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My mother-in-law always used to get annoyed at me for using my knife and fork in the European manor instead of the American way. She said it was boorish. I don
by technothrasher 7mo ago
My mother-in-law always used to get annoyed at me for using my knife and fork in the European manor instead of the American way. She said it was boorish. I don't know anybody else here in the US who cares in the least which way you use your knife and fork, so I always interpreted it left over behavior from her upper class DC upbringing in the 1930-40's.
(I did try to explain to her that it was more related to my being left handed than my attempting to emulate European behavior. It didn't seem to make much difference to her.)
- masfuerte 7mo agoBy American way do you mean cutting the food then transferring the fork to your right hand for eating? Or is there some other distinction?
- bloomingeek 7mo agoJust guessing here, I'm left handed also. I don't trust myself to cut a piece of steak using the knife in my right hand. So, after cutting with my left hand, I put the knife down and use my left for forking. Or, it could be what my English son-in-law does, he uses his fork and knife, in different hands to aid in pushing food onto his fork. (He's right handed, not that it matters in this case.)
- madaxe_again 7mo agoThat and you hold them in your fists or like a pen, rather than the European manner of holding cutlery.
- the_gipsy 7mo agoLee Van Clyf eating in good bad and ugly. Really underlines the savageness of the wild west.
- wojciii 7mo agohttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ctrOZIJni8Q https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ctrOZIJni8Q This explains the difference. The European method seems the most optimal.
- jerlam 7mo agoI thought this would simply be about the knife and the fork switching hands, but holding the fork tines up or down (spearing vs scooping) is new to me. On the other hand, I don't think Americans ever pick up food with their fork and switch the loaded fork to the other hand, especially if the food is scooped, not speared. A lot of food would be dropped in the process. As a non-conformist, I taught myself to use my knife in the non-dominant hand so that the fork is used in the same hand regardless of knife usage.
- dmonitor 7mo agoI typically just forgo the knife and cut food with the side of the fork. Unless it's a particularly thick slab of meat, it works just fine.
- johnisgood 7mo agoPretty much. I do the same thing with a spoon.
- craftkiller 7mo agoThis is bonkers. Just cut the food with your non-dominant hand. If you're so weak that you cannot cut the food with your non-dominant hand then you're either a small child, elderly, or you have a medical condition.