Readers reply: When did the English start turning their forks upside down, and why?

When did the English start turning their forks upside down, making it more difficult to eat, and why? Jane Shaw, France

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Readers reply

Put simply, the English hold them in the correct way. serapis

Said no one anywhere ever, except in England. raphanus

It wasn’t the English who started it, but the French. After looking at pictures of Poseidon with his trident, they thought it good to introduce the fashion of eating “à Poseidon”, which the English then turned into “upside down”. Wormlover

I’ve no idea, but it’s ridiculous. As a small child, I soon learned to ignore such nonsense. How can you possibly keep peas on the other side of an implement intended for use as a scoop? Lorlala

I eat my peas with honey;
I’ve done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny,
But it keeps them on the knife. eibhear

I was taught to mash the peas onto the back of the fork. Mind you, my school also compelled me to eat right-handed, against my natural, if sinister, inclination. Bochi

Forks were originally straight and used to skewer food. Later, forks received a bend, which makes it easier to skewer with a push of your index finger. Forks were never used to shuffle food into your mouth; a spoon is used for that. NotWithPastry

This question is fundamentally misconceived. Clearly both tines-up and tines-down are equally wrong. I never even touch cutlery. My servants just pop morsels of food into my mouth upon demand. Geppid

Which way up is defined as upside down? It depends whether you are spearing or scooping. HilaryAJ

As a baby boomer, I was brung up proper like and never turned my fork over. My mum was an expert at eating peas on the convex side. However, as a victim in the late 60s of the British government’s encouragement of European rapprochement, I went to Germany for the summer at the age of 18. There is something salutary about having everyone look at you as though you are a complete pillock. So I changed – and never looked back. As luck would have it, the queen never invited me to dinner, so I got away with it on the whole. And since the B-word, I have little inclination to return, so that’s all right then. Winnall

The fork is the most versatile of cutlery. Introduced late compared with the spoon and the knife, I suggest we’ve used it like that from the start. You can use it to scoop up your peas or baked beans. But you can flip it to hold a piece of meat while you cut with a knife. That’s why the prongs are curved. Then you can pierce that piece of meat or a solid vegetable such as a brussels sprout or a carrot. And you can twiddle it around to wind a mouthful of spaghetti or linguine. It all depends on your diet. Chevalian

The fork is a tool – and a very good one, too. As with crafts tools, there are many ways to use a fork and only fools tell you how. When I saw this question, I’d supposed it might refer to the way up that you should leave the fork after a meal. To answer that: no craftsperson leaves a tool with its sharp parts pointing upwards (and forks were once rather sharp). Further, when posh cutlery was silver-plated, it was thought that if you left the fork with tips upwards, the convex back might wear, or that a significant part of the implement might be immersed for some time in food that could dissolve the plating. quietreason

Related: Who needs cutlery? Why food is more delicious when eating with hands

It’s quite amusing watching Americans who, despite having reached adulthood, in many cases quite some time ago, are utterly bewildered when trying to use cutlery. Begin with knife and fork in correct hands, cut several pieces of the food; then put knife down, change hands for the fork, twist it through 180 degrees, stab a couple of pieces of food; then switch back, pick up knife again and repeat the whole operation. Luxbee

Let me try to answer this as an American. We usually cut foods like meat with a knife. However, if the food can be cut with the side of the fork, that’s what we do. We also consider it good manners to have one hand on your lap when you eat, so maybe that’s part of it. When this started, I have no clue. It could be we didn’t care how we held our utensils, just as long as we could eat with them. wesoeden

I’d be suspicious of someone who kept one hand in their lap while eating. seedysolipsist

I remember both sets of grandparents telling us that we should always have both hands visible throughout the meal, no waving cutlery around or talking with our mouth full and no elbows on the table. That was the 1950s, mind. MMornex74

Forks were unusual at the table in England until well into the 1700s – knives, fingers and wooden spoons were the customary food implements. The knife was a personal one, taken to the table at meal times. The story I was told was that American colonists were largely dependent on imported knives, making them expensive and harder to obtain. The habit developed of families sharing the use of one knife, cutting as needed before eating with fingers or wooden spoons. Forks gained popularity in the English-speaking lands on both sides of the Atlantic. The English adopted holding a knife and a fork in each hand, as many Europeans were, but the habit of changing knife to fork and back with the same hand remained in the US. leadballoon

How to eat with cutlery should be on the list of topics not to discuss because neither side will ever get the other’s perspective (see health care and gun control). solarjh55

Fork ’andles. beardy23

As an experiment, I’ve just tried eating with an upside-down fork. The food went everywhere but into my mouth and the tines have destroyed the palm of my hand. EddieChorepost

If God had meant for us to use the fork upside down, he would have bent the prongs the other way. browne365

• The image used to illustrate this article was changed on 14 October 2024 for a more appropriate one.