COOK WITH COLOR 6 bowls, 0.32 to 5.8 qt

Yes, and nothing else on this shelf does. COOK WITH COLOR publishes 0.32, 0.74, 1.37, 3.69 and 5.8 quarts — which is the smallest bowl and the largest bowl published anywhere here. A third of a quart is a ramekin: an egg wash, a tablespoon of chopped herbs, the salt you measured out. Five point eight quarts beats a double cake batter without it climbing the sides. By comparison Pyrex Essentials tops out at 2.5 qt, and KitchenAid starts at 2.5 and has nothing smaller. Most people end up buying two sets to cover both ends; this is one box at $4.50 a bowl, which is also the cheapest per bowl on the shelf.

Because "plastic" covers materials that behave differently, and this is the only one of the five plastic sets here to say which. Polypropylene is non-porous, so it does not take up the smell of a garlic dressing the way a porous plastic will; it is tough at room temperature without being brittle; and it handles dishwasher heat better than most alternatives, which is why this set can claim top-rack safety. Zulay, KitchenAid, Glad and OXO say only "plastic" or "BPA-free". And note that "BPA-free" on a PP bowl is true and uninformative: BPA is used in polycarbonate, not in polypropylene at all.

They are the weak point, and two other listings on this shelf explain why. Priority Chef publishes its set as "top rack dishwasher safe [Wash Lids By Hand]" — plastic lids warp in a machine and then stop sealing. Ziruma builds an entire listing on the problem, supplying glass lids and saying "say goodbye to flimsy plastic lids... sturdy, dishwasher-safe glass lids that keep their shape and seal." TPR is a thermoplastic rubber, which is more flexible than hard plastic and seals better when new — and softer, so it is more likely to deform with heat. COOK WITH COLOR claims the whole set top-rack safe. Wash the lids by hand anyway and they will last.