3 ms·

Forks can scoop but there's nothing a fork can scoop that a spoon cannot. There's plenty that spoons can scoop that forks cannot.

• ajot 4y ago
  Well, but a spoon cannot stab/hold a steak while I cut it, so forks still have their merit.
  • adrian_b 4y ago
    Actually you can stab, hold or even cut a steak with a good spoon (by good spoon I mean one made of stainless steel or titanium with good mechanical strength; there are some cheap spoons that would bend at any significant pressure applied on them), so a good spoon can also be used instead of a fork or instead of a knife, while those cannot be used instead of a spoon, for taking small particles or liquids, but it is obvious that a spoon is less convenient than the tools made specially for those tasks. There are people, like myself, who believe that any food cutting should be done when cooking the food, not when eating it. Because of this, I no longer use any table knives, which are anyway much worse for cutting food than the high quality super-sharp Japanese knives that I use for cooking. I also no longer use any forks, because when the food is already cut in pieces of the right size, it is much easier to take them in a spoon than to stab them with a fork. When I was young, I ate the food in the manner considered polite traditionally, with knife and fork, but after I grew older, using the most efficient and comfortable methods for doing anything has become much more important than caring about how something was traditionally done or caring about what others believe to be the right way. After I have started to eat everything with a spoon, for a long time that was a subject of jokes and amusement for other family members. Nevertheless, eventually they all began to imitate me, after recognizing that it is indeed much more convenient than the traditional European manner of eating.
    • lukas099 4y ago
      > so a good spoon can also be used instead of a fork or instead of a knife When I read this I pictured a guy sitting cutting and eating a steak with two spoons - one in each hand.
      • adrian_b 4y ago
        Indeed, that is much easier than it seems (with properly cooked meat), even if it will look very weird for any bystanders. Dull table knives usually do not cut much better than a stainless steel spoon. Any food that is so hard or so elastic that it cannot be cut with a spoon is probably not cooked well.
      • nomel 4y ago
        I sharpened a spoon once. It's not as useful as you would immediately assume.
    • crooked-v 4y ago
      When getting a steak at a restaurant, I usually find myself mildly resentful that I'm stuck with a clumsy serrated knife against a non-flat plate, when the cook could have turned it into slices in about five seconds while plating.
  • rippercushions 4y ago
    In Asia, it's the chef's job to cut everything into bite size pieces, so the diner doesn't have to.
• tempestn 4y ago
  I would argue that a fork can scoop certain foods more effectively than a spoon though. Especially when eating off of a plate rather than a bowl. Fork interfaces with the flat surface better.