Knives & forks

morning glory said:
So how do you use them now?
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If I'm using a knife and fork, the same way. However, if I'm eating Thai food I use fork and spoon (spoon in the right hand) or chopsticks. Chinese food generally chopsticks. In Malaysia I normally use my right hand only; the left hand stays in my lap (unless in a top restaurant).
 
Yorky said:
If I'm using a knife and fork, the same way. However, if I'm eating Thai food I use fork and spoon (spoon in the right hand) or chopsticks. Chinese food generally chopsticks. In Malaysia I normally use my right hand only; the left hand stays in my lap (unless in a top restaurant).
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When staying in Hong Kong last year I watched a Chinese couple demolish the hotel's full fried breakfast using chopsticks, it was a thing of beauty.
 
The Velvet Curtain said:
I always eat in the European style, watching others (mostly Americans) swapping back and forth looks awkward to me.
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I guess I just grew up with it. I find it easier to use chopsticks East Asian style than to eat my meal European style.

And it's not just that I'm overly right-handed that it's harder - I use my computer mouse generally with the left hand. But perhaps that was a more conscious decision when I was older as there were no computers available when I was a kid.
 
When it is just me, I don't set the table. There's a plate and whatever utensils I need to use sitting to the right side, and a paper towel for a napkin.

When I have guests for a dinner party (one that's not served buffet style - anywhere from 2 to 6 people - I'll set out a more formal place setting: napkin with fork over it (a paper one usually with some seasonally-appropriate image on it), fork over it, plate, knife, spoon - going from left to right. If there's a salad course , yes, there will be BOTH forks. If there's a soup course, there will be two spoons (and as I seriously find Chinese soup spoons easier to eat with than the western style - I'll tend to use those - but if a guest wants a western one, they get a western one...) Steak knives will be there if we are having steak. I don't own dessert flatware, although I have seen the presentation with the dessert implements over the top of the plate setting - I really wish my flatware pattern came with runcible spoons, as they're just so COOL!

I don't have a fancy silverware set. When my parents were downsizing and giving so much away, I basically told them that I thought my brother and his family would get more use out of them than I ever would - so he happily has them. He probably doesn't use them frequently, but probably more than I would.

If I serve ribs or wings -- for a small party, I'd probably still set the table, but also provide a plethora of paper towels, as we will always end up using fingers.

When I've had large groups here - 7 or more - we go buffet style, and people pick up their flatware as they go through the line. (No, I refuse to use plasticware these days, for environmental reasons. I also have a stash of "mutantware" - stuff that for one reason or another got accumulated around here that doesn't match the real set of flatware... great for camping trips, especially! (If pieces get lost... who cares???)
 
Having camped for much of my life, and lived on the road for over a year (not to mention several other holidays living on the road as well) we both grew up using one hand to hold the trangia bowl handle clamped shut (the moment you let go, the handle opens and you let go of the cooking bowl which we eat out of) this left only 1 have available to eat with. We started out using just spoons. Generally anything that needed cutting up was already cut into bite sized pieces. This meant that the shovel approach was generally adopted rather than the more delicate hand hold of the classic soup spoon action.

When sporks came about
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We quickly adopted them (don't bother with the plastic version though, it breaks rather easily, just get the titanium one, it's much cheaper in the long run).

They are so useful, but it meant we became accustomed to using just 1 utensil. The fork or the spoon end... So we mostly eat with 1 utensil using a fork for drier foods and the spoon for wetter foods (risotto, pasta, lasagne and soups alike). If anything needs cutting it's the side of the fork or spoon. If that fails then we'll just get out one of our big outdoor knives that are for anything from cutting rope to splitting wood to make a fire with, to very occasionally cutting up food. At home we will however be more civil and just get a knife from the drawer or skewer it with the fork and bite off mouthful at a time. (Sorry for those who find this disgusting but when you've lived outside as much as we have graces and etiquette really don't have much space in our lives). At resturant, I'll try to remind my hubby of which utensils to use for what. The Vietnamese resturant we frequent is one such place where the same sized utensils are supplied for serving the food as for eating it, so meals even though you've ordered your main, still get put in the middle of the table and you move a small portion to your bowl at a time. Hubby often forgets and serves himself with the eating cutlery rather than using the serving cutlery. Some of it we eat using chopsticks but I have limited use of my hands and hubby just had limited use of chopsticks!
 
If I'm eating with a knife and fork, then the knife is in my left hand. If I'm eating only with a fork, then it's in either hand. Otherwise I often use a spoon, again in either hand.
 
Elawin said:
If I'm eating with a knife and fork, then the knife is in my left hand. If I'm eating only with a fork, then it's in either hand. Otherwise I often use a spoon, again in either hand.
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I am extremely right-handed. My left hand is almost useless. That probably also has a lot to do with how I handle utensils.

Weird thing is, I am "left-eyed." I use my left eye to look through my cameras, or aim a gun.

CD
 
Elawin said:
My computer mouse is set as a left-handed mouse but used with my right hand. My laptop touch pad settings are similar. It drives everyone else mad, but it's the way I like it.
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That's how mine are, and I have no problem switching hands and not reconfiguring the mouse, or reconfiguring it; either way, it doesn't bother me.

I've had people at work actually complain that they have a hard time trying to use my computer and that I need to set it back to "normal" and I explain that they need to stay the *bleep* off my computer.
What's more, I have two monitors, and I also have those swapped. That really drives people crazy.
 
as an exchange student headed for a year in Germany we were school on the left handed fork inversion & twirl and right hand knife convention. just to keep us from looking like tourists.... that was in the middle of the last century - it's not exactly something new
 
TastyReuben said:
That's how mine are, and I have no problem switching hands and not reconfiguring the mouse, or reconfiguring it; either way, it doesn't bother me.

I've had people at work actually complain that they have a hard time trying to use my computer and that I need to set it back to "normal" and I explain that they need to stay the *bleep* off my computer.
What's more, I have two monitors, and I also have those swapped. That really drives people crazy.
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Just to confuse them more, do this, my son when he worked for me, we had 3 computers in the office , the main one was on my desk, I tried to do e mails and kept getting words wrong, son had flicked the keys off and moved around slightly. Took me a while to work it out. My son likes playing jokes,lol. I used to get Russian chicks e mailing me from a dating site. Worked out he had set me up on the site.

Russ
 
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