Are all chopsticks made out of wood?

Question

Ate stirfry and used chopsticks and was wondering if the chopsticks you get in the US is like the ones used in China?

Answer 1

Many restaurants have plastic chopsticks. You can also buy nice silver chopsticks. They used to also be made from ivory.

Answer 2

No some are made from plastic, some are made from a bone and some made from Ivory. There may be some made from other materials e.g. stone and metal. Chop sticks can be made from anything which can be made straight.

There are several styles of chopsticks that vary in respect to:

* Length: Very long chopsticks, sometimes upwards of a meter in length, but usually about thirty or forty centimeters, tend to be used for cooking, especially for deep frying foods. In Japan they are called saibashi (菜箸). Shorter chopsticks are generally used as eating utensils but are nevertheless used in the kitchen for cooking.
* Tapering: The end of the chopsticks for picking up food are tapered to a blunt or a pointed end. Blunt tapered chopsticks provide more surface area for holding food and for shoveling rice. Pointed tapered chopsticks allow for easier manipulation of food and for picking out bones from whole cooked fish.
* Material: Chopsticks can be made from a variety of materials: bamboo, plastic, wood, bone, metal, jade, and ivory.

* Bamboo and wood chopsticks are cheap, low in temperature conduction and provide good grip for holding food due to their matte surfaces. However, they can warp and deteriorate with continued use, and can harbor bacteria if not properly cleaned. Almost all cooking and disposable chopsticks are made of either bamboo or wood. Disposable unlacquered chopsticks are used especially in restaurants. These come as a piece of wood which is partially cut, and then must be broken into two chopsticks by the user.
* Plastic chopsticks are cheap and low in temperature conduction. Furthermore they do not harbor bacteria or deteriorate much with continued use. Plastic chopsticks however, cannot be used for cooking since high temperatures may damage the chopsticks and produce toxic compounds.
* Metal chopsticks are durable and are easy to clean. However, due to their smooth surfaces, metal chopsticks do not hold food as well as wood, plastic or bone chopsticks, and furthermore they tend to be more expensive. Their higher heat conduction also means that they are not as comfortable to use in cooking.
* Materials such as ivory, jade, gold, and silver are typically chosen for luxury reasons.

* Embellishments: Wooden or bamboo chopsticks can be painted or lacquered to decorate them and make them waterproof. Metal chopsticks are sometimes roughened or scribed on the tapered end in order to make them less slippery when picking up foods. High-end metal chopstick pairs are sometimes connected by a short chain at the untapered end to prevent their separation.

Answer 3

cheap , disposable ones are made of wood. however, metal ones are used extensively in korea, and the rest of asia also uses plastic ones, highly decorated ones, lacquered chopsticks, cloisonne chopsticks, etc.

Answer 4

nope a friend of mine who is stationed in Japan right now sent my kids plastic chopsticks with Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty printed on them

Answer 5

No they can be made from almost anything from wood to bone to even glass. The glass set I saw was an amazing example of hand drawn glass.

Answer 6

Had a high maintenance friend that had a pair of jade ones. I know they manufacture some commercially in plastic.

Answer 7

Some are made of plastic and there are expensive ivory pairs.

Answer 8

No. I've seen plastic ones before!

Answer 9

The best I have used were made of ivory. are most bamboo shoots made of bamboo?

Answer 10

there are ones made out of wood, or plastic, or metal.