'How British People Eat'

[ithildin]

How British People Eat is the subject of one Chow digests I just received. There's no link,

"I know a fellow who eats his dinner (and perhaps other meals as well) in an unusual way, and I'm wondering if anyone else has ever seen this, and if it has a name or is identified with some particular culture," says Howard_2. "What he does is, every forkful has a little of each item on the dinner plate. So for example let's say he has on his plate steak, string beans, and mashed potatoes. He cuts a piece of steak, puts it on his fork; adds a few string beans (perhaps using his knife to get them on the fork), and then adds a little mashed potato. Thus, every mouthful has a little of each item—and to my mind, the taste of any individual item is obscured, at best."

"I don't know if there's a technical term, but I call those composed bites, assuming that all the elements on the plate were designed to go together," says inaplasticcup.

"Can't believe that people think this is weird; this is how Brits eat," says pikawicca. "You cut a piece of protein, then spear, tines down. Grab a bit of mashed potato or stuffing and smear it on the back of the fork. Add some veg from the plate. Transport to mouth. Once I saw this in action, I adopted it for myself. Very efficient, and it satisfies my desire to have a bit of everything in one bite." tastesgoodwhatisit agrees: "I've been told this too, specifically with British food, that it's proper to pile a little bit of each item onto the back of the fork for each bite. I think you could only easily do it with the European fork and knife style (tines down for eating, and knife and fork never change hands)."

Discuss: Is there a name for this style of feeding oneself?

So here's one of my things: I like to watch people eat, surreptitiously, of course. How do they hold their fork, in which hands, do they switch them back and forth? My upbringing was a hodgepodge of Canadian, American, and British, and I don't always know that aspect of my behavior or speech comes from which sometimes. I do the 'composed bites' - not all the time, but a lot of the time - and had no idea it was a British-ism. I don't switch knife and fork when I eat; fork stays in left hand, knife in right, and I hold the fork tines up. My parents, who are from western Canada are utensil switchers. So tell me, how do you eat? Feed my hyper-curiosity!

Comments

[juniperphoenix]

Interesting! I never realized "composed bites" were a thing. I do that sometimes when I'm eating something that's already a mixture of different things — for instance, when I'm eating pad thai I will twirl up some noodles and then stab a bit of tofu (mostly to mask the tofu). I don't do it when the dishes are separate, though.

I only pick up the knife when I actually need to cut something, and I switch hands when I do; I find it very difficult to use the knife with my left hand. I hold the fork tines up.

(I'm from the American Midwest.)

[a_lanart]

When eating properly at a table it's fork left, knife right, tines down with 'composed bites'... until I come to eat garden peas and then it's whichever way I can catch 'em - usually tines up in left hand using knife to push them onto the fork.

TV dinners get cut up then eaten with fork only and in right hand.

Didn't realise it was a Brit thing - everyone I know eats like that unless they're using chopsticks! Then again I'm a Brit with Brit mates so I suppose it's not surprising.

[dejla]

Very interesting. I switch utensils when eating, and I prefer to eat one thing at a time. I think the only time I do a composed bite is with dessert. The rest of the time I want a single taste, not a mixture of flavors--unless it's a composed dish like a savory pie or a casserole.