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Table Manners...WTF?

* Everyone at table holds their knives in their right hands.


* like with the knifes, everyone at table has their forks in the same hand.

Doesn't that depend on which hand is dominant? I'm right handed and I always hold fork in right, knife in left.

Ah, but don't forget that up into the middle decades of the 20th Century, lefthandedness was considered uncouth and a habit that could be broken... Especially in Catholic homes.. Because Jesus sat a the right hand of God, it was considered that the devil sat on the left, and so lefthanded children (like my father) were punished for using that hand. He was forced to use his right hand for writing, throwing, etc... If he was caught using his left hand, he'd get a ruler smack across it.

So it follows that it was in bad form to eat with one's left hand as well.
 
That's a remarkable change in your compatriots eating habits. Is there any particular reason that Danish consumption has gone up so dramatically, even compared to other first world countries?
The meat consumption curve just followed the disposable income curve up through the latter part of last century -plus a lot of our traditional dishes are meat dishes, and at some point the old saying: "Eat potatoes with that" was set aside to let diners sample more of the meaty goodness. - The highest point in DK has always been our 'Cold Table' :lol:
And, of course, after exporting the bacon to England we had to eat the rest of the pig ourselves ;)

And: No, just no! - deep frying is a scourge and should be illegal! I can't even remember when I last saw a real rotisserie chicken in a fast-food place. These days they're all industrially made and frozen and then re-heated in oil :ack:
 
It is possible to deep-fry fresh meat, you know, and it is absolutely delicious.
Don't get me wrong, I know there are fantastic things you can make by frying things in oil, It's just that around here it's predominantly used to speed up preparation in fast-food joints.

Plus, most people got tired of the deep-fryers they bought back in the days when they started appearing in kitchen appliance stores. These days you're more likely to find a deep-fryer in a car-boot sale than in a kitchen :lol:
 
I will always have my elbows on the table and I don't care WHO is offended. Stupid rule.

Also, one fork is good enough... maybe two if there is dessert.
 
That's a remarkable change in your compatriots eating habits. Is there any particular reason that Danish consumption has gone up so dramatically, even compared to other first world countries?
The meat consumption curve just followed the disposable income curve up through the latter part of last century -plus a lot of our traditional dishes are meat dishes, and at some point the old saying: "Eat potatoes with that" was set aside to let diners sample more of the meaty goodness. - The highest point in DK has always been our 'Cold Table' :lol:
And, of course, after exporting the bacon to England we had to eat the rest of the pig ourselves ;)

And: No, just no! - deep frying is a scourge and should be illegal! I can't even remember when I last saw a real rotisserie chicken in a fast-food place. These days they're all industrially made and frozen and then re-heated in oil :ack:

I can't speak for the rest of the US, but you should visit New Mexico... You can't throw a rock here without hitting good Rotisserie chicken... And if you ever get a chance to eat some of the Mexican "El Pollo Loco" style grilled chicken, you will love it.. SOOO good...
 
Of course they are arbitrary. And I wouldn't argue that can look ridiculous (especially if you don't know why there were established in the first place).

On the other hand, fashion is arbitrary. Culture is arbitrary. Language is arbitrary. In the end, pretty much the only thing that is not arbitrary is math (and then again, you just need to ask Kurt Gödel).

Does it mean we have to throw everything out of the window and live like barbarians? Or even worse, like mathematicians? :eek:
 
The main downside in cutting up all your food at once is that sometimes the last bits of food get cold. If you only cut off one piece at a time, the meal retains heat better.

I always just cut up some of my food, then more after I've finished that amount, then more. Keeps things tidy and forces me to slow down and enjoy the meal, rather than cut everything and down it all quickly.

I do prefer used dishes off the table, so that I can then put my elbows on it and converse.

For those who waited tables, do servers mind if the guests stack the dishes, if they're stacked neatly. Hubby got me started on that, since we prefer used dishes out of the way.
 
I don't care why something was established hundreds of years ago if it no longer serves a purpose today. If there was a reason to keep my elbows off the table, I'd keep them off the table, but there is no reason, so I'll put them on the table if I want.
 
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