While my husband and I were building our home, we did a lot of research into which countertops would be best for our kitchen. With all the time I spend baking and cooking for The Floral Apron, we needed something that was both beautiful and durable. After scouring articles about granite, marble, quartz, and various other stones, quartz came out on top for our needs by far. The reasons why quartz is the best countertop for home bakers are below.
This is the first installment in my new video series called “Everything in My Kitchen” on YouTube. You can watch the video going over these reasons if you’d prefer.
Quartz Is Gorgeous
Quartz is manmade, so it is possible to get quartz to look like a lot of other stones. If there is a specific look you want for your kitchen, odds are that there is a quartz that will suit your needs. I’ve seen quartz that looks like terrazzo, marble, granite, soapstone—even concrete.
As a food photographer (and now YouTuber), each recipe shoot has to look good. I take each photo on my blog with my countertops. Quartz has a subtle shine that shows up in my photos, but it never detracts from the recipe overall.
Quartz Is a Flat Surface
This goes without saying, but having a solid surface to work on is a dream. I grew up with tile countertops, as did my husband, and our first rental together had tile countertops as well. Having a solid, stone surface I can work on has made rolling out pie crust and wiping up spills a breeze.
I especially love that I can use frozen ice packs to cool down the quartz on a warm day to prevent my pie crust from melting as I roll it out. That trick alone has saved me countless hours of frustration on warm summer days.
Quartz Is Low-Maintenance
With any hardly any extra effort, it’s possible for bakers to keep their quartz countertops clean. Wipe up after use with a household cleaner and a microfiber cloth or paper towel. Once a month, I like to pamper my counters with a clean and shine spray made for quartz counters.
The only preventative maintenance required is protecting the countertops from high heat. I use hot pads and trivets regularly.
Quartz Is Hard to Stain
Quartz is nonporous, which means it is hard to stain—though it’s not impossible. My quartz countertops do stain, but nothing like granite or marble (from what I’ve heard). I do my best to keep my counters clean, but sometimes I miss a spot. Even after a day or two, I have wiped up pomegranate juice, marinara sauce, and dried-on chocolate with no additional effort.
That said, there are three common baking ingredients that I’ve noticed take more effort to clean up. Those three are:
- Vanilla extract (probably due to the alcohol)
- Citrus zest/rind (probably due to the essential oil)
- Carrot peels (for unknown reasons)
Those three ingredients get used pretty often in my kitchen, so I just make sure to wipe them up before they dry onto the surface.
If something does stain, spray quartz-safe cleaner on it and let it sit for 15 minutes. In most cases, that will get the stain out.
In extreme circumstances, you can use a razor to scrape off any stuck on residue, then use acetone to get rid of the discoloration. That can be tricky to get right, and I would recommend reading more on how to properly do it before attempting it on your countertops.
Quartz Doesn’t Require Sealing
Because quartz is nonporous, it does not require sealing. Granite and marble are stones with higher porosity, so they usually require a chemical seal in order to prevent stains from seeping in through those pores. With quartz countertops, bakers never have to reseal the stone and can use their countertops without any interruptions. (That’s my favorite reason of them all!)
Quartz Is Ecofriendly and Economical
The quartz sand used to make quartz countertops is typically a byproduct of other mining ventures and would have gone to waste. And as a bonus, current quartz slabs can be recycled for future use. It makes me happy to know that if I were to change my countertops, the current ones could be used to make someone else’s kitchen beautiful.
Because of all that, quartz is more easily manufactured than some other stones and is comparable in price to granite and lower-end marble countertops.
Quartz Holds Up Well to Damage
After nine months of heavy use, there are no visible signs of damage on my quartz countertops. While I keep things clean, I am clumsy. Unintentionally, I’ve dropped glassware onto them. I have hit the edges with silverware as I load the dishwasher. There was an incident with an apple corer that I don’t like to think about.
Even with heavy use from a home baker, my quartz countertops have held up incredibly well. It’s only been a year, but I have no doubts about their durability and highly recommend quartz as the best countertop for the home baker.
I have Arizona Tile’s Della Quartz in the color Crisp Stria. The photos online don’t do it justice, as there is so much more veining in person. I’m overjoyed with our selection and know it will last for years to come.