Chopsticks vs. Western Cutlery

[Plains-Cow]

A fork is a poke-fork, a scoop-spoon, and a side-knife all in one.

Proper messy pies are not finger foods. Now I like barbarian-ing food just fine, but I'm not eating pecan pie at the dinner table with my hands. That's for later in the evening when there's nobody around to pretend that we haven't given up on life.

I poke corn occassionally when I'm not in a hurry, or if I've cleaned everything else off my plate and don't have anything to push the corn up against to get it on a spoon/fork. Just poke and go.

I've never had pecan pie, but looking it up seems like it holds together well. Is it a liquidy-like pie?

Sure, but how common is it for somebody to order mashed potatoes as the main dish? They are usually eaten with something else, which is why the fork is usually the go-to, since you're already cutting up and eating meat, or whatever.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to criticize your life choices, as I think this is actually a great one. I LOVE mashed potatoes. If you told me that tomorrow I'd be eating mashed potatoes w/ gravy for all 3 meals, I would be ecstatic. It's just that they almost always arrive as a sidekick.

Probably need to make the mash dense with other options inside, unless you really like potatoes. Veg, ground meats, seitan, etc.

Is there a German word for a plastic utensil that breaks as soon as you use it?

I believe they are called "Fredericks."

One kid doesn't like fries that much, so when we can, we order him some mashed potatoes to go with his burger. Granted, maybe perhaps he is given a spoon because maybe the burger restaurant doesn't have forks but does have an abundance of spoons because of their ice cream.

What is the advantage of a fork with mashed potatoes over a spoon? I can't imagine one. If the mash is that thick, then chopsticks are appropriate as it's like eating sticky rice.

Chopsticks are used in traditional Japanese funeral rites.

When I lived in the USA, I never brought a fork to church.

Try bringing a spoon to one. They cause quite a stir.

 

[Bamspeedy]

How thick are your mash orders? Lots of gravy mixed in if a spoon is needed all the time, I'd think. I don't fancy mash soup. Thick mash-best mash.

If the potatoes are falling through the tines of the fork, it is waaaay too watery (bad).

 

[Farm Boy]

Is it a liquidy-like pie?

It's both sticky and crumbly.

 

[Plains-Cow]

If the potatoes are falling through the tines of the fork, it is waaaay too watery (bad).

Sounds like most instant mashes with the yellow gravy served in styrofoams.

It's both sticky and crumbly.

Sounds like a finger food to me...? How is it different from a chicken wing or ribs on the bone?

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Do you have a preference for chopsticks vs. forks?

yes, and it changes depending on what i eat.

can even change to "neither" for some foods.

 

[Gori the Grey]

When I lived in the USA, I never brought a fork to church.

You just skipped the feast day on December 1st, then?

Edit: Ha ha. The feast day. Get it?

 

[Kaitzilla]

yes, and it changes depending on what i eat.

can even change to "neither" for some foods.

Ah, a utensiltarian.

**Edit**
"Whatever works best" is a good strategy, but won't win any mad scientist or book awards.

 

[Farm Boy]

Sounds like a finger food to me...? How is it different from a chicken wing or ribs on the bone?

Well, yes. Hence the admission that I'd eat it that way late and alone. But you'd get messier than cheetoes, since it sticks to you, and I'd jumbobite pizzaslice eat it over the sink, since the crust is going to crumble and fall all over - but cutlery is almost always entirely affectation. Chicken wings and ribs from the bone exist in a social expectation area where it's acceptable to smear yourself with the gore of your victim like a ravenous lioness.

 

[Plains-Cow]

yes, and it changes depending on what i eat.

can even change to "neither" for some foods.

Makes sense to a thinking sort, but if you had to pick between a fork or chopsticks for the rest of your life on this Earth, which are you chowing down with?

You just skipped the feast day on December 1st, then?

Edit: Ha ha. The feast day. Get it?

I feel like there are too many feast days. Too many celebrations for too many things kinda wrecks the mood for them. Like the too-many-parades joke from Futurama.

 

[Plains-Cow]

Well, yes. Hence the admission that I'd eat it that way late and alone. But you'd get messier than cheetoes, since it sticks to you, and I'd jumbobite pizzaslice eat it over the sink, since the crust is going to crumble and fall all over - but cutlery is almost always entirely affectation. Chicken wings and ribs from the bone exist in a social expectation area where it's acceptable to smear yourself with the gore of your victim like a ravenous lioness.

So do you just eat standing over the sink in your house when you have pecan pie, but bust out the utensils and plates when others are around?

 

[Bamspeedy]

So do you just eat standing over the sink in your house when you have pecan pie, but bust out the utensils and plates when others are around?

When home alone I sit on the couch to eat. When others around that's not really appropriate unless seating at the dinner table is limited (larger gathering than I have room at the table for).

What is the advantage of a fork with mashed potatoes over a spoon? I can't imagine one. If the mash is that thick, then chopsticks are appropriate as it's like eating sticky rice.

Fork or spoon for mashed potatoes depends on eating surface I suppose. If it's served on a plate, use fork. If it's served in bowl, spoon (another reason restaurant gives spoon instead of fork I suppose because of the shape of container they put it in).

 

[Valka D'Ur]

5) Pie is a finger food. People who eat pie with a fork are the kind of people who eat pizza with a fork.

What.

It depends on the kind of pie. Yes, you can eat something like blueberry or pumpkin pie with your fingers. Cream pies? Not unless you want half of it on your shirt. Meat pies? Not unless you want your fingers burned.

Oh, and I eat pizza with my fingers. I eat french fries with a fork, due to not wanting to constantly wipe ketchup off my fingers

sliced turkey would be fine with chopsticks if either thin enough to bunch up like coldcuts, or further cut/ripped into chunks, whereas roast vegetables can also be chunked. and all the rest arent even fork foods?? theyre spoon foods for sure, the spoon gives more scooping surface area, more carrying capacity, and the sides slope up to prevent stuff falling off. if your mashed potatoes are self adherent enough they dont fall out between the fork tines, then theyre liftable via chopsticks (and if they arent then theyre drinkable)
i could see an issue maybe if you put peas, decobbed corn, or nonadherent rice on a flat plate, then chopstick shoveling might present an issue sure, but at that point its not the fault of the chopsticks but rather the choice of dishware. put em in a bowl and lift to your face, *then* shovel w/ chopsticks only just separated enough so nothing passes between for optimal shoveling, easy peasy if youre good at chopsticks.
maybe we should assume for the sake of argument that choosing chopsticks instantly grants you chopstick mastery if not already possessed (and vice versa for the other cutlery)
also cheetos and other powdery snack foods are definitely not able to be picked up with a fork, much like sushi, whereas chopsticks manage fine. and i dont like getting dust on my fingies

I'm reminded of a scene in Enterprise, where the senior crew are having their first meal together, and T'Pol is determined to eat her breadstick with a fork, because Vulcans apparently don't touch food with their hands (which makes me wonder how they manage to actually cook it):

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Makes sense to a thinking sort, but if you had to pick between a fork or chopsticks for the rest of your life on this Earth, which are you chowing down with?

fork for sure, based on track record/frequency of what i eat. then i can employ the secret professional technique

Spoiler :

flip 2 forks upside down and use them like chopsticks

 

[sophie]

chopsticks + spoon (essential component) cover basically every use case

knife + fork + spoon cover basically every use case but require one to be set down at all times and so is inferior.

simple as.

 

[Plains-Cow]

When home alone I sit on the couch to eat. When others around that's not really appropriate unless seating at the dinner table is limited (larger gathering than I have room at the table for).


Fork or spoon for mashed potatoes depends on eating surface I suppose. If it's served on a plate, use fork. If it's served in bowl, spoon (another reason restaurant gives spoon instead of fork I suppose because of the shape of container they put it in).

With or without a plate?

What.

It depends on the kind of pie. Yes, you can eat something like blueberry or pumpkin pie with your fingers. Cream pies? Not unless you want half of it on your shirt. Meat pies? Not unless you want your fingers burned.

Oh, and I eat pizza with my fingers. I eat french fries with a fork, due to not wanting to constantly wipe ketchup off my fingers


I'm reminded of a scene in Enterprise, where the senior crew are having their first meal together, and T'Pol is determined to eat her breadstick with a fork, because Vulcans apparently don't touch food with their hands (which makes me wonder how they manage to actually cook it):

Cream pies are generally served cold and solid like pumpkin, yes? Otherwise they're the kind that are just filled with whipped cream for 1920's-style comedy.

Also meat pies are eaten with the crust as the container, and don't you put ketchup on the side or in a separate container for dipping into? Or do you drizzle it all over the fries and then eat the fries with your hands? Seems like a chopstick job to me.

chopsticks + spoon (essential component) cover basically every use case

knife + fork + spoon cover basically every use case but require one to be set down at all times and so is inferior.

simple as.

I fancy this logic.

fork for sure, based on track record/frequency of what i eat. then i can employ the secret professional technique

Spoiler :

flip 2 forks upside down and use them like chopsticks

You should be a Taskmaster contestant.

 

[Kaitzilla]

You should be a Taskmaster contestant.

I think Taskmaster is peak British television.

 

[Bamspeedy]

With or without a plate?

With. Even if I don't particularly need a plate if I have something like a sandwich, it's nice to have a plate to set it down on if I need to instead of setting the sandwich directly on the coffee table. In the case of pies, not having a plate sounds like insanity.

 

[Kaitzilla]

So you are eating your favorite food holding the utensil of your choice.
You want 1 more piece, but someone took the common area utensil that serves the food.

Do you grab the piece of food after turning your utensil 180 degrees and using the clean rear-end?
Or get up and search the drawer for another instrument?

 

[Farm Boy]

So do you just eat standing over the sink in your house when you have pecan pie, but bust out the utensils and plates when others are around?

Do I want to do dishes, or not?

I almost never have pecan pie around, I'd probably grab a slice and put it on a plate then eat it with a fork.

 

[PhroX]

If the food's small enough, (either innately or having been chopped up during the preparation), such that you don't need a knife, a spoon is the most conventient utensil - way better than either fork or chopsticks. If it it needs a knife, well, you need a knife and something to hold it with while you cut. Which a fork is best for. So, I can't really see why you'd chose chopsticks.