In this article, you will learn about what types of cutlery exist, their advantages and disadvantages, the pros and cons of the material from which they are composed. Also, we will talk about the care of cutlery, and how to properly lay out cutlery and much more.

There is a wide variety of cutlery, which consist of various materials, they can be: wood, aluminum, stainless steel, plastic, cupronickel or silver.

Cutlery serves to handle dishes, food at the table. Often the usual, standard cutlery that you see in the picture: a spoon, a fork and a knife - they are used for first and second courses, as well as for the process of laying out dishes if there are no serving utensils.

In addition, there are specialized cutlery for different dishes- snacks, fish, dessert, fruit, etc.

Snack set consists of a fork and a knife- shown in the picture on the right. Compared to a regular, standard canteen, it has a smaller size and is included in serving hot snacks such as pancakes, meat snacks etc.

fish appliance shown in the figure on the left. Suitable for cutting fish dishes. a fish fork has four short prongs and a recess for separating fish bones, and a fish knife has a short, wide blade. Ordinary table forks are also often used for fish dishes.

Dessert types of cutlery

The dessert device includes a spoon, a fork and a knife of small sizes. Often dessert devices have an original, unusual design that emphasizes their elegance. A dessert fork is needed for sweet dishes, pies, charlottes, etc. A dessert spoon is used to eat dishes with a loose consistency - mousses, puddings, fruits in syrup, etc.

For fresh fruits - pineapples, apples, pears, watermelons, melons - a fruit device is used, including a fork and knife. Canned fruits can be eaten with one fork.

For serving coffee and tea, special devices are also used - coffee and tea spoons, and for ice cream - flat blades with curved edges.

Serving utensils (accessories) are sometimes referred to as cutlery, although this is not entirely correct - since they eat with cutlery, and serving utensils are used to put dishes on plates, cut and divide them into portions and perform other maintenance operations. Cutlery is also often called individual, and serving - auxiliary.

Spoons:

1 - Coffee
2 - Tea room
3 - Dessert
4 - Dining room
6 - Spoon for making mixed drinks

Forceps:

5 - Large pastry tongs
7 - Tongs for asparagus
8 - Ice tongs
9 - Small pastry tongs
10 - Cigar secateurs
11 and 12 - Lemon Fork
13 - Cocotte fork
14 and 15 - Spade-shaped blunt knife for fish second courses and a fish fork with a recess for removing bones

Cutlery (knife + fork):

16 and 17 - For dessert
18 and 19 - For dessert
20 and 21 - For snacks
22 and 23 - For snacks
25 and 26 - For second courses (except fish)
24 - pouring spoon

Shoulder blades:

27 - Confectionery
28 - Pate
29 - Fish
30 - For caviar
31 - For ice cream

When serving a seat, it is customary to follow a certain order. First, tableware (porcelain) is placed, then cutlery is laid out, and only then can restaurant glass be arranged. Cutlery is also laid out in a certain order, see the picture above.

The order of unfolding cutlery

butter knife
Pirozhkovy plate - for bread and butter
First course spoon
Fork for seafood, cold appetizers
Knife for seafood, snacks
Fork for meat and salads (main course)
Table-knife
Decorative plate
Soup plate
Dessert spoon
dessert fork
water glass
Champagne glass
Red wine glass
White wine glass

Rice. Full dinner service

Placement of crockery and cutlery for breakfast

Cutlery for traditional breakfast with coffee or tea various varieties bread, butter, confiture and honey (but no eggs)

Cutlery for a "coffee mug" or tea party with pastries. You can add a paring knife if needed.

Cutlery materials

Wooden cutlery

Wooden spoons can be used for trips to nature, but not for daily use. The tree absorbs moisture, it is short-lived, and eating with such spoons is inconvenient.

Aluminum cutlery

Aluminum cutlery was common before. Now there are disputes about the dangers of aluminum, but in any case, aluminum cutlery quickly loses its shape, color, and is also fragile.

Stainless steel cutlery

Stainless steel cutlery is one of the most popular. They are made from medical stainless steel, which practically does not react chemically with alkalis, salts, acids. The most commonly used stainless steel is "18/10", which contains 18% chromium (gives strength and stainless properties) and 10% nickel (gives shine and protects against aggressive food acids).

Cupronickel cutlery

Melchior is an alloy of copper, nickel and manganese. Cupronickel cutlery ceased to be produced in the 50s of the last century. Nickel silver cutlery is now being produced (it is softer, it also contains zinc). Nickel silver cutlery is plated with silver, gold or blackened. On the reverse side of such devices there is an MNC marking.

Silver cutlery

Silver cutlery is very expensive and is the pride of the owners. The devices themselves are quite heavy, so it cannot be said that they are convenient for daily use.

How to choose cutlery?

Most often, dinnerware sets consist of 24 items: 6 soup and small spoons, forks and knives. But there are sets for 12 people. Such sets may also include a sauce spoon, dessert, salad forks, a ladle, a cake spatula, a sugar spoon, sugar tongs, a fork for fish and meat.

When buying cutlery, you must definitely pay attention to the shine - it can be white or grayish. Make sure that there are no burrs on the edge of the appliances. Fork teeth must not be excessively sharp, dull or chipped.

A high-quality spoon or fork should not be deformed by the fact that you press harder on the bend - it should be thickened. There should not be any smell from the devices.

The standard thickness of cutlery is 1.5-4 mm, and the depth of spoons is 7-10 mm.

Knife blades can be non-hardened (they are cheaper, but over time spots appear on the blade, they wear out and age) and hardened (such a blade is elastic).

Ask the seller for a hygienic conclusion and a certificate of conformity. The certificate must indicate: the manufacturer, the address of the manufacturer, the name of the cutlery brand. The same data should be on the instrument box.

Cutlery care

Stainless steel cutlery should be washed immediately after use to prevent food residues from drying on them. You can wash them with dishwashing detergent with a sponge or cloth. Stainless steel cutlery can also be washed in the dishwasher. If dark or iridescent spots appear on the devices, they can be easily removed with a solution citric acid or vinegar.

If you have cutlery with plastic handles, then you will need to constantly clean the dirt from the places where metal and plastic come into contact. Such devices can also be washed in the dishwasher, but do not use high-temperature conditions.

Caring for cutlery made of silver, cupronickel or nickel silver is a little more difficult. After each use and washing, such devices should be rinsed in a solution of baking soda (50 g of soda per 1 liter of water). They can only be cleaned with special pastes and napkins. You can also clean it with ammonia: for this you need to take 10% ammonia, pour it into a container and put cutlery there for 15 minutes. After that, rinse them in running water and wipe dry.

In everyday life, we remember the rules of etiquette only in jokes, and at the table we sometimes get by with one spoon for all dishes. But sometimes situations arise when it suddenly turns out to be important to know how many centimeters of the shirt cuff should be visible from under the sleeve of the jacket and which fork should be used to eat fish.

Of course, there will be no talk about sleeves “Cozy kitchen”. But let's try to study and remember the most common cutlery. The easiest way to do this is to use a description with photos.

Snack Cutlery

Appetizers usually appear first on the table. To them, respectively, are served cutlery, called snack bars. They traditionally consist of a fork and a knife. The length of the knife from the snack device should be equal to the diameter of the special snack plate or 1-2 cm more. The fork is slightly shorter.

They use a snack device when cold appetizers, hot pancakes, scrambled eggs, fried ham and some other dishes are served at the table.

Basic cutlery

When appetizers are replaced by the main first and second courses, the table is served with appropriate cutlery. This is the classic and most common of all types of cutlery: knife, spoon and fork. The length of the knife is also measured here by the diameter of the plate. Fork and spoon are allowed a little shorter. With these devices, in the absence of special ones, it is allowed to shift your portion from a common plate.

Device for fish

In the case of serving fish dishes, cutlery for fish comes onto the stage. This is a blunt, spatula-shaped knife and fork with four shortened, compared to the "classic" teeth. Such a cutlery is intended for eating hot fish dishes, although it is often used for any fish.

However, according to the rules of etiquette, which strictly regulate all the details, another fork is intended for cold brittle fish - for sprats. This auxiliary device has a wide blade-shaped base and five prongs connected by a bridge. It should be emphasized that they do not eat with this fork, but only shift the fish from the common plate to their own.

dessert appliances

Dessert cutlery and teaspoon

Let's move on to dessert and explore the special cutlery for this category of dishes. This set includes a trio of fork, spoon and knife. Their size is smaller than that of the main counterparts, in accordance with the size of the dessert plate. According to its diameter, as before, the required height of the knife is measured, but the fork (with three teeth) and the spoon have the appropriate dimensions. A dessert knife, in addition, can be distinguished by a narrower blade than a diner, with a pointed tip.

ice cream spoon

A pair of a dessert knife and fork is served with sweets (pies and cakes), watermelon, melon and cheese. Sweet dishes that do not need cutting are accompanied by a dessert spoon. These are various mousses, berry cocktails, compotes, sweet cereals.

It is acceptable to serve a dessert spoon for ice cream. But it’s better to use a special spoon that resembles a spatula in shape.

Of course, the types of cutlery are not limited to this list. There are still numerous tongs, spatulas and other "special tools" that are required extremely rarely, if not at all. home cooking. For example, tools for snails, lobsters or asparagus - is it worth buying them? It is much easier to visit a restaurant for such dishes, where they must be served in accordance with all the rules of etiquette.

And yet, it is worth buying cutlery, which is most often in demand. How to learn how to use them. At least in order not to become like the characters in this video.

Both ceremonial and everyday spoons, forks and knives, first of all, must be perfectly clean. Then the hostess is not ashamed to receive guests of any level. "Cozy Kitchen" recommends a collection of ways - from stainless steel, silver and cupronickel at home.

You finally found time to visit a good restaurant. For a long time they made up their image - beautiful dress and shoes, painstakingly performed makeup and styling. The beauty! Here you are already at the table, you have made an order and everything is going nowhere better, if not for one thing… There are a LOT of different forks, spoons, knives and some other completely incomprehensible little things on the table!

A slight panic sets in. Why so many?! What fork is for what? Why is it so difficult??? You can, of course, discard shyness and try everything out from the waiter. And you can prepare in advance and show off your good manners. This article will help you feel confident at possible banquets, receptions, restaurants and guests.

It is customary to classify cutlery into two groups: basic (individual) and auxiliary (collective). The appliances included in the main group (individual) are used directly for eating, and those belonging to the second group (collective) are used to lay out dishes. In our article, we will talk specifically about the appliances that are used at the table for eating, and not for cooking, so we will leave aside ladles, skimmers, and various stirring spoons.

The main devices are divided into subgroups according to their purpose: canteens, fish, snack bars, dessert, fruit(I think from the names it is clear what the group is for).

The usual base is only 24 devices. (knives, spoons, forks, and teaspoons - 6 each). It seems to be nothing complicated, however, in addition to the standard basic set, as I mentioned above, many specialized cutlery, the purpose of which is difficult to understand, relying only on their appearance.

Cutlery

See for yourself what kind of cutlery you can meet ( pictures enlarge when clicked):

1 - coffee spoon
2 - teaspoon
3 - dessert spoon
4 - table spoon
5 - large pastry tongs for laying out baked goods
6 - spoon for preparing mixed drinks (cocktail spoon)
7 - tongs for asparagus
8 - ice tongs
9 - small pastry tongs for laying out sugar, assorted chocolate
10 - cigar pruner (suddenly you decide to pamper your spouse with a chic cigar)
11 - lemon fork
12 - serving fork (a small fork with two strong teeth, for example, for cold meat cut into slices)
13 - cocotte fork (for julienne)
14 and 15 - a spade-shaped blunt knife for fish second courses and a fish fork with a recess for separating bones
16 and 17 - dessert knife and fork
18 and 19 - dessert knife and fork
20 and 21 - knife and fork diner
22 and 23 - knife and fork diner
24 - pouring spoon
25 and 26 - table knife and fork for second courses (except fish)
27 - confectionery spatula for laying out pastries and cakes
28 - spatula pate
29 - oblong fish spatula for laying out cold and hot fish dishes
30 - spatula for caviar
31 - ice cream spoon in the form of a spatula with slightly curved edges

32 - a grapefruit knife with a serrated and pointed blade
33 - cheese knife
34 - lobster set
35 - pizza cutter
36 - set for cutting meat - a large sharp knife and a fork with two prongs (for cutting roasts and poultry)
37 - squeezer - for squeezing a lemon
38 - tongs for lump sugar.
39 - ice cream scoop
40 - sugar spoon (small deep)
41 - spoon and fork for mixing and laying out salad (the fork has three wide cloves, and the spoon can be with a slot in the middle or with a clove)
42 - salad tongs
43 - spaghetti tongs
44 - spaghetti fork

In addition to the knife, fork and fish spatula shown in the first picture, you can get some special options for their execution:

45 - spatula for serving fish dishes, but already with slots
46 - options for a two-pronged fork for serving herring
47 - a chill set for eating hot fish snacks, unlike standard fish cutlery, here the knife does not look like a spatula, it is just straight, the fork has not four teeth, but three and they are wide
48 - fork for unfolding sardines and sprats, may be without the upper "jumper"

The main devices are divided into subgroups according to their purpose: canteens, fish, snack bars, dessert, fruit(I think from the names it is clear what the group is for).

Cutlery

See for yourself what kind of cutlery you can meet ( pictures enlarge when clicked):

In addition to the knife, fork and fish spatula shown in the first picture, you can get some special options for their execution:

The fork appeared in the tableware of Europeans in the 15th century. Prior to this, both kings and slaves ate food with spoons, knives, and their own hands. The first forks were flat, two-toothed and rather uncomfortable. Gradually acquiring a modern form, the device with cloves began to “overgrow” with many modifications: forks appeared for desserts, fish, salads and other dishes.

dinner fork

A dinner fork is an ordinary fork with four prongs, designed for eating second courses. Served with a table knife. Lunch is taken in the left hand, the knife - in the right. In order to separate the meat from the main piece, the fork is turned over with the curved side up and stuck into the meat at a slight angle. A piece is cut off with a knife and sent to the mouth with a fork. To take a side dish from a plate, turn the fork upside down and use it like a spoon, helping yourself with a knife.

fish fork

The fish fork is smaller than the dinner fork. It is equipped with four or three flat teeth. Sometimes two pairs of cloves are separated by a shallow notch in the middle. AT good restaurants a knife is served to the fish; in its absence, two forks are used to eat the fish. If you were given whole piece fish, press it one to the plate, and separate the meat of the fish from the bones with the second fork. After eating this part, turn the piece over to the other side and repeat the process. Ideally, after you eat the dish, a neat fish skeleton should remain on the plate.

salad fork

The salad fork has four tines and a wide base. This shape was given to the fork specifically so that it can be used to eat salads. different types. A salad knife is served with a salad fork. Use a salad fork in the same way as a dinner fork: turn it over with the curved side up and stick it in big chunks or leaves, cutting them off with a knife. When served with fine cuts, the fork is used as a spoon.

dessert fork

The dessert fork is the smallest fork with two or three shortened tines. There are dessert forks designed for pies, cakes and pastries, and special two-pronged fruit forks. If the dessert knife is not served, then the dessert fork is held in the right hand: pieces of dessert are separated with the edge of the fork, pricked and sent to the mouth. During the buffet table, a baking fork is used: a device with a wide, pointed extreme prong. These prongs cut off pieces of pastry like a knife, holding a plate of dessert in one hand.

Sources:

Crockery and cutlery
Table setting. What is intended and for what purpose?

The art of holding cutlery correctly is due to ease of use and is written in etiquette books. To handle fish or meat with knife and forks, you need to know a few simple principles.

Instruction

Take the knife in your dominant hand. For the majority of the world's population, this is the right hand. Grip comfortably, blade up.

fork take it in the led hand, most likely in the left (if you are not left-handed), handle down. Place your index finger on the "back" of the device.

To cut a piece of meat, fish or other dish without changing the position of the fingers, lower the cutlery: the fork is about three centimeters from the edge of the piece. Push in until the fork is firmly seated. Cut off a piece with a knife, holding it perpendicular to the fork.

Put the cut piece on the fork in your left hand. You can eat it.

If you eat with a fork knife, hold the fork in a comfortable hand, hold it in your right (leading) hand.