|
|
Fork, Knife, and Spoon. Everyday Utensils That Are Never Really Appreciated.(For not quite w/o)Jun 30 '03 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line We all need to eat, so why not use Utensils! Recently I made spaghetti for lunch. My husband, my son, my mom and myself all sat down to eat. That's when the teasing started. My husband said, "Rachel it's kind of strange to use a spoon with your fork to eat spaghetti." My son said, "Spoons are for weirdos." The whole time as the teasing continued my mom just sat there grinning. With the knowledge that I was sent to etiquette school for a year. I went there for 3 hours a week. That's 156 hours of my life wasted learning all about forks, knives and spoons. So did I learn any thing useful that a chimpanzee couldn't figure out? Probably not. But it's good therapy to blab about this. Brief Western History Since I don't believe in prehistoric people, I'm not going to tell about a time when people used pieces of grass to eat ants like gorillas. Instead I believe God made man intelligent and man's first utensils were made from wood, shells and stone. During the middle ages people used primarily knives and spoons. People that used forks were thought of as oddities until the early 1300s. I remember my teacher saying that this is when the French started suggesting the use of a fork, but only for foods that might stain the fingers. It wasn't until the early 17th century that forks became a common place at the dinner table. As they became more and more common and fewer people were stabbing food with knives anymore. Table knives for the first time started being made with blunt tips and were used only for cutting up food. The Victorian era was I believe the time when everyone lost their minds and just invented a different knife, fork and spoon for every imaginable food eaten at the time. See utensils below to get a brief idea. Lastly the invention of stainless steel during the 1920s gave more people an economical alternative to sterling silver. It was also a non-reactive metal unlike normal steel. Regular steel gave foods like fish an unusual taste so prior to the 1920s special sterling silver utensils had to be made. Utensils: I've guessed about the size on most of these, if I am way off on a size I will update this later. I went to several silverware sites to try and get an average size, but different brands are different sizes. So most of these are on my own pieces of silverware(which are a little mis-matched). My measurements are from tip to end. I've been thinking about this for a few days so if I forget something obvious let me know. Spoons: Espresso Spoon: (about 4 1/2") Smaller then a teaspoon it is used for espresso or other after dinner drinks. Dessert Spoon: (about 6") Slightly larger then a teaspoon for eating dessert. 5 O'Clock Spoon: (about 5") Smaller then a teaspoon, it looks kind of like a baby spoon. This is used for the before dinner tea or coffee. Fruit Spoon: (about 5 1/2") Is a teaspoon with a serrated tip used for fruit. It's also called a grapefruit spoon. Salt Spoon: (about 2 1/2") A tiny spoon, about the size of the tasting spoons at Baskin Robbins, used only for salt. Soup Spoon: (5"-7 1/2") These are the round bowled spoons. I've seen these range from spoons smaller then a teaspoon to a little bit larger then a teaspoon. If I remember right the smaller spoons are for broth soups. The larger spoons are for stews. Tall Drink Spoon: (about 7 1/2") A long handled teaspoon used for things like iced tea. Teaspoon: (about 5 1/2") This is the standard size that comes with most flatware sets. Forks: Cocktail Fork: (about 6 1/2") This is a small fork where the tines of the fork are usually barbed. This fork is of course used for cocktails and fruit salads. Dinner Fork: (about 8") This is the largest fork. Used during the main course. Ice Cream Fork: (about 5") This is something you'd probably only find at Taco Bell now a days. But yes during the Victorian times the spork was used to eat ice cream. Lunch Fork: (about 7") Used instead of the dinner fork for the main course at lunch. This is the standard size with most flatware sets. Salad Fork: (about 6") This is the smallest fork. Sometimes the middle tine on the fork is slightly longer. Knives: Butter Knife: This is a noticeably different knife. The tip is is blunt and sort of arrow shaped. It's handle is usually angled, but not always. Dinner Knife: (about 10") This is the largest knife. Fruit Knife: (about 7") This looks like a smaller steak knife used to cut up fruit. Jam Knife: (about 6") Used at breakfast for spreading jam. Lunch Knife: (about 9") Looks just like the dinner knife. This is the standard size knife in a flatware set. Steak Knife: (about 9") Used for cutting up steaks. Children's Utensils: All of these are used as children learn to eat. Baby Fork: (about 4") These have short blunt tines. Baby Spoon: (about 4") These have wide bowls. Child's Fork: (about 6") This is about the same size as a salad fork. This is for children that know how to use utensils but are not comfortable with full size utensils. Child's Knife: (about 7") This knife is blunt and similar in size to the Jam knife. Child's Spoon: (about 5") Again this is used for children that have already learned how to use utensils. Food Pushers: I've seen these in antique shops. These have a short blunt blade with the handle perpendicular to the blade. They were used for pushing food onto baby forks or spoons. Infant Feeding Spoons: (about 6") These have a long handle and a bowl smaller and more oval than a baby spoon. These are usually used by adults for feeding an infant. The No Nos 1. Forks are not for flinging things. Neither are spoons. Please don't try to catapult things with your knife, you'll end up poking your eye out. 2. You don't hang spoons off the end of your nose. Or any other body parts for that matter. 3. Stabbing food with your knife only comes in handy when your not sure if the chicken is really dead. 4. Never throw utensils! Again you may poke an eye out. For all of you still working on these things mentioned above. Feel proud of the fact that you still have both eyes. For the three people reading this that are missing them hopefully you've learned from these mistakes, if not maybe you should retire your utensils and just eat with your hands. Well I hope this helps explain a few of those utensils that you never knew how to use and will probably never have to use. Thank you for reading my review! This has been my entry in the "Sort Of, But Not Quite A Write Off" hosted by Sunstreeks. Details are found on her profile page. http://www.epinions.com/user-sunstreeks  |
| Read all comments (6)|Write your own comment |
