Marble or quartz countertops

OOTBubby

Sat, Mar 11 2017, 7:17 pm

I don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with their countertops looking like marble. There are absolute gorgeous stones (like my Quartzite) that have amazing designs but don't necessarily look like marble. There is a whole world of stone beyond marble.

amother

cornflower

Sat, Mar 11 2017, 7:41 pm

I want to make my island marble, but that will probably be where I bake or let's say make salad dressing or kids eat on it. Is it a problem if some viniger or ketchup spills but I clean it up right away? Is the issue if u let food sit on the counter? I just want to make sure I'm not making the wrong decision by taking the marble counter

pause

Sat, Mar 11 2017, 8:49 pm

amother wrote:

I don't understand why anyone would use marble on any work surface. It's meant simply for beauty and not for function.

modehani

Sat, Mar 11 2017, 8:55 pm

I have marble countertops and love them! I cook a lot, and before I got them I made peace with the fact that they wouldn't look perfect for longer than a week. I did get them honed so the flaws wouldn't stand out so much. I think they're gorgeous and they're great for rolling out dough, kneading, etc. I try to wipe up spills, but sometimes I'm too late and the marble gets etched. Just adds to the character.

Levtov

Sat, Mar 11 2017, 9:18 pm

I have beautiful and practical quartz cesarstone , white with light gray marbleling.....
AND IT HAS A NICE BIG CRACK AFTER ONLY 2 YEARS!!!!

dancingqueen

Sat, Mar 11 2017, 9:21 pm

amother wrote:

My marble is sealed so that helps I think but I haven't had any issues with staining or cracks.

Sat, Mar 11 2017, 9:24 pm

pause wrote:

I don't understand why anyone would use marble on any work surface. It's meant simply for beauty and not for function.

Marble is useful for making pastry. Serious pastry chefs have long had marble counters, but for home use I would just take out a portable marble board when needed rather than make a commitment to a built-in countertop.

Chana Miriam S

Sun, Mar 12 2017, 12:37 am

OOTBubby wrote:

Granite needs regular polishing. Quartzite may or may not depending on the slab. You have to check with your fabricator depending on your slab.

I've had granite in my highly Abused kitchen for 11 years. I've never done anything to it for upkeep.

33055

Sun, Mar 12 2017, 5:34 am

andrea levy wrote:

I've had granite in my highly Abused kitchen for 11 years. I've never done anything to it for upkeep.

It's a look. I like a VERY polished kitchen when I am done cooking for the day as I sit in my kitchen and work from there.

pause

Sun, Mar 12 2017, 6:30 am

cm wrote:

Most people are using counters for a lot more than making pastry and marble doesn't hold up to all that.

I've never heard of using marble for pastry-making though I know people who can only work with bread dough on a wood surface.

Miri7

Sun, Mar 12 2017, 8:59 am

My friend just redid her whole kitchen. She used to have a marble island but didn't do that again because the island gets a lot of traffic and wear and hers was stained and etched.

She did keep one area that's off to the side marble. That's her pastry/baking area. She is a serious baker and wanted some marble to work on.

Rubber Ducky

Sun, Mar 12 2017, 9:33 am

Marble is considered an excellent surface for pastry-making and for candy-making. You can purchase small-ish marble slabs just for that: https://www.amazon.com/Sur-Tab.....+slab

ValleyMom

Sun, Mar 12 2017, 11:19 am

Marble is absolutely beautiful BUT very high maintenance.

My cousin redid her entire kitchen and it is that all white look with marble. All I can say is I went to her house for a shabbos meal and NEVER WENT BACK.
EVER>

She was so high strung about the counters and she kept compulsively wiping them throughout our meal.

She lovingly snapped at me when I dripped something from a serving tray onto the counter.

I know she didn't want to hurt my feelings it just made me anxious that one of my kids would do something like drip etc.

WHY would anyone want to add an element to their kitchen that requires so much attention- it's hard enough managing kids a husband and a household now you need to add marble countertops???

Why???

nylon

Sun, Mar 12 2017, 2:42 pm

I have a marble pastry board. And it's because I have that board that I know I will never have marble counter tops, even though I love how they look. I am too drippy and sloppy. Maybe someone else is neat enough for them, but not me. My current countertops are quartz and they're holding up well. I would get another stone counter if I redid a kitchen, but don't know which one.

BubbyinBeitar

Mon, Mar 13 2017, 6:44 am

We recently gutted an apartment and have Granite counters. Nothing like them both from the aesthetic side and the work side. I do hafrashat Challah almost every week and rolling out the dough is such a pleaseure. No problems of scratches, stains, etc. easily kasherable as it is a natural surface. My Rav said we could use wither Granite or quartz. Like anything you need to take care of it with the correct cleaning materials. Both Astonish and Sano make cleaners for Granite.