Are you a scooper or a sculptor?

YellowFeather

As the title clearly suggests - how do you use your fork?

Do you, in American fashion, scoop the food up, using your fork as a spade, with the tines up?

Or do you embrace the European way, and carefully sculpt a small food structure by balancing the food on top of the fork (tines down).

Me - I grew up using the fork as a scoop, never knowing there was an alternative. However, I'm finding myself in the minority in the last while - and wondering if scooping is uncouth and socially unacceptable. I do try to European it up when I'm out, but I'm really bad at balancing the food on the back of my fork and most of it falls off before reaching it to my mouth (how other people manage to eat peas this way is beyond me). I don't know if this has anything to do with the fact that I hold my knife in my left hand and fork in the right (not sure why - I just always have).

The way I see it is that a fork is curved to hold food in its arc. It makes sense. We don't turn our spoons upside down and try to balance soup on them.

Also, sporks are brilliant. Particularly because spork is a beautiful word. Like polyp. Polyp - beautiful word; horrible meaning.

SV

I stab the fork into the food and use it like a spear being stuck into an enemy.
Scooping is for spoons, balancing is for gymnasts.

BeardySi

YellowFeather wrote: »

Polyp - beautiful word; horrible meaning.

Baby coral??

AnonoBoy

Tines?

I like the sound of that. I always called them prongs.

Tines. Tines. Tines.


Hey everybody I learned a new word!

YellowFeather

Treadhead wrote: »

Baby coral??

Yes. I just hate that damn baby coral so bad. :mad::mad::mad:

YellowFeather

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Tines?

I like the sound of that. I always called them prongs.

Tines. Tines. Tines.


Hey everybody I learned a new word!

I made that up. It's not really a word.

Ihatecuddles-old

I was told it was impolite to point the tines of a fork up, so Im a sculptor. Will always eat tines down.

optimistic_

tines?! Ooh la-di-da Mr French man

KERSPLAT!

Down for me too though if it's a curry I'll just scoop it up!

humbert

Ihatecuddles wrote: »

I was told it was impolite to point the tines of a fork up, so Im a sculptor. Will always eat tines down.

I wish bad things upon the snooty so-and-so who told you that.

Ihatecuddles-old

humbert wrote: »

I wish bad things upon the snooty so-and-so who told you that.

My mother. You take that back.....

humbert

Ihatecuddles wrote: »

My mother. You take that back.....

orestes

It's a fork, not a shovel. I'm a bastard for proper table manners.

biko

It depends. Mostly the "scoop" method but in polite company I use the tines.

AnonoBoy, here's another word for you: petrichor‎.

YellowFeather

orestes wrote: »

It's a fork, not a shovel. I'm a bastard for proper table manners.

Is it really bad table manners? (Genuine question - would you notice it - 'cause that's what I'm worried about?) I wouldn't be loading up the fork with a whole pile of food, but I find it easier to scoop up a bit of a few different things on my plate.

And, say you're eating flaky fish. I love it, but nine times out of ten the fecker will fall off the back of my fork when I'm trying to eat it. It sits on the curvy bit no problem, making me happier, and, therefore, a better dinner companion.

4zn76tysfajdxp

humbert wrote: »

I wish bad things upon the snooty so-and-so who told you that.

Ihatecuddles wrote: »

My mother. You take that back.....

humbert wrote: »

Note he didn't actually take it back.

gufnork

Prongs down...? That's not even a thing, surely. Which idiot came up with that? Goes against nature.

YellowFeather

biko wrote: »

AnonoBoy, here's another word for you: petrichor‎.

One of my new favourite words - autotonsorialist. Although, you can't beat the classic defenestration.

Chattastrophe!

I'm generally a sculptor, but it can depend on what I'm eating. There are certain meals, e.g. Shepherds Pie, that just HAVE to be shovelled up on the fork with no heed of politeness or correct table manners. They wouldn't taste as nice otherwise!

Ihatecuddles-old

YellowFeather wrote: »

Is it really bad table manners? (Genuine question - would you notice it - 'cause that's what I'm worried about?) I wouldn't be loading up the fork with a whole pile of food, but I find it easier to scoop up a bit of a few different things on my plate.

And, say you're eating flaky fish. I love it, but nine times out of ten the fecker will fall off the back of my fork when I'm trying to eat it. It sits on the curvy bit no problem, making me happier, and, therefore, a better dinner companion.

Its fairly easy, you put the softer food on the fork first, like chips and veg, then meat because its tougher. Then use the knife to coat it all with sauce or potato!

I'd notice people doing it but I wouldn't be judging them or anything.

Wibbs

YellowFeather wrote: »

Do you, in American fashion, scoop the food up, using your fork as a spade, with the tines up?

*loud harrumph followed by spat cognac and monocle flying across room*

Ihatecuddles-old

Kaylani Flabby Magnet wrote: »

Note he didn't actually take it back.

I noticed

orestes

YellowFeather wrote: »

Is it really bad table manners? (Genuinely - would it offend anybody?) I wouldn't be loading up the fork with a whole pile of food, but I find it easier to scoop up a bit of a few different things on my plate.

And, say you're eating flaky fish. I love it, but nine times out of ten the fecker will fall off the back of my fork when I'm trying to eat it. It sits on the curvy bit no problem, making me happier, and, therefore, a better dinner companion.

Yes, it is bad bad table manners, just like eating with your elbows on the table or licking your knife. If it won't fit onto your fork then cut it into smaller pieces. Whether or not I would be offended would depend on the situation, but I would definitely notice.

I am fully aware of how snobby this makes me sound, but like I said, I'm a bastard for table manners.

kowloon

Victorian style table manners are the height of BS. I'll eat in whatever way is most efficient to the task. Piling slime onto the back of a curve makes no sense, stabbing a lump of something changes that.

Jimoslimos

In Thailand food is generally eaten with a fork and a spoon (no, not chopsticks - only occasionally). The fork is used to push food onto the spoon for eating NEVER putting the fork in one's mouth. It's considered a bit rude to do so.

In Malaysia food is eaten with a single hand, using bread or sticky rice to soak up the food. Only the right hand NEVER the left since that hand is used for..ahem..toilet cleansing functions.

As for myself, sculptor.

YellowFeather

Ihatecuddles wrote: »

Its fairly easy, you put the softer food on the fork first, like chips and veg, then meat because its tougher. Then use the knife to coat it all with sauce or potato!

Now that makes sense. I'm probably building my sculpture wrong.

Ihatecuddles wrote: »

I'd notice people doing it but I wouldn't be judging them or anything.

YellowFeather

Wibbs wrote: »

*loud harrumph followed by spat cognac and monocle flying across room*

Why did you have your monocle in your mouth??? :eek: