Contrary to what the term “salad bowl” might imply, there are no specific salads, only bowls. Any bowl that you can use to eat salad can be considered a salad bowl. This means that there are no limits on the size, material, color, shape, or design of what is considered a salad bowl. This is great news for anyone who already has specific bowls in mind that will fit just right with their furniture and other tableware. However, this is a massive issue for folks who just want something nice to serve and eat their salad in. All this diversity and thousands of options make choosing just one set prohibitively impossible. Luckily, there is a way around these options, and it is to shave them down one at a time. What you have to do is understand the different aspects of a salad bowl and eliminate the ones that you do not want. You’ll end up with a list of attributes that your ideal salad bowl should have. From there, you can just hop online and find the ones that fit your list completely. Let’s get started.
What Bowl Material Do You Like the Most?
The first and arguably the most important factor to consider is the material of the bowl. As mentioned earlier, salad bowls come in all kinds of materials, everything from generic to exotic, and it is up to you to choose one. These are the most common options you will find online.
Wood
Wood is an extremely popular material for salad bowls because it has that inherent link to nature. Eating salad from wooden bowls feels a lot healthier than having the same salad from, let’s say, a glass bowl. A wooden salad bowl also adds a lot of personality and charm to the dinner table. Lastly, wood is also super strong. If you buy a high-quality wood bowl, it will not break just because it fell to the ground. However, the porous feel of even sealed wood is a bit too much for certain folks.
Glass
Glass is the safest salad bowl option out there. It does not have any color or pattern to clash with the aesthetic of your home or kitchen, so it will work in almost every scenario. Plus, glass bowls are easy to clean, thanks to their smooth surface. If you have zero ideas of what you want, glass might be the right choice for you.
Porcelain
Porcelain is the flashy and colorful option. It is full of unique, vibrant colors, eccentric patterns, and unusual shapes. There are thousands of different ones to choose from. The main benefit of this variety is that, with a little patience and hard work, you can find a salad bowl set that compliments the rest of your tableware. Or you can go the complete opposite route and get a set that serves as the accent piece of your dinner table.
What Bowl Size Is Right for You?
Just like all of the other attributes of salad bowls, there are tons of options for size as well. Salad bowls are usually measured by their upper diameter in inches. Here’s what different sizes mean:
- A 6-inch salad bowl is slightly smaller than a regular one-person serving.
- A 7-inch bowl easily serves one average restaurant-size side salad.
- A 10-inch bowl easily serves two side salads or one large meal-size salad for dinner.
- A 12-inch bowl serves 3-4 side salads or two meal-size servings.
- A 15-inch bowl serves 6-8 side salads or four meal salads.
Anything larger than the 15-inch bowl is way too big for home use, though they are still very useful during parties and gatherings.
What Is Your Budget?
The last major factor you have to keep in mind is your budget. Salad bowls come in a wide range of prices, and not every one of them is worth your money.
Very cheap bowls
You can easily find porcelain or glass salad bowls as low as a couple of dollars. But, do not buy these very cheap ones. They are not made with quality in mind at all. Their color will usually fade away with time. You will find oddities in their shape. Most importantly, they are not made from the best materials, and the last thing you want is for your cheap salad bowl to shatter in the dishwasher.
Expensive luxury bowls
On the complete opposite end of the price spectrum is the expensive luxury salad bowls. They are certainly amazing pieces of art, made from the best materials possible. However, they are so pretty and expensive that you would not be able to use them, ever. So, what is the point of wasting your money on a salad bowl that you cannot even use?
The ideal price range
The ideal price range for quality salad bowls is from $5 per bowl, all the way up to $15. You will find the best value for your money within this range, and looking outside of it is possible but we won’t recommend - it unless you have a knack for luxury items!
