Serveware Buying Guide

There are a lot of options it comes to kitchen and dining supplies for your home. From cookware and dinnerware to serveware and everything in between, shopping for kitchen supplies can seem overwhelming. Overstock.com can help. This serveware buying guide will help you figure out which serveware pieces you will love and enjoy for years to come.

Serveware Essentials:

1. Serving bowls: Serving bowls are probably the most essential and versatile serving dish. Serving bowls are available in a wide variety of materials, sizes, shapes, colors and styles and can be used for everything from serving salad, pasta or vegetables to presenting fresh fruit on your kitchen counter or breakfast table. Casual serving bowls can even double as mixing bowls.

2. Serving platters and trays: You may not immediately think of serving platters and trays as an essential serving dish, but when it comes to versatility, serving platters and trays are second only to serving bowls for their usefulness. Platters and trays are used for everything from the casual everyday serving of fruit, bread, fish, chicken breasts and burgers to special event and holiday trays and platters for Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas ham or wedding and party refreshments and desserts.

3. Serving utensils: Once you have the perfect serving bowl and platter, you need the right serving utensils. Start with salad tongs, serving spoons and serving forks for dinners. A pie server and cake knife for serving desserts are also great to have around. A set of cheese tools for party platters are one of those things that most people don't think about until the moment they need them. Because of this, cheese tools and servers make a nice wedding gift that many newlyweds may not have thought to add to their registry.

4. Oven-to-table: Purchasing a set of oven-to-table cookware is a smart way to start building a kitchen because it fulfills both cookware and serveware functions. Oven-to-table sets also make excellent wedding gifts.

5. Trivets: A trivet is a decorative platform upon which to place hot dishes to protect your table from heat damage. It's especially important to use a trivet or hot pad when serving food with oven-to-table serveware.

6. Pitchers: Every kitchen needs a couple of pitchers, both casual and formal. A plastic casual pitcher for keeping juice in the fridge is an inexpensive and useful item of serveware. It's also nice to have a slightly more formal glass or crystal pitcher for use at the table. For formal dinner parties or romantic occasions, an elegant wine decanter adds the perfect finishing touch.

7. Condiment sets: Condiment sets include everything from salt and pepper shakers and spice racks to hostess sets and dipping bowls. Choose your condiment sets based on your level of culinary prowess. For example, you may or may not need an extensive spice rack, but everyone needs a set of salt and pepper shakers.

Specialty Serveware:


8. Warming buffets and trays: Warming buffets and trays may not be a serveware essential for every home, but they're the ideal serveware for keeping large amounts of food hot while serving it buffet-style at big events, such as weddings, holidays and large family gatherings.

9. Tea and coffee sets: Most people serve themselves coffee and tea directly from the coffee pot or tea kettle into their favorite mug. But for dinner parties, a tea and coffee set makes an elegant statement and is a nice addition to your serveware collection.

10. Soup tureens: Soup tureens are large, lidded serving bowls with a notched rim between the bowl and the lid designed to fit the handle of a serving ladle while keeping the soup covered in order to preserve its heat. Soup tureens often come with their own matching serving ladle.

11. Gravy boats: Gravy boats are oblong, boat-like serving dishes, sometimes lidded and sometimes not, perfect for serving gravy. If you are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, a gravy boat is a serveware essential.

12. Outdoor serving: For picnicking and entertaining outdoors, you probably don't want to risk breaking your crystal stemware and china dinnerware. Luckily, there are lots of durable and elegant plastic or melamine options for outdoor serveware. You can even get a fully stocked picnic basket complete with place settings, flatware, stemware and wine bottle opener.

13. Chip and dip: While you can always dump a bag of chips into a bowl and open a jar of salsa, serve this classic snack in style with a chip and dip platter. Chip and dip platters are like a bowl and plate all rolled into one. With an area designated for chips, crackers or bruschetta and a central raised bowl for dipping, it's the perfect party serveware.