Crockery Dishware Flatware or Crock

Names of crockery items

Crockery sounds to me like all the delph is already broken. Dinner plates, cups, mugs, saucers, bowls, egg cups and various china dishes are all known under the collective name crockery. Other names for crockery and earthenware are dishware, dinnerware, flatware, delph or stoneware but there seems to be a plethora of names for our common tableware. Crock means an earthen pot or jar in the singular sense of the word whereas crockery is the collective noun and, apart from dinnerware, could include items such as a coffee mug, a salad bowl, a ceramic tea kettle or even a teapot. The term crock is also used as in ‘Crock Jug’ or ‘Sally Crock’ for a jug and a bowl.

Dishware, crockery, crocks and flatware are ever so durable!

I have seen a friend of mine cleaning dinnerware on his patio, To explain briefly, he found the crockery buried in the loft (attic) of his old house and it was very, very dirty and dusty. He had never seen the set before so it may have been left there by a previous owner. Just prior to washing it properly he set his power washer to a low power pressure setting and he washed 72 crock pieces right there on his patio (and not one piece was broken during the exercise). He still uses this crockery today, it is quite a beautiful set (might even be antique).

Many people like to mix-and-match their crockery (as I do) and oftentimes you will receive a present of a new mug which you can just add to your dishware collection (and perhaps discard one that has seen better days).

Sizes of dinnerware sets

A basic crockery tea set will have 6 cups, 6 saucers and 6 side plates. A much smaller crockery set, for one person, will have a single dinner plate, a cereal bowl and a mug, all in a matching color.
A standard, 72 piece crockery set will include a dozen of each of the following pieces:
• 10" dinner plates
• 7" salad plates
• 6" side plates
• 6" bowls
• 3" dip bowls
• Standard mugs
The above set might cost $80 but you may want to complete the set with vegetable bowls and serving platters and these are usually available in the same pattern (and color) as the full set. Dishware makes great Xmas gifts or wedding presents.

Antique dishware

Old, vintage china or porcelain, hand painted plates are likely to be of some value but it does depend upon the rarity of the plates and their condition. Antique plates today would date from the late 18th and early 19th century and would be eminently collectable.

Different crockery

Unusual crockery includes square plates, platters with holes (I don’t know why they have holes) and ornamental ceramic pieces with no practical uses. Oftentimes unusual crockery is designed by artistic people who like ‘out of the ordinary’ earthenware.

Different uses for crockery

My mom used an old crock pot for the steaming the Christmas pudding (a rich fruit black cake) every year. Quite often you will see a small dinnerware plate used under a flower pot. Artists use ceramic saucers for mixing paint, but many artists have spent their entire careers doing hand painted plates, some of which are collectible plates.

Crockery in dishwashers

Dishwashers are not kind to crockery and I believe that using a dishwasher constantly on your crockery will harm it. The dining plates become more brittle and mugs and cups fracture more easily. Many newly produced dinnerware items will be labeled as ‘dishwasher and microwave safe’ but I don’t believe that you do your crockery any favors by using either of these items. I know that they are labor saving devices but it is saving labor at a cost, in my opinion. You might have gathered that I am not a lover of plastic plates but they do have their place, especially where young children, ceramic crockery and high chairs are concerned.