Which would you rather see? A big plate of junk food with a plastic tub of cheese (or a bottle of Cheese Whiz) or something lovely like this Century cheese and cracker set from Fostoria?
If you look for them, you’ll find lovely two-part sets like this in all the colors or the rainbow. You can find amber ones like this, or pink, green, almost any color you like. Elegant glass companies made cheese and cracker sets in most of their larger patterns all through the 1930s to the 1970s or so.
I haven’t seen this type of set in more contemporary glass. That pedestal cheese holder really looks sharp, makes even basic snacks look great.
Over time those elegant little two piece sets, with a classy comport to hold the cheese and a plate for the crackers, evolved into chip ‘n dip sets. You can find these at garage sales, antique malls, flea markets because most date to the 1960s-1980s. I had one in avocado green glass, with a medium bowl on the bottom and a small avocado bowl perched via a metal holder on the lid. I found one just like it on Etsy recently.
We used to see them a lot but I looked for them on our recent antiquing trip and only found a couple. Here’s a clear glass one, bigger than the green one but similar idea.
These two piece sets are practical. The bowls come apart easily – they are held together by a clever little wire clip – so they are easy to store. They are also useful sizes. That clear one from the antique mall would be good for a big tossed salad. Nowadays they are more often plastic – like the ones you can get from the grocery store deli with a bunch of veggies and a tub of dip – or better looking ones from Pottery Barn.
The Pottery Barn one is all one piece so it’s not as useful as the retro glass sets. If you want something contemporary and very pretty, look for sets with two separate bowls for easy storage and to give more uses than snack food.
Of course now we don’t limit ourselves to chips and dip. We have healthier alternatives like hummus or salsa. No matter which snack you like, they sure look prettier served in a lovely piece!