Chopsticks, Forks.

[answerbok]

In what way are they better than fingers? Or, why don't we use a spoon for eating peas etc? Is it a pride thing?

[treaclefight]

hygiene is why we don't use fingers, spoon for peas is probably a good idea, but as a mum i would object to the needless washing up created by using a different tool for each item on the plate. i should add that a liberal dose of ketchup seems to be essential to keeping peas on any type of cutlery (if my kids are anything to go by)

[answerbok]

2stars for bravery in expressing your point of view, Treaclefight; though in what way, is hygiene an issue? if you were to eat with fingers; even children wash their hands before eating i suppose? or what? And, you would have Less, washing up. So forks still get the thumbs down; anybody else agree its a stupid pride thing and we should have a better tool? [Reminds me of that satirical Swift story where they go to war over which end of an egg to crack open]. :-)

[treaclefight]

children have to be told to wash their hand before eating and even then they are still deeply ingrained with germs and dirt, if you didnt keep some sort of clean thing between them and their food they would die of lurgi in no time at all. some type of tool is necessary and forks are the best thing for most types of food, in the interests of washing up i would limit my children to one fork between them. :-D

[treaclefight]

one of my children is a bit restless tonight and has read this question and my answer as i typed. we watched news 24 today and saw an article about the rising popularity of eating eels, the eels were very alive and slithering about in boxes in billingsgate market at the time. my 7 year old has just pointed out the necessity of a fork in keeping one of them on a plate.

[answerbok]

give it up treaclefight, the eels would be dead when you eat them right? Anyway, i'm chucking all my forks and chopsticks out, and i'm getting Marigolds; Pink for Meat and Yellow for fish - can you get them in green? :-)

[brawburd]

you get industrial strength black marigolds - maybe they would be good for hot spicy food answerbok?!

[paulz]

I love eating with chopsticks, not cos it's showing off [I can do it u can't] but it adds to the event - feeding you partner for instance is sooo sexy. You can also get simplified versions [I think Lakeland do/did a pair that are joined at the top]. I learnt when working in Hong Kong to use them very quickly [it was that or starve!]. Once you can pick up peanuts from a bowl with them you're away. Keep lower stick still & use top stick to pick up the nosh. I also prefer a fork to knife & fork, but answerbok how would we drink soup - apart from out of a mug - straight out of the bowl? there is also a lot of snobbery attached - go to a poncy restaurant and the table nearly collapses under the weight of metal. Anyone know if this is true, the chinese always used to use ivory for their sticks as if the food was poisoned/bad/gone off etc the bad stuff would travel up the "grain" [can't think of the right word] of the ivory [and therefore be visible/obvious to the eater before s/he put it in her/his mouth?

[treaclefight]

lmao, it is a pride thing, i can concede this one :-p

[Squirrel]

Manners aside, when I'm around people I know (that is to say, there's no point in me pretending to be polite), for messy or impale-able food I stab it with a fork, and for grab-able food I use my fingers. There can't be much difference between eating pizza with your hands, instead of a knife & fork, and eating a sandwich with your hands, so hygiene hardly comes into it. I wash my hands unnaturally often, out of habit, and yet I don't suffer noticeably less from illness than people who never seem to wash their hands. This would seem to suggest that chopsticks have almost no use at all, other than for showing off and to keep your fingers clean.

[nona suomy]

Simply - You don't wipe your bum with chop sticks and there are plenty of peopl out there who don't wash their hands properly.