At mealtimes Why do people generally eat the main course before the pudding (dessert)?

Question

This is obviously a convention - there is no sensible reason why you should not have your apple crumble with custard before your lamb chops, peas, and potatoes. But how, why, and when did this convention arise?

Answer 1

When a dessert is sweet unlike the main meal which is a range of flavours but not sweet, in yonder years guests leaving a lord’s manor house should leave with a sweet tongue (positive experience with possible good words) was a sign of good hospitality, so when that got into common practise it has also flown into the meal so sweet food served last hence a sweet tongue.

Answer 2

This is likely an effect of the puritanical culture of the West that stresses denial of self and delayed gratification. Its the same philosophy that fosters a belief in an afterlife that is superior (sweeter?) to the life that we experience on Earth. Another theory is that the lamb chops, peas, and potatoes of which you speak are more nutritious and, as such, should be consumed first, less your hunger wear off and all of you have for nourishment is a belly full of apple crumble with custard.

Answer 3

I didn't used to understand it either, when I was a kid I was told that dessert is a treat you get for finishing your meal but because I've always much prefered savoury foods to sweet foods it didn't work for me. (These days I don't eat dessert at all.) Though I would now think the real reason is because there is more nutrition in a main course and sweet foods tend to be more filling and so might put you off finishing the main course if you ate it first.

Answer 4

There is a perfectly sensible reason, lamb chops and peas are better for you than apple crumble.
So it makes sense that you should fill up on the nutritious stuff first.

Answer 5

If I let my grandkids fill up on apple crumble, they wouldn't eat a healthy amount of the lamb chops, peas and potatoes.

Lamb chops. Mmmmm.

Answer 6

I think it is to halp you eat the healthy, nutritious stuff first. In my house, we never got pudding if we didnt eat all of our dinner so maybe thats why.
On a similar tack, when my dad was a lad, they used to have yorkshire pudding as the starter (as we still do in yorkshire) and his mum used to tell them that whoever ate the most yorkie got the most meat. The trick was, as they were quite poor and could not afford much meat, the kids all filled up on yorkie and didnt want any meat!! Crafty eh!

Answer 7

Because u leave what tastes nice till last , u can look foward to it , if u lucky enough to be having crumble.

Answer 8

It's to do with the way your taste buds respond. Try eating fish after you have eaten a slice of chocolate cake, it's disgusting.

Answer 9

Thats what our mums did

Answer 10

Because my mum makes me.