Why does a fork have four prongs

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Latest: harpua Today at AM. Professional Pastry Chefs. Top Bottom. However, the French court considered the fork an awkward, even dangerous, utensil, and the nobility did not accept it until the seventeenth century when protocol deemed it uncivilized to eat meat with both hands.

The way to use the fork remained a mystery, and many sophisticates, notably King Louis XIV, continued to eat with fingers or a knife. In , Thomas Coryate, son of the Rector of Odcombe, took the "grand tour" of Europe, and on his return published a narrative that included the Italian custom of eating with a fork. Thereafter, Coryate's friends jokingly called the young traveler Furciferus , "Pitchfork.

The Italian, and also most strangers that are cormorant in Italy, does alwaies at their meales, use a little fork when they cut the meate. The reason of this their curiosity is because the Italian cannot endure by any means to have his dish touched by fingers, seeing that all men's fingers are not alike cleane. Hereupon I myself thought to imitate the Italian fashion by this forke cutting of meate, not only while I was in Italy, but also in Germany, and often-times in England since I came home.

The modern table setting is attributed to Charles I of England who in declared, "It is decent to use a fork," a statement that heralded the beginning of civilized table manners. But it wasn't until almost a century later that the fork gained acceptance among the lower class. In England, the acceptance of the fork encouraged preparation of continental recipes, such as 'olios' from Spain, a dish made with stewed meat taken with a fork as opposed to mashed food eaten from the blade of a knife.

Because the average family owned a limited number of forks, historians suggest that the service of sherbet midway through a meal gave the servants time to wash the forks used earlier on. The first dinner forks were made with two flat prongs. The earliest two-prong fork to bear an English hallmark and engraved with a coat of arms dates to and is attributed to the Earl of Rutland.

It can be seen today in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In the seventeenth century, fork tines were made of case-hardened steel and were fast to wear down. To promote utensils with longevity, early fork tines were extra long in length and made with sharp pointed tips.

But when it came to spearing certain foods, such as peas and grains, the widely spaced two-prong fork was impractical, and between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the tines increased in number from two to three and then to four.

Moreover, from the late seventeenth century to the mid-eighteenth century, the profile of the fork changed from flat to slightly curved, a shape that accommodated a scoop of soft food, such as peas. It also has a curvy shape which helps to mix the salad. If you intend to eat a salad, then it is imperative that you use the salad fork, lest you commit a grievous faux pas. Toasting forks are used to hold meats in place over an open flame. The handles are commonly narrow and long, and some have wooden handles at the tips to minimize heat conduction and accidental burns on the hand.

Some of these forks come with 2 prongs. This is what you should use to hold a piece of meat over an open flame. The Dessert fork is the short fork specifically used to eat dessert such as cakes.

They consist of only 3 prongs. The edges of the dessert fork are angled to allow for cutting through a fluffy, moist cake. The fork which has a widened prong is called a pastry fork. To get a smooth cut through your dessert, it is important you use a dessert fork.

A Seafood fork can be one of many types of forks used to eat seafood such as fish and crab, where you would use a fish fork and crab fork respectively.

The fish fork is used to eat a fish course or meal and is usually placed at the left of the dinner fork. This is because the fish fork is often used in one of the early courses. It has particularly long prongs. The crab fork, consisting of 2 or 3 prongs, is used to pick the meat from crab when eating a prepared crab. A seafood fork can also be called a pick fork. These forks go a long way in making seafood easier to handle and eat.

Oyster forks are 3-prong forks which are narrow in shape, and they are commonly referred to as cocktail forks. They are used for handling shellfish and for eating shrimps. This remains the only fork placed at the right side of a plate in a formal dinner setting.

They are not commonly seen, but you can find them in many supermarkets. This one might look odd sitting in your drawer. Granny forks are straight at the fork head instead of curved, like most other forks are. It may still be worth it to give this traditional utensil a go. The Dinner fork is the largest of all forks on the dinner table with 3 or 4 prongs, and it is used to eat the main meal in all formal and informal meals.

It usually measures 7 inches in length, but lengths may differ from place to place. The dinner fork is placed on the left side of a plate in between two other forks, specifically the fish fork and the salad fork. We commonly use this fork the most mainly because it has the perfect width. The preceding 2- and 3-prong forks did not allow the user to scoop up as much. Extendable forks are not hugely different from the dinner fork.

Extendable forks consist of 4 prongs just like the dinner fork. The only significant difference is in the fact that it can be extended. You will not necessarily find this fork in a dinner setting, but some people just like to own it for fun. A spork is a utensil designed as a combination of a spoon and a fork.

It contains 4 prongs and compression at the head that resembles a spoon. These 4 prongs are relatively very short. Instead of switching between utensils, the spork can serve as both a spoon and a fork. They are not commonly seen in many homes but are available at stores. They come in plastic or stainless steel. Not many people have a use for it, but it can be really helpful in some situations.