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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Walter Del Pellegrino, post: 12056, member: 90&quot;]Let me see if I can help clear things up a bit.</p><p>Both stoneware and porcelain become non-porous once they have been fired in a kiln, which is to say that if the items were mugs or pitchers they would hold water without needing to be glazed or sealed.&nbsp; Porcelain requires two firings in a kiln, stoneware needs only a single firing. Products made from common clay, known as earthenware, must be glazed in order to hold liquid. In most cases where a glaze is applied to porcelain it is a clear glaze. </p><p>Porcelain is white and translucent. Hold a porcelain plate up to a strong light and press your hand against the back of it. From the other side you should be able to see the shadow of your fingers. Stoneware can be any natural color and is opaque. </p><p>Porcelain clay may be naturally occurring or made by adding Kaolin to the clay. Stoneware clay may, likewise, be naturally occurring or made from clay by extracting the amount of potassium and sodium in it. Some early stoneware was made by adding frit (ground glass). </p><p>Soft-paste porcelain is not a porcelain at all. It was an early attempt by Europeans to duplicate the true porcelains of China and Japan. The experiments included adding ground glass (frit) or feldspar and other secret ingredients to clay mixes. True porcelain is made with kaolin, which is not readily found in Europe. Soft-paste porcelain production was discontinued in the mid 1700&#039;s when Europe unlocked the secret of porcelain.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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