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Why we eat things like sandwiches,sausage rolls etc with our hands and not knives and forks Now i know this can't be down to restaurant etiquette because you would still eat them with your hands even if they were part of a meal. Now if they were classed as a snack why is it we are allowed to eat poultry with our hands aswell?


Yes she asks me some random stuff lol

2007-04-18 23:55:13 · 15 answers · asked by Jay 3 in Society & Culture Etiquette

15 answers

rich people used silverware at table to show that they possessed this, to distinguish them from poorer people who ate with their hands. No mucky hands, no greasy fingers, etc., so you were considered rich and upper class. Only country people and commoners ate with their fingers, and it was lesser meals - that's why 'snacks', which aren't meals, are OK to eat with the fingers. However, it was Queen Victoria who famously ate into a chicken with her knife and fork but couldn't get to the good meat and then dispensed with manners and picked up a chicken leg with her fingers - after all, it was considered acceptable to eat chicken with the fingers!
Hope this answers your question.

2007-04-19 01:14:41 · answer #1 · answered by gorgeousfluffpot 5 · 0 0

Sandwiches come from the Earl of Sandwich who didn't want to leave the card table long enough to eat a meal so he had his kitchen staff make something quick to eat. Sausage rolls and similar are an extension of that, they're probably designed originally to be eatable without cutlery.

2007-04-19 00:00:45 · answer #2 · answered by Elbo Smogg 1 · 3 0

Sandwiches, sausage rolls and other finger-food is normally not greasy, oily or served in a sauce, jus or gravy. Poultry, such as chicken legs, is often a bit oily, so eating irons are the order of the day.

2007-04-19 05:36:15 · answer #3 · answered by ? 6 · 0 0

Elbo Smogg is right. It sounds too goofy to be true, but it is.

The Earl of Sandwich didnt trust the people he was playing against and didnt want to leave to eat a whole meal. SO he charged his kitchen staff to create something he could eat with his hands.

2007-04-19 00:05:02 · answer #4 · answered by Bloodsucker 4 · 1 0

It is an interesting question. I would probably answer that it depends on which can be eaten most conveniently.
We would look a bit foolish attempting to eat a sandwich with knife and fork!

I know of one older woman who attempts to avoid parties unless all food is to be eaten with a fork.

--That Cheeky Lad

2007-04-20 11:02:19 · answer #5 · answered by Charles-CeeJay_UK_ USA/CheekyLad 7 · 0 0

Sandwiches were specifically designed to be eaten with the hands, as for poultry, it's only seen as OK if the piece being eaten contains a bone, the same is applicable to things like lamb chops.

2007-04-18 23:58:36 · answer #6 · answered by Weatherman 7 · 5 1

Anything that can be picked up and NEATLY eaten with your hands is fine. It has nothing to do with whether it is a snack or not. A taco can be picked up and eaten with your hands and this is fine. Some burritos can and some cannot, the only way to make the decision is by whether it can be neatly done.

2007-04-19 07:59:26 · answer #7 · answered by Patti C 7 · 0 0

I eat most foods (except rice and noodles) with my hands so i don't see it being a problem. Although when i go to public places i'll use cutlery because i know how some people find it as having "less manners". Snacks were made to be eaten by hands such as chips, hot dogs, burgers...you enjoy it more.

2007-04-18 23:59:59 · answer #8 · answered by laydeeheartless 5 · 1 1

The sandwich was invented as a snack for a moving army many years ago ( Lord Sandwich iirc ) . No best china there , so the tradition has carried on.

2007-04-19 00:01:48 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2 1

the earl of sandwich answer is right although maybe the best answer is that it's enjoyable to eat food with our hands so why complicate it with knives and forks which were invented for courtesy

2007-04-19 00:08:10 · answer #10 · answered by Skippy 4 · 0 1

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