primroseburrows | Unofficial Etiquette Pollage

US born & raised: I was taught the first option, with the fork-hand-switch maneuver, but in the last, oh, 15 years or so I've mostly switched over to leaving the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left when eating something like steak that requires a lot of cutting up. I was under the impression that the latter was more of a European thing, but I'm not sure where I heard that.

Apparently the switch-fork method is the "American" method and the other is the "Continental". I seriously never knew or noticed.

I do the switch thing (and I really had to think about this, with miming and everything), although I've probably done it the other way for reasons of haste and practicality. The Continental way does seem more efficient (which is what the Manners Lady said in the program piece).

No, but seriously? How fussy is knife-laying/fork-switching? It's amazing people ever finish a meal. What is the point of it? WHAT?

Apparently it's an Americn thing. *whistles nonchalantly*

Pretty much everyone I know does option #1, but when I was a kid I decided that kind of eating utensil hand jive was way too inefficient. I started using my left hand for the knife and right for the fork, picking it up and setting it down as need requires with no shifting around. I will never be respectable in high society, but that's how it stands.

I generally do the first, unless I'm really hungry *g* Then I might do the second one, because it's faster. Most of the time, though? I do the first. It's the way I was taught!

I usually do A, sometimes do B, and a lot of times (either way) I think about how strange it is to do all the hand switching, but if I do actually keep the fork in my left hand, I think about how odd that feels to me.

As a result, I eat a lot of potato chips. At least that's what I'll tell the doctor if he wonders why I haven't lost any weight.

switching the knife and fork and putting the knife down ... way too complicated. nobody i know, at least none of my german peeps, do that.

nobody i know, at least none of my german peeps, do that.

My theory, based on what Manners Lady said, seems to be right: It's mostly a US thing (and maybe some of Canada?).

(no subject)

stormymouse.livejournal.com - 2009-06-01 19:56 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

primroseburrows.livejournal.com - 2009-06-01 20:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

stormymouse.livejournal.com - 2009-06-01 20:16 (UTC) - Expand

People seriously switch hands? *boggles* That seems . . . inefficient.

It's horribly inefficient. But I guess I got used to it if I never noticed before. *boggles with you*

I fork-switch and put the knife down, but only because I'm so right-handed that I wouldn't be able to eat with my left hand.

I'm a righty, too, which is probably why I've never considered it a cultural thing how people hold their utensils. Apparently it is, though. Who knew? *g*

I actually cut up my entire piece of meat first. I like not to be interrupted by such menial tasks whilst consuming my meal. :D

I've done that, too. If I could edit the poll, I'd list it. darn. What's the general Canadian thing, though? I've never noticed, because I've never even considered there was another way besides how I do it (so much for me being broad-minded).

I keep my utensils in the same hand, but to be fair, my fork is always in my right hand (I'm a righty) and my knife is always in my left. Nobody else in my family does it, but I can't imagine eating with a fork and knife any other way.

Hmm. *mimes doing this* That's definitely a new one. You may be unique in the world. :) Do you see a general trend in Israel? There are people there from liek, everwhere, so I'd imagine there would be different ways of doing stuff.

(no subject)

trempnvt.livejournal.com - 2009-06-02 03:08 (UTC) - Expand

Born and originally learned the US way, but I eat continental-style generally--fork in one hand, pointed downward, knife in the other, stab the food with the fork tines or push it onto the back with the knife. I'm left-handed, though, so the switching part doesn't really apply--fork in left hand, knife in right, and just eat.

So, hmm. I guess it's partly as much a handedness thing as a cultural one.

(no subject)

ashkitty.livejournal.com - 2009-06-01 19:09 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

primroseburrows.livejournal.com - 2009-06-01 19:10 (UTC) - Expand

I have always been fascinated by the British way. It's not just keeping the fork in the same hand, it's this whole wiping of the knife on the food first. I don't think I'd ever be able to do it exactly right.

I read in a book once, btw, that this difference mostly went back to the introduction of the fork occurring in the early days of the US. I've no idea if it was true (though it was in a history book), but it did totally explain it. Basically, knives used to be sharp and pointed to stab the mean with to pick it up, but when forks were introduced they started to get rounded at the tip.

But Americans weren't really making their own cutlery at that point. So they started getting these non-pointy knives but hadn't yet found out about the forks. So they evolved this way of dealing with it, eating with a non-pointy knife and a spoon. Where Europeans simply learned to use the fork as the pointy end of the knife, Americans learned to use a fork as a spoon. You had to switch hands.

Ooh, I want to read that book! And there is knife wiping? Woah. I didn't know THAT, either! :)

(no subject)

sistermagpie.livejournal.com - 2009-06-01 19:16 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

mawaridi.livejournal.com - 2009-06-02 04:19 (UTC) - Expand

I remember eating out in Italy and hearing the snickers when Americans were there. Yep, no switching over. It's consider lack of etiquette in Italy (it's actually in the Galateo which I read when I was 13) and it's something I've thought my kids.

I should try to eat Continentally for a while, just to see if I can do it. It seems...easier, so it should be a snap, right? :)

(no subject)

titti - 2009-06-01 19:20 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

primroseburrows.livejournal.com - 2009-06-01 19:45 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

titti - 2009-06-01 20:14 (UTC) - Expand

Option 1 is the 'North American' way; option 2 is the 'European' way, according to an episode of 'Twin Peaks', which featured this exact same conundrum :)

I dunno--I've yet to see Twin Peaks (I know, I suck). According to Manners Lady (whose name I forget), it's 'American' and 'Continental'. This website has more description of the difference.

The names beg the question, though: What about Mexico and other countries? How do Mexicans/Russians/Egyptians, etc. hold their forks and knives? And then there's the whole other issue of chopsticks. Oh, teh complexity of it all. *angsts*

(no subject)

dragonflymuse.livejournal.com - 2009-06-01 22:38 (UTC) - Expand

Heh :D Eating with the fork in the right hand is definitely an American thing, in my country only small children are allowed to do that, civilized grown-ups ALWAYS keep the fork in the left hand and knife in the right. And you only cut one piece, one small mouthful at a time, keeping the rest of the food organized, no mixing or mushing or making a mess of your plate!

And don't get me started about eating with just a fork (if it's not a salad you're eating) or, ick, with your fingers! BIG no-nos here! Sign of seriously bad manners! Kiddie eating!

:D

...I hold the knife in my left hand and hold the fork in my right hand?

Depending on who cooked the steak, sometimes I switch to knife in right hand and fork in left hand, which means I have to switch back. (....i can't use a fork or spoon left handed (unless I am just using the fork to hold the meat). I am such a righty *facepalm*.

But, yeah, as long as someone didn't overcook it, I don't tend to switch hands - and unless I'm trying to read a book while eating, I hold the utensils in both hands.

I was told that not switching (my way) was the British way. I always figured it was due to my bizarre ambidextrousness. Or maybe the fact that my parents are first generation (though, I've can't remember which way they eat).

I am and have always been a bit of a freak...

Freakishness is in the eye of the beholder. I've been writing 'colour' and 'harbour' and such since I was around twelve, because I think it's prettier. ;)

I'm of the "put down the knife and transfer the fork to the other hand" ilk, but since that's a bit inefficient, I sometimes will do all the cutting I need to do in one go -- cut up the entire steak, for example, and then eat it.

Cutting up the whole shebang should have been an option. Curse LJ for not allowing poll edits. :/

"Put down the knife" sounds kinda like "put down the duckie"; and so I ~~have an excuse to~~ offer this:

(no subject)

stormwynd.livejournal.com - 2009-06-04 04:33 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

primroseburrows.livejournal.com - 2009-06-04 05:27 (UTC) - Expand

I learned to use my fork in my left hand and my knife in my right from my French exchange student who was with us for a month or so in 1984. I hadn't done it that way before then, but it made so much sense, that I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Dude. I just found out my mother knows there are two ways to do it. I'm out of the etiquette loop like woah.

When I lived in the USA people used to mock me (really, mock me!) for the way I ate! And yet my way is faster :-p

Your way is definitely faster. Will experiment. :)

Fork in left hand, knife in right hand, no switching hands. When we visited our relatives in America they had a lot of fun watching us eat. :) I don't know if they thought it was bad table manners or just exotic!

Hehee! It's just another way of doing it, apparently. And more efficient, absolutely. The switcheroo seems to be pretty much a North American thing (although I don't know about Mexico, because nobody from there took the poll *g*).