What is the difference between natural granite and engineered stone?

Natural granite is quarried directly from the earth and may contain small fractures, voids, and widely varied veining and color shading. We believe its inherent beauty comes from these irregularities and do not consider them to be flaws. We seal all natural granite that we install with a food grade sealer. However, sometimes a more uniform consistent look is desired.  Engineered stone is a porous free green product utilizing recycled natural quartz, granite, and other natural products that are crushed to specific sizes and coated with resin binders and pressed into slab form for fabrication. The end result of this process is an extremely durable surface that is generally 5 times stronger than a natural stone, and is non-porous. Engineered stone does not need any chemical sealers.