Favorite Eating Utensil

[Dar]

I use whatever works. I've been reduced to using a knife as a spoon and/or fork on several occasions, so it doesn't bother me at all. I can use my fingers as well. Like I said, whatever works.

 

[Xinnamin]

Well, Wyatt basically dared me to counter his argument about chopsticks being useless, since I totally disagreed with his analysis of them, so therefore I shall take up on that challenge and address the usefulness of chopsticks.

Due to my nationality I use chopsticks for just about everything, and I mean everything: rice, noodles, anything submerged in soup, beans, meats, even a variety of western foods as well. It's not just because I'm Asian that I use them, it's because they are easy and very natural to use if you know how. Chopsticks function like an extension of the fingers; in other words, you pick stuff up as if you were using your index and thumb, because it basically is an extension of the index and thumb, without getting your fingers themselves all sticky. You can't deny that fingers aren't good "utensils" for eating, and the plus side with chopsticks is that not only are they as good as fingers, but they also limit the amount of food you pick up to a sizable portion that isn't too big or messy, promoting healthier eating habits than just using a fork to stab as much food as you can stuff into your mouth. You may argue that you can't have soup with chopsticks, but soup tastes better straight from the bowl anyways. Noodles? Well I don't know about other places in the world, but in China we eat noodles by using the chopsticks to guide a portion of the noodles into our mouths, then slurp as much else as we want in. Again, you avoid overstuffing your mouth and get exactly how big a mouthful you want. Beans and other small food items? A lot of those small things a fork or whatever can't pick up any better than chopsticks can. They're versatile, feel natural, and work as well if not better than many other utensils.

 

[Kybyrian]

You say yourself that some of the smaller foods cannot be picked up well with chopsticks, and that's one of my main reasons for disproving of them. I don't deny that they can be easy to use if you are good with them, but I'd like to ask you a question. Are you able to eat a baked potato effectively with chopsticks? Do you get the juicy goodness of the soup? Can you pick up a chicken leg as effectively with these "extensions of the thumb and index finger" as well as you can with your thumb and index finger? Answer these questions for me and we'll continue.

Also, if you haven't noticed, almost nobody cares about good portions of food. We overeat all the time. There is almost nobody that isn't an absolute health freak that eats the proper portions all the time. If people want to get smaller portions of food into their mouth, which most people don't, then they would only take however much food from their fork or spoon. It becomes natural to limit the amount you get on your fork or spoon to the amount that you want. So, according to what I've just said, you can get both small and big portions on the fork and spoon. Chopsticks only allow you to get smaller portions, according to you. They may be healthy portions, but the fact of the matter is that most people don't want smaller portions. If they do they can limit it with no effort.

Chopsticks are also tedious to use at first, and most people don't get past the first stage of beginning to use them. Forks and spoons are much easier to handle and more effective. That's what I've been basing this off of, effectiveness. There are certain foods you can hardly eat all with chopsticks, and they don't really help with anything. You can eat noodles just as effectively or more effective with a spoon as you could chopsticks. You can get both the noodles and whatever else you have in the soup using a spoon, whereas the chopsticks don't allow you to grab some of the littler things, such as small bits of sliced carrot or smaller pieces of chicken. It's true that many people eat too much using the other utensils, but they also don't care. You say they also feel natural, but to most people who are just starting to use them they, in fact, feel very unnatural. Forks and spoons, as well as chopsticks, I would imagine, can all be felt as natural if you take the time to use them enough.

 

[KrazyKyuubi]

Chopsticks are fun for throwing. X3

But I like spoons. Nobody in my family ever uses them. They all eat ice cream with a fork. I admit there is a certain pleasure in stabbing into ice cream, but that neglects Mr. Spoon. You don't want to make him feel unwanted, do you? Spoons are so nice and smooth and shiny. I even have I shirt that I wrote on in Sharpie that says "I love mah spoonz!" I love that shirt.

 

[insanity76]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat ice cream with a fork Though ironically that would be my favorite utensil being as it's the one I most commonly use (except for ice cream lol)

 

[KrazyKyuubi]

It's so weird right? I asked my mom, why are you eating ice cream with a fork? And she said "Shut up. It's fun. Try it."

So I did. It's feels weird! So I said "SPOONS FTW!"

And she said, "What's FTW mean?"

I like forks second because I like spaghetti and I've tried eating it with a spoon, and it doesn't work well...

 

[Xinnamin]

When did I say chopsticks aren't good for small things? *looks back at previous post*...wow I worded that totally wrong. My bad. And I can't believe we're actually gonna debate about this but okay. Getting past that stupid mistake of mine, let's continue...

I'm gonna skip that first comment since I made such a huge wording error, but anyways, I do conceded that there are certain foods chopsticks weren't meant to handle. But that kind of liability exists with any utensil. There isn't much that works on soups besides spoons. Forks, I find, are useless for really soft things like tofu or really thin things that cannot be stabbed very easily. As for the chicken leg...who among you all eats a chicken leg with anything but your fingers? And for the record, yes, it is totally possible to eat them with chopsticks. I've done it. A lot. It's very useful for when the leg is too hot to pick up by hand.

You fail to understand how fast it can be to eat with chopsticks, which actually does allow you to stuff your mouth if you choose, but that's not what they're designed for, so I concede that point. Though I find it scary how accepting you are to overeating, but that's a whole other argument.

Effective simply means producing the intended or expected result, and chopsticks do that very well. As far as effectiveness goes, get past learning how to use them and they are actually very effective. Time it takes to learn how to use them has nothing to do with how effective they are, and anyways, they aren't as hard to use as you make them out to be. Anything other than pure animal instinct is unnatural for a beginner. Also, I don't know what kind of noodle's you're talking about, but I've NEVER seen a person eat noodles with a spoon, and if you meant fork, I actually find forks harder to use with noodles; it slips off too easily. Little things like sliced carrot and chicken, that's also easier with chopsticks for a lot of people. If you're talking about ease of using utensils then that becomes a total matter of personal preference. I suppose how natural they feel is also a matter of personal preference too, but if such is the case then both points are moot as far as this argument is concerned. My point was never that chopsticks were the best, simply that they were not either "dumb" nor the worst as you implied before.

 

[Kybyrian]

Also, I don't know what kind of noodle's you're talking about, but I've NEVER seen a person eat noodles with a spoon

Any noodles including in soup. It depends on how big the noodles are, too. Noodles like chicken noodle soup are also scooped up pretty well with a spoon. It doesn't matter how long the noodles are, they drape right over the spoon and stay in there very easily. They can be easy to eat with a spoon. You'd know if you used something aside from chopsticks.

Little things like sliced carrot and chicken, that's also easier with chopsticks for a lot of people.

How on Earth is it easy to pick up something very small with chopsticks? With a spoon all you have to do is scoop in and scoop up. I'm not really basing this completely on effectiveness. It was sort of a mistake to say that. You can't just pick up chopsticks and start using them effectively unless you've had practice with them. With a spoon and fork, you can eat pretty much any food and it's easy to pick up and start using right away. They are just a good, if not better at their job as chopsticks. I don't see how it's just as easy to stick your chopsticks down into the broth of a soup and pick out tiny pieces of chicken hidden at the bottom as it is to just scoop through with a spoon and get it all out at once.

My point was never that chopsticks were the best, simply that they were not either "dumb" nor the worst as you implied before.

I said that chopsticks were the worst because they seem to be the least useful. Knives have their own little use, and chopsticks can't come near replicating the use of a knife. Spoons work better than chopsticks in how fast you can eat your food with them and how easy it is to just pick up and use and not have any struggle with. Forks are more useful than chopsticks because you can stab large amounts of food at once and never have to worry about it falling off at any time. Of course, a skilled user of the chopsticks doesn't have to worry about that either, but somebody who has no experience with either can just pick up a fork right away and start using it as well as get more food onto it. They are not as useful as your fingers because with your fingers you can use them right away, and allow you to grasp things more effectively and, once more, in bigger portions than the chopsticks.

Not to say that chopsticks are completely useless, but I see them as really unnecessary when the other utensils perform how the chopsticks do even better. It's like the spork argument. The spork can stab smaller amounts of food and can get less food/liquid in the spoon part. Therefore, it is inferior to the fork and spoon because the fork and spoon perform better in what the spork does. The chopsticks are the same way. It does jobs that the other utensils can do better. The other utensils can do what the chopsticks do, and most of it better.

 

[VembersWind]

forks FTW! they're so useful because they can puncture things and make them easier to grab onto to eat. spoons are only good for soup, which i usually just drink the juice out of the bowl.

 

[Xinnamin]

Again, I've never seen anyone eat noodles like that with a spoon, and I can't imagine it being easy, and certainly not any easier than chopsticks...so no further comment there.

If you've never tried using chopsticks, you wouldn't know. As I've said before, I use chopsticks for just about EVERYTHING, so believe me, it is pretty easy. You keep saying practice is needed. On the contrary, you can use them with very little practice. I personally learned in 5 min, seriously, and by the end of that dinner I could use them almost as well as my parents. My friends told me similar things, so don't think it's just cus I'm weird. And you sure seem to love going on and on about soup...I say just drink out of the bowl. You get really big mouthfuls that way, and you seem to like big portions. =3

Again, a lot of personal preference here. Knives have their specialized use, yes, but everything I can eat with spoons and forks I can eat with chopsticks just as easily. Spoons fail with a lot of dishes I know of, and everything forks can do chopsticks do just as well so far as my experience is concerned. And I think really this entire argument still comes down to personal preference. :/

On a side note, do you have the feeling we're going kinda off topic. This is a "favorite" utensils thread, not "best or most useful" utensils thread...

 

[Kybyrian]

Again, I've never seen anyone eat noodles like that with a spoon, and I can't imagine it being easy, and certainly not any easier than chopsticks...so no further comment there.

It IS easy, though. All you have to do is dip the spoon in and bring it out. The noodles stay on, trust me. It's just as easy as picking up a bunch with the chopsticks. The fork is also good for noodles if you spin them around the fork. I don't know what you're saying about them slipping off too easily, because that has never happened to me unless it isn't wrapped around all the way.

If you've never tried using chopsticks, you wouldn't know.

I have tried using chopsticks, and I found them rather difficult at first. Being used to everything else, they weren't as easy to learn. They are rather simple to use once you get used to them, but they still aren't as good at their job.

I say just drink out of the bowl. You get really big mouthfuls that way, and you seem to like big portions. =3

I do drink out of the bowl, for your information. I only drink when all of the noodles are gone, however. I absolutely love the broth in chicken noodle soup, and will always drink it out when I'm done. It's not as good when you've got all kinds of noodles, carrots, and everything else in there, however, because they tend to not go in as easily and slop around.

And I think really this entire argument still comes down to personal preference. :/

Agreed. We've both stated our reasons and I think the same thing will just continue to happen. Your preference if your preference, and I suppose I can't change that no matter how much evidence I present with a thing like this. Silly debate topic is silly.

On a side note, do you have the feeling we're going kinda off topic. This is a "favorite" utensils thread, not "best or most useful" utensils thread...

I can see why you would say that, but we're simply arguing the reasons for them being our favorite utensils. It pertains to the topic somewhat.

 

[athenian200]

How on Earth is it easy to pick up something very small with chopsticks? With a spoon all you have to do is scoop in and scoop up.

Actually, I'd like to answer this one. When I first learned to use chopsticks, I had some trouble. But eventually, I mastered the correct way of holding them, and everything just clicked into place.

Now, I can pick up single grains of rice more easily with chopsticks than I can with a fork or spoon... it's just like picking it up between my fingers. They're perfect for small grains like rice or corn.

I'm Caucasian, and have never been outside of the United States. Certain foods are easier to pick up with chopsticks... things don't slide around as much, and while you have to focus on your grip, you don't have to be careful about keeping the food balanced on the utensil. You can turn your hand in any direction, as long as your grip is steady. I find that easier to deal with in the long run.

Also, it tends to disturb the food on your plate less. With a fork or spoon, all the food tends to get pushed to one side of the plate over time as you eat. Chopsticks tend to move the food with more precision, so this doesn't happen.

 

[Kybyrian]

Actually, I'd like to answer this one. When I first learned to use chopsticks, I had some trouble. But eventually, I mastered the correct way of holding them, and everything just clicked into place.

Now, I can pick up single grains of rice more easily with chopsticks than I can with a fork or spoon... it's just like picking it up between my fingers.

I find this very weird. I can pick up single grains of rice with chopsticks, but I can't possibly see picking up a single grain of rice better than picking it up with a fork or spoon(mostly spoon). How long could that take? You can scoop up a large portion of rice with a spoon.

 

[athenian200]

I find this very weird. I can pick up single grains of rice with chopsticks, but I can't possibly see picking up a single grain of rice better than picking it up with a fork or spoon(mostly spoon). How long could that take? You can scoop up a large portion of rice with a spoon.

Hehe. I guess I should have explained the scenario better. With chopsticks, I can actually pick up fairly large portions of rice. You just have to grip it the right way.

But what happens when you've eaten most of the rice, and you're scraping at the bottom of the plate? There are lots of loose, single grains of rice that are difficult to shovel onto a spoon or fork. You could use your fingers, or pour the plate into your mouth, but that would be rude. With chopsticks, you can just pick up all those lone, single grains of rice in rapid succession, and eat them.

 

[Kybyrian]

But what happens when you've eaten most of the rice, and you're scraping at the bottom of the plate? There are lots of loose, single grains of rice that are difficult to shovel onto a spoon or fork. You could use your fingers, or pour the plate into your mouth, but that would be rude. With chopsticks, you can just pick up all those lone, single grains of rice in rapid succession, and eat them.

Finally, something that the chopsticks have going for them that I can agree with. I agree that it is very tedious to get those little bits off of the plate. I always have to bend down to the plate and scrape them into my mouth because it gets so far down that you can just scoop it up on the spoon. Chopsticks could indeed be very helpful for this. +1 to you, madam.