Serveware refers to bowls, platters, compotes, beverage pots, nut bowls, salt cellars and salt shakers, pepper shakers and pepper mills, sauce boats, salvers, and gravy boats, tureens, and trays. The word “serveware” is derived from the Latin service, which means “to serve,” and the Anglo-Saxon waru, which means “special merchandise.”
The following items are included in a common set of serveware:
- Large oval platter (roasted food)
- Small oval platter (fish, chops)
- Deep bowl (fruit salads, soft foods, deep-fish pie)
- Shallow bowl with a depth of about 1 inch (firm fruits and vegetables, crackers, rolls, cheese)
- Small bowl ( dips, cold sauce, nuts, sweets)
- Sauceboat (hot sauces, gravy)
- Medium-sized pitcher (gravy, honey, sauce, syrup)
- Huge pitcher (iced tea, water, other liquids and drinks)
- Beverage pot (tea, coffee, hot chocolate)
- Creamer (gravy, salad dressing, dessert toppings, sauces)
- Covered sugar bowl (jelly, jam, nuts, dip, sauce)
Additional sets of serveware, like breadbaskets or sauce boats, are usually recommended for either end of the table at a meal for eight to ten people. Serveware in triplicate is required to suit twelve to eighteen visitors. Small bowls would be set on each cover when a dish asks for the use of a specific sauce frequently, like drawn butter with lobster. Although identical sets of serveware are not required to match, a matching pair is desirable when two pieces are served together on a tray, including a creamer and a sugarer.
Shallow serving bowls with a wide, flattened base and sloped sides, measuring 8 to 9 inches in diameter, are being used to serve firm foods like asparagus, fruit, and rolls. “Nappies” is another name for these bowls.
Soft meals, like mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, or creamed dishes, are best served in deep serving bowls, which have a form that allows you to use a serving spoon without scraping the base of the bowl.
Platters are available in a variety of sizes, ranging from around 9 inches that serves relishes and condiments to 24 inches for serving roast with vegetables on top, as well as a large ham or turkey. How a platter is used formally and informally is different.
Small compotes could be used to serve a roll at each table setting, present condiments and sauces, and serve dessert. They’re also stacked to construct a pyramid-shaped centrepiece, with fruits, flowers, and candies adorning the outer corners.
Beverage pots include a lip on the inner of the rim to keep the lid in place and a clearly defined spout to prevent leaks. Although the normal teapot or coffee pot may accommodate 6 to 8 serves, chocolate pots and demitasse pots can hold up to twelve.
Large bowls of nuts are put symmetrically around the centrepiece within easy reach of the guests, or little individual bowls of nuts are set at the top of each cover, and guests assist themselves during the meal.
Nuts are more commonly offered as an hors-d’oeuvre before dinner during informal gatherings. If nut bowls are provided for an informal gathering, they are put on the table in the same manner as they would be for a formal gathering.
Visit Tupperware Brand for more information on Malaysia food servingware set.