Dining Etiquette

flyinglentris

Disabled and Retired Veteran
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18 Dec 2017
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How keen are you on dining etiquette in your own home? - and in restaurants?

There are all sorts of rules of etiquette, but many are ignored, taken as unnecessary - snobby even.

But there are somethings that make sense - like holding the plate under your face when eating something that crumbles as you eat it. This prevents crumbs getting all over the table and floor - and worse, if you eat while working on your laptop, in the spaces in your remote keyboard. Yikes!

This holding the plate thing sounds stupid, but it works for the intended purpose. I am curious to know if other people are aware of some useful etiquette tricks that may at least, serve some necessary intent.

Eating fast food out of a bag in the car? Get that dust buster or hand vacuum out!
 
Here's a good example that requires a necessary food etiquette solution.

How do you deal with those loose spaghetti or fettuccine noodles that don't perfectly roll up on your fork and dangle, sometimes flinging sauce droplets all over you, the table, the floor and anything else within shot?

I usually always roll those noodles onto a fork, but they only rarely roll on perfectly without dangling noodles. My solution has been to do the best I can, sometimes holding the plate under my face, and then, cutting the noodles with my fork and finishing by forking up small bite size portions of what is left.

Now, I think we can agree that this is a very messy issue and is not the sort of food to be eaten in bed, as another thread questions how many eat in bed. A well clean open table, possibly with an easily cleaned mat is preferable.

What to do?
 
We had a thread some time ago about where people eat - I mean at a table or whatever. I must admit I was quite shocked by the number of members who almost never ate at a table. Personally, I hate eating in an armchair or at a computer desk unless its a simple snack. Its not that I'm being 'formal' but that its so much easier and simpler.

There was another thread (I think) about knifes and forks. Again I was surprised to learn that a majority of Americans eat with a fork and only pick up a knife if something needs cutting. In the UK most folk use a knife and fork when eating: knife in left hand, fork in right.
 
I lump etiquette and manners together in the same bucket, and good table manners are always appreciated. :)

My wife likes to drink the milk from her cereal bowl after she eats her morning Cap'n Crunch...that puts me right off.
 
I have to laugh, because one of the few people treats my dog got, especially near the end of her life, was for her to lick the syrup from the plate after I'd had pancakes/waffles.

She'd sit patiently and wait for me to finish, then I'd hold the plate down for her and let her get 11 licks in before I'd take it away (I don't like even numbers 🤷🏻‍♂️).

One morning, I'd just lowered the plate down and she started licking, and I looked up, and there was MrsT doing exactly the same thing to her plate...lick, lick, lick.
 
I have to laugh, because one of the few people treats my dog got, especially near the end of her life, was for her to lick the syrup from the plate after I'd had pancakes/waffles.

She'd sit patiently and wait for me to finish, then I'd hold the plate down for her and let her get 11 licks in before I'd take it away (I don't like even numbers 🤷🏻‍♂️).

One morning, I'd just lowered the plate down and she started licking, and I looked up, and there was MrsT doing exactly the same thing to her plate...lick, lick, lick.
Well, it saves on the washing up.
 
We have different table/eating manners depending on whether we are at home and just us versus at home with others or out with or without others. At home, I'll hold a plate or bowl up close to face if eating something messy. Out or with others never ever. Plate licking is reserved for only at home and just us very, very, very rarely and has to be something really, really, really good. Pugs don't even get to lick plates very often. I'm the only one that has cereal, but I'll almost always spoon up the milk that's left, same with soups, though I have been known to drink it from bowl. Twirl pasta on the fork, only taking enough pasta to do it without long hanging tails. Forking any broken short pieces at end.
 
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I sometimes drink excess liquid soup or other juices from things, by picking up the bowl or plate and drinking from it.

I live alone, so I don't offend anyone.

If I made something really good, I will lick the plate too.
 
I learned something about table manners and etiquette and I find it hard to remember all the rules everytime, like always sit straight, don't put to much food on your fork/spoon, talk a lot with your companions, especially with women, get the fork to your head not your head to the fork etc. Sometimes I make myself meals that can only eaten by hand and sometimes I enjoy the time on a table where barking is seen as a good thing. The table manners from other countries, where you sit on the ground and always eat with your bare hands are pretty cool, or in asian countries, where they make extra loud chewing sounds are also pretty interesting.
Stay healthy
 
Funny, here in Portugal you don't see people holding their plates up closer to their mouths to keep food from spilling, that's usually considered bad manners.

Slurping food, bad manners. Eating with mouth open, bad manners. Resting elbows on the table while eating, bad manners too.

But in China, eating with your mouth fully open while making loud noises is normal and acceptable. The Chinese chew with their mouths open and chew in stereo dolby surround max volume mode. They're also OK with burping in public.

Although I follow the usual dining etiquette for my country, I'm not too picky with it. If I accidentally rest my elbow on the table while eating or eat with a bit of sound, that's fine. If others do it with me it's fine too. To be honest I get very anti social when I eat, I only pay attention to the food and I'm not likely to notice anything that happens around me. I reengage with the world once I'm done eating.
 
By the same token, how many of my fellow CBers sample the ingredients they are using in a recipe as they prepare the meal?

For example, you're chopping up some cheese - do you cut yourself a piece and eat it while chopping up the amount needed for the recipe? While cooking a recipe with some sort of meat in it, like chicken, beef or prawns - do you fish out some and sample it, while stirring the pot?
 
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