Opal glass dishes: what it is, the benefits and harms

Nowadays, dishes made of opal glass have become widespread. It is bright, durable, lightweight. Her assortment is varied: tea, table sets, jugs, glasses, wine glasses, salad bowls, glasses, pots, many other various models.

Opal glass - it is a translucent glass material with a pleasant matte milky shade, which got its name from its ability to reflect light, imitating the opal mineral. In fact, such glass has nothing in common with natural stone, since it is a special type of glass-ceramic that appeared as a result of the development of glass-blowing production. Such material ideal for the production of kitchen utensils.

It includes such components as quartz sand, limestone, dolomite, soda ash, feldspar or fluorspar, sometimes the addition of bone ash is also possible. Additional elements allow you to create a "hazy" effect, while it can change from translucent to matte.

The characteristics of the material make it possible to widely use this glass-ceramic in production. The main positive qualities include the following.

• Heat resistance. Due to its good resistance to temperature extremes, items can be safely placed in the microwave.If necessary, the dishes can even be placed in the freezer.
• Impact resistance. There is no need to fear that objects will break if dropped.
• Wear resistance... The surface structure remains smooth for many years, does not lend itself to mechanical damage. Decorative paints applied to objects do not fade even from frequent exposure to detergents, which also extends the service life.
• Hygiene. The hard, perfectly even coating has practically no pores, so dirt does not get stuck on it, it is very easy to clean.
• Ease... The dishes are much lighter than their glass counterparts, porcelain, which at first seems unusual. This can be a priority for those with small children.
• Beauty and elegance. A varied selection of designs and colors.

There is no direct harm from these household items. But when buying, be sure to pay attention to the manufacturer and the quality of the product. Despite the huge number of positive customer reviews, such products also have disadvantages. They are not so obvious right off the bat when shopping for accessories. They can be identified when used for their intended purpose. Undesirable features include the following.

• When washed with foaming agents, the products become very slippery, literally "jump out" of the hands, which causes some discomfort.
• Despite the manufacturer's assertion about "eternal" dishes, you should always remember that with strong impacts, sudden changes in temperature, it can break. Several cases have been established when plates, when heated in the microwave, split into separate parts.
• Certain types of plates do not have "sides" on the bottom, which is very inconvenient when gripping. When setting the table, serving dishes, the dishes can easily slip out of your hands, so you need to be very careful.
• Models are made with a rough outer coating. It turns yellow over time, becomes unpresentable.
• The increased thermal conductivity and rather thin walls lead to rapid heating and create the risk of minor burns, so you need to be extremely careful when cooking in microwave ovens and ovens.
• Many people do not like the light weight and excessive thinness of the walls. This makes the products seem very fragile.

Follow the necessary recommendations if you want your favorite products to serve you longer:

• wash them with conventional means - both by hand and in the dishwasher;
• store plates in a stack to save space;
• exclude sudden changes in temperature in microwave ovens and ovens, change it gradually;
• hard sponges, abrasive cleaning agents, when removing dirt, lead to a violation of the original gloss;
• you can remove old stains with nylon sponges, wooden, plastic scrapers;
• you can remove the burn by simply soaking in warm water.

How opal glass is made, see below.