How to make your Italian Ceramics last forever: 4 simple tips

You have just purchased a nice set of Italian ceramic dinner plates and made an extra effort to buy a pasta bowl and a serving platter. Your first thought when you see them nicely displayed on your table is "Oh my Gosh! Aren’t they gorgeous?" Your second thought however is "How can I make this treasurable dinnerware set last forever or...well, at least as long as I’m here to admire it?". Don’t worry! A little extra care is all you need to keep enjoying your beautiful Italian ceramic dinnerware for a lifetime. Hopefully yours and your children’s and your grandchildren’s... Let’s go through our list of golden nuggets.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Don’t use your fine Italian ceramics for cooking or re-
   heating.
   That means you should not place your beautiful pieces in the ovenor microwaves or directly on a burner.
   You will be wondering why, since Italian ceramic is kiln fired
   twice at more than 1600° F, so it clearly can stand high
   temperatures.
   The truth is that the risk of cracking or chipping your pieces when very hot and unevenly covered with food is real.
   And you don’t want to run it, I’m sure.
2. Avoid sudden temperature changes.
   It’s exactly like when you’re taking a warm bath: you fill the
   tub and then you settle down slowly and comfortably. That’s what your Italian ceramic plates like: being tempered with warm tap water before serving very hot foods or liquids.
   It’s important to avoid possible thermal shock and cracking. A
   trick you can use: put a metal spoon in your Italian ceramic bowl
   or soup tureen while pouring a hot liquid to deflect the heat.
3. Do use your dishwasher, if you think it’s too much effort to
   hand wash your Italian ceramic.
   But stay on the safe side using a fine china cycle, low heat and a good quality detergent. Pay attention when placing your pottery into the machine: your pieces have to stay far apart to avoid touching each other during the dishwashing cycle.
4. Don’t use scouring powders or other harsh remedies to remove stains and dry food from your Italian ceramic plates or serving accessories.
   You can remove dry food putting your ceramics in soapy warm water and letting it soak for a few minutes. You may use a plastic scrubber for the worst bits.
   To remove tea stains from your hand painted ceramic cups, fill
   them with a solution of 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach per
   quart of water, let them soak 1-2 minutes, then rinse them.
   They’ll look like new!
   For the first time in years you’ve managed to eat up all your
   Thanksgiving turkey. But your smile freezes when you look at the black marks left by your cutlery on your beautiful Italian
   ceramic plates. Don’t panic! Clean them with a good quality, non
   abrasive metal cleaner and concentrate on digesting the turkey.
   
   Now.
   
   Do you think the beauty and the artistry of your fine Italian ceramics are worth such a small extra effort?
   
   If the answer is YES your grandchildren will thank you!
   
   ______________________________________________________________
   
   * Tiziana is an Italian Marketing Manager and an avid collector of fine Italian ceramics. If you share her passion for ceramics, do read her new article on how to spot fake hand made Italian ceramics at http://www.thatsarte.com/blog