In everyday life, using a knife and fork, people rarely think about the rules of etiquette. But in some situations it is necessary to know exactly how to behave at the table. According to the rules of behavior during a meal, these dining devices must be held in a certain way, placed on a certain side of the plate and not used in all situations.
How to hold a knife and fork correctly?
Sitting at the table, look at how it is served, what appliances are opposite. It is important to remember that all objects lying on the right side must be taken with the right hand, and vice versa. According to the rules, the knife is placed on the right, and the fork is on the left. Take the knife in your right hand so that its end rests against the palm, and near the beginning of the blade, hold it with your index, thumb and middle fingers, while the index should rest against the upper surface of the knife handle. When cutting food, this finger needs to be pressed in order to provide the right pressure.
The rest of the fingers are not used when holding the knife, they can be slightly bent towards the palm.
The fork is held in the left hand with the teeth down: the end of the handle also rests on the palm, and the index finger lies on top. In this way, the fork is held, if it is necessary to take a piece of food, piercing it with teeth. But in some cases, when you need to eat not meat, but a soft side dish or other food, it is impossible to use a fork in this way. You need to turn it over with the teeth up and scoop up the food, like a spoon. In this case, you must hold the device in the same way as a handle.
How to use a fork and knife?
To cut a piece of food, bend your wrists with your cutlery so that your index fingers, resting on the top of the handles, point towards the plate. Use a fork to hold the portion of the food you want to cut from the main piece. With a knife, pressing with your finger, cut off this part - it should remain impaled on the teeth, now it can be eaten.
It is wrong to hold the main piece with a fork, cut off a small part on the right with a knife and then grind the teeth into the resulting piece.
If you eat a side dish, then the fork can be turned over, and in this case, the knife is used to pick food on the teeth. Do not swap them - even if you are using a fork like a spoon.
It is not customary to cut bread with a knife at the table - they break it off by hand. Also, you cannot cut the fish (if it is not pickled or smoked fish) - it is eaten with the help of other devices. Do not use a fork or knife when cutting crayfish and crabs. Lettuce leaves are cut with the edge of a fork, and pieces are also separated with a fork from soft dishes - meatballs, cutlets.
If you want to leave the table for a while, but have not finished your meal, do not forget to leave the cutlery correctly, otherwise they may be carried away. The fork and knife should be crossed in the plate - if you put them together, it means that you have eaten and want your plate to be taken away.
