# People who use a knife and fork American style: How did it happen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 4, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400 "2015-12-04T13:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/41 "2015-12-05T01:35:43Z")
Learned American style as a kid, then developed European (ie “civilized”) style as I grew older and travelled more. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/42 "2015-12-05T02:04:50Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > I’d say that’s a safe assumption. Things can get pretty [complicated](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/12_Course_Table_Setting.jpg). What is that weird thing in the middle of the forks? I’ve eaten in some fairly upscale places, including a Michelin-starred restaurant and never seen anything like it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/43 "2015-12-05T02:12:54Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I think we should schedule a meeting at the UN for consensus, right after we solve the “which way does the toilet paper go on the roll” thing. Good Lord, what an international can of annelids! My parents, and parents I have been unfortunate to observe, were more concerned with the rug rat closing his or her mouth. Best $400 I ever spent. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/44 "2015-12-05T02:22:07Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > What is that weird thing in the middle of the forks? I’ve eaten in some fairly upscale places, including a Michelin-starred restaurant and never seen anything like it. I believe that’s a [crab fork](http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/update-international/lf-8/p1498100.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/45 "2015-12-05T02:22:59Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > What is that weird thing in the middle of the forks? I’ve eaten in some fairly upscale places, including a Michelin-starred restaurant and never seen anything like it. [Lobster fork](http://www.inthehaus.co.uk/products/wt3320_set_of_4_lobster_forks.php). Edit: Ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/46 "2015-12-05T04:23:46Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > So, for the people who do eat American style, did someone at some point in your childhood sit down and have a conversation about utensil usage? Yes, it was definitely discussed. We were told that only savages who were concerned with cramming food into their maws as quickly as possible held silverware in both hands at all times. Given they weren’t raising savages, we better not be noticed doing that ourselves. I’m left-handed, by the way, and until the last thread never heard that as an excuse for not switching. Everyone I know switches, so that obviously includes my fellow lefties. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/47 "2015-12-05T14:55:16Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > I guess my supposition is that, absent any specific education, almost everyone should default to non-switching … I’m not sure why that would be the default. It seems to me that the default would normally be to use one’s dominant hand for whichever task required the most dexterity at any given moment. I have no conscious memory of learning how to use a knife and fork, but I can assure you that the American style seems every bit as natural and right to those of us who grew up with it. Besides, as other people have pointed out, people typically learn to use a fork _years_ before they learn to use a knife. At what point are European kids taught to use the fork with their non-dominant hand? Is it something they’re taught to do from the time when they’re toddlers, or are they allowed to eat with their dominant hand right up to the point when they learn how to use a knife? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/48 "2015-12-05T15:04:26Z")
Why do Europeans hold cigarettes differently than Americans? Do Canadians eat like Europeans? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/49 "2015-12-05T15:09:17Z")
At least you all had plates and silverware. _Luxury_. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/50 "2015-12-05T15:34:21Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why do Europeans hold cigarettes differently than Americans? > Do Canadians eat like Europeans? Canadian here and I eat in the European way. I do flip my fork around if eating things that cannot balance on the back of a fork (peas, non-sticky rice, etc). This is the way I was taught by my parents. Whenever I complained about using proper table manners my dad would regale me with stories of eating a Royal Roads Military College and having to square his corners at meal time (cut one bite, lay down knife, with fork in right hand spear or scoop food as appropriate, bring fork straight up to the level of your mouth, bring food along the horizontal plane until it is in your mouth, reverse actions with fork, place fork down, chew, repeat). ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/51 "2015-12-06T00:31:52Z")
I eat my peas with honey I’ve done it all my life It makes the peas taste funny But it keeps them on the knife Good grief, I may use my fork “European Style”, but the rest sounds stupid. ---
**Author:** ![race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/race_to_the_bottom)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/52 "2015-12-06T01:59:18Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Today I learned that that’s an American thing. > > I thought all civilized people are like that. Me too. Have you also noticed that the Brits don’t speak English very well? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/53 "2015-12-06T02:14:28Z")
> [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](#): > > Me too. Have you also noticed that the Brits don’t speak English very well? Sadly, they invented a language they cannot speak. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/54 "2015-12-06T23:05:11Z")
I eat American-style. No memory whatsoever of actually being taught to do so, but I knew it was the “correct” way. Learned about the European way of eating in my teens or early twenties (probably read about it somewhere), but never saw any reason to change. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/55 "2015-12-07T16:47:11Z")
After reading the various responses here, I wonder if I’m talking about the same thing as the OP. When eating something that needs to be cut, I hold the knife in my dominant hand and raise the fork to my gaping maw with the other, not put the knife down so I can then respear the meat with the fork with my right(dominant) hand. It sounds like this is what some people are talking about(?). I usually end up switching in the sense that, lets say I’ve just eaten a bit of meat so the fork is to my left. It may or may not actually still be in my hand, but if is and I need to scoop up something tricky, I’ll grab the fork with my right hand. I suppose that does seem kind of foolish if you weren’t raised that way. On the other hand, I cannot see a reasonable explanation for piling the food on the back of a utensil that is clearly created to spear and / or scoop. Why use a fork at all if you aren’t going to take at advantage of it’s forkiness? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/56 "2015-12-07T18:13:37Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > On the other hand, I cannot see a reasonable explanation for piling the food on the back of a utensil that is clearly created to spear and / or scoop. Why use a fork at all if you aren’t going to take at advantage of it’s forkiness? Perhaps the tines were originally flat. But then, these folks are [holding a fork](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbfwJ1rNhog) like normal people. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/57 "2015-12-10T00:17:47Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I hold the knife in my dominant hand and raise the fork to my gaping maw with the other, not put the knife down so I can then respear the meat with the fork with my right(dominant) hand. Why would you need to respear it? It’s already attached to the fork, so I just switch hands and use my right hand to lift it to my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/58 "2015-12-10T01:01:49Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Why would you need to respear it? It’s already attached to the fork, so I just switch hands and use my right hand to lift it to my mouth. Why would you need to switch? It’s already attached to your left hand. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/59 "2015-12-10T02:09:13Z")
I noticed tonight that I hold the fork in my left hand, knife in my left, eat the meat (how do you think you will get your pudding if you don’t eat your meat? Sorry, I digress) with my left hand, and switch the fork to my right to eat salad or peas. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400/60 "2015-12-10T02:26:21Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Seriously…is the rest of the world going to accuse us of shoveling food in our gullets as quickly and copiously as possible, or accuse us of eating too inefficiently? They need to get their accusations straight! Definitely; I had thought that we were going for efficiency, not for speed… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-use-a-knife-and-fork-american-style-how-did-it-happen/739400.md?page=4)