Table utensils and cutlery and their usage. What are the rules of cutlery using?

Different tableware for different moments. Choosing tableware, we often don’t think what utensils use for party dinner. When guests will come it will be necessary to lay the table and it is simply impossible to do it without such utensils. And we have no desire to look foolish and to serve the table with ugly spoons, forks and knives.

Moreover the worst is not to know where “to stick” them. As this never happen to you we offer you short description of all tableware. Also give you some rules of their usage —and what utensils need for what and how to use them.

Different parameters of choice of utensils.

There are some parameters of a choice of utensils. First, it is material and its quality. Plastic, a tree, aluminum, stainless steel, cupronickel, and also table silver are considered the most widespread. Three last options are most often used when laying tables on receptions and banquets. Material also has to be hygienic because  with food it gets directly to our organism. The second parameter of a choice is taking into account a design. Utensils shouldn’t be too bright and distract attention. According to experts, beauty, refinement and restraint are three properties which tableware has to have. Of course, it not the rule, and everyone chooses itself that approaches to this or that situation (kitchen, table furniture, an event, etc.). The only requirement is that the design didn’t gather dirt on their surface and leftovers. And at last, it is very important practicality and universality of use.

Types of devices

Distinguish two types of tableware: the main which is used during the meal, and also auxiliary which is  for collective use (for example to take food from the main dish in plate).

Cutlers of the main group:

1. Snack utensils which are a fork and a knife. It is given to cold dishes and snack and also to some hot dishes (pancakes, fried eggs). Length of a knife is approximately equal to diameter of a snack plate.

2. Fish utensils which also consist of a knife and a fork. It is served with hot fish dishes. It differs from the snack that the knife slightly reminds a shovel and a fork is with shortish teeth.

3. Tableware is a fork, a spoon and a knife. By means of it, it is possible to eat the first and second hot dishes. Length of a knife is approximately equal to diameter of a table plate. The fork and a spoon are a little shorter.

4. Dessert utensils. It consists of a special spoon, a fork and a knife for sweet dishes. Such knife is more narrow than snack one. The tip is sharp and a fork has only three teeth. These two components of this utensil allow us to use it for cheese, pie Charlotte. It is possible to eat with a spoon dishes which don’t need to be cut.

5. The fruit utensil also consists of a knife and a fork which differ from dessert on. They are smaller and a fork has two teeth. It is interesting that both details are with the identical handle.

6. Chopsticks are adaptation which came to Slavic cookery from East countries. They are served to dishes of  Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese cuisine, thus usual tableware shouldn’t be taking away.

7. Spoons. Tiny spoon is for coffee and one of bigger size is for tea. Long spoon  is for cold drinks (for example, tea).

Auxiliary utensils are:

1. A knife for oil with the wide, bent by a semi-arch edge. It is put on the right side of a bread plate.

2. A knife fork is  a crescent form with teeth on the end. It’s given for cutting a cheese.

3. A knife for cutting lemons, and also a fork for making slices of fruit (with two sharp teeth).

4. Cutlers for fish and seafood: a two teeth herring fork, a fork for a sprat (the basis in the form of a shovel with 5 teeth), a fork and a crabs, shrimps, crayfish knife (with two teeth on the end), an oysters fork, mussels and cold fish cocktails (three teeth, left very powerful for separation of pulp from a body of sea animals).

5. A spoon for salt with a diameter no more than 1 cm.

6. The spoon for salad, sometimes with three teeth on the end, is a little more, than spoon for the mail dish.

7. Ladles for pouring of soups, sweet dishes and milk (happen different sizes).

8. Nippers: big (for flour confectionery), small (for sugar, fruit jelly, chocolate, a zephyr), for a splitting of nuts (V-shaped, very strong), for ice (an U-shaped bracket with two sharp shovels), for an asparagus (often moves with a special lattice for an asparagus).

9. Scissors for grapes for cutting of berries from a cluster.

10. Shovels: caviar (has a form of “a flat scoop”), rectangular (for meat and vegetable dishes), figured with holes (for fish dishes), figured big (for confectionery), figured small (for paste).