Fork (history of invention). From the history of the origin of the fork: How the cutlery came to be the center of attention at three royal weddings What is the fork made of
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A fork is a cutlery consisting of a handle and several narrow teeth (usually from two to four). Widely used for cooking, as well as during meals to hold or carry individual parts of food. The fork is sometimes called the "king of kitchen utensils."
As a cutlery, the fork has been created for centuries. The Naples National Museum houses a fork found in one of the graves of the ancient city of Paestum in southwestern Italy. It is more than two and a half thousand years old. Cardinal and Bishop of Ostia (the ancient trading harbor of Rome) Peter Damiani, who lived in the 11th century, argued that the use of a fork at the table was introduced into fashion by one princess originally from Venice, and from there it spread further.
In France, the fork first appeared on the royal table during the reign of Charles V, more precisely in 1379. The first forks were imported into England in 1608 from Italy.
How was the fork shape created?
The rules of good manners prescribed not to take the meat with all your fingers, especially with two hands, but only with three fingers; Do not wipe your fingers on clothes, but rinse them in a special bowl of water.
In wealthy European homes, it was fashionable to eat with gloves to keep your hands clean. After lunch, the grease-stained gloves were thrown away.
A fork is a prototype of a hand. The first forks were huge and had only one sharp tine, later - two. The ancient Romans used them to remove pieces of meat from a cauldron or roasting pan. These tools cannot yet be called forks in our understanding, since the noble patricians continued to eat meat with their hands, along which fat flowed down to their elbows.
Small silver, often gilded, richly decorated food forks in recognizable proportions and shapes came into use only in the middle of the 16th century, replacing the two knives that were used at the table in “decent houses.”
In 1860, England began mass production of cutlery, including modern forks, made from silver or silver-plated metals. Stainless steel cutlery began to conquer the world in 1920.
Russia has kept pace with the historical process when it comes to forks. Even under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, as one European wrote in travel essays, “at dinner, spoons and bread were placed on the table for each guest, and a plate, knife and fork were only for honored guests.”
Alexei Mikhailovich's son Peter the Great also contributed to the history of the fork in Rus'. Not without his help, the Russian aristocracy recognized the fork in the 18th century.
In the publication “Russian Antiquity” for 1824 there is information about how the table was set for Peter I: “A wooden spoon seasoned with ivory, a knife and fork with green bone handles were always placed at his cutlery, and the orderly on duty was required to carry them with him and put it in front of the king, even if he happened to dine at a party.” Apparently, Peter was not sure that even in the “best houses” he would be given the entire set of cutlery.
Modern tables are served with cutlery, among which there may be a dozen types of forks:
- Lemon fork. Has two sharp teeth.
- Double-horned fork - for serving herring.
- A sprat fork with a wide blade-shaped base and five tines connected at the ends by a bridge.
- Device for crabs, crayfish, shrimp. Long fork with two prongs.
- Fork for oysters, mussels and cold fish cocktails - one of the three tines (the left one) is larger than the others and is designed to separate the pulp of oysters and mussels from the shells.
- Lobster needle.
- Chill fork - for hot fish appetizers. It has three teeth, shorter and wider than the dessert one.
In addition to traditional serving forks, there are unusual items.
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The world's largest fork is located in Springfield, Missouri. The sculptural form, which is 10.7 meters high, was built by an advertising agency that considers this cutlery to be its talisman. In Kyiv, too, there is a monument to a fork, and not even one, but two. The Vilka monument is located near the Beer Duma pub, which is located on Drahomanov Street. Presumably, it was the pub that initiated and, accordingly, sponsored the installation of this monument. The author of this strange monument to a fork is the sculptor Vladimir Belokon. One of the strangest monuments is a huge fork, which, thanks to the efforts of the Nestle corporation, ended up stuck into the bottom of Lake Geneva. The sculpture, created in 1995 and located in front of the Alimentarium food museum and Nestle headquarters, is called the "Monument to Food".
No trick against the fork
one hit - four holes!
Word fork(English fork) comes from the Latin “fulka”, which means garden fork. The fork, as a cutlery, was familiar to the ancient Greeks. At that time, forks were relatively large, had only two massive straight tines and were used to distribute large chunks of meat among dishes. Another early mention of a fork can be found in the Old Testament, Samuel 2:13 (“When someone offered a sacrifice, a priestly boy, while the meat was boiling, came with a fork in his hand.”).
When you admire ancient portraits of noble beauties in an art gallery, it never occurs to you that these refined creatures at banquet tables ate meat and fish with their hands. Back in the 16th-18th centuries, rules of good manners prescribed not to take meat with all your fingers, much less with two hands, but only with three fingers; Do not wipe your fingers on your clothes, but rinse them in a special bowl of water...
At one time, in wealthy European homes, it was fashionable to eat with gloves to keep your hands clean. After lunch, the grease-stained gloves were thrown away. But forks already existed then...
The first forks were huge and had only one sharp tine, later - two. The ancient Romans used them to remove pieces of meat from a cauldron or roasting pan. These tools cannot yet be called forks in our understanding, since the noble patricians ate meat with their hands, along which fat flowed down to the elbows...
By the 7th century AD, in Asia Minor, the fork had become a symbol of wealth and power and was used by royal families during feasts. From the 10th century, forks spread to the territory of the Byzantine Empire, where similar cutlery was also used only by aristocrats. From there, in the 11th century, the fork was brought to Venice by a Byzantine princess who became the wife of the Doge.
However, in Italy the fork did not find use for a long time (more on this later) and only gained popularity by the 16th century. It is not difficult to guess that in the rest of Europe this necessary cutlery appeared only at the end of the 16th century. And it spread only by the 18th.
However, there is evidence that the fork was born in 1072 in Byzantium in the city of Constantinople in the imperial palace.
It was made in one copy from gold, and its handle was decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay on ivory. This fork was intended for the Byzantine princess Maria of Iveron, who can be considered the inventor of the fork. Considering it humiliating to eat with her hands, she came up with it herself. At that time, a fork was made with two straight teeth, with the help of which it was possible only to string, and not scoop up food. Initially, it was rather a kind of indicator of the monarch’s prestige, and not at all a cutlery. It was considered more convenient to eat with your hands or a spoon. In the 14th century, the French queen Jeanne d'Herve had only one fork. She kept it in a case.
The spoon and fork were practically banished from France until the 16th century and came into use only in the 18th century.
Today we take the fork for granted. In addition, no one has yet canceled the ease of use of it. Why then did the fork so slowly make its way to our table?
The fact is that, despite the fact that, as we remember, in Greece, meat was laid out on dishes with a fork, it was customary to eat with your hands. They also ate it in Ancient Rome. This habit was so firmly rooted in the hearts of people that it was very difficult to dislodge it. With the beginning of the spread of Christianity, the position of the fork only weakened: the fact is that by preaching monotheism, Christians naturally waged a “war” against the pantheons of gods of Rome, Greece, Egypt... It was decided that since only God and the Devil exist, then all the old gods were recorded as demons - minions of the Devil, who have power over individual elements of nature, and thus confuse the minds of people with their imaginary power. Accordingly, much of what had to do with the ancient gods was declared prohibited - including the fork: the trident of Poseidon. In addition, the pitchfork was also assigned an unseemly role: the persistent expression “Devil's Pitchfork” is still preserved.
Thus, unlike the “eastern barbarians,” all “enlightened Europeans” until the 16th century ate mainly with their hands, or at worst with a knife. When the fork appeared in England, it was simply ridiculed. “Why do we need a fork, if the Lord himself gave us hands,” approximately the same sentiment reigned throughout Europe at that time. So the path to recognition of the fork was very thorny.
Now let's talk about why it is customary to place the fork with the tines down when setting the table. There are several theories on this subject: according to the first of them, one day during a feast, King George 5th was upset about something and, in a fit of anger, slammed his fist hard on the table... As a result, the monarch’s hand fell on the teeth of the fork, and his mood deteriorated even more .
According to another version, since the fork was a luxury item for a long time, the nobility often boasted of the fame of the master who made this or that piece of utensils. Since the mark and engraving were applied to the reverse side, the fork was placed so that its origin could be seen from afar.
According to the third version, which is again associated with the English royal court, there was a tradition of cutting off all the corners of the sandwich served with tea. And so that God forbid the monarch should suspect hostility towards himself, the fork was held only with the teeth down. For the same reason, the knife was placed with the blade inward towards the plate, so that the presence of such a dangerous object on the table would not look like a threat.
Another interesting point: modern European tradition involves holding the fork with the tines down during the meal. Americans, on the contrary, prefer to use it with the teeth facing up. This feature was played out in several films, where American spies were exposed only because they ate with a fork, as is customary in their homeland. So, if you are an enemy agent, take the trouble to learn the traditions of the local population.
The fork was brought to Russia from Poland in 1606 by False Dmitry I in the luggage of Marina Mniszech and was demonstratively used during a feast in the Faceted Chamber of the Kremlin on the occasion of the marriage of False Dmitry to Marina. This caused an explosion of indignation among the boyars and clergy, and served as one of the reasons for the preparation of Shuisky’s conspiracy. As they say, the fork failed. It became a compelling argument proving to the common people the non-Russian origin of False Dmitry.
Traditionally, misfortune was associated with signs of a fork - dropping a fork was considered the eve of misfortune, a bad omen. They spoke disapprovingly of the fork, as evidenced by the proverb: “A spoon is like a net, but a fork is like a fish,” that is, you cannot scoop up anything.
Russia has kept pace with the historical process when it comes to forks. Even under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, as one European wrote in travel essays, “at dinner, spoons and bread were placed on the table for each guest, and a plate, knife and fork were only for honored guests.”
Alexei Mikhailovich's son Peter the Great also contributed to the history of the fork in Rus'. Not without his help, the Russian aristocracy recognized the fork in the 18th century. In the publication “Russian Antiquity” for 1824 there is information about how the table was set for Peter I: “A wooden spoon seasoned with ivory, a knife and fork with green bone handles were always placed at his cutlery, and the orderly on duty was required to carry them with you and put it in front of the king, even if he happened to dine at a party.” Apparently, Peter was not sure that even in the “best houses” he would be given the entire set of cutlery.
Modern tables are served with utensils, among which there may be a dozen types of forks: regular and snack forks, for meat, fish, side dishes, two-pronged - large and smaller, used for cutting meat fibers, special for cutting lobsters, a fork complete with a knife for oysters, forks in combination with spatulas - for asparagus... All of them are of recent origin: XIX - early XX centuries. Books have been written on how to distinguish them and how to use them. And this is a separate conversation...
In the 19th century A new method of gilding and silvering metals was invented - electroplating. The Christofle company (France) bought a patent for his invention from the author of the method, Count de Ruolz, and began using electroplating in the production of cutlery. And from that time on, a huge number of different forks, knives, spoons, spatulas and other beautiful, and most importantly functional tableware items began to be developed and produced.
Today, in the production of cutlery, the main material is 18/10 steel. This is the most durable and durable material, used even in medicine. 18/10 steel serves as the basis for products with silver or gold plating.
Good spoons and forks should have a thickness of at least 2.5 mm (measured at the end of the handle). There should be no sharp corners, for example between the tines of forks. Everything should be smooth and fluid. In addition, an expensive fork can be immediately recognized by the presence of grooves at the base of the teeth, so that food is washed out more easily.
Despite all the variety of forks currently manufactured, there are certain types, the purpose and method of use of which are defined:
Lemon fork - for arranging lemon slices. Has two sharp teeth.
Double-horned fork - for serving herring.
A fork for sprat with a wide base in the form of a spatula and five teeth, to prevent deformation of the fish, connected at the ends by a bridge. Designed for transferring canned fish.
Crab, crayfish, shrimp cutlery (knife, fork) is used when consuming crabs, crayfish and shrimp. The fork is long with two prongs at the end.
Fork for oysters, mussels and cold fish cocktails - one of the three prongs (left) is more powerful for easily separating the pulp of oysters and mussels from the shells.
Lobster needle - for eating lobster.
Chill fork - for hot fish appetizers. It has three teeth, shorter and wider than the dessert one.
Well? what other interesting story should I remind you of? Well, at least or The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -
The first association that arises when pronouncing the word “fork” is a cutlery. Then I remember other meanings, which are not so few. What is the meaning of this word and where did it come from in the Russian language? Let's try to answer these simple and at the same time entertaining questions using explanatory dictionaries and historical facts.
Fork ─ these are small pitchforks
In the general sense, a fork is anything that has a branched shape, usually in two directions. For example: fork in the road, thymus gland, fork-shaped tail of a swallow. By the way, the very first forks used for piercing pieces of meat had only two prongs. The origin of the word "fork" is easy to explain. It is enough to imagine the tool with which peasants collect and stack hay.
Fork ─ is a diminutive form of the word “fork.” Initially in Rus', cutlery of this type was called forks or slingshots, only by the middle of the 18th century the name familiar to modern people was assigned to the fork. In turn, the word “fork” is formed from the verb “to twist” by adding the suffix “l” to the root.
The history of the fork in the ancient world
The first forks, according to historical documents, appeared in 1072 in Constantinople, thanks to Mary. A high-ranking person found it humiliating to take food from a common dish with her hands. The court craftsmen made a cutlery with a long handle and two prongs for the capricious young lady. Some researchers believe that Princess Mary drew the sketches for the fork herself.
There is historical information that prototypes of modern forks, only of very large sizes, were used in Ancient Greece to remove roasted carcasses of animals and poultry from spits. In the 7th century, more compact, but still inconvenient forks began to be used to serve tables at the court of the Turkish Sultan. This innovation did not become widespread.
In the countries of the Ancient East, the meaning of the word “fork” was known from the middle of the 9th century. It was then that two-pronged metal spears appeared here for stabbing meat, vegetables and fruits. The straight shape without any bends did not allow the fork to be used in everyday meals. Therefore, this cutlery was forgotten until the 14th century. And today, most eastern peoples have a custom of handling solid or loose foods with their fingers.
An item of high culture and luxury
In Western Europe, a fork, spoon and knife became indispensable attributes of feasts at the beginning of the 17th century. Previously, fatty foods were simply taken with hands, periodically washing the palms in special bowls. In rich families, it was customary to sit at the table wearing gloves, which were thrown away at the end of the meal. Aristocrats preferred to cut meat or fish using two knives, one of which was intended for putting pieces of food into the mouth.
With the advent of forks, the French king Charles V issued a decree prohibiting members of the court nobility from eating with a knife, in order to improve the culture of his subjects. Ordinary people counted forks and did not use them in everyday life. For a long time, forks were two-pronged, then three-pronged, and only in the 8th century did cutlery with four prongs begin to be produced in Germany.
The first forks in Rus'
A cutlery similar to a modern fork was brought to Russia in 1606 and was first used during a feast at the wedding of the impostor False Dmitry the First and the Polish noblewoman Marina Mniszech. According to historical records, this behavior of royalty caused outrage not only among the common people, but also among the nobility. The “horned” fork was considered a devilish object.
Only in the 18th century did the fork timidly begin to enter the use of Russian nobles, thanks to the persistence of Peter I, who, as you know, adored everything European. In ordinary families, the fork remained a vicious, inconvenient and unnecessary object for a long time, while the spoon was the main tool for eating. Until the beginning of the 20th century, cutlery that was disliked by the common people was used extremely rarely; after the Revolution, the fork, as they say, came out to the masses.
You need different forks, all kinds of forks are important
In addition to cutlery, the word “fork” can mean any other device that has branches in its design.
The most famous combination is “plug ─ socket”. Household appliances are found in every home today, so the device at the end of a wire with two (or several) contacts used to connect a refrigerator, TV, computer or vacuum cleaner to the electrical network is familiar to each of us. The “plug ─ socket” pair is also used to create radio and telephone connections.
Clutch fork is a lever in a manual transmission of a car designed to retract the pressure plate.
A knitting fork is the simplest device, consisting of two metal longitudinal rods and a pair of transverse plastic crossbars. The device is used for hand knitting scarves and other items of clothing with straight panels.
A fork for a bicycle, moped or motorcycle is a part at the front or rear of a two-wheeled vehicle that serves to secure the wheels and is a steering element.
Forks you can't touch with your hands
The word “fork” is often used in relation to some actions or processes that have a dual meaning.
A chess fork is a situation on a chessboard when the pieces of one of the opponents are under attack by two pieces of another player. For example, a knight can be aimed simultaneously at a king and a rook, a bishop at a king and a queen, etc. This combination is otherwise called a double strike.
In military affairs, a “fork” is a combat maneuver with deliberate shelling of the enemy from different sides without hitting the target. Thus, a group of people or equipment is deprived of the opportunity to move in the direction of fire.
It implies a situation where a player places bets in different bookmakers on all possible outcomes of a match in order to obtain a guaranteed win.
Folk superstitions associated with forks
Even though the fork is a common item on our tables in everyday life, these cutlery are still not accepted by the Orthodox Church. Therefore, they cannot be used at funeral meals.
A fork falling on the floor foreshadows the arrival of an angry, grumpy woman in the house.
In villages, housewives are careful not to stir sour cream with a fork or spread butter on bread. It is believed that after this the cow may lose milk.
The history of cutlery begins with the oldest cutlery - the knife. There is an opinion that it was a bone or stone knife, and not a stick, that became the first tool of a skilled person. For many millennia, the knife was used as a weapon, for hunting and all types of work, but about 5000 years ago special table knives appeared. Until the Middle Ages, people carried personal utility knives with them, which they used not only at the table, but also at work. In the 15th and 16th centuries, expensive knives made of gold with handles made of expensive wood appeared on the tables of noble people. Over time, only the materials in knives changed, new forms of the blade and handle appeared. Simple bronze knives with a wooden handle and exquisite silver and gold knives with luxurious inlaid handles have given way to universal steel knives with plastic handles. As for the shape of the knife, the first table knives made of copper and bronze differ only slightly in shape from modern ones. Until the 17th century, only knives with sharpened blades existed. The rounded bases of the blades, according to legend, appeared on the orders of Louis XIV to prevent the habit of courtiers from picking their teeth and eating from a knife. Although the folding knife seems like a recent invention, it was invented by the Romans back in the 1st century for use during military campaigns and travel. The custom that soon emerged of carrying a knife in a sheath prevented the further development of pocket knives. At the end of the 16th century, the folding knife again became necessary for travelers and soldiers as a weapon, a tool for defense, and a cutlery.
The second cutlery after the knife was the spoon. It is not known exactly when the first spoons appeared, because they were made from clay, wood chips, nut shells or shells. To this day, in remote parts of the world, people use shells to scoop up liquid food, and in Latin and ancient Greek the word “spoon” is derived from “snail shell.” Already starting from the 3rd millennium BC. Spoons made of horn, wood and fish bones appeared. The ancient Roman nobility already used golden spoons. In Egypt, spoons for the nobility were made from precious metals, ivory and stone, while commoners used wooden spoons, and more often ate with their hands. In Southeast Asia, beautiful spoons were made from crystals and later from porcelain. In Europe, mostly wooden spoons were made. The Anglo-Saxon word for spoon has the same root as splinter. The history of cutlery in Rus' suggests that the spoon came into use by ordinary people much earlier than in Europe. It was customary to carry your own wooden spoon with you when visiting people until the 19th century. There were many options for wooden spoons, from rough burlatsky ones to thin and carved pointed ones. The first mention of silver spoons in Rus' dates back to 988, when the warriors of Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko demanded large silver spoons as compensation for accepting a new faith.
Although the Romans, who spread cutlery throughout the Roman Empire, preferred oval-shaped spoons with a long handle, spoons with a round recess and an easy-to-grip short handle spread throughout Europe, and only in the 15th-17th centuries did elongated oval-shaped spoons begin to appear again. A significant lengthening of the handle occurred at a time when puffy collars and jabots were in fashion. With the advent of wigs and crinolines, spoon handles took on an elegant shape and the length we are accustomed to. In the mid-19th century, flat-handled spoons appeared because they could be held elegantly with three fingers. At the same time, the custom arose of placing figures of the 12 apostles on the handles of expensive spoons. (That’s why the sets were made for 12 people.) A baby’s christening was given a silver spoon with the image of the apostle after whom he was named. To this day, this custom has been preserved in many Christian countries. In Russia, however, it was modified into the gift of a silver spoon in honor of the first tooth.
Cutlery became a work of art a long time ago, as the history of cutlery tells. “Silverware” was a symbol of aristocracy and distinguished commoners from the nobility not only by the presence of luxury items, but also by the ability to use cutlery and observe etiquette. In an old English magazine you can find advice: make a hole in a silver teaspoon to teach the child to use it only for stirring sugar and catching tea leaves, but not for drinking tea or pouring sugar. At the end of the 18th century, metal spoons ceased to be a sign of nobility; every family had spoons made of bronze or tin. At the beginning of the 19th century, an alloy of copper with nickel and zinc was invented, which was very similar to silver and was called argentanium, alphenide or cupronickel. Cupronickel spoons quickly gained popularity in Europe and Russia. In the mid-19th century there was a period of fascination with aluminum appliances, which are now associated with Soviet public catering. At the table of Napoleon III, aluminum spoons were served only to the emperor and the most respected guests; everyone else had to eat with gold-plated utensils.
The fork is the youngest cutlery. The prototype of the modern fork appeared in Ancient Greece. It was a fairly large tool with two sharp teeth for removing meat from the roasting pan and serving complex hot dishes. In addition to two-pronged forks, peaks and skewers were used for serving, on which meat was served. Back then they didn’t use forks to eat, but ate with their hands. At Roman feasts, it was customary to wear special gloves or pointed tips on the fingers to keep the hands clean. In the 7th century, small forks with two prongs appeared in Turkey, in the 10th century - in Byzantium, from where they spread throughout Europe. Due to their resemblance to devil's horns and the inconvenience of using them, forks were almost forgotten during the Middle Ages. And in some countries, forks were even banned by decree of the Pope. In the 14th-16th centuries, forks were considered a whim of the rich. In France, at this time they just stopped eating with a knife and used a single-pronged fork (awl) to prick pieces of food. Even in the early 17th century, English gentlemen considered the fork unnecessary and preferred to use their fingers. According to the etiquette of that time, the meat was elegantly picked up with three fingers, after which they were rinsed in a special bowl. It was only at the end of the 17th century, when conveniently curved forks with three and four prongs appeared, that they became an integral attribute of high society. It is generally accepted that forks appeared in Russia thanks to Peter I, however, at the court of his father, Alexei Mikhailovich, these devices were already served to honored foreign guests. And the first fork was brought to Russia by Marina Mnishek, the wife of False Dmitry, and this did not at all contribute to its popularity among the people. Russian aristocrats were accustomed to using a fork during the reign of Peter I, who carried his cutlery with him, not being sure that he would be served the same when visiting. Until the 18th century, the Russian language did not even have the word “fork”, and the device was called a horn or viltsy. Russian peasants were wary of forks until the beginning of the 20th century, considering the overseas device inconvenient and unnecessary at a simple peasant table.
Medieval noble travelers carried folding forks and spoons with them, since guests were not given cutlery at inns. Travel cutlery was compactly placed in a beautiful case and fastened to a belt.
In the mid-18th - early 19th centuries, Europe learned a huge number of new products; recipes for delicious dishes were developed that required due attention. As a result, many types of specialized knives, spoons and forks appeared, and accordingly, the rules of etiquette became more complex. In the 20th century, a reverse movement began: towards simplification and unification of cutlery. The fork-spoon (spork), invented at the beginning of the 19th century, became widespread. This device has a recess for liquid and 2 or 3 teeth. Plastic fork spoons are commonly served in fast food restaurants. They are convenient for eating ice cream and desserts. Another version of the fork-spoon: there is a fork at one end of the handle, and a spoon at the other. There is even a device that combines a spoon, fork and knife (splayd). Like a simple fork-spoon, it combines a liquid well with teeth and also has a sharp right edge, making it unsuitable for left-handers.
It seems natural to us that the main cutlery is a knife, spoon and fork. However, less than half of the world's population uses them. The rest prefer to eat with chopsticks, a knife and hands, or just their hands. It follows from this that chopsticks are the most common cutlery on earth.
It is unknown when the first chopsticks appeared, but perhaps their prototype was twigs that were used to place hot stones into pieces of raw food wrapped in leaves or to turn food over a fire. Originally, chopsticks were made from split bamboo and resembled tongs. Warlords of Asian nomadic tribes tied a case with such tongs and a knife to their belts. The Mongol tribes never switched to using separate sticks. The oldest split sticks found in China are made of bronze and date back to the 12th century BC. In ancient times, chopsticks were used in religious ceremonies and symbolized wealth and high birth. Only in the 8th-9th centuries AD. they became everyday cutlery. The Chinese name for chopsticks, kuàizi, literally means “swift bamboo.” Bamboo is the most suitable material for chopsticks, as it has no odor or taste, does not conduct heat, and is relatively cheap. Sticks were also made from sandalwood, cedar, pine, teak, jade, agate, coral, ivory and precious metals. Interestingly, the ancient name for sticks (zhù) sounded the same as “stop”, so on ships, and later everywhere, it was replaced by a word with the opposite meaning “quickly”.
It is not surprising that chopsticks, and not other utensils, have become popular in Southeast Asia. Indeed, in oriental cuisines, the prevailing method is short-term frying of products in a rounded wok pan, which is explained by the lack of fuel for long-term processing. To fry meat and vegetables in a few minutes, chop them finely. In addition, the Japonica rice, common in this region, is very sticky and is convenient to eat with chopsticks.
Over the many centuries of the existence of sticks, several varieties of them have appeared. Long metal or bamboo sticks (up to 40 cm) are used for cooking, short ones (20-25 cm) are used for eating. Chopsticks ending in a blunt end are intended for rice and vegetables, as they have additional surface area; Pointed chopsticks are convenient for eating meat and removing bones from fish. Sticks made from untreated wood or bamboo have antibacterial properties and hold pieces of food better, as they have a rough structure; It is more difficult to eat with metal, porcelain and lacquered chopsticks made of precious wood or ivory. Such sticks are real works of art that require experience in handling. In China, chopsticks made of untreated wood or bamboo with blunt ends are common; In Japan, it is customary to eat with varnished, pointed hashi chopsticks, suitable for fish, and chopsticks for men, women and children vary in size, and children's chopsticks are also brightly colored. In Japan, chopsticks are placed on stands with their sharp ends facing upward. Tibetan and Taiwanese chopsticks are shaped like unsharpened pencils. In Korea, they make flat stainless steel chopsticks and additionally use a deep spoon for noodles. Traditionally, Korean chopsticks were made of silver and were used only by the aristocracy. Asian restaurants typically serve disposable chopsticks held together by a bridge, which must be separated before use.
According to etiquette, you cannot make sounds with chopsticks to attract attention. They cannot be used to pierce food, with the exception of whole vegetables, which are difficult to grab. Chopsticks should not be left vertically inserted into a bowl of rice, as this is reminiscent of incense being burned at a funeral. For the same reason, you cannot place chopsticks to the left of the plate, because this is how the dish for remembrance is served. Even left-handed people are supposed to hold chopsticks in their right hand. During lunch, it is impolite to place your chopsticks so that they point at your neighbor. In China and Vietnam, it is acceptable to hold the bowl near the mouth and use chopsticks not to grab the rice, but simply to push it into the mouth, but in Korea such behavior is considered uncivilized. In Japan, it is not allowed to transfer anything from one chopstick to another. To transfer food from a common plate, a special pair of chopsticks is used. As a last resort, you can use the back of individual sticks. After the meal is finished, you should place the chopsticks in front of the plate with the ends to the left. Chinese and Japanese children begin to eat with chopsticks from about one year of age. It is believed that this develops fine motor skills and affects the child's abilities.