Food served in fine china may not be tastier than that served in plastic or paper plates but certainly, you get to experience a little bit more sense of luxury and added refinement. It seems to convert a simple everyday meal to an adventure of the palate and feast for the eyes too. Fine china is also known as porcelain, which is actually the main raw material used for its manufacture. Porcelain is mainly a ceramic substance made by heating together kaolin and other raw ingredients such as bone ash, alabaster, quartz and glass, to high temperatures.

There are three main categories of fine china, namely – bone china, soft paste and hard paste. These categories are differentiated by the ingredients and temperatures at which each of them is baked. Bone china has bone ash; soft paste is baked at lower temperatures than hard paste china. You can determine the quality of china by holding a sample up to light. High quality china will appear as translucent.

Fine china should not be placed in a dishwasher since strong dishwashing soaps can damage it. You should also use warm water only and not hot water, especially for those with a metal trim. Avoid extreme water temperature changes as your fine china can crack or break because of it. Always hand dry instead of air drying to avoid the formation of unsightly spots.