Finger Foods

This whole discussion reminds me of Seinfeld, where Elaine's boss starts a trend of eating candy bars with knife and fork.

I'll eat lots of things with my fingers, especially if I'm at home. For me, it's part of the enjoyment of food -- to feel the texture in your hand before eating it.

That said, I have been known to eat pizza with a knife and fork. Usually it's reheated leftover pizza that I have nuked so that that it's too soft and too hot to pick up without it burning various parts of my body.

In a restaurant, I tend to do a combo fork/finger move. If eating a curry, I might use the fork to load up the naan, which is in my hand and actually lifts the food up to my mouth.

In Sweden they eat hamburgers with a fork and knife! As far as pizza goes, everywhere I've been in Europe, I've seen people eat pizza with a fork and knife. To be honest, I think it is only Americans that eat pizza with their hands.

Well, Wikipedia's no help. It doesn't go into the "appropriate way to eat pizza" issue at all. I did learn that "those who ate pizza at least once a week had less chance of developing cancer," so there's that. Lycopeines in the tomatoes, they think.

I suppose we'd better defer to the Italians on this one. Americans have more pizza variations and eat more of it than anybody, but the Italians started it.

I think even I would make an exception for the big square pan pies, which I tend to forget about in pizza discussions. I'm thinking the traditional round pie, where each piece has a firm outer crust to grab onto.

I think this is a cultural thing.  There are few traditional English dishes that are supposed to be eaten with fingers...in fact, I can only think of sandwiches!

Italian thin based pizza, which is what we get here, like Chicago pizza is tricky to eat with fingers, so while it is okay to do so at home I would always eat at Pizza Express or other nice places with a knife and fork.  Pizza Hut is a bit crap, and the bases are thicker, so that is okay to use hands.  Unless out with my mother 

I ate hamburgers with a knife and fork until I was about 16.  That is because we would would go to Wimpy, who supplied them, rather than MaccyD's, who don't. 

If I have chips at home, I'll use a fork, if we are walking then I would use my fingers or a wooden fork.

As for curry...that is meant to be scooped up with bread, no question.  But I lived in India so I converted to this method, most Brits would find it wierd.


Vicky

I think I would eat a Wimpy burger with a knife and fork, if it were the kind with the fried egg on top. Though, I have to say, fried egg on a hamburger (and from a fast-food chain at that!) is a little freaky  in and of itself.

Well, Wikipedia's no help. It doesn't go into the "appropriate way to eat pizza" issue at all.

Isn't the appropriate way to eat pizza however the eater feels comfortable eating it. 

I'm with Geeta. It's a cultural thing and if you do the different thing, prepare to get looks or comments. *shrug*

DH and I tease each other all the time about various cultural differences. He eats cheese on toast with a knife and fork. I laugh. He laughs. It's no big deal. And just like we are making a point of teaching Sammy the US and UK words for things (biscuit/cookie and nappy/diaper) we'll teach him the different ways to eat things.

It's all part of the fun!

I prefer not to touch food, other than sandwiches. I don't like grease or sauce all over my hands. I will also eat a thick sandwich or thick burger with a knife and fork so that I can eat pieces that easily fit into my mouth. I don't like stuffing food into  my mouth.

I blame the fast food industry for popularising the idea of eating with your hands.  I was always bothered by Kentucky Fried Chicken's "finger-lickin' good campaign". I think licking sauce or grease off your fingers in public is gross and bad manners.

Most of the time, I eat pizza with a knife and fork. Fries get eaten with a knife and fork if they are part of a meal such as steak and chips but if I'm eating a fast food like a burger and fries, it all gets eaten with my hands.

Some things like chicken wings or ribs I wouldn't use utensils to eat simply because of how hard it would be to get the meat off the bone. Those are the type of foods I know I'm just going to get messy eating so I get extra napkins.

But I tend to agree with Chary in that it depends a lot on what type of restaurant you're eating in. There are some I would never use my fingers no matter what the food.

I was always bothered by Kentucky Fried Chicken's "finger-lickin' good campaign". I think licking sauce or grease off your fingers in public is gross and bad manners.

Yeah, I find licking fingers in public to be pretty disgusting too. I think if I was dating someone and they did that, it could be a deal breaker.

I eat pizza with a knife and fork... even at home with the kids. They don't. I do. Different strokes.

Awww, poor guy. 
You shouldn't have embarrassed him like that... especially getting the waitress involved!
But maybe he needs to make more of an effort to eat the way the Americans eat while he's over there.

I tease him about eating so many finger foods with a fork and a knife. It was jokey and all in good fun. He was laughing about it. I wouldn't have done it if he wasn't having fun with it as well.

ETA: I just moved his knife and fork to my side of the table and easily within his reach. If he was really getting upset, he could have grabbed them at any time.

I eat most messy foods with a fork and knife. With pizza it depends on the place it comes from.

I blame the fast food industry for popularising the idea of eating with your hands.  I was always bothered by Kentucky Fried Chicken's "finger-lickin' good campaign". I think licking sauce or grease off your fingers in public is gross and bad manners.

In some cultures its rude not to lick your fingers!! 

Me, I love to eat with my hands. But I also find it fine to eat with a knife and fork.  All depends on where I am, what mood I am in, and the company I am with! 

Me, I love to eat with my hands.

The original utensils!  Totally green ~ no carbon footprint. 

My ex-husband is from Mexico and when we were first married, he and his family would make fun of how I ate things with a knife and fork or wrapped or rolled up in a tortilla (like a taco or burrito) rather than ripping off pieces of the tortilla and using that to pick up the food and eat it. I eat both ways now depending but I just hadn't been taught to eat food that way growing up.

Oh my, I've insulted somebody. And you think I should care because...? Grow a thicker skin, pal. IT'S ABOUT PIZZA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! lmao!

[MOD NOTE]


Whoa-K.  This is a topic about pizza.  Let's everybody take a deep breath and calm down.

You all know what I'm going to say: Keep it nice, keep it polite, please remember you are talking to real people and everyone is entitled to an opinion whether you agree with it or not.   Oh, and nobody is named Pal.