Tips from the archives: Handling good china

"Always allow good china to cool after being washed in hot water and before stacking the pieces together. Prevents glaze from cracking."

The New Idea, 7 October 1959, p.44

The glazes used on everyday crockery now are a lot more durable than those from before our time, but reading this tip from the archives made me wonder whether there are some 'rules' that apply to putting china into the dishwasher today.

I checked our dishwasher manual, and it says that most modern china patterns are dishwasher safe. As most dishwashers operate with water heated to somewhere between 40 and 70 degrees C, modern crockery is designed to withstand the heating and cooling without damage. Heating the water to these levels helps to dissolve the stains and also disinfects the dishes.

However, the manual also states that antique items, hand-painted china, items with patterns painted over the glaze or ones with gold rims, may be more sensitive to machine washing, and that if there is any doubt to wash them by hand.

Interestingly, the manual also says not to empty the dishwasher immediately after washing. It recommends opening the door slightly to allow steam to escape and waiting until the dishes are warm to the touch before unloading.  In a  modern day update to today's tip from the archives, this is not to save the glaze from cracking, but to ensure that the dishes are dried properly.

Do you have any china-handling habits to share?

Which drawer down?

It appears my husband has been harbouring unresolved angst since we moved into our current home nearly four years ago.

Angst about the location of our cutlery (flatware) drawer.

You see, when we moved in the previous owner kept her cutlery in the second drawer down and her kitchen utensils such as wooden spoons, can opener and whisk in the first drawer. I thought this was unusual, sure, however I was willing to give this arrangement a go - after all, the previous owner had lived in the house for forty years, perhaps this was a better arrangement.

And do you know, I thought it was. I use my kitchen utensils more often during the day than the flatware, and when unloading from the dishwasher or dish-drainer I use the big rocks first method and thus unload whisks and spatulas into the first drawer before the flatware into the second.

However, this all changed two weeks ago. In a conversation with a certain co-writer on this blog whose name starts with an A my husband sought support for his personal issues with our kitchen drawer organisation. Finding support for his cause he then crept down in the dead of night and changed over the drawers.

I have been having trouble with finding what I need ever since.

Using patented Before Our Time survey techniques I have asked all and sundry how they organise their kitchen drawers and all agree that cutlery or flatware should go in the first drawer down, kitchen utensils in the second drawer down, tea towels in the third drawer down (although this varies) and always cling wrap and foil in the fourth drawer down.

Clearly I am a kitchen renegade.

I have not found written support for kitchen drawer organisation in the before our time literature. However perhaps you have your own views.

Do you follow time-honoured methods for kitchen drawer organisation or are you a kitchen drawer renegade?