# In a standard silverware set, what is the point of the smaller forks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 19, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274 "2021-04-19T00:40:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/21 "2021-04-19T11:57:11Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Sometimes I will pick up a smaller fork and go back for the larger one, but in the almost 45 years of my life, I have never thought that the fork I have is just too damn big and need one of the smaller ones. The issue is decorum and not utility. In the end, it’s really just a matter of personal taste as to what you want to use. I don’t have special soup spoons as part of my silverware at home. Both my brother and SiL use a tablespoon for soup. I always use a teaspoon, which annoys my brother because, according to him, “You can hardly get any soup on the thing.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/22 "2021-04-19T12:03:57Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > In the end, it’s really just a matter of personal taste as to what you want to use. Indeed. My place is always set to include chopsticks. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/23 "2021-04-19T12:41:26Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I always use a teaspoon, which annoys my brother because, according to him, “You can hardly get any soup on the thing.” I’m the same - I don’t ever use a tablespoon for eating anything if given a choice. It feels too big/clumsy. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/24 "2021-04-19T12:54:07Z")
The following is what I’ve always thought, though I could be wrong, of course. There are two different types of foods which are eaten with forks, and they are used different ways. One type is “solid” food, e.g. meat, where one piece is cut with a knife and pronged with the fork, and the food is taken off the fork with the mouth. The other is smaller or looser food, e.g. rice or mashed potatoes, which is scooped up with the fork, and which the fork itself along with the food is inserted into the mouth and then removed. It makes sense ot me that the first type above is meant to be eaten with the larger fork and the second type with the smaller one. The larger forks are generally longer but are also narrower IME, and this is because the surface area of the fork is irrelevant. By contrast, the smaller forks are shorter but wider, and this makes it easier to put more of the surface area into the mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/25 "2021-04-19T14:46:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Indeed. My place is always set to include chopsticks. God, no! I’d starve to death if I had to use chopsticks! LOL I’m like Black Mamba (Uma Thurman) in “Kill Bill 2” when she tried to eat a bowl of rice with chopsticks, got frustrated, and gave up. Pai Mei: _"If you want to eat like a dog , you can live and sleep outside like a dog. If you want to live and sleep like a human, pick up those sticks!_ ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/26 "2021-04-19T14:50:07Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > > [@kayaker](#): > > > > Indeed. My place is always set to include chopsticks. > > I’m like Black Mamba (Uma Thurman) in “Kill Bill 2” when she tried to eat a bowl of rice with chopsticks, got frustrated, and gave up. I remember having that trouble, but it was because I was eating the usual fried rice at my local Chinese place instead of sticky rice that winds up in clumps. Once I realized that, I would just eat the fried rice with a spoon or fork. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/27 "2021-04-19T14:56:33Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > God, no! I’d starve to death if I had to use chopsticks! Heh. I’ve used chopsticks preferentially since I was a teenager. I can eat a serving of peas using my chopsticks as quickly as my gf can using a spoon. 🥢 ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/28 "2021-04-19T16:45:23Z")
I grew up in a household where formal dinners were a Big Deal, so I’ve had the correct location and usage for fish forks, salad forks, dinner forks and other tableware drilled into me since I was a wee tot. Imagine my mom’s horror when I married an Indian man and she came over one day when we were having curry and we all ate with our bare hands and chapatis and naan. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/29 "2021-04-19T16:54:15Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Take it up with the manufacturers. The idea is that in a formal place setting, you can clear the table of the used salad plate and salad fork, and everyone still has a clean fork for the dinner course. True, but as I learned on the QE2 in 1980 (whose dinners included a massive set of silverware) truly formal dinners involve the waiters providing new silverware just before the course for which it is needed. This from someone for whom all the silverware wasn’t formal enough. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/30 "2021-04-19T17:44:32Z")
The smaller forks are intended for smaller plates/dishes. With the flatware and dishes we have, the dinner forks tend to fall out or off of the smaller dishes. It’s less of a problem if you are eating at a table with a proper place setting, but more so for informal situations where you might be sitting on a couch and eating salad from a small bowl, say. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/31 "2021-04-19T17:52:17Z")
I like to use the big fork at dinner, and little fork for lunch. I do use a smaller plate for lunch, so maybe that’s why. Anyway, it’s nice having 16 forks, and I enjoy the variety. I only wish I had 16 knives. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/32 "2021-04-19T17:58:50Z")
Anyone else use it as a children’s fork? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/33 "2021-04-19T18:13:28Z")
I have one designated “soup spoon” for me, which is not actually a soup spoon, but I guess what is called a sugar spoon,. It’s scalloped and the bowl is deeper and a tad wider than a teaspoon, but about the same length, so it holds more volume than a teaspoon, but less than a tablespoon. For me, a teaspoon feels way too small for soup, and a tablespoon is a little bit too shallow for my tastes. Actually, let me see what amount of liquid they hold. _ **runs off** _ OK, our teaspoon holds 4g of water, so 4 mL, our tablespoon holds 8 mL, and the scalloped sugar spoon holds a hair over 7mL. Maybe we have small tablespoons or something, as they should be, at least as a unit of measurement, 15 mL. But these tablespoons are about the same size as any tablespoon I’ve regularly used. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/34 "2021-04-19T18:18:28Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Maybe we have small tablespoons or something, as they should be, at least as a unit of measurement, 15 mL. But these tablespoons are about the same size as any tablespoon I’ve regularly used. By that measure (word play intended), your teaspoon should be 5 ml, as a standard cooking tablespoon is 3 teaspoons or 15 ml. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/35 "2021-04-19T18:27:59Z")
One day, when I was feeling extremely anal, I took all my volume measuring things, and checked to see that they were consistent. And except for one cheap set of measuring spoons, which I discarded, they were. I also measured the volume of my tableware “teaspoons” and “tablespoons”, just for kicks. Turns out our regular teaspoons are close enough to a measured teaspoon as makes no difference. But the tablespoon is a LOT smaller than a measuring spoon tablespoon. I forget whether it’s 1.5 teaspoons or 2 teaspoons, but it’s not a spoon I will ever use to measure stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/36 "2021-04-19T18:33:22Z")
That is correct. So I got curious and tried a few teaspoons we have (we have all sorts of sets of spoons from many years gone by jumbled together), and there is quite a range. I got 3.8 mL, 4.3 mL, 5.4 mL, and 6.3 mL for spoons that would be called “teaspoons.” I never really quite noticed the variance. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/37 "2021-04-19T18:55:08Z")
I inherited two sets of silver, neither complete, but when combined, make service for eight, from salad, through soup, to dessert, including separate butter knives for everyone. I posted once if it’s OK to mix silver patterns, and everyone enthusiastically agreed that it is. As vegetarians, we have no use for the fish forks, but we have so far, set the table with salad fork, dinner fork, table spoon, soup spoon, dinner knife, and butter knife. We brought the dessert forks and teaspoons or demitasse spoons to the table as people asked for dessert, coffee, or tea. We have to mix China patterns to come up with enough plates and bowls for everyone, and use a wooden salad bowl I got at Goodwill, but it works. FWIW, two years ago, I sprung for a set of stainless steel flatware for my Passover dishes that I inherited; in previous years, my Passover dishes were Chinet. Anyway, I bought the salad forks, dinner forks-- everything. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/38 "2021-04-19T21:46:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > For me, a teaspoon feels way too small for soup, and a tablespoon is a little bit too shallow for my tastes. Same here; I finally went shopping one time and found what I consider a decent soup spoon. It’s about the same size as a tablespoon, but deeper so it will hold a decent amount of liquid (or stew, or chili). ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/39 "2021-04-19T22:03:45Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > The issue is decorum and not utility. I very respectfully disagree. As I said earlier, the salad fork is designed to be better at cutting vegetables (wider, shorter tines), and the dinner fork is designed for spearing and scooping. It really is a utility issue. That said, if someone uses a dinner fork to cut an overly-large chunk of vegetable in a salad even though a salad fork would do so more easily, nobody’s going to stop him. They’ll probably figure he doesn’t know any better. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274/40 "2021-04-19T22:09:45Z")
I’ve been searching for a particular silverplate pattern to add to the 3 dinner forks and 4 soup/gumbo spoons I inherited. I got a scuffed up rosewood silver chest with like 4 partial sets of silver plate. Plenty of other forks, teaspoons, dessert forks, knives and even a butter knife for each set. I’ve been paying them more attention and the gumbo spoon is my favoritist utensil. It holds a mouthful and is easy to slurp from, without slopping it on myself. Almost bought a collection of my preferred pattern online until I noticed their set was described as Grille/Viande forks and knives. Apparently these were a short lived offering. Longer in the handle with shorter tines. Might be for the fish course. Little forks I mostly used them to set the kids table, too small for adult dinners imo. I call em Dessert forks, mine are too plain and simple to be much use on a salad. I can’t see a fork doing much on a cuke slice. And it’s the grip, not enough to hold onto. I should look at em again though, the vintage ones may have something more to offer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-standard-silverware-set-what-is-the-point-of-the-smaller-forks/940274.md?page=3)