I’ve lived in the US for over 10 years across a couple of stints and thought I had got used to all the strange differences (from the UK) in eating and dining habits. Then I married an American. One morning I looked over the breakfast table in shock and horror at the sight of my wife picking up bacon with her fingers. She informed me that everyone does that. Sure enough, an informal survey of her extended family supported that. But is it truly an all-America thing? Do y’all (I’m learning the lingo) eat bacon with your fingers?
Then Mrs. amarone informed me that I am the only person she has ever met who eats fries with a fork. Well, I was the only person until she met my parents, who not only eat fries with a knife and fork, but also burgers and even baby-back ribs. If I am unfortunate enough to end up eating in McBurger King, I will certainly eat the fries and everything else with my fingers. But in a proper restaurant I could not contemplate using my fingers for fries unless the rest of the meal was also finger food. Combining it with another Americanism and you would presumably eat steak and fries as follows:
[ul]
[li]pick up knife and fork[/li][li]cut a piece of steak[/li][li]put down knife, transfer fork to other hand, eat piece of steak[/li][li]put down fork[/li][li]pick up some fries and eat[/li][li]repeat[/li][/ul]
I would also hope to see “wipe grease/salt off fingers”, but that’s probably optimistic.
So, do you eat fries with your fingers under all circumstances?
I don’t believe I ever have or ever will eat fries or bacon with knife and fork, or even just fork. Fries are just finger food. Bacon (assuming it’s “streaky” bacon) will not be cut with a knife, it will crumble, and if you poke it with a fork, again, it will crumble.
If I’m eating steak or something else that needs to be cut up with a knife, I’ll cut the whole thing up at once, then swap utensils and eat with the fork in my right hand. If it’s an enchilada or something else that can be cut with a fork, I’ll cut off one bite at a time. If I’m eating steak and fries (usually I don’t order fries with steak, I’ll have another side dish), yes, I do fork a piece of steak, put down my fork and pick up a fry with my fingers, dip it in ketchup, and eat it. I don’t wipe the grease/salt off my fingers, because if the fries are THAT greasy, I will just not eat them after the first bite.
Ribs are meant to be eaten with the fingers. One is allowed to slice a slab of ribs with a knife and fork, but after that, one is supposed to pick up the individual ribs and eat the meat off the bone. REAL barbecue is supposed to be messy. I always try to have a kitchen or hand towel handy when eating barbecue.
I have no problem. I have never eaten bacon with my fingers. And yes, I do mean streaky bacon. Mind you, I can also eat peas with the fork curved side up with no problem.
Ideally, I don’t. But if I do end up with that sort of food in a knife-and-fork restaurant, I will generally eat both the burger and fries with my fingers. My issue is not about eating fries with your fingers per se, but eating with your fingers when there is other food on the plate that is distinctly not finger-food. Hence my question in the OP as to whether they are always finger-food.
Yes. Always. I also frequently wipe my hands on a napkin. Or on my dress or the tablecloth or something. Or if there’s a dog handy I let it lick the grease from my fingers periodically before I continue eating.
We Americans are not *completely * uncouth, you know.
If the bacon is wrapped around a piece of chicken, for instance, maybe with some seasoned cream cheese inside, then sure, I’d use a knife and fork to eat it.
Bacon alone? Fingers, always. I used to waitress on an early morning shift, served a lot of breakfasts and can’t recall seeing anyone use their fork to eat bacon. Bite of eggs with fork, bite of potatoes or pancakes with fork, bite of bacon with fingers, often they wouldn’t actually put the fork down but just shift it in the hand freeing up the index finger and thumb to grasp the bacon.
Similarly, if my fries are covered with cheese and chili then sure, fork it is. Unadulterated fries are finger food, though.
With bacon, it depends. If it’s cooked right, then it will fall apart upon being poked with a fork, so it’s finger food. If it’s limp, I’ll use a fork, though.
Normally I eat fries with my fingers, but if I am faced with, say, a mushroom burger and home fries in a good diner, I will eat it all with knife and fork. Those kind of burgers are so large and overflowing with stuff that it’s easier to cut them up and use a fork, and as long as I’m doing that I might as well spear the home fries too.
But then, I’m weird, for an American. I usually eat pizza with a knife and fork, too.
If I’m sitting down to eat, I always eat my fries and bacon with a fork. I never eath them with my fingers.
If I go to a fast-food place with the fries in a little container, I’ll eat them with my fingers. At home I eat bacon with a fork. Except when I pick it up and eat it with my fingers.
Well basically if my fingers are going to get goopy, then I’ll use a fork. But this is coming from a Canadian as you could probably guess from the poutine comment.
Fries - with my fingers. If I’m ordering something that is exclusively knife-and-fork I probably won’t ask for fries on the side anyway.
And I also cut up my steak entirely before I eat. I don’t care if it’s not sophisticated. It’s way too much trouble to eat the “proper” way, which is stupid anyway. And if someone else would cut up my steak beforehand I’d like that, too.
Well, I’m canadian, and I’ll often eat fries with a fork, especially if I’m eating something else with a fork at the same time… like steak, or chicken. (MMmmmm, swiss chalet!)
Other than that, yeah, most of the time they’re finger food. Bacon ALWAYS. (Well… bacon in a sandwich still counts as… I guess then it’s hand food, not finger food.)
Ah, British-American food-related differences. How I love this topic. My British in-laws were here recently, and it amused me to watch them eat bacon, ribs, and --best of all–a bagel with a fork. Fries with a fork I am used to from watching my husband, but the others were all new to me.
On the other hand, I am sure I look like an uncouth heathen to them eating things with my fingers, and ever worse, using my fork tines up for everything I eat with a fork. I must admit, the whole using the fork tines down looks better, and using the knife to guide the perfect bite onto it appeals to me, but I haven’t gotten the hang of it yet.
That reminds me of when Pizza Hut first came to the UK - their commercials focused on how strange Americans are in that they eat pizza with their fingers.
I eat pizza with my fingers. I bet my mum doesn’t, though - not that I’ve ever seen her eat pizza.
Fries are eaten with a fork when they are part of a horseshoe sandwich. Most often, fries appear as a side order with a sandwich of some kind, in which case they are definitely finger food. When they share a plate with fork food, they can be eaten either with a fork or with fingers.
Yes, Mr. Blue Sky, I’ve heard that rules of etiquette dictate that one cut off one bite from a piece of meat and eat that bite before cutting the next. But I’ve never understood why. Can anyone provide a rationale?
As for bacon, how do Brits normally cook theirs: limp and forkable, or crisp and crumbly?
Bacon? Always with a fork in a restaurant. Normally with a fork at the table with family. Rarely with fingers if I’m by myself, (but then, bacon is not something I would normally fix except in the context of a family breakfast).
Fries? Fingers. I simply never order fries unless the rest of the meal is to be eaten without tableware: sandwiches, generally. If I am at a place where fries come with steak or some other knife-and-fork meal, I’ll order the slaw or the baked potato instead of the fries. (Not much point in eating fries in the U.S., anyway: the McStrings are not that good, to beghin with, and real restaurants always hassle you when you try to get them to bring the mayo.)
