Fork Etiquette

Ha, eating like hyenas- very true! I eat very slowly. I used to be the first one done; but time changed and I get full very quick. When I was having dinner with my cousin and his family in Manchester, they joked that they started on dessert before I finished the first course! I tried to eat faster; but I just can't swallow food like that. It's now become an ongoing joke as this happened with all the relatives I visited! My mum finishes very quickly as well; but she is from England, so maybe that has something to do with it. I don't think it is good manners to eat like a hyena. A dinner should be something to enjoy even if there is not a ton of time.

Does anyone else feel that by eating the 'US' way, it takes a lot longer to clear your plate?

I learned to change my ways the first time I sat down with my future in-laws to eat dinner. They cleared their plates in less time than it took me to put down my knife and pick up my fork!

I've never been a 'swapper' but I am generally the last to finish, or nearly last to finish. I prefer to taste what I eat, and enjoy it than to wolf it down. I feel it is a meal, not a race.  Plus, on rare occasions where I have to hurry while eating I have horrible acid reflux problems.

How do people manage without using a knife to push food onto their fork? 

That is a point.
But, what about eating puddings with a fork and a spoon? I'm never sure whether you're supposed to shove the food onto the fork with the spoon or the other way around. I usually just use one implement, whichever seems more appropriate.

I grew up eating a sort of reversed continental because that's how my dad eats (who probably learned it from his non-American grandparents).  I actually switched to the American style while living in Europe the first time.  I wanted to look more proper while eating, but I couldn't manage to switch the fork to my left.  I now eat either way (left handed fork, right handed knife) depending on the meal.  However, when I eat American style, I do it properly with my left hand (and napkin) in my lap.

It's not a big deal as long as you aren't looking like a pig or chewing with your mouth open.  Really, it's not.

Interestingly, in Scandinavia, they often have late morning/early afternoon coffee where friends will come over and cakes and tarts are served.  You are only given a small teaspoon to eat with, and you use that sort of American style to cut off bite sized pieces of your tart/cake/whatever.  It's the same teaspoon you use to stir your coffee/tea.  At first I thought it was just my host family, but after several coffee functions, I realised this was proper etiquette.  I don't mind eating cake with a spoon now, and it actually feels a bit like I am having coffee in Scandinavia when I have it that way.

I have such strange eating habits I hadn't really thought about the fork thing. I'm left handed so eat with my fork in my left hand, unless I'm cutting something. Then I use the knife in my left hand and my fork in my right...I'm a switcher. And I don't use a knife and fork together to push food onto the knife.

I also use whatever utensil makes more sense to me. I'll use a spoon for a lot of things I'm probably supposed to use a fork for. The mess factor is big one for me. Any dish with rice is a perfect example.

Anything that naturally feels right to use my fingers for I will: chips, fried chicken, pizza, etc.

I also eat one thing at a time. No food mixing for me if different items of food are distinctly separate on my plate. I just can't do it unless it's something that, in my mind, is supposed to go together, like mashed potatoes and gravy. And I eat the meat on my plate last. DH thinks this is very strange but he's never said it's wrong, he woudn't dream of telling me that!

I eat the same way whether I'm in a five-star restaurant or sitting on the sofa at home. I can't remember anybody ever taking offense at the way I eat or whether I use what others consider the correct utensils.

To each their own.   

I also eat one thing at a time. No food mixing for me if different items of food are distinctly separate on my plate. I just can't do it unless it's something that, in my mind, is supposed to go together, like mashed potatoes and gravy. And I eat the meat on my plate last. DH thinks this is very strange but he's never said it's wrong, he woudn't dream of telling me that!

Dad does that.  Unless it is chili or something that the different foods HAVE to be together, he doesn't want anything touching... to the point where he would rather eat off of styrofoam plates with dividers than use a real plate. Crazy kid! He's no so much the 'eat the meat last' type of eater, but nothing can touch.

This topic really makes me laugh and remember a conversation I had with a fellow ex-pat probably a few months after I moved.  She told me that I would "have to" learn how to eat the "British way".

I told her she was being silly, and I would eat the way I wanted to, which at the time was to do the whole switching hands thing with the knife.  Now, I tend to eat with my knife in my left hand and my fork in my right without swapping them over and I sometimes will use my knife to push food onto the fork. Funny enough, when I was recently in the US and only handed a fork at a family function, I was lost on how to eat with just a fork!

You can usually spot the American at the table by how they use a fork and knife. I for one will continue to eat the way I always have....with my hands. lol

But, what about eating puddings with a fork and a spoon?

I work at a restaurant and always assumed that you'd be given a proper dessert spoon to eat with.  I guess it may depend on what kind of "pudding" you're eating.  For instance a creme brulee would always need a spoon, and come to think of it (being a pastry chef myself) there aren't any puddings that come to mind that would necessitate a fork at all.  Who would eat ice cream with a fork?  If you're given a dessert with sauce on the plate or something runny, wouldn't that be a bit odd trying to scoop it up with a fork?

I switched to fork LH knife RH long ago, because I find I can get more deliciousness in my mouth that way.  But, I'm not that bothered about how other people eat, to each their own. 

I am always puzzled by the big spoon they give you with dessert.  It just seems like a lotta spoon for a small amount of food.   

I work at a restaurant and always assumed that you'd be given a proper dessert spoon to eat with.  I guess it may depend on what kind of "pudding" you're eating.  For instance a creme brulee would always need a spoon, and come to think of it (being a pastry chef myself) there aren't any puddings that come to mind that would necessitate a fork at all.  Who would eat ice cream with a fork?  If you're given a dessert with sauce on the plate or something runny, wouldn't that be a bit odd trying to scoop it up with a fork?

You don't eat the pudding with a fork, when given a spoon and fork. Used to get that when i was at school and the idea is that the fork is used to push the food onto the spoon.
Although if you are having cake you might use a fork.

Dh & I went out to lunch with the In-Laws yesterday an I asked my MIL if she thought I had bad fork manner's? an if she thought I did if she would ever say anything to me about it? she said no she wouldn't say anything to me she said its how you were raised so I don't think anything is wrong with how you use your utensils. she said that's just plain rude saying I was doing it wrong in front of other people she said wouldn't say anything in the privacy of her house either. she looked rather puzzled so I had to explain why I asked her after I have lived here in the UK for nearly 8 years an never asked her before now lol.    

I was having dinner with my family this evening and decided to watch how they ate, since I'd never really thought about it before.

Mom is a right-handed switcher with the fork top-side-up. She puts her knife down after cutting. Dad is a fork in left hand, knife in right, never putting either down. He uses his fork rounded-side-up. Brother eats like my dad, though sometimes he puts his knife down. I eat like my dad but generally hold the fork like my mom.

My parents never really told us the "right way" of eating, short of not holding the fork like a shovel and making sure we put our napkins in our lap.

Just sort of interesting to realise that we all eat differently!