On 2008-07-31, Blinky the Shark > wrote:
>
> What did you use to eat potato chips? Popcorn?

Heh heh.... I HAVE used chopsticks to eat cheesey potato chips, buttered
popcorn, and hot chile pork rinds. Keeps the fingers clean for chatting and
posting while munching, donchyaknow.

nb

On 2008-07-31, Bob Terwilliger > wrote:


> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
> chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.

Complete nonsense.


> Many Indians will express a
> similar feeling regarding eating curry with rice: It's *better* if you eat
> with your hands.

Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over the hands? Do
you have a good recipe for hands?

nb

notbob wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:30:05 GMT:

>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.

> Complete nonsense.

>> Many Indians will express a
>> similar feeling regarding eating curry with rice: It's *better*
>> if you eat with your hands.

> Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over the
> hands? Do you have a good recipe for hands?

The right hand only! I hope you know what the left hand is used for.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't eat them
> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
> chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance. Many Indians will express a
> similar feeling regarding eating curry with rice: It's *better* if you
> eat with your hands.

And here I thought you started using your fingers with sushi because I
suck so badly with chopsticks and you didn't want me to feel
self-conscious! ;-)

When the sushi hasn't been rolled tightly, my fingers have saved me from
sure starvation.

Bob has introduced me to so many different restaurants. What I have
discovered is that when we are dining alone, I haven't to much of a
problem with handling my food sans utensils. Moroccan is a good example
of that. All casual on cushions, and the waiter pours water for you to
wash with.

However, we had Eritrean last week while in San Diego. It was a larger
group and I wasn't very comfortable grabbing bits from the three
humongous platters we had -- no utensils -- not plates -- only cheapie
napkins to eat over. My fingernails were filled with goo by the end of
the meal -- and I was trying to be as delicate and "lady like" with my
food as I could be. Someone in our group had mentioned that we should
bring our own wet-naps before the outing, and we soon found out they
weren't joking.

I AM getting better with chopsticks! We had Vietnamese for lunch a
couple of days ago and I made a happy plate without the aid of flatware.

--Lin

Serene Vannoy wrote:
> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>
>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had to use
>>> utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way, and she was
>>> French. I wondered where this came from. It is still difficult for
>>> me to
>>> eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>>
>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't eat
>> them
>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
>> chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>
> Really? I never saw anyone in Tokyo eating sushi with their hands, only
> with chopsticks. And I've never seen this assertion before.
>
> Serene
>

Oh, I was gonna say... During the two years I lived in Japan, I didn't
see anyone eating sushi with his/her fingers, and we ate out quite a
lot, with sushi as part of almost every meal offered.

I have since seen it once, and I was shocked. I then read that that was
the way it was supposed to be eaten, so I remain somewhat mystified.

--
Jean B.

James Silverton wrote:
> Serene wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:38:07 -0700:
>
>> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>>
>>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands.
>>>> We had to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same
>>>> way, and she was French. I wondered where this
>>>> came from. It is still difficult for me to eat foods like
>>>> hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>>>
>>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you
>>> don't eat them with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger
>>> food; eating sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural
>>> ignorance.
>
>> Really? I never saw anyone in Tokyo eating sushi with their
>> hands, only with chopsticks. And I've never seen this
>> assertion before.
>
> I think there is a disparity between tradition and current practice. I
> suspect, like me, a lot of Japanese don't like to get their fingers
> dirty while eating. However, there's a story about the original sushi
> stalls in market places in Japan. It was best to chose the stall with
> the dirtiest curtains because it was probably the most popular. Patrons
> would rinse their fingers in the supplied tea and wipe them on the
> curtain before leaving.

Ah... Tradition vs current practice. Maybe so. I would have to go
back and reread my Japanese lit etc. collection to see if there is a
clue. I particularly remember a sushi eating scene in The Makioka
Sisters, but I don't recall whether they used implements or not.

Come to think of it, the Western use of implements has also changed. I
dunno whether we can thus say Western food is meant to be eaten without
forks, for example. (Not speaking of things that generallt ARE eaten
with forks.) Not that long ago, forks weren't in such common use.
--
Jean B.

James Silverton wrote:
> notbob wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:30:05 GMT:
>
>>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>
>> Complete nonsense.
>
>>> Many Indians will express a similar feeling regarding eating curry
>>> with rice: It's *better*
>>> if you eat with your hands.
>
>> Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over the
>> hands? Do you have a good recipe for hands?
>
> The right hand only! I hope you know what the left hand is used for.
>
Yeah. And I have less of an issue with this. Indeed, many of the
Indians who frequent my favorite Indian restaurant eat with their
(right) hands.

Lin wrote:
> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>
>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't eat
>> them
>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
>> chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance. Many Indians will express
>> a similar feeling regarding eating curry with rice: It's *better* if
>> you eat with your hands.
>
> And here I thought you started using your fingers with sushi because I
> suck so badly with chopsticks and you didn't want me to feel
> self-conscious! ;-)
>
> When the sushi hasn't been rolled tightly, my fingers have saved me from
> sure starvation.
>
> Bob has introduced me to so many different restaurants. What I have
> discovered is that when we are dining alone, I haven't to much of a
> problem with handling my food sans utensils. Moroccan is a good example
> of that. All casual on cushions, and the waiter pours water for you to
> wash with.
>
> However, we had Eritrean last week while in San Diego. It was a larger
> group and I wasn't very comfortable grabbing bits from the three
> humongous platters we had -- no utensils -- not plates -- only cheapie
> napkins to eat over. My fingernails were filled with goo by the end of
> the meal -- and I was trying to be as delicate and "lady like" with my
> food as I could be. Someone in our group had mentioned that we should
> bring our own wet-naps before the outing, and we soon found out they
> weren't joking.
>
> I AM getting better with chopsticks! We had Vietnamese for lunch a
> couple of days ago and I made a happy plate without the aid of flatware.
>
> --Lin

What! There was no injera at the Ethiopian restaurant?

As for chopsticks, I was not adept before I lived in Japan. My
ex-husband would be most amused by my awkwardness. But you learn fast
if that is the only way you can eat--as you may be finding out.

--
Jean B.

Jean B. wrote:

> What! There was no injera at the Ethiopian restaurant?

Oh, there was PLENTY of that! First time I had ever tried it. Probably
my favorite part, next to their beer! ;-)

The place was called "Asmara" should anyone what to check it out while
in SD.

> As for chopsticks, I was not adept before I lived in Japan. My
> ex-husband would be most amused by my awkwardness. But you learn fast
> if that is the only way you can eat--as you may be finding out.

Indeedy!

--Lin

Jean wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:03:05 -0400:

> James Silverton wrote:
>> notbob wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:30:05 GMT:
>>
>>>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>>>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>>
>>> Complete nonsense.
>>
>>>> Many Indians will express a similar feeling regarding
>>>> eating curry with rice: It's *better* if you eat with your
>>>> hands.
>>
>>> Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over
>>> the hands? Do you have a good recipe for hands?
>>
>> The right hand only! I hope you know what the left hand is
>> used for.
>>
> Yeah. And I have less of an issue with this. Indeed, many
> of the Indians who frequent my favorite Indian restaurant eat with
> their (right) hands.

I was brought up in Britain and told to eat asparagus with my fingers.
My American wife never believed me!

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Becca wrote:

> Blinky the Shark wrote:
>> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>
>>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>>
>>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had to
>>>> use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way, and
>>>> she was French. I wondered where this came from. It is still
>>>> difficult for me to eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a
>>>> fork.
>>
>> What did you use to eat potato chips? Popcorn? m&ms? Did you have to
>> cut big pickles with a knife and eat the pieces with a fork?
>
> If we were on foot, we ate it however we wanted to. If we were sitting at
> the dining room table, we used utensils.

Dinner includes big pickles. Did you ahve to cut them with a knife and
eat the pieces with a fork?

> Keep in mind, this is the same woman who stands on a toilet seat. lol




--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Need a new news feed? http://blinkynet.net/comp/newfeed.html

notbob wrote:

> On 2008-07-31, Bob Terwilliger > wrote:
>
>
>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
>> chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>
> Complete nonsense.
>
>
>> Many Indians will express a
>> similar feeling regarding eating curry with rice: It's *better* if you
>> eat with your hands.
>
> Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over the hands? Do
> you have a good recipe for hands?

And have those hands been chopped off thieves?


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Need a new news feed? http://blinkynet.net/comp/newfeed.html

Lin wrote:

> I AM getting better with chopsticks! We had Vietnamese for lunch a couple
> of days ago and I made a happy plate without the aid of flatware.

What does "I made a happy plate" mean?

--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Need a new news feed? http://blinkynet.net/comp/newfeed.html

On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:05:06 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>
>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had to use
>> utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way, and she was
>> French. I wondered where this came from. It is still difficult for me to
>> eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>
>Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't eat them
>with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
>chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.

ever since i read this somewhere, there's been no looking back. my
chopstick skills are pretty good, but still.

>Bob, remembering that kili uses chopsticks to eat egg rolls

i've heard tacos are the ultimate test, but that's a test i'd prefer
not to take.

your pal,
blake

On Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:59:13 -0400, "Ralph" > wrote:

>My favourite Ann Landers article, I pointed out to my mother, who liked to
>quote the paper, to my annoyance.
>
>A reader had sent in a question: When is it improper to eat chicken with
>your fingers?
>
>Anns response: When it has been pureed.
>
>Mom didn't laugh. I did- heartily.
>
that doesn't even make sense.

your pal,
blake
>
>"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>
>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had to use
>>> utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way, and she was
>>> French. I wondered where this came from. It is still difficult for me
>>> to
>>> eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>>
>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't eat them
>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
>> chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance. Many Indians will express a
>> similar feeling regarding eating curry with rice: It's *better* if you eat
>> with your hands.
>>
>> I'd never heard of the Italian aversion to eating with their hands before.
>> Is the attitude taken because Italians don't want to get their hands
>> dirty, or because they believe their hands *are* dirty, and they don't
>> want to contaminate the food? (I note that hands are often the most
>> pathogen-laden parts of the body, so I don't mean any ethnic slur by the
>> second part of that question.)
>>
>> Bob, remembering that kili uses chopsticks to eat egg rolls

On 2008-07-31, Blinky the Shark > wrote:

> And have those hands been chopped off thieves?

I prefer the geico jazz hands.

nb

Blinky the Shark wrote:
>
> What does "I made a happy plate" mean?

I guess that's one you never used on your kids ... Means that I ate all
my food and the plate was happy to be empty. Moms and dads are typically
quite happy to see a meal finished by finicky children. Occasionally,
dessert would follow the making of a happy plate.

Happy plates rule!

--Lin

James Silverton wrote:

> Jean wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:03:05 -0400:
>
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>
>>> notbob wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:30:05 GMT:
>>>
>>>>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>>>>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Complete nonsense.
>>>
>>>
>>>>> Many Indians will express a similar feeling regarding
>>>>> eating curry with rice: It's *better* if you eat with your
>>>>> hands.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over
>>>> the hands? Do you have a good recipe for hands?
>>>
>>>
>>> The right hand only! I hope you know what the left hand is
>>> used for.
>>>
>> Yeah. And I have less of an issue with this. Indeed, many
>> of the Indians who frequent my favorite Indian restaurant eat with
>> their (right) hands.
>
>
> I was brought up in Britain and told to eat asparagus with my fingers.
> My American wife never believed me!
>

My daughter (age 17, right handed) eats with her fork in her left hand
and her knife in her right. I have no idea where she picked that habit
up, but her manners are excellent and I can't remember correcting her on
any dining habit beyond the age of 5 years.

My son (age 13, southpaw), eats with his fork in his right hand. He has
required a little more tutoring. The rule of thumb (and fingers) I've
given him is that if it's
a) not bread
b) it doesn't come with handles
c) it's not pizza
d) and if it can be cut with a knife and/or fork and you have been
provided with a knife and fork...

It's probably not finger food. When in doubt, look to your host to see
what to do.

The only other issue is that evidently he and his classmates had gotten
into the habit of belching loudly after lunch at school. The practice
began to carry over to meals at home and after several warnings, where
he protested that it was "just reflex", I'd had enough.

The next time he cut loose with one of his disgusting noises at the
dinner table my right hand shot out and slapped him upside the head.
When he complained I told him, "Sorry, it was just reflex". It only
took a few repetitions to get the point across. Mom's reflexes trump his.

Kathleen wrote:
>
> The only other issue is that evidently he and his classmates had
> gotten into the habit of belching loudly after lunch at school. The
> practice began to carry over to meals at home and after several
> warnings, where he protested that it was "just reflex", I'd had enough.
>
> The next time he cut loose with one of his disgusting noises at the
> dinner table my right hand shot out and slapped him upside the head.
> When he complained I told him, "Sorry, it was just reflex". It only
> took a few repetitions to get the point across. Mom's reflexes trump
> his.

Please come over here and teach my husband those manners! I just can't
*wait* until we have to get together with my family and my husband
inadvertently lets out air from some orifice on his body. My family is
extremely formal and really won't appreciate what DH seems to think is an
artform. It's become such an artform, he doesn't even realize that he's
doing it anymore. :-(

kili

Serene Vannoy wrote:
> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>
>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had
>>> to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way,
>>> and she was French. I wondered where this came from. It is still
>>> difficult for me to
>>> eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>>
>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't
>> eat them with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>
> Really? I never saw anyone in Tokyo eating sushi with their hands,
> only with chopsticks. And I've never seen this assertion before.

But then you, probably, have actually been there)

Abe wrote:


> > Miss Manners says it's okay to do finger food at home, among your
> > close family, but that utensils should always be used at other
> > times.


> She obviously never ate at a crab shack or fried chicken joint.

Nonsense. Miss Manners is quite practical. Those places are by their
nature informal dining. For the most part, you don't serve such things
at a formal or semi-formal dinner. On the other hand, asparagus is a
finger food regardless of formality.




Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Kathleen wrote:
> James Silverton wrote:
>
>> Jean wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:03:05 -0400:
>>
>>> James Silverton wrote:
>>>
>>>> notbob wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:30:05 GMT:
>>>>
>>>>>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>>>>>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Complete nonsense.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> Many Indians will express a similar feeling regarding
>>>>>> eating curry with rice: It's *better* if you eat with your
>>>>>> hands.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over
>>>>> the hands? Do you have a good recipe for hands?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The right hand only! I hope you know what the left hand is
>>>> used for.
>>>>
>>> Yeah. And I have less of an issue with this. Indeed, many
>>> of the Indians who frequent my favorite Indian restaurant eat with
>>> their (right) hands.
>>
>>
>> I was brought up in Britain and told to eat asparagus with my
>> fingers. My American wife never believed me!
>>
>
> My daughter (age 17, right handed) eats with her fork in her left hand
> and her knife in her right. I have no idea where she picked that
> habit up, but her manners are excellent and I can't remember
> correcting her on any dining habit beyond the age of 5 years.
>
> My son (age 13, southpaw), eats with his fork in his right hand. He
> has required a little more tutoring. The rule of thumb (and fingers)
> I've given him is that if it's
> a) not bread
> b) it doesn't come with handles
> c) it's not pizza
> d) and if it can be cut with a knife and/or fork and you have been
> provided with a knife and fork...
>
> It's probably not finger food. When in doubt, look to your host to
> see what to do.
>
> The only other issue is that evidently he and his classmates had
> gotten into the habit of belching loudly after lunch at school. The
> practice began to carry over to meals at home and after several
> warnings, where he protested that it was "just reflex", I'd had enough.
>
> The next time he cut loose with one of his disgusting noises at the
> dinner table my right hand shot out and slapped him upside the head.
> When he complained I told him, "Sorry, it was just reflex". It only
> took a few repetitions to get the point across. Mom's reflexes trump
> his.

ROFLMAO

blake murphy wrote:
> On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:05:06 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> > wrote:
>
>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>
>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had
>>> to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way,
>>> and she was French. I wondered where this came from. It is still
>>> difficult for me to eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using
>>> a fork.
>>
>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't
>> eat them with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>
> ever since i read this somewhere, there's been no looking back. my
> chopstick skills are pretty good, but still.
>
>> Bob, remembering that kili uses chopsticks to eat egg rolls
>
> i've heard tacos are the ultimate test, but that's a test i'd prefer
> not to take.

Hmmmm but what about fried bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and fried bread?

On Jul 31, 8:59*am, "Ralph" > wrote:
> My favourite Ann Landers article, I pointed out to my mother, who liked to
> quote the paper, to my annoyance.
>
> A reader had sent in a question: *When is it improper to eat chicken with
> your fingers?
>
> Anns response: * *When it has been pureed.
>
> Mom didn't laugh. *I did- heartily.
>
Given some nan or flatbread, or rice I don't see why pureed chicken
could not be eaten with one's fingers.

This is a sad blow to my faith in Ann Landers.

John Kane Kingston ON Canada

Ophelia wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:19:44 +0100:

> blake murphy wrote:
>> On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:05:06 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>>
>>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had
>>>> to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was
>>>> the same way, and she was French. I wondered where this
>>>> came from. It is still difficult for me to eat foods like hot dogs
>>>> or pizza, without using a fork.
>>>
>>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't
>>> eat them with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural
>>> ignorance.
>>
>> ever since i read this somewhere, there's been no looking
>> back. my chopstick skills are pretty good, but still.
>>
>>> Bob, remembering that kili uses chopsticks to eat egg rolls
>>
>> i've heard tacos are the ultimate test, but that's a test i'd
>> prefer not to take.

>Hmmmm but what about fried bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and fried
>bread?


However, the food is supposed to be served in pieces small enough for
chopsticks in Chinese and Japanese (probably Korean too) restaurants. It
is a sign of an incompetent chef if that is not so. Most people can't
cut with chopsticks but I've seen the mother of one my daughter's
friends cutting food with the large sticks she uses for cooking. I also
saw an elderly Chinese lady cutting some food with a fork holding it
down with chopsticks. She did have a disapproving look!

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

kilikini wrote:

> Kathleen wrote:
>
>>The only other issue is that evidently he and his classmates had
>>gotten into the habit of belching loudly after lunch at school. The
>>practice began to carry over to meals at home and after several
>>warnings, where he protested that it was "just reflex", I'd had enough.
>>
>>The next time he cut loose with one of his disgusting noises at the
>>dinner table my right hand shot out and slapped him upside the head.
>>When he complained I told him, "Sorry, it was just reflex". It only
>>took a few repetitions to get the point across. Mom's reflexes trump
>>his.
>
>
> Please come over here and teach my husband those manners! I just can't
> *wait* until we have to get together with my family and my husband
> inadvertently lets out air from some orifice on his body. My family is
> extremely formal and really won't appreciate what DH seems to think is an
> artform. It's become such an artform, he doesn't even realize that he's
> doing it anymore. :-(

My condolences. Unfortunately, his "teachable moment" may have passed.

notbob replied to Bob:

> On 2008-07-31, Bob Terwilliger > wrote:
>
>
>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
>> chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>
> Complete nonsense.

Had to look it up myself. This is from Sushi for Dummies:

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...e/id-2408.html

Do eat sushi with your fingers

Finger sushi started out about 200 years ago as a street snack meant to
be picked up and eaten with your fingers. You can use chopsticks to eat
sushi, but fingers are still perfectly acceptable. But always use
chopsticks, not fingers, when you eat sashimi.

and from http://www.sushifaq.com/howtoeatsushi-etiquette.htm

• It is OK to eat nigiri-zushi (sushi) with your hands. Sashimi is only
to be eaten with your chopsticks.

The above site had some very good suggestions for dining and chopstick
usage/placement.
___________

Learning something new every day ....

--Lin

Blinky the Shark wrote:
> Becca wrote:
>
>> Blinky the Shark wrote:
>>> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>>
>>>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>>>
>>>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had to
>>>>> use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way, and
>>>>> she was French. I wondered where this came from. It is still
>>>>> difficult for me to eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a
>>>>> fork.
>>> What did you use to eat potato chips? Popcorn? m&ms? Did you have to
>>> cut big pickles with a knife and eat the pieces with a fork?
>> If we were on foot, we ate it however we wanted to. If we were sitting at
>> the dining room table, we used utensils.
>
> Dinner includes big pickles. Did you ahve to cut them with a knife and
> eat the pieces with a fork?

We had pickles, I remember that, but I do not remember how I ate them.
Gosh, it is hell getting old.

Becca

Kathleen wrote:
> James Silverton wrote:
>
>> Jean wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:03:05 -0400:
>>
>>> James Silverton wrote:
>>>
>>>> notbob wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:30:05 GMT:
>>>>
>>>>>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>>>>>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Complete nonsense.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> Many Indians will express a similar feeling regarding
>>>>>> eating curry with rice: It's *better* if you eat with your
>>>>>> hands.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over
>>>>> the hands? Do you have a good recipe for hands?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The right hand only! I hope you know what the left hand is
>>>> used for.
>>>>
>>> Yeah. And I have less of an issue with this. Indeed, many
>>> of the Indians who frequent my favorite Indian restaurant eat with
>>> their (right) hands.
>>
>>
>> I was brought up in Britain and told to eat asparagus with my fingers.
>> My American wife never believed me!
>>
>
> My daughter (age 17, right handed) eats with her fork in her left hand
> and her knife in her right. I have no idea where she picked that habit
> up, but her manners are excellent and I can't remember correcting her on
> any dining habit beyond the age of 5 years.
>
> My son (age 13, southpaw), eats with his fork in his right hand. He has
> required a little more tutoring. The rule of thumb (and fingers) I've
> given him is that if it's
> a) not bread
> b) it doesn't come with handles
> c) it's not pizza
> d) and if it can be cut with a knife and/or fork and you have been
> provided with a knife and fork...
>
> It's probably not finger food. When in doubt, look to your host to see
> what to do.
>
> The only other issue is that evidently he and his classmates had gotten
> into the habit of belching loudly after lunch at school. The practice
> began to carry over to meals at home and after several warnings, where
> he protested that it was "just reflex", I'd had enough.
>
> The next time he cut loose with one of his disgusting noises at the
> dinner table my right hand shot out and slapped him upside the head.
> When he complained I told him, "Sorry, it was just reflex". It only
> took a few repetitions to get the point across. Mom's reflexes trump his.

Hah! Thanks for the giggle. My husband did not have children, so he
will never know what he is missing.

Becca

In article >,
"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote:

> Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating sushi with
> chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.

Boy, there seem to be a lot of culturally ignorate
Japanese in the world.

Mike Beede

Blinky the Shark wrote:
> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>
>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>
>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had to use
>>> utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way, and she was
>>> French. I wondered where this came from. It is still difficult for me
>>> to eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>
> What did you use to eat potato chips? Popcorn? m&ms? Did you have to
> cut big pickles with a knife and eat the pieces with a fork?
>
>

This thread reminds me of that episode of Enterprise where T'Pol
patiently used a fork and knife to sloooowwwllly and carefully cut a
very brittle breadstick while Trip and Captain Archer looked on in
amazement.

There are times at work when I don't want to make a mess, I'll see some
things that are normally eaten by hand using a plate, fork and knife.
Things like donuts--don't want to get my hands, and hence mouse and
keyboard all sticky.

Otherwise, I have no problems eating the normal things with my hands.

"Jean B." wrote:
>
> James Silverton wrote:
> > notbob wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:30:05 GMT:
> >
> >>> with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
> >>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
> >
> >> Complete nonsense.
> >
> >>> Many Indians will express a similar feeling regarding eating curry
> >>> with rice: It's *better*
> >>> if you eat with your hands.
> >
> >> Are the hands served as a side or is the curry served over the
> >> hands? Do you have a good recipe for hands?
> >
> > The right hand only! I hope you know what the left hand is used for.
> >
> Yeah. And I have less of an issue with this. Indeed, many of the
> Indians who frequent my favorite Indian restaurant eat with their
> (right) hands.

My Filipina colleagues ate with their hands at home, but not in
restaurants. Hands washed first and fingers *never ever* in the mouth.
They tried to teach me the technique, but it didn't take. So every time
we ate together in their homes, was given a spoon (just like a small
child) LOL. My Bengali students would also eat certain foods with their
(right) hands at home.

Ophelia wrote:
>
> blake murphy wrote:
> > On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:05:06 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> > > wrote:
> >
> >> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
> >>
> >>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had
> >>> to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way,
> >>> and she was French. I wondered where this came from. It is still
> >>> difficult for me to eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using
> >>> a fork.
> >>
> >> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't
> >> eat them with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
> >> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
> >
> > ever since i read this somewhere, there's been no looking back. my
> > chopstick skills are pretty good, but still.
> >
> >> Bob, remembering that kili uses chopsticks to eat egg rolls
> >
> > i've heard tacos are the ultimate test, but that's a test i'd prefer
> > not to take.
>
> Hmmmm but what about fried bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and fried bread?

LOL not a problem with chopsticks.

Jean B. wrote:

>> However, we had Eritrean last week while in San Diego. It was a larger
>> group and I wasn't very comfortable grabbing bits from the three
>> humongous platters we had -- no utensils -- not plates -- only cheapie
>> napkins to eat over. My fingernails were filled with goo by the end of
>> the meal -- and I was trying to be as delicate and "lady like" with my
>> food as I could be. Someone in our group had mentioned that we should
>> bring our own wet-naps before the outing, and we soon found out they
>> weren't joking.
>
> What! There was no injera at the Ethiopian restaurant?


There was, but it was cut into strips which were about two inches wide, and
you really need something wider to pick up chunks of doro wat. Even with
injera it's difficult to get a handle on something more liquid, like their
curried lentils.

Regardless, it was a most enjoyable occasion; we were there more for our
friends than for the food. The fact that the food was good was *extra*.

Bob

James wrote:

> the food is supposed to be served in pieces small enough for chopsticks in
> Chinese and Japanese (probably Korean too) restaurants. It is a sign of an
> incompetent chef if that is not so. Most people can't cut with chopsticks
> but I've seen the mother of one my daughter's friends cutting food with
> the large sticks she uses for cooking. I also saw an elderly Chinese lady
> cutting some food with a fork holding it down with chopsticks. She did
> have a disapproving look!

Absolutely: I'm not saying that *all* food should be eaten with your
fingers; I'm saying that if food *is* meant to be eaten with your fingers
then you should use your fingers to eat it. I use chopsticks to eat noodles,
because they're well-suited for the task. I use a fork to eat an English
breakfast because the breakfast is *meant* to be eaten with a fork.

Regarding the issue that James mentions, the best quote I've seen is, "We
Chinese prefer not to do butchery at the table," i.e., the Chinese regard
cutting up meat as butchery. Other cultures have a different outlook; I for
one would not want the kitchen cutting up my slab of prime rib into
bite-sized pieces!

Bob

Ophelia wrote:
> Serene Vannoy wrote:
>> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>>
>>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had
>>>> to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way,
>>>> and she was French. I wondered where this came from. It is still
>>>> difficult for me to
>>>> eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't
>>> eat them with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>> Really? I never saw anyone in Tokyo eating sushi with their hands,
>> only with chopsticks. And I've never seen this assertion before.
>
> But then you, probably, have actually been there)
>
>

Yep, but only for three weeks, and one of those weeks was spent in an
international work camp and nature preserve, so I'm certainly not an
expert on Japanese culture or anything.

Serene

--
"I think I have an umami receptor that has developed sentience." -- Stef

"blake murphy" > wrote in message
...
> i've heard tacos are the ultimate test, but that's a test i'd prefer
> not to take.

Soup might be tricky too.

Serene Vannoy wrote:
> Ophelia wrote:
>> Serene Vannoy wrote:
>>> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>>>
>>>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had
>>>>> to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way,
>>>>> and she was French. I wondered where this came from. It is still
>>>>> difficult for me to
>>>>> eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>>>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you don't
>>>> eat them with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger food; eating
>>>> sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural ignorance.
>>> Really? I never saw anyone in Tokyo eating sushi with their hands,
>>> only with chopsticks. And I've never seen this assertion before.
>>
>> But then you, probably, have actually been there)
>>
>>
>
> Yep, but only for three weeks, and one of those weeks was spent in an
> international work camp and nature preserve, so I'm certainly not an
> expert on Japanese culture or anything.

Well you have done more than I have The furtherest from home I have been
was India and I lived there on and off.

Michael wrote:
> "blake murphy" > wrote in message
> ...
>> i've heard tacos are the ultimate test, but that's a test i'd prefer
>> not to take.
>
> Soup might be tricky too.

Heh

Michael "Dog3" wrote:
> Blinky the Shark >
> news > rec.food.cooking
>
>> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>
>>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>>
>>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands. We had
>>>> to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same way,
>>>> and she was French. I wondered where this came from. It is still
>>>> difficult for me to eat foods like hot dogs or pizza, without using
>>>> a fork.
>>
>> What did you use to eat potato chips? Popcorn? m&ms? Did you have
>> to cut big pickles with a knife and eat the pieces with a fork?
>
> Certain snack foods we were allowed to eat with the hands... Chips and
> popcorn being 2 of them. OTOH, we had to eat fried chicken with a
> knife and fork.
>
> Michael

I don't eat fried chicken anymore, but I *always* ate it with a knife and
fork. Remember? I'm the one who hates to get her fingers dirty. :~)

kili