Some people find themselves at a dinner in a society where it is customary to observe table etiquette, a feeling of embarrassment. The reason for this is not knowing how to properly use a fork and knife. In order not to get into trouble in such cases, you need to carefully look at the table setting. According to the rules of etiquette, the devices located on the right side of the plate - these are knives and spoons - are prescribed to be taken in the right hand. And those that are located to the left of the dish, that is, the fork, are taken with the other hand.
How to use appliances
Currently, the fork and knife are used in two ways: European and American.
In the first case, cutlery is not placed on the table during the entire lunch or dinner. Moreover, the knife is left in the hand, even when it is not needed.
Americans have a different idea of how to properly use a fork and knife. Overseas etiquette allows you to put a device that is not used on the edge of the plate. Moreover, the fork at this time can be taken with the right hand. And the knife is placed with the tip inside the plate and the handle on the edge.
Products that do not require cutting,for example, pasta is allowed to be eaten with a fork taken in the right hand. It can also be flipped upside down for more convenience.
Food lying on a plate must be cut away from you into medium-sized slices. There is no need to immediately divide the whole piece - this is done gradually.
If you need to pass someone a knife, fork or spoon, they are served with the handle forward. It is better to take the device by the middle part yourself so as not to get it dirty with your hands.
When to use a spoon, fork and knife
It is important to know that certain utensils should only be served with the dishes for which they are prescribed. So, for example, meat, poultry, stuffed pancakes, cabbage rolls are cut with a knife. Fish dishes are eaten using special devices for this, soup - with a tablespoon, desserts - with a dessert spoon. Cold appetizers are served with a fork and knife. Lobsters and other arthropods are eaten using a special set: a short fork and a spatula.
If there is a need to take something from the table, be it bread or a glass, the cutlery is placed on the edges of the plate so that their handles rest against the table.
Bread is taken by hand from a common plate and placed on the edge of the diner.
Sandwiches are usually eaten with a knife and fork. If you need to make it yourself, then the butter is first placed with a special knife on the edge of the snack plate and only after that it is spread on bread, without lifting the latter from the dish and holding it with your finger.
It is permissible to take game dishes with your hands. And so that after that they can be washed,a container with warm water and a slice of lemon is specially placed.
How to properly use a spoon, fork and knife
Most often, many people eat cutlery as they were shown in childhood. They simply have no idea how to properly use a knife, fork and spoon. It's not hard to learn though.
In the process of cutting, the knife must be clamped from the sides so that its handle rests on the palm. A finger is placed on it in order to press it on the device if necessary.
The fork is held by the edge of the handle. At the same time, one finger is placed on top: while eating, they press on the handle, which helps to chop food. If it is difficult to use one fork, it is permissible to help yourself with a knife.
The spoon is usually taken in the right hand. Soup is eaten by scooping it from oneself so as not to splatter. At this time, it is necessary to ensure that the liquid does not pour out again into the plate. Large components are broken into pieces with a spoon. When there is little soup left, it is permissible to lift the edge of the dish a little, directing it away from you. Having de alt with the first dish - or without finishing it - the device is left in the plate.
What can be said with instruments
Among other things, table etiquette provides for conventional signs used by guests during their stay at the table.
It is important not only to use a fork and knife correctly in the process of eating. At the end of dinner, they need to be folded on a plate in such a way that it becomes clear to the waiter what to do next.
If the devices were placed along the edges of the plate, resting their handles ontable, this means that the meal is still in progress.
Waiting for the next dish, the knife and fork are crossed on a plate.
When dinner is over, the cutlery is placed on the dishes nearby. In this case, the fork must be turned with the teeth down in the European style and up in the American style, and the knife with the blade inward. The handles of the instruments are shifted slightly to the right. This will mean that the dishes can be removed.
After reading this article, we can safely say: “Now I know how to use a knife, fork and spoon properly.”
