One way to make the dinner fancy, is to pull out your formal dinnerware, or dinnerware that is rarely used. Use special glassware to complement the dinnerware. Serve all the drinks in stemware, even the milk for the kids can be poured into a stemware glass.

Another way to compose a fancy dinner, is to serve each course separately, rather than placing all the food on the table at the same time. Start your meal with a soup, possibly a cold soup, like cucumber soup. Then, serve the salad, and put the salad dressing in a small gravy boat or creamer. Then serve the main course. You can separate the meat course from the vegetable course, but that could seem a little forced.

Another fun thing to do is to serve a small amount of a mild tasting sherbert in between each course – to cleanse the pallet.

For table decoration, let your dinnerware speak for itself. Create a low centerpiece, so everyone can easily enjoy conversation over the centerpiece. Fill one of your large serving bowls with flowers and or christmas tree balls or garland or . . . wherever your creativity takes you.

You do not have to load your table with lots of dinnerware, glassware, and flatware, but you certainly can. A general guideline for using flatware is to start using the outside flatware and work in toward the center plate. To set your table, the order from left to right is:
very small seafood fork (if serving a seafood appetizer)
small salad fork
dinner fork
charger plate
dinner knife
small or teaspoon spoon
soup spoon (if serving soup)
the bread and butter plate goes above the forks
the water glass (on right) and wine glass (on left) go above the knife and spoon
a dessert fork and spoon can be put above the charger

When you serve the soup in the soup bowl, place the soup bowl on the charger. The charger can collect any drips from the soup bowl and spoon. When the soup course is over, remove both the soup bowl and the charger.

That is some of the formal dining basics. When planning your dinner, incorporate those elements that will add enjoyment for your dinner, and don’t stress about using the other ones.

Oneida is known for its designs and quality. Oneida makes a wide scale of quality products, so to provide product at a wide variety of price points.

Oneida is most famous for its stainless steel, then its silver and silver plated designs.

Stainless steel’s quality is judged by 2 components or categories. They are the grade or percentage of materials used and the gauge or weight of the materials.

Oneida’s currently makes three grades of stainless steel:

• 18/10 – approximately 18% chrome and 10% nickel
• 18/8 – approximately 18% chrome and 8% nickel
• 18/0 – approximately 18% chrome and no nickel content.

Chrome is added to help resist corrosion, and reduce those nasty rust spots. The approximate 18% that Oneida uses, gives you strong stainless steel flatware, that should have minor spot issues. Usually the 18 grade flatware makes a teaspoon strong enough to scoop ice cream out of the container without bending. Please note: I said USUALLY. The gauge, weight, and design of the flatware also play into this functionality.

Nickel gives stainless steel a soft, silver-like luster, and makes it shine.

The other component of quality is weight. Weight is judged by the gauge or thickness of the metal. Heavier doesn’t necessarily mean better, but can be a factor in strength. If you are buying Oneida 18 grade, strength should not be an issue.

• Stainless Steel
• Silver plate
• Silver
• Sterling Silver
• Chrome
• Nickel
• Plastic
• Resin
• A combination of some of the above materials

The most popular material for flatware is stainless steel. Stainless steel is strong, and long lasting, fairly durable – depending on the grade of stainless steel, and rather cost effective. It can also be molded into different designs.

The most expensive material for flatware is Sterling Silver. Due to its precious metal cost, the price of Sterling Silver is an heirloom to be passed on to next generations.

Though the least expensive material for flatware is a plastic and stainless steel mixture, plastic handled flatware is often the most fun and colorful of the flatware group. Usually, there will be a plastic handle, and a top stainless steel piece. In addition, the quality of the stainless steel is typically on the low end of the quality scale to keep costs down. Plastic handled flatware usually does not have long durability, for the plastic gets brittle over time and chips and breaks.

Industry facts about flatware or knives, forks, and spoons.

• Usually people change their dinnerware more often than they change their flatware, i.e. knives, forks, and spoons.
• Stainless steel is the most popular material for flatware.
• Stainless steel is stainless, not stain proof. All stainless steel flatware can get spots.

Flatware set information:

• The usual basic flatware sets are 20 piece sets, which contain 4 each of dinner fork, salad fork, knife, teaspoon, tablespoon.
• To save money and follow the more casual dining trend that America has adopted in the past 25 years, the industry created a 16 piece set, with 4 each of dinner fork, knife, teaspoon, tablespoon.
• The best value set of flatware is almost ALWAYS the 45 or 46 piece set.
• The price of a 45 or 46 piece set is usually the same price as two 20 piece sets, so in effect, you are getting 5 or 6 extra pieces for free.
• A 45 or 46 piece set contains 8 each of dinner fork, salad fork, knife, teaspoon, tablespoon, and 5 serving pieces. The serving pieces vary by manufacturer, which mayinclude a meat fork, a serving spoon, a slotted or pierced serving spoon, a gravy ladle, sugar spoon, and butter knife.


]]> http://www.topdinnerware.com/dinnerware-information/knives-forks-and-spoons/feed/ 0