Famiware Glacier Plates and Bowls Sets, 16-piece

The set spends most of its life stacked on a cupboard shelf, bowls nested into a tower that takes up less room than it looks. It comes out as a full service, so everyone at the table gets the same bowl, the same glaze, the same heft in the hand. The capacity is enough for soup or pasta, a proper course instead of a side dish.

What this set does badly is stack high. Set another bowl inside and the underside leaves a pale ring on the glaze below. Lift from the top and keep a cloth between bowls on the shelf and you will not see most of it. Stoneware is dense, so each bowl sits heavy in the hand, and it moves from the microwave to the table without a tray.