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Why is eating food with your hands generally frowned upon in the Western World?

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Comments

  • #52
    old hippy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,441 ✭✭✭old hippy


    fussyonion wrote: »
    SuperNoodles are God damn messy to eat with your hands...just lobbing great big fistfuls in your gob-not an attractive look.

    I picked up the habit of slurping noodles when in Japan and now I do it all the time to the consternation of work colleagues :D


  • #53
    Ruu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,622 ✭✭✭Ruu


    Smitherington, I'll be having my snack box in the drawing room today. Please prepare the cutlery!


  • #54
    old hippy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,441 ✭✭✭old hippy


    Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »
    You should see what its like in Korea. People won't touch anything they are eating- If eating a chocolate bar they go to ridiculous lengths to avoid touching the bar with their hands and only touch the wrapper. Same with burgers in McDonalds.

    Not what I saw when in Seoul. Especially those late night street tents where you can get beer and snacks... it's the Korean chopsticks I could never get the hang of. Flat and heavy.


  • #55
    April O Neill
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,305 ✭✭✭April O Neill


    Saadyst wrote: »
    But if you go into a pub / restaurant and order a burger, all of a sudden you've to use a fork and knife? :confused:

    You don't have to, but in restaurants the burgers tend to be so massive, it's more practical to deconstruct them and eat with cutlery.


  • #56
    Daveysil15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,301 ✭✭✭Daveysil15


    I don't know how the Chinese eat rice with chopsticks. It would take me all day.


  • #57
    kowloon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,517 ✭✭✭✭kowloon


    The Victorians have a lot to answer for.


  • #58
    cakemaker6000
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21 ✭cakemaker6000


    People should do as they please and eat with their hands when they feel the need to
    SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »
    I eat soup with my hands

    My girlfriend stuck her fingers into a pot of soup to see how hot it was the other day.

    Burned the crap out of herself.

    Feckin idiot.


  • #59
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,504 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    I find a woman who knows when and how to eat with her hands strangely erotic


  • #60
    123 LC
    Registered Users Posts: 670 ✭✭✭123 LC


    People should do as they please and eat with their hands when they feel the need to
    Because eating food with a knife and fork is so much more hygienic....however clean you think your hands are, they're probably filthy...even turning a door handle into a restaurant means loads of germs on your hand-eating with these germy hands will mean you'll be more likely to catch some illness


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  • #61
    Legs.Eleven
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,987 ✭✭✭Legs.Eleven


    Americans use their hands a lot and only a fork for the rest. We all guffaw heartily when we watch my brother-in-law (yanky-doodle) try to eat with a knife as he's recently been trying to "civilise" himself a bit living in Ireland so he's a good example to my niece.

    I personally prefer to use a knife and fork whenever possible, even for pizza and burgers and stuff. I find it less messy and easier.


  • #62
    Daveysil15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,301 ✭✭✭Daveysil15


    In India they sit around big tables and eat chicken curries with their hands.


  • #63
    BaconZombie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,813 ✭✭✭BaconZombie


    I regularly eat with my hands and have no issues with it.
    Normally if you one use one hand it seem to be more "acceptable" but **** it I don't give a **** either way.


  • #64
    JONJO THE MISER
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 12,333 ✭✭✭✭JONJO THE MISER


    I always eat chicken wings and lamb chops with my hands and chips as well.


  • #65
    Anthony O Brien
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 266 ✭✭Anthony O Brien


    April O Neill wrote: »
    Yeah, that's a bit mank. IMO, anything with a sauce shouldn't be eaten with hands.

    what about chicken wings?


  • #66
    dgt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,985 ✭✭✭✭dgt


    Ill just eat my burger with this fork and knife.....


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  • #67
    April O Neill
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,305 ✭✭✭April O Neill


    Anthony O Brien wrote: »
    what about chicken wings?

    Very little sauce on them, and finger bowls are always provided.


  • #68
    positron
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,410 ✭✭✭positron


    Daveysil15 wrote: »
    In India they sit around big tables and eat chicken curries with their hands.

    True, however we don't eat currys as such - we eat chappati's or rice with curry - that means the "main" is chappati / rice, just in case if someone is wondering how someone would scoop up gooey curry without a spoon..! :D

    I am from India and grew up eating without utensils all my life. It's funny watching all these super celebrity chefs hammering on about various "dimensions" of a dish - the different colours, the different textures etc.. yet they are completely oblivious to the dimension of how everything feels to touch with your fingers..!! It's sad really!! :D


  • #69
    Artful_Badger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,339 ✭✭✭Artful_Badger


    People eat lots of stuff with their hands. Chips, pizza, chicken wings, burgers, wraps etc. Actually people eat most stuff with their hands tbh. But stuff like spuds and sauce covered things need a utensil, or if your out and you dont want to get stuff all over your nice clean self.


  • #70
    WilyCoyote
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,059 ✭✭✭WilyCoyote


    I'm amazed that no one so far has tried eating with the mouth!


  • #71
    simply simple
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 311 ✭✭simply simple


    123 LC wrote: »
    Because eating food with a knife and fork is so much more hygienic....however clean you think your hands are, they're probably filthy...even turning a door handle into a restaurant means loads of germs on your hand-eating with these germy hands will mean you'll be more likely to catch some illness

    What about sex then, dont you end up with germs in your mouth because of it? or is there any other way of doing it to avoid germs that go in your mouth.

    I think hygine issue related with eating with knife and fork is just a legendary myth.


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  • #72
    positron
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,410 ✭✭✭positron


    123 LC wrote: »
    Because eating food with a knife and fork is so much more hygienic....however clean you think your hands are, they're probably filthy...even turning a door handle into a restaurant means loads of germs on your hand-eating with these germy hands will mean you'll be more likely to catch some illness

    In countries like India where they normally eat with hand, the normal practice is to go and wash your hand just before you sit down at the table to eat. It's taught from a very young age that you wont' get dinner if you don't wash your hands before you sit down at the dining table.


  • #73
    --LOS--
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,028 ✭✭✭✭--LOS--


    sandwiches, pizza, burger, burritos.....meh I eat with my hands if it makes sense, people who eat pizza with a knife and fork just coz they're in a restaurant are just stupid


  • #74
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 92,550 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    seb65 wrote: »
    Actually, in medieval times it was considered rude to eat with utensils. The upper classes saw food as coming from God and to distance yourself from the food with a fork or spoon was considered an affront to God's graces.

    I don't know how it changed.
    most of that stuff, kneeling in front of the king, shaking hands with your right hand , traffic passing on the right, not using knives was mostly an excuse to keep people honest , there were lots of backstabbers and frontstabbers back then


  • #75
    Demonique
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,830 ✭✭✭Demonique


    uch wrote: »
    Try eating a portion of chow mein from the Chinese with your hands after 9 pint and you'll have your answer

    To be fair you'll probably have trouble eating it with chopsticks or a knife and fork too


  • #76
    Gbear
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,775 ✭✭✭✭Gbear


    Daveysil15 wrote: »
    I don't know how the Chinese eat rice with chopsticks. It would take me all day.

    They lift the bowl up to their mouth and just sort of shovel it in with the chopsticks.

    Any time I've seen Chinese people eating that's how they do it.

    It looks a bit rough but it's just a cultural sensibility. Nothing unhygienic about it.


  • #77
    hatrickpatrick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,797 ✭✭✭✭hatrickpatrick


    Vito Corleone wrote: »
    I saw someone eating a sandwich with a knife and fork before. I don't know what's wrong with some people.

    Maybe I'm just a complete slob, but I'm honestly having a lot of trouble figuring out how this could even be done.


  • #78
    Duggys Housemate
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,298 ✭✭✭Duggys Housemate


    People should do as they please and eat with their hands when they feel the need to
    hatrickpatrick wrote: »
    Maybe I'm just a complete slob, but I'm honestly having a lot of trouble figuring out how this could even be done.

    they cut the sandwich with the knife and used the fork to put it in their mouth?


  • #79
    looking_around
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,491 ✭✭✭looking_around


    People should do as they please and eat with their hands when they feel the need to
    hatrickpatrick wrote: »
    Maybe I'm just a complete slob, but I'm honestly having a lot of trouble figuring out how this could even be done.

    Quite easily, I've done so a few times.

    I was raised with "use utensils to eat when in public". And never order something from a restuarant that would require you to use your hands.

    I've eaten plenty of sandwiches and burgers with knifes and forks, even the bread you get with soup, should be cut into bite sized pieces and then eaten with your fork. Never get your hands dirty :P. Not to mention there's a correct way to hold your bowl and spoon the soup out :rolleyes:

    I'm not fussed about it myself. Though I still eat burgers with a knife and fork as I find they can get quite messy.


  • #80
    FizzleSticks
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,172 ✭✭✭FizzleSticks


    This post has been deleted.


  • #81
    Yakult
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 7,941 Mod ✭✭✭✭Yakult


    looking_around wrote: »
    Quite easily, I've done so a few times.

    I was raised with "use utensils to eat when in public". And never order something from a restuarant that would require you to use your hands.

    I've eaten plenty of sandwiches and burgers with knifes and forks, even the bread you get with soup, should be cut into bite sized pieces and then eaten with your fork. Never get your hands dirty :P. Not to mention there's a correct way to hold your bowl and spoon the soup out :rolleyes:

    I'm not fussed about it myself. Though I still eat burgers with a knife and fork as I find they can get quite messy.

    No, it should not. :eek:


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  • #82
    EoghanIRL
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,080 ✭✭✭EoghanIRL


    JONJO THE MISER wrote: »
    I always eat chicken wings and lamb chops with my hands and chips as well.

    I could never eat chicken wings with a knife and fork :O


  • #83
    Duffy the Vampire Slayer
    Registered Users Posts: 5,382 ✭✭✭Duffy the Vampire Slayer


    Daveysil15 wrote: »
    I don't know how the Chinese eat rice with chopsticks. It would take me all day.

    In Asia the rice that is served usually clumps together and is easy to eat with chopsticks. I'd say they'd have trouble with the rice you usually get in Ireland. Incidentally, Koreans usually eat rice with a spoon anyway.


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