica. Only products with at least 24 percent lead can be categorized as crystal; however, glass bowls and plates made with other metal oxides are called crystal glass or crystallin.

What makes glass plates different colors?

The brilliance and color of glass dinnerware depends on its contents. Glass dishes made with soda-lime are blue, while glass bowls and plates made with iron turn out green. If you want strong glass plates, invest in ones that have a greenish hue.