# Chopsticks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511 "2004-05-22T12:19:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/21 "2004-05-23T10:38:42Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > You’d be wrong. They(we) can’t, anymore than a right-handed Brit who eats his steak the way you do can eat his dessert with a spoon in his left hand. > > And I can’t cut things out left-handed with scissors, either. I’m right handed. Eh… I think right-handed would be able to do that. I know I can do that, but then it may be the way I was taught to cut meat. I was imitating my aunt, who is left-handed. Now cutting with the right hand just seems and feels wrong, the left hand is easier for me. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/22 "2004-05-23T11:16:38Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > So is this true right handers? You guys cannot cut meat with a knife in your left hand very well?? > > I find it strange because I can easily cut meat with my right hand despite being a lefty. You have been eating that way for many years I assume. If I was to sit down and try cutting with my left hand it’d be the first time in my life so I’d be at a distinct disadvantage. > [@](#): > > And what about the desert? The “primary” utensil always goes in my left hand. When I’m eating a dessert with a spoon I have the spoon in my left hand. I think this phrase may have something to do with a cultural misunderstanding of what type of dessert we are talking about. I can eat desert or soup or cereal with either hand (after all, I use my left for the fork). I use my right due to convention. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/23 "2004-05-23T12:13:19Z")
Lamia mentioned salad. Yes! It turns out that salad is much easier to eat with chopsticks than a fork: you can grab and eat whatever you please. Chopsticks, it would seem, are generally regarded as being _less_ barbaric than forks and knives. Unless it’s a steak or a half chicken, I genrally prefer to use _hashi_. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/24 "2004-05-23T20:40:52Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > So is this true right handers? You guys cannot cut meat with a knife in your left hand very well?? Although I kid about the whole shuffling thing, I do my own sort of shuffle. I always keep the fork in my right hand, knife in the left, and hold my food with my right, cut with my left, and eat with my right, no changing utensils. My shuffle comes at the beginning of the meal when I take the fork from the left side of the plate and move it to the right, and the knife from the right side and move it to the left. (oh, and I am right handed, but one of those weirdos that wears my watch on my right hand, also.) As I write all this, I’m becoming more and more convinced that chopsticks are better. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/25 "2004-05-23T21:32:06Z")
Well chopsticks have certain advantages. There are a lot of asian noodle dishes that I could eat very easily with chopsticks but in America they are served with a spoon or fork and it is extremely difficult. But I’m a big fan of large slaps of beef, fish, chicken et cetra so a fork and knife is pretty essential for that. And soups you cannot really use chopsticks, and to drink it up like you would beverage is barbaric! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/26 "2004-05-23T22:57:34Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > And soups you cannot really use chopsticks, and to drink it up like you would beverage is barbaric! Well, it doesn’t work for thick soups like chowder, but what’s the problem of just drinking straight from the bowl for thin soups? No worse than drinking water from a cup. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/27 "2004-05-23T23:07:45Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, I can eat with chopsticks pretty much as fast as with a fork and spoon, so I would hesitate to call those utensils superior to a fork and spoon. That said, I can think of at least one case in which chopsticks are far superior. I find that any sort of Asian noodle soup (ramen, pho, etc.) is much easier to each with chopsticks that with Western utensils. Chopsticks are better at handling the noodles than a fork or a spoon. > > But, no, chopsticks are not a novelty. Considering that around two billion people use them worldwide, it’d be a bit silly to dismiss them as such. Being in the US I habitually use the standard utensils, but … I used to be able to pick up a single grain of rice with chopsticks so they are not at all as awkward as those who have never learned them would believe. Soup is a little difficult but I think you get a small ladle for that. And besides the only sensible way to handle soup is to drink it just as with other liquids. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/28 "2004-05-23T23:38:39Z")
What about a thick soup? Or stews? Exactly. As far as single grains of rice go, when using chopsticks back in my Army travelling days I’d pick up the rice in clumps myself, grain-by-grain eating would take a bit long. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/29 "2004-05-24T00:27:47Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > What about a thick soup? Or stews? Exactly. Well, you chopstick the solids and drink the liquid. If it’s too thick to dring then it should be chopstickable. > [@](#): > > As far as single grains of rice go, when using chopsticks back in my Army travelling days I’d pick up the rice in clumps myself, grain-by-grain eating would take a bit long. Ah you jest, eh? The single grain stunt was just showing off. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/30 "2004-05-24T02:52:21Z")
What about a shrimp bisque? I can guarantee you that consistency wise, it is just bad form to drink it, it would be like trying to drink a bowl of ice cream (which also poses an interesting problem for chopsticks!) and chopsticks would pass through it without bringing much food to your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/31 "2004-05-24T03:09:57Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > What about a shrimp bisque? I can guarantee you that consistency wise, it is just bad form to drink it, it would be like trying to drink a bowl of ice cream (which also poses an interesting problem for chopsticks!) and chopsticks would pass through it without bringing much food to your mouth. I don’t like shrimp bisque and if it’s difficult to eat with chopsticks, so what? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/32 "2004-05-24T03:25:20Z")
Everyone in Asia uses a spoon _too_! Typical Chinese place setting is a bowl, spoon and chopsticks. Some of the above posts implies that chopstick users don’t have spoons as well, which is not the case. Substitute “fork” for “chopsticks” in some of the above soup examples. I use chopsticks a lot. Great for cooking bacon. If you want to test your ability, pick up two shelled peanuts at a time (skill) or eat an entire chicken leg (strength). ---
**Author:** ![RindaRinda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@RindaRinda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RindaRinda)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/33 "2004-05-24T03:38:12Z")
One big slab of meat that is easier to eat with chopsticks is fish. For one thing, you can pick out the bones delicately with chopsticks without using your fingers. Also, it’s easy to pick off pieces of fish, as the meat is very soft. I once ate a steak with chopsticks by picking up the entire thing and gnawing on it. I was at home, mind. Barbaric eating can be quite fun sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![RindaRinda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@RindaRinda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RindaRinda)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/34 "2004-05-24T03:41:52Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > What about a shrimp bisque? You eat Western food with Western utensils, and Asian food with Asian utensils. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/35 "2004-05-24T04:25:14Z")
I’m just as adept with chopsticks as I am with a knife a fork. I love using chopsticks. I use chopsticks when the food is in bite size chunks. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/36 "2004-05-24T14:41:49Z")
I use chopsticks fairly often. It has given me the chance to teach my daughter the vocabulary word _affectation_. And then there is the utensil that combines the worst aspects of the spoon and fork. Yes, the **spork**. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/37 "2004-05-24T15:03:16Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I point out that many Americans do the dinner-table shuffle: hold the food with the fork in the left hand, cut it with the knife in the right, then pull out the fork, switch it to the right , pick up the morsel, and put it in your mouth, then repeat as necessary. Talk about inefficient. Tell me about it. I’m a proud American, but this fork-switching thing is just crazy. As a kid I just refused to do it because it just seemed so stupid to me. Many years later I discovered that I was eating the European way. (And, of course, I’m of an age now that even if I try to cut with my fork in my left hand and my knife in my right, I can’t do it – and I’m a right-hander!). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/38 "2004-05-24T15:06:35Z")
> [@dewizeowl](#): > > I have also heard that when using chop stichs, the food tastes better. That the bamboo, wood or ceramic doesn’t leave a metallic taste like a metal spoon or fork. I don’t necessarily see it, but thought I would throw that out. This is exactly the case. The eating utensil is a critical element of the cuisine, whatever cuisine it is. Food traditions were developed in conjunction with the tools that were available. Therefore, in order to experience the food properly, you have to eat with the correct utensil. That means chopsticks for East Asian food and bare hands for Indian food. Indian food tastes awful when you use a fork. That metallic taste. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/39 "2004-05-24T15:22:16Z")
So how does fried rice fit into the chopsticks equation? The frying usually dries it out so it doesn’t stick together in nice balls like plain rice. So I have the hardest time eating it with chopsticks. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511/40 "2004-05-24T15:34:28Z")
Good question, **hlanelee**! I asked basically the same question here once before- [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=132133&highlight=Chopsticks](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=132133&highlight=Chopsticks) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chopsticks/246511.md?page=3)