Eating with unfamiliar utensils

[LissaC]

Yep - this came up before. I find it very odd as it means that to cut anything up I assume you have to change the fork to the other hand and then put the used knife back on the table (ugh). Most Brits tend to eat with a knife and fork unless its casual eating on the sofa (which I personally hate).

Same here in Portugal, and as caseydog said we use the knife to push food into the fork. Some of my American colleagues cut their meat before they started to eat so they never had to switch between fork and fork + knife. Here in Portugal it's considered rude to eat using only the knife although only the elders care about that, most people don't mind.

I have a portuguese friend who eats only with the fork when she's very tired or feeling down!

 

[mjd]

Same here in Portugal, and as caseydog said we use the knife to push food into the fork. Some of my American colleagues cut their meat before they started to eat so they never had to switch between fork and fork + knife. Here in Portugal it's considered rude to eat using only the knife although only the elders care about that, most people don't mind.

I have a portuguese friend who eats only with the fork when she's very tired or feeling down!

I was born and raised in the Midwest (USA) so I don't know if this is true around our country or not. Here, it is considered rude for an adult to pre-cut their food. It is expected for us to do the switch with each bite. The only time it is not considered rude is when pre-cutting food for someone unable to use the knife and fork technique (ie. child, elderly, mentally or physically disabled person).

 

[Hemulen]

- - - Most Brits tend to eat with a knife and fork unless its casual eating on the sofa (which I personally hate).

You wouldn't enjoy staying at our place, then. It's not unusual for either one of us to inch (slipshodly) towards the tv while eating. I know they're both bad habits - watching tv and having tv dinners - but we like it. Who'd like to have a conversation on societal matters, politics or everyday praxis if there's a bowl of curry and a horror movie available .

The thing I hate most is plastic cutlery (or even the more "nature friendly" composite material or cardboard cutlery) stuck into pre-prep meals or barbecue/grill food (from a fast food joint) without asking. Such a waste. People who eat the meal on the go (or in a car which I hate) might need them but who uses them at home?

 

[TastyReuben]

so we use our hands.

That's one thing I very rarely do...eat with my hands. Sometimes, it's unavoidable, but if there's a way around it, I'll find it. I don't like the sensation of food on my hands.

I eat in the European style, and people think it's something I picked up from living there in the '90's, but I've always done so, for as long as I can remember. I blame it on watching a lot of PBS (which carried a lot of British programming) when I was a kid. It's probably why I also count one, two, three starting with my thumb, and not my index finger.

 

[TastyReuben]

You wouldn't enjoy staying at our place, then. It's not unusual for either one of us to inch (slipshodly) towards the tv while eating. I know they're both bad habits - watching tv and having tv dinners - but we like it. Who'd like to have a conversation on societal matters, politics or everyday praxis if there's a bowl of curry and a horror movie available .

The thing I hate most is plastic cutlery (or even the more "nature friendly" composite material or cardboard cutlery) stuck into pre-prep meals or barbecue/grill food (from a fast food joint) without asking. Such a waste. People who eat the meal on the go (or in a car which I hate) might need them but who uses them at home?

It's like we've been separated at birth!

1. Except for special occasions/meals, we eat every meal on trays in front of the TV.

2. I detest plastic cutlery, especially eating soup with a plastic spoon.

3. I also hate eating a meal in the car (though we do more of that nowadays, parked).

 

[LissaC]

That's one thing I very rarely do...eat with my hands. Sometimes, it's unavoidable, but if there's a way around it, I'll find it. I don't like the sensation of food on my hands.

I eat in the European style, and people think it's something I picked up from living there in the '90's, but I've always done so, for as long as I can remember. I blame it on watching a lot of PBS (which carried a lot of British programming) when I was a kid. It's probably why I also count one, two, three starting with my thumb, and not my index finger.

I also HATE eating with my hands. When I do have to, I seize the opportunity and eat like a savage!

Here in Portugal it's customary to eat sardines and shrimps with your hands, but I eat both with fork and knife. A couple moons ago I had an ex who made fun of me for eating shrimp with knife and fork. Once we went for dinner at the house of my mom's boyfriend family, and boiled shrimps was the appetizer, and he asked me to peel his shrimps for him because he didn't want to eat with his hands in front of the others

 

[TastyReuben]

I also HATE eating with my hands. When I do have to, I seize the opportunity and eat like a savage!

Here in Portugal it's customary to eat sardines and shrimps with your hands, but I eat both with fork and knife. A couple moons ago I had an ex who made fun of me for eating shrimp with knife and fork. Once we went for dinner at the house of my mom's boyfriend family, and boiled shrimps was the appetizer, and he asked me to peel his shrimps for him because he didn't want to eat with his hands in front of the others

I commit what some see as a cardinal sin in that I usually eat pizza with a knife and fork.

I also eat ribs with a fork, and messy sandwiches, like sloppy joes, with utensils, and chicken on the bone.

About the only thing I always eat with my hands (not counting potato chips/crisps) is hot wings, and I think I could manage those with a knife and fork, so I'm making no promises for the future.

 

[Windigo]

In Indonesian cooking eating everything with a large spoon made of a bull's horn is a common thing, I tend to eat all my Asian food that way unless it's soup or sushi. Then I use a chinese soup spoon or chopsticks. I am capable of using chopsticks, and prefer to do so when appropriate.

This is the rice serving spoon, I use a smaller one for my Indonesian dishes and curries.
I also use my hands for food when appropriate, so when eating Surinamese roti we eat with our hands, or when we serve curry with nan bread. Certain Arabic dishes too are eaten by hand with a bread 'spoon'. Fries and snacks we also eat by hand.

 

[Morning Glory]

You wouldn't enjoy staying at our place, then. It's not unusual for either one of us to inch (slipshodly) towards the tv while eating. I know they're both bad habits - watching tv and having tv dinners - but we like it. Who'd like to have a conversation on societal matters, politics or everyday praxis if there's a bowl of curry and a horror movie available .

For some reason this surprised me a lot. I had you down as more of an 'eating at the table' person.

1. Except for special occasions/meals, we eat every meal on trays in front of the TV.

If you eat European style with knife and fork then this must be tricky on trays. I'm not sure why I find the idea of eating on trays in armchairs or on sofas so horrible. I think it reminds me of old folk in care homes or something. Plus, I like to sit upright when eating and have room for side plates, condiments wine and wine glasses etc. I do watch TV whilst eating. There is a TV in the same room as the dining table.

 

[TastyReuben]

If you eat European style with knife and fork then this must be tricky on trays. I'm not sure why I hate the idea of eating on trays in armchairs or on sofas so horrible. I think it reminds me of old folk in care homes or something. Plus, I like to sit upright when eating and have room for side plates, condiments wine and wine glasses etc. I do watch TV whilst eating. There is a TV in the same room as the dining table.

I'm not sure how tray tables would make eating with a knife and fork difficult. It works the same as on a traditional table.

Maybe you're thinking of flimsy little folding tables, that tremble at a mere glance? Our tables aren't like that. Ours our very heavy solid wood, built to last (and the price reflected that). We've had the same tables since 2004 (I think), and they're still as good as new.

They're big enough for a dinner plate, salad plate, and two glasses, plus utensils. Usually when we eat, though, I don't make that much food. If I make a salad, that goes as a first course, so it's out there on its own, and the rest of the meal is plated and comes out as a second/main course, so there's no crowding.

For us, a dining room table seems to be more about a place to display all the food than as a place to have plates and side plates and glasses and tubs of butter and all that along with it. Most meals are just served right out of the cooking vessels and onto the plates, so no need to present everything, so to speak.

Also, I like a cushy chair. A lot of the posh restaurants around here (and everywhere else we've lived, really) have had a mix of big booths and tables with a mix of wooden chairs and big soft wingbacks. I like the wingbacks. Wooden chairs are also too hard/stiff for me. It's a chair that doesn't want to be sat in for long, IMO.

 

[LissaC]

For some reason this surprised me a lot. I had you down as more of an 'eating at the table' person.



If you eat European style with knife and fork then this must be tricky on trays. I'm not sure why I find the idea of eating on trays in armchairs or on sofas so horrible. I think it reminds me of old folk in care homes or something. Plus, I like to sit upright when eating and have room for side plates, condiments wine and wine glasses etc. I do watch TV whilst eating. There is a TV in the same room as the dining table.

I have the same "sensitivity" to eating on a tray in front of the tv, which is really silly because I eat on a dining table...standing in front of my laptop I don't like eating on trays because balancing the food is hard and I always end up putting my glass on a table out of fear of overthrowing it.

 

[TastyReuben]

I have the same "sensitivity" to eating on a tray in front of the tv, which is really silly because I eat on a dining table...standing in front of my laptop I don't like eating on trays because balancing the food is hard and I always end up putting my glass on a table out of fear of overthrowing it.

To tell the truth, since I'm the lone cook and waiter and busboy, if we have a first course, I almost always eat it in the kitchen standing up, in true chef fashion, while I'm keeping an eye on the rest of the food.

 

[Hemulen]

It's like we've been separated at birth!

1. Except for special occasions/meals, we eat every meal on trays in front of the TV.

2. I detest plastic cutlery, especially eating soup with a plastic spoon.

3. I also hate eating a meal in the car (though we do more of that nowadays, parked).

Yeah, I truly think we're soulmates. We couldn't befriend in real life, though, as we'd be in constant battle over who has found the nicest Christmas plates. Both of us enjoy running the house: we need our dear (and certainly not lesser) vassals aka spouses. Am I right or am I right?

For some reason this surprised me a lot. I had you down as more of an 'eating at the table' person.

If you eat European style with knife and fork then this must be tricky on trays. I'm not sure why I find the idea of eating on trays in armchairs or on sofas so horrible. I think it reminds me of old folk in care homes or something. Plus, I like to sit upright when eating and have room for side plates, condiments wine and wine glasses etc. I do watch TV whilst eating. There is a TV in the same room as the dining table.

We have a large dining table in the living room too (with a TV; we converted the adjacent dining area into a lounge). We don't use trays (except sometimes in the country). They remind me of care homes or the Simpson's too. Our living room sofa is L-shaped, faces the lake and has a rather convenient glass-covered, square-shaped wooden table in the corner; maybe that's why we eat there a lot. We have to bend down a bit but that doesn't bother us.

We seldom have wine at home; we tend to drink water or water-juice mix or beer with food and go out to buy a glass or two of wine. We hardly ever use separate salad plates or bread plates: we're far too casual to keep up appearances. Hyacinth style only comes to question on special occasions - like at Christmas.

 

[Mountain Cat]

I've done it at country fairs, but I hate standing up to eat. This may also be due these days to the bum ankle with the plate and several pins in it - I am okay if I am walking but if I am standing around - NO WAY. I prefer to relax when I eat, anyway.

 

[Mountain Cat]

THE ONLY times I have ever eaten in front of the TV growing up was when there was a seriously major news announcement. I remember vividly my parents and I doing that during the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba - I was a little kid then and remembered nothing else about that but that we were actually in FRONT of the TV for the first time.

There were some assassinations later on, and Dad and I did have the TV on after 9//11 - but for me, I just don't watch TV during dinner unless it's critical in the world.

(Unfortunately, now that I live alone, I sometimes eat in front of the laptop.)