Understand the historical evolution of western tableware in one minute

Compared with Chinese food, Western tableware has a wide variety of types and complicated procedures, but in fact, before the 13th century, Europeans still used their hands to eat, and they also set some rules for themselves: Romans would use the number of fingers to eat. To distinguish identities, for example, commoners can only use five fingers downward, while nobles can only use three fingers, and the ring finger and little finger cannot touch food. This dining etiquette continued into the 16th century. Today's western tableware includes large plates, small plates, shallow dishes, deep dishes, forks for salads, forks for meat, spoons for soup, spoons for desserts, etc. The development of these tableware is actually related to the use of the hands of the Europeans before eating. The tableware has become an extension of the hand. For example, the plate is the expansion of the entire palm; the fork is the finger. fork The fork used for eating began in the 11th century in Tusca, Italy, and the first fork had only two tines. At that time, people did not think that having a fork was a good thing. On the contrary, people at that time believed that human beings should touch the food given by God with their hands, and believed that the rich Tasca people were tempted by Satan to create tableware. A blasphemous act. In the 12th century, the Archbishop of the Earl of Canter in England introduced the fork to the people of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, but the nobles at that time did not like to eat with a fork, but only held the fork in their hands for duels. By the 14th century, forks were still a rarity for the Anglo-Saxons, and Edward I had seven forks made of gold and silver. For most Europeans at the time, they preferred to use a knife to cut food into pieces and then pick it up with their hands and eat it into their mouths. They still thought that eating with a fork was a woman and sissy behavior. In the 18th century, French aristocrats began to prefer eating with forks, so forks became a symbol of status, luxury, and sophistication, and then gradually became a must-have tableware. table knife Western food cooking likes to cut food into large pieces. When individuals enjoy it, they can cut food into different size pieces according to different preferences. This is completely different from Eastern eating habits, especially Chinese food. Determine the shape of the food before cooking, such as shredded meat, sliced ​​meat, and then carry out subsequent processing. As a member of tableware, table knives have appeared in human history very early. Many years ago, human ancestors would use knives made of stones to cut barbecue, or to defend themselves against enemies, and knives for different purposes. It is a symbol of status and status, and generally only leaders can use knives for different purposes. Time came to the period of Louis XIII in France, when a grand duke made great improvements in the form of table knives. In France at that time, the top of the knife was not the oval blunt we are familiar with today, but a very sharp tip, so many French bureaucrats and politicians used the other end of the knife when they were eating. To pick teeth, the grand duke saw such a scene and thought it was very rude, so he ordered people to sharpen the tip of the kitchen knife into an oval shape, and it was not allowed to use it for tooth picking. This practice was popular all over France for a while. , and gradually evolved into the table knife we ​​see now. spoon The history of spoons is even longer, which can be traced back to Paleolithic Asia, and spoons made of wood, stone, ivory, gold and other materials have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. The nobles of Greece and Rome liked to use spoons made of copper and silver. In Italy in the 15th century, when baptizing children, the most popular gift was the "baptism spoon", which made the guardian angel into a spoon handle, meaning protection and blessing.

How many types of stainless steel tableware are there?

Stainless steel Chinese tableware, stainless steel western tableware Chinese style: mainly gold and silverware used in hotels. Western style: mainly the knife, fork and spoon used in western food are mostly used in western restaurants.

Western tableware placement standard

Meal preparation before table service is the arrangement of the utensils before the guests arrive. The way the tableware is arranged is based on the menu content. According to the Western food menu, there are so-called regular meals, that is, set meals, loose meals, or ordering, and large meals, which are banquets. The tableware changes according to the content and time of the food, and there are certain rules. Now, the arrangement of a set of tableware for a set meal is described as follows: (1) The range of tableware placement is based on the table top used by each guest 24 inches horizontally and 16 inches straight. (2) When the chassis is used for dinner, it is pre-placed in the center of the guest seat, and the edge of the plate is no more than 1/4 inch away from the edge of the table. (3) A table knife, placed on the right side of the chassis, with the edge of the knife facing the chassis. (4) One spoon, placed on the right outer side of the knife, with the center of the spoon facing upwards. (5) Two forks, a lettuce fork on the left inner side of the chassis, followed by a table fork on the left outer side, with the tines pointing upwards. (6) One dessert fork and one spoon each, placed on the front and upper end of the chassis; in fact, the dessert fork and spoon are not required to be placed on the table, they can be brought to the table before or at the same time as the dessert is served. (7) The bread and butter plate is placed on the left front of the fork, and a butter knife is placed horizontally on the plate, parallel to the fork. (8) The drink cup is placed in the central position of the upper end of the knife. (9) The condiments and ashtrays are placed in the center of the dining table, and the two-seater table against the wall is placed on the edge near the wall. ●Notes: (1) All cutlery for each person should be arranged neatly on the base plate. Since the diameter of the base plate is 101/2 inches, the distance between the knife and the fork is 11 inches, and the distance between the table edge and the edge of the table should be 1/4 inches. . (2) The napkin is perfectly folded and placed on the chassis. If there is no chassis, it can be placed in the middle of the knife and fork.