Foods and home making

knife or with the fork. A good rule to follow is to use the fork if possible. In placing butter on a hot potato, use the fork rather than the knife. Put the butter on the fork as you would a bit of mashed potato. Then place the butter on the potato. There is an important “ don’t ” for forks. Do not stick your own fork into a piece of bread or a baked potato when taking these foods from the serving dish. The bread should be taken with the fingers. A tablespoon should be provided for serving potatoes. figure 40. Buttering Bread Placing a whole slice of bread in the palm of the hand and buttering it cannot be done gracefully. It is better to spread only a small piece at a time. Whether a butter spreader or a larger knife is used for spreading butter the method is the same. How shall the knife be held? For what shall it be used? The knife should be held in about the same way as a fork. (See Figure 38, page 129.) Use the knife for cutting — not for carrying food to the mouth. The knife should be used for cutting firm meat and other foods which cannot be cut with a fork. The knife may be used also for spreading bread. Never spread a whole slice of bread at the table. With your fingers, break Breakfast 132 off a small bit of bread and spread it. (See Figure 40.) When this is eaten, another small piece of bread may be broken off and spread. When the knife is not in use, it should be placed on the plate as shown in Figure 40. Both the blade and the handle should rest on the plate. Figure 41. Keeping the Fork in the Left Hand If, when you cut a bite of food, the knife is in the tight hand and the fork is in the left, it seems an unnecessary and awkward movement to change the fork to the right hand, although many people still prefer to follow the earlier rule. How are the knife and the fork used together ? As previously explained, when cutting meat with a knife, the fork, held in the left hand, is used to hold the food in place. After the food is cut, it may be lifted to the lips with the fork in the left hand. It was thought formerly that the fork should be changed to the right hand before lifting the food to the mouth, but either method is considered proper now. (See Figure 41.) In passing a plate for a second helping, or when the meal or course is completed, place the knife and fork (prongs up) in the Good Manners at the Dining Table 133 Center, not on the edge of the plate, as shown in Figure 42. In the center there is less danger of their sliding off. How and when shall spoons be used? It is possible to get the bowl of a spoon in the mouth, but it is awkward to do it. Hence it is not in good taste. Regardless of whether you are using a teaspoon or a soup spoon put only the side of the spoon in the mouth. In eating soup served in a bowl or soup dish, move the soup spoon away from you — not toward you. (See Figure 43.) Do Figure 42. The Knife and Fork at the Close of a Meal or Course When a knife or fork is not in use either during a meal or at its close, the entire knife or fork should rest on the plate. It is a mistake to let the handles of these articles rest on the table and the blade or prongs on the plate.