The ways we eat food
Our ways of eating, in terms of the position, the furniture and the way we pick up our food, vary greatly. Eating with our hands is the oldest and still most widespread method. The use of chopsticks is an age-old tradition that originated in China and is thought to date back to the Shang dynasty (16th - 11th centuries BCE). In comparison, the use of knives and forks is a relatively recent practice, having prevailed in the West only since the 18th century.
© Keystone / Amr Nabil - Muslim family sharing a meal before sunrise during Ramadan, Cairo, Egypt, July 2015
A long learning process in Europe
In Europe, the use of a table and chairs at mealtimes dates back to the first millennium CE, whereas the use of cutlery is much more recent and required a long learning process. In the Middle Ages, our ancestors still ate with their hands, sharing a communal spoon and knife placed on the table. The knife had a sharp point, used to spear pieces of food and lift them from a serving dish. Trenchers, usually slices of stale bread, were used as plates. A meal was a collective act, a moment of sharing of both food and the cutlery and crockery too, an echo of Christian communion.
From the 14th century, guests brought their own knives with them. Forks, initially with two tines, probably originated in the Byzantine Empire and were introduced into Italy in the 11th century. However, they only really began to be used, essentially by the upper classes, from the 15th century. Despite much reluctance, forks eventually became established throughout Europe in the 18th century, at least among the wealthy. Historians put forward different reasons for why it took so long. Some suggest that the Church was opposed to forks, advocating that gifts from God should be touched with your fingers. Also, since courtesans quickly adopted the use of forks, the utensil was tainted with a bad reputation.
It was only during the 18th century that individual cutlery was used and the knife, spoon and fork framed the plate of each diner. The collective meal of medieval times evolved into a resolutely individualistic act during the Age of Enlightenment. Cutlery became more specialised in the 19th century, with such utensils as fish knives and snail forks. Eating with your hands was then no longer acceptable.
© Keystone / Photoshot / Liu Jie - Chinese New Year banquet on one of the old streets of Qionglai, China 4 February 2016
Cultural diversity
Eating with your hands, the original method of holding food, is still the most widespread practice. Taking food directly with our hands, whether from serving dishes or individual plates, has the advantage of allowing us to touch it and feel its texture. Most Burmese still eat with their right hand. Before and after the meal, they rinse their hands with cold water and, sometimes, soap. In India too, it is unthinkable to eat with your left hand as it is considered unclean. It is also forbidden in Muslim countries, as the left hand is associated with the ‘impure’ act of cleaning oneself after having used the toilet.
The use of chopsticks mainly concerns East Asia. The practice is thought to have started under the Shang dynasty (16th - 11th centuries BCE) in China, then spread across the continent. This way of eating required food be cut into small pieces beforehand in the kitchen. Fish were sometimes served whole, but were cooked in such a way as to ensure the flesh was tender enough to be eaten with chopsticks. Today, Asians pick food from communal plates and sample several dishes at the same time.
In Japan, the use of chopsticks is subject to rules of appropriateness linked to the notion of impurity. In order to avoid physical contact with a foreign body, chopsticks for individual use must not touch shared food. Any food served on a communal plate is taken using a spoon or another pair of chopsticks. Some actions are prohibited at the table. Leaving chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice, for examples, is frowned upon, as this is how food is offered to the deceased, shortly after their death, to sustain them on their journey to the afterlife. Passing food from one pair of chopsticks to another is also reserved for the funeral ritual and doing so in any other situation, especially during a meal, would be a real social faux pas.
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