Eating with your hands

Culture, Media, General
101

Yeah, I guess I was thinking finger bowls or some variation. I have no probs waiting for a sink.

A classmate from Ethiopia once invited our class to the union to try the cuisine, and we had a blast sweeping up yummies with the injera bread. Just washed my hands in the sink and was really impressed with the whole experience. Once we got into it, it was kind of second nature. I doubt that would be the case with my Ethiopian friend’s first time here with with utensils.

I don’t know about y’all, but I hold food with fork in left hand, cut with right, then switch for consumption (fork back to right.) I might pay with my soul; but that’s how I chow.

First time I looked an oshibori in the eye, I thought “how nice!” Little wood platform with and adorable warm, wet towel on it.

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102

And the “New York Lean” while eating a slice as you walk down the street.

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103

Me neither. I think we only have one Ethiopian place in the area. And that only has injeera - no western cutlery. Went once. Whilst most places in Chinatown supply a fork, a couple only have chopsticks. I can get by there but I am not at all adept and there almost as much rice left scattered across the table (and down my clothes) as has gone in my mouth.

I hadnt really considered this until medgirl’s thread but I think conforming with a majority culture must play a significant part. In the UK, most customers at most South Asian restaurants are obviously Anglos. When I think about it, I have noticed that South Asian customers usually also use a knife and fork. But, we used to go to a place where most customers were South Asian and there was a much greater incidence of folk using their fingers to eat.

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104

Chopsticks is one of few things I can do pretty well with both hands, but I tend to using my right hand.

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105

I am a chopsticks mess–more food on me than in me. (Maybe that’s why I found the pizza with chopsticks so fascinating?)

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106

A similar sort of weirdness here. I write and hold a kitchen knife with my right. But I do things like opening a jar or catching something with my left. In my early teens, I used to play cricket (yes, I know its a game incomprehensible to anyone not with a Commonwealth heritage and not necessarily even then). I would bat as a right hander but bowl with my left.

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107

I need to know more about this. Did he pick up the entire slice with the chopsticks and take bites from it? Or was he able to cut the pizza with chopsticks somehow?

108

The entire slice. As I said, it was fascinating. I wish I was less polite and had really studied how he did it.

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109

I’m gonna try this. I already eat cheetos and popcorn with chopsticks sometimes. Why not pizza?

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110

You’ll have to let us know how you do with that. Given my (lack of) chopsticks dexterity, I’ll stick to the American approach to pizza.

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111

I’ve done this before. And sometimes still do.

It has be Neapolitan slice, or a typical floppy NY slice. Works well with a St. Louis and New Haven slices.

Deep dish Chicago style pizzas do not work. Forget about Detroit style as well.

Best to use the chopsticks to pick up the pointed end, fold it towards the crust end, then pick up the “folded” pizza with the choptsticks.

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112

Noted. I was thinking that matzohpizza would be the easiest, as it doesn’t flop.

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113

Yes, it was certainly Neapolitan. I can’t recall which toppings were on the slices he chose, but I don’t recall them causing any mess.

114

I am left handed and find pens that leave my hands and papers smudge free.

We apparently had more than usual lefties in my medical school class, and we all raced for the left handed seats in the lecture halls with stadium seating.

A month or so ago I had lamb loin chops at a place in Napa, and the waiter wondered if I had gotten my order, because my utensils were clean. I j looked at him, confused for a moment then said “was I supposed to use utensils?”. They were a little bigger than a half dollar ( remember those?). The next time we acknowledged I would not, and they brought me a wet cloth after.

My husband (from Jamaica) insisted our kids did some craziness with switching hands to cut things. I had never heard of such a thing .

We went to Catholic school in the sixties and my sister and I remained lefties, except for softball and scissors.

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115

I think both types are equally “easy”.

Never tried with matzohpizza, but STL style cracker pizza was not a problem.

116

Pretty sure those are two terms for the same thing.

117

I should reiterate that the injera wasn’t the highlight so much as the whole meal. Injera was a vehicle, the utensil , so to speak. If you try injera thinking “bread” you’ll be disappointed, no doubt. It’s a scoop that tastes good with the scoopables, IMO. Nothing to write home about on its own.

118

I love injera.

I could eat it as-is.

Well, heck, in fact I do.

All the time.

119

Also @John - my son has eaten Cheetos with his chopsticks for at least the last 10 years. Even if I’m serving them with hamburgers, he’ll get up and get his chopsticks.

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120

I guess we read the same thing differently.

I took this as @medgirl’s mom not wanting her to be perceived negatively by classmates, friends, family — “snobbish” is a popular Indian term, for “you think you’re better than the rest of us”. Different than “unacceptable”.

Also, wanting her to be able to eat local food the local way because they were moving back and it was now home — just as one is expected to eat with cutlery when moving to the west.

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