Aside from eating with one’s hands, two types of eating utensils emerged across the continents: typical Western utensils consisting of a spoon, fork and knife and the chopsticks, two identical, narrow sticks, used primarily in Asian countries. Both items are used for the consumption of food whilst keeping the food off the hands and fingers, but both do so in extremely different ways. The functions of both sets of utensils is the same, yet two separate cultures found unique ways to solve the crisis of eating and keeping one’s hands clean.
Asian culture found one of the most practical solutions to this conundrum in what we know refer to as chopsticks. Chopsticks consist of two, equal-length tapered sticks, held in one hand. Together, they act as an extension of the thumb and forefinger, picking up morsels of food from noodles and rice, to tofu and sushi.
Chopsticks are extremely versatile and easy to clean. Because the food only comes into contact with the tips and only the tips touch the mouth, they are also considered hygienic. Today, chopsticks can be made from virtually every material ranging from various metals, wood, bamboo, and plastic. They come in different colors and various lengths as well, accommodating for children and adults alike. Although chopsticks do not account for food items such as soups or items needing cutting, Asian cuisine has adopted its dishes and made them so food items come in bite size pieces and can be eaten with little cutting at the table.
Western cuisine uses three utensils together for eating: the spoon, fork and knife. A spoon consist of a small, shallow bowl at the end of a handle used for liquids, the fork is a handle where several narrow tines lie at the end, useful for either pricking food or scooping it and the knife is a handle wherein one end has a blade, used for cutting meats or other food stuffs into smaller pieces. Most of these utensils are made in metal, although the prevalence of fast food has increased the amount of utensils made in plastic as well.
These three utensils, when used together, are able to aid in the eating of almost all foodstuffs. Western utensils often call for the use of both hands when eating, since each utensil commands the use of an entire hand to operate it. Western rules of etiquette demonstrate the proper hands with which each utensil should be used and often times during several course, multiple sets of utensils will be used.
The function of both sets of utensils is the same: to aid in the eating of food however it is interesting to note how two different cultures came up with two drastically different solutions. Chopsticks and Western utensils may seem awkward utensils to those of the other culture, but both remain highly practical solutions to eating without staining one’s fingers.
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