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  • 10.0 A History of Eating Utensils in The West

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    Over centuries, eating utensils evolved from naturally occurring sharp stones used for scraping and cutting food to the wide variety used today. Early utensils included shells used as scoops and animal horns used as vessels. The Romans popularized metal knives for cutting. In Medieval Europe, most ate with hands off bread slices. Wealthy classes began using decorative spoons and knives. In the 15th century, forks were introduced from Asia but were initially controversial. By the 18th century, forks and blunt-tipped knives were commonly used in Europe and America.

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    10.0 a History of Eating Utensils in the West

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    Over centuries, eating utensils evolved from naturally occurring sharp stones used for scraping and cutting food to the wide variety used today. Early utensils included shells used as scoops and animal horns used as vessels. The Romans popularized metal knives for cutting. In Medieval Europe, most ate with hands off bread slices. Wealthy classes began using decorative spoons and knives. In the 15th century, forks were introduced from Asia but were initially controversial. By the 18th century, forks and blunt-tipped knives were commonly used in Europe and America.

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    337 views3 pages

    10.0 A History of Eating Utensils in The West

    Uploaded by

    adroushdy
    Over centuries, eating utensils evolved from naturally occurring sharp stones used for scraping and cutting food to the wide variety used today. Early utensils included shells used as scoops and animal horns used as vessels. The Romans popularized metal knives for cutting. In Medieval Europe, most ate with hands off bread slices. Wealthy classes began using decorative spoons and knives. In the 15th century, forks were introduced from Asia but were initially controversial. By the 18th century, forks and blunt-tipped knives were commonly used in Europe and America.

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    of 3

    A History of Eating Utensils in the West: A Brief

    Timeline
    Henry Petroski, in The Evolution of Useful Things, makes the argument that it is not so
    much that necessity is the "mother of invention" as that invention takes place in response
    to dissatisfaction at the shortcomings of an already existing way of doing things.

    The eating utensils we use and the ways we use them are the result of centuries of
    experimentation. Following are a few milestones from over the years.

    Prehistory
    Naturally occurring sharp pieces of stone are observed to be helpful in scraping
    and cutting foods. When enough sharp flints are not available naturally, people
    begin to fashion their own cutting edges by chipping stone into the proper shape.
    Coastal peoples have access to an abundance of shells. A stick fastened to the
    shell allowed for a longer reach, or protection from steam, if a liquid were hot.
    The hollow horns of sheep and goats also function as a vessels for liquid. Thus
    began the development of the spoon.
    Saxon England -- 5th cent. C.E. (common era)
    The scramasax, a sharp-pointed knife made of bronze or iron, with a wooden or
    shell handle, acts as weapon, eating utensil, and all-purpose tool for its owner,
    who is never without it. Food can be cut with the sharp edge (sometimes using a
    piece of bread to hold the piece in place) and conveyed to the mouth on the tip of
    the knife.
    The word "spoon" comes from the Anglo-Saxon spon, which means a splinter or
    chip of wood. Indeed, by this time, spoons are carved from wood, as well as many
    other materials (among them bone, shell, stone).
    Middle Ages
    Most people eat with their hands off of slices of four-day old bread known as
    "trenchers." Only the wealthy use utensils -- and not so much because they are
    perceived to be necessary, as because they are impressive. Often these are highly
    decorative spoons made of rare stones and metals, but the utensil that is most
    commonly depicted at the dinner table is the knife. Among the nobility, male
    diners bring their personal knives to eat with and are expected to cut food for the
    women when necessary. In a practice leading up to the introduction of the fork,
    two knives are sometimes used, one to cut and the other to hold the meat still.
    11th century
    The Venetian Doge, Domenico Selvo, marries a Greek princess who brings to his
    court the practice of eating with forks. This is regarded as a scandalous and
    heretical affectation, and when she dies shortly thereafter it is perceived as a just
    divine punishment.
    1364 to 1380
    The reign of Charles V of France. Forks are listed in his inventory of plate, but it
    is specified that they are only to be used when eating foods that might otherwise
    stain the fingers.
    1533
    Catherine de Médicis of Italy brings forks when she marries Henry II of France.
    By 1560
    According to a French manners book, different customs have evolved in different
    European countries. For eating soup, Germans are known for using spoons,
    Italians are known for using forks (presumably the fork assists in eating solid
    ingredients and the remaining liquid is drunk out of the bowl as it was in the
    Middle Ages). The Germans and Italians provide a knife for each diner, while the
    French provide only two or three communal knives for the whole table.
    1611
    Thomas Coryat, an Englishman, observes forks in use in Italy and resolves to use
    one too. Back in England he is given the nickname "Furcifer," means "fork
    bearer" but also "gallows bird." He is widely ridiculed and considered effeminate
    and affected.
    Early 17th century
    As forks become more common implements at the table and are used for holding
    food steady while cutting and for conveying the food to the mouth, it is less
    necessary for knives to be made with pointed tips. They begin to be made blunt at
    the end.
    1630
    Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony possesses what is said to be
    the first and only fork in colonial America. The fad for using a fork has not yet
    reached the Americas, but Americans continue to import their knives from
    Europe. The blunted knives imported from Europe are not so easy to eat with as
    pointed ones were, and many people begin to use a spoon to steady food while
    cutting it. They then switch the spoon to the right hand to scoop up the bite of
    food -- the beginnings of what is known today as the zig-zag method.
    1669
    King Louis XIV of France bans pointed knives--at the table or as weapons--as a
    measure to reduce violence, further insuring the predominance of blunted knives
    at the table.
    Early 18th century
    The four-tined fork has become the rule in Germany. In England, though, forks
    still have two tines and are not so helpful for scooping up bites of food. Knives
    there have begun to be fashioned with wide, almost spoon-shaped (though still
    flat) tips, the better to use them for conveying food to the mouth.
    Mid-18th century
    Throughout Europe, the fork has achieved the form which is now most familiar,
    four curved tines. The curve assists in scooping up food and allows for a clearer
    view of the food being cut.
    Early 19th century
    The use of forks has become popular in the United States. They are sometimes
    called "split spoons."
    The Victorian Years
    Everywhere in the West specialized utensils proliferate, more in response to the
    Victorian fondness for bric-a-brac than to any real need. Tomato servers, sardine
    forks, jelly knives, and cheese scoops are among the many elaborations on the
    theme.
    1920s
    Stainless steel is invented, providing an inexpensive, easy-to-maintain, and non-
    reactive metal for making table knife blades. Prior to now, special sterling silver
    fish and salad knife blades were required to prevent an unpleasant taste that often
    resulted from using a steel blade on these two items.
    Reading List:
    From Hand to Mouth, Or, How We Invented Knives, Forks, Spoons and
    Chopsticks, and the Manners to Go with Them by James Cross Giblin. New York:
    Crowell, 1987.
    The Evolution of Useful Things by Henry Petroski. New York: Vintage Books,
    1994.
    The History of Manners by Norbert Elias. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978.
    Spoon by Habbakuk O. Westman. London: Wiley & Putnam, 1845.

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