How To Use Every Utensil | Method Mastery | Epicurious
How To Use Every Utensil | Method Mastery | Epicurious
Crack open a fresh notebook and come to attention because class is back in session! Author and food scholar Darra Goldstein joins Epicurious to break down the whens whys and hows of using (almost) every utensil. Covering more specialized forks, spoons, and knives than you could shake a napkin at, after this episode of Method Mastery you’ll never find yourself at a fancy dinner having to ask: “What’s this one for?”\r
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Director: Gunsel Pehlivan\r
Director of Photography: Ben Dewey\r
Editor(s): Eric Bigman\r
Host: Darra Goldstein\r
Sr. Culinary Director: Carrie Parente\r
Coordinating Producer: Tommy Werner\r
Culinary Producers: Jessica Do, Young Sun Huh, Leslie Raney\r
Line Producer: Jen McGinity\r
Associate Producer: Sam Ghee\r
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa\r
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes\r
Camera Operators: Joel Kingsbury, Kirsten Potts\r
Audio: Rebecca O’Neill, Lily Van Leeuwen\r
Production Assistants: Anna Kaplan, Jermy Saint-Louis\r
Culinary Assistant: Nicole Perry\r
Research Director: Ryan Harrington\r
Copy and Recipe Editor: Vivian Jao\r
Post Production Supervisor: Stephanie Cardone\r
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter \r
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo\r
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds\r
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Special Thanks: Some of the incredible flatware pieces featured in this video are from JRobinson, a family-owned business that’s been making specialty silver since 1942. https://jrobinson.com/ \r
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—\r
0:00 Introduction\r
0:30 Fork Overview\r
1:12 Dinner Fork\r
2:17 Lobster Pick\r
2:53 Fish Fork\r
3:38 Salad Fork\r
4:24 Oyster Fork\r
5:01 Pastry Fork\r
5:39 Knife Overview\r
6:06 Steak Knife\r
6:56 Fruit Knife\r
7:50 Table Knife\r
8:53 Fish Knife\r
9:59 Butter Knife\r
10:56 Spoon Overview\r
11:21 Soup Spoon\r
12:33 Marrow Spoon\r
13:38 Teaspoon\r
14:40 Caviar Spoon\r
15:57 Grapefruit Spoon\r
16:54 Bouillon Spoon\r
17:44 Spork\r
18:38 Demitasse Spoon\r
19:30 Parfait Spoon\r
20:19 Straw Spoon\r
20:58 Conclusion
Still haven’t subscribed to Epicurious on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/epiyoutubesub\r
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Content
3.69 -> [Music]
14.24 -> hi i'm daryl goldstein an author and
16.8 -> food scholar and i'm here to show you
19.039 -> all kinds of eating utensils and the
20.88 -> proper way to use them this is just one
23.279 -> way to set the table what we'll look at
25.279 -> today are the utensils used in western
27.68 -> culture though there are many many more
32.48 -> the fork is actually a late comer to the
34.719 -> table the earliest table forks were used
37.2 -> by very elite ladies who didn't want to
39.68 -> mess up their fingers they were only
41.92 -> about two inches high and they were used
44.079 -> to spear sweet meats
46.239 -> but the catholic church condemned them
48.64 -> because the two times resembled the
50.559 -> devil's horns
52.16 -> and so forks kind of disappeared for
54.239 -> several centuries
55.84 -> they started coming back in the 15th
57.84 -> century during the renaissance initially
60.239 -> they were considered effeminate because
62.239 -> women were the ones to use them it's
64.239 -> only later that the fork came to be seen
66.56 -> as a much more male and sort of
68.32 -> aggressive implement while the spoon
70.72 -> became gendered as feminine
72.54 -> [Music]
75.84 -> this is a dinner fork this is a fork
78.32 -> you're most likely to see wherever you
80.479 -> go it is the standard the dinner fork
83.52 -> will be the longest fork at the table
85.439 -> and also have the greatest curvature
88.24 -> as you can see there's a curvature here
91.68 -> and this is how the fork developed
94 -> because when people wanted to use it not
96.64 -> just for stabilizing but for eating you
99.28 -> wanted to be able not just to spear but
102.079 -> also to scoop a reason why the fork
104.479 -> became more popular until the
106.64 -> renaissance
107.92 -> people did not use napkins at the table
111.439 -> and they used the edges of the
113.28 -> tablecloth to wipe their hands you can
116 -> imagine how greasy those tablecloths
118.159 -> were at the end of the meal a fork is a
120.64 -> lot easier to clean than a tablecloth
123.759 -> what makes the fork
125.6 -> a wonderful utensil is its multi-purpose
129.2 -> if you have something like these
130.64 -> beautiful gnocchi to spear you just
132.959 -> spear them directly you can also scoop
136.239 -> and lift
137.27 -> [Music]
140.16 -> this is a lobster pick
142.4 -> during the gilded age in the late 19th
144.56 -> century all sorts of specialized
146.72 -> utensils were created for every
149.36 -> imaginable purpose
151.2 -> they have a tiny fork on one end and a
154.16 -> scoop on the other when you have
156.16 -> something small like this the tines of a
158.56 -> regular fork won't fit
160.72 -> so you take the scoop
162.879 -> and
163.84 -> you simply reach in you dig in scrape it
166.8 -> out into the plate
168.56 -> spear it with the fork times
171.68 -> and into the mouth
172.89 -> [Music]
175.76 -> here is a fish fork for meaty fish like
178.4 -> swordfish you can always use a dinner
181.04 -> fork but if you have something delicate
183.36 -> like sole you'll want to use a finer
186.08 -> fork the outer tines are curved slightly
189.599 -> to enable you to scoop up the fish sole
192.8 -> and other delicate fish is very flaky
195.76 -> and you want to make sure that you don't
197.36 -> compress those beautiful flakes you'll
199.84 -> notice that there are two notches on
202.319 -> either side of this fork they echo the
205.28 -> notch that you always find in the fish
207.599 -> knife to use the fish fork you cut the
210.4 -> fish
212 -> and then scoop it onto the flat tines of
214.959 -> the fork
220.159 -> this is a salad fork it's smaller than
222.799 -> the dinner fork it's usually six to
224.879 -> seven inches long
226.72 -> and it doesn't have the same deep
229.04 -> curvature that the dinner fork has
232.319 -> you'll also notice that it has a very
234.56 -> wide tine if you have something in your
237.28 -> salad that you want to be able to cut
239.519 -> and not just spear or scoop it comes in
242.319 -> very handy it has a broader base here in
246.239 -> relation to the handle which allows you
249.04 -> to more easily take up delicate leaves
252.159 -> one thing to remember if you come to a
254.4 -> table that has many forks spread out to
256.639 -> the left of the dinner plate
259.199 -> you always start with the fork that is
261.44 -> on the outside edge
263.01 -> [Music]
265.919 -> this is an oyster fork you can see how
269.04 -> small it is oyster forks have actually
271.6 -> been known since ancient times unlike
274.16 -> the dinner fork what was a roman to do
277.199 -> when faced with an oyster and nothing to
279.919 -> eat it with that's how the oyster fork
282.479 -> develop they can have either two or
284.88 -> three times to use the oyster fork you
288 -> simply pick up the oyster in the half
290.32 -> shell
292 -> spirit
299.12 -> and that's all there is to it
301.06 -> [Music]
304 -> this is a pastry fork it was specially
306.88 -> designed to be used with pies and other
309.52 -> desserts that have a firm crust this
312.4 -> thicker tine allows you to use the fork
315.28 -> almost like a knife so you can get
317.44 -> through the crust
318.96 -> you take it and put your index finger on
321.199 -> top of the handle
322.72 -> and then you cut down through the pie
325.199 -> and it cuts very smoothly scoop
327.919 -> underneath the pie
332.96 -> it's really good oh my god
336.8 -> it's really delicious
341.44 -> like the spoon the knife was a very
343.28 -> early introduction when people were
345.68 -> still hunters and gatherers
348.32 -> the earliest knives were made of
350 -> sharpened flint and they were used to
352.24 -> process the meat that had been hunted
354.56 -> over time they came to appear on the
356.56 -> sideboards of wealthy families in the
358.56 -> dining room to carve whole joints of
360.88 -> meat but it was much later that they
363.039 -> became individual implements at the
365.28 -> table
368.639 -> this is a steak knife you can see how
371.28 -> sharp it is with a very pointed blade
373.919 -> and also lots of serration which allows
376.8 -> it to cut through the meat they often
379.12 -> have decorative handles made of wood
381.6 -> before the late 17th century
384.319 -> individual sets of flatware were not
386.56 -> provided at table settings
388.88 -> and wealthy people traveled with their
391.28 -> own kits including their own knives i
394.319 -> have a pork chop here that i'm going to
396.88 -> cut into by placing the blade upright
399.84 -> and just slicing now i'm setting the
402.4 -> knife on the edge of the plate
404.639 -> transferring the fork to my right hand
410.24 -> oh my god
413.919 -> it is so good
415.8 -> [Music]
418.72 -> this is a fruit knife
420.8 -> and it's absolutely adorable serving
423.759 -> fresh fruit was considered a very
426.16 -> elegant way to end a meal and one of the
428.72 -> ways that people used to display
430.72 -> prestige and show their wealth was to
433.44 -> have handles that were made of precious
435.759 -> materials sometimes it would be amber
438.72 -> you could have them encrusted with
440.4 -> jewels many of them instead of having
443.52 -> silver or stainless steel for the blade
445.919 -> are gilded
447.199 -> so that there's no chance of any acidic
450.479 -> reaction with the metal because gold
452.8 -> will not react with acid at all the way
455.52 -> you use this knife is to take a firm
458.16 -> fruit like an apple or a pear
460.96 -> and simply slice a wedge from it just
464.16 -> like this
469.44 -> [Music]
472.4 -> this is a standard table knife as you
474.639 -> can see it's about seven and a half
476.4 -> eight inches long unlike the earliest
479.039 -> knives this is much blunter it doesn't
481.84 -> have a pointed tip and this developed
484.4 -> really in around the 1600s for a couple
487.44 -> of reasons one reason is that people
490.08 -> were picking their teeth at the table
492.639 -> with a sharp knife using the point of
495.12 -> the knife as a toothpick and it was
496.96 -> considered very uncouth the other reason
500.16 -> is that in the 17th century
502.72 -> there was a fashion for new foods like
505.919 -> fresh peas the fork had not come into
508.639 -> widespread use yet and the knife was
511.12 -> actually used for scooping peas and
513.919 -> other vegetables so it had to have a
516.64 -> somewhat broader and blunter blade when
519.44 -> i was growing up my mother told me
521.2 -> always to place the blade of the knife
523.2 -> facing inward it's because it signals a
526.16 -> friendly host in the past when knives
528.8 -> were sharper if you had the blade facing
530.959 -> outward it could be used as a weapon
534.93 -> [Music]
536.64 -> fish is much more delicate than meat so
539.36 -> you want to make sure that you're not
541.04 -> damaging that tender flesh
543.839 -> the blade of the fish knife is always
546.24 -> blunt not sharp and it's considerably
549.6 -> wider than the blade of a table knife it
552.48 -> often particularly in the 19th century
555.279 -> developed to have a very dramatic
557.68 -> scimitar shape this is called a pistol
560.32 -> handle a shape that became very popular
563.12 -> in the 18th century partly because
565.68 -> ergonomically it's really comfortable
568.32 -> what i do use it for is for lifting skin
571.12 -> from the fish
572.399 -> so i use the fork to stabilize the fish
575.6 -> and slice just underneath the skin
579.12 -> and then i can lift it off very very
581.839 -> easily but if you want to eat the skin
584.72 -> it's sharp enough that you can cut into
586.72 -> it as with other knives once you've
589.12 -> finished the slicing
591.04 -> lay the knife along the rim of the plate
597.2 -> nothing like fresh salmon
602 -> here we have a butter knife it's an 18th
604.56 -> century innovation when people started
607.44 -> serving bread on side plates at the
609.76 -> table it's only about six inches long
613.12 -> instead of being elongated it is rounded
617.04 -> right here which makes it very good for
619.519 -> spreading
620.8 -> so to use it if you want to be
623.04 -> hoity-toity and follow perfect etiquette
626.16 -> you don't put it right on your bread you
629.279 -> put it on the side of the dish and only
632.16 -> then
632.959 -> do you
634.24 -> cut down into it
636.48 -> and
637.44 -> spread it on the bread
639.839 -> and because this hasn't touched your
641.839 -> mouth at all
643.12 -> you return it to the side of the plate
645.36 -> but then you can dip it in the common
647.36 -> bowl whenever you need to but one thing
649.68 -> you should not do is leave the knife
652.399 -> stuck in the butter bowl that's a real
654.48 -> no-no
658.24 -> spoons are the oldest eating utensil in
660.72 -> the beginning we just used hands but if
662.8 -> you had some hot liquid boiling in a
665.44 -> cauldron you obviously couldn't scoop it
667.519 -> up so you reached for a shell and you
670 -> picked it up that way but if the flame
672.079 -> was hot you would want to protect your
674.72 -> hand so you attached a stick to it and
677.519 -> that evolved into the spoon that we know
679.92 -> today
680.61 -> [Music]
684.24 -> this is a soup spoon the mother of all
687.04 -> spoons and these were considered to be
690.16 -> in the shape of the tongue and actually
692.399 -> the latin name for them was related to
694.399 -> the word for tongue either lingula or
697.12 -> ligula the spoons originally were really
699.839 -> large and they were meant to be grabbed
702.079 -> in the fist and shoved into the mouth
705.2 -> but that was not considered good
707.04 -> etiquette so over the years they evolved
710.16 -> to be even more elongated and to be held
713.44 -> gracefully in the hand with two or three
716.48 -> fingers of all the spoons that we're
718.8 -> looking at this has the largest bowl and
721.6 -> it's really become the prototype for
723.44 -> what we consider the tablespoon the
726.24 -> proper way to use this spoon we're going
728.399 -> to heat the soup from the side not from
731.279 -> the front
734 -> really delicious
735.519 -> that is so good
737.92 -> i'm sorry i can't resist
740.079 -> one of the ways in which soup spoons
741.92 -> evolved
743.04 -> is that instead of having a completely
745.279 -> flat handle it became slightly curved so
748.56 -> that it could rest on the rim of the
750.32 -> bowl without the spoon sliding into the
752.72 -> soup
752.97 -> [Music]
756.399 -> if you happen to be a meat lover you
758.56 -> know that there's very delicious marrow
760.8 -> inside bones the marrow scoop or spoon
764 -> dates from the late 17th century when
766.8 -> eating the marrow out of bones came into
769.12 -> fashion primarily beef bones but here we
772.24 -> have lamb bones to use this you would
774.959 -> take the bone and i hope you don't mind
776.72 -> using your fingers because after all
778.48 -> they're the best utensils of all
780.72 -> and you take the narrow end of the scoop
783.44 -> and you put it into the bone and you see
786.959 -> this beautiful marrow is coming out and
789.76 -> you put it onto toast
792.16 -> and then you can take the longer end of
794.079 -> the scoop and you can spread it
796.56 -> after the 19th century marrow fell
799.279 -> somewhat out of favor because it was
801.2 -> considered too
802.8 -> fatty and certainly in the united states
806 -> in the second half of the 20th century
808.16 -> people were avoiding many forms of fat
811.04 -> nowadays as marrow comes back into
813.44 -> fashion you're likely to see one of
815.519 -> these marrow scoops at your local
817.44 -> steakhouse
819.47 -> [Music]
821.12 -> here we have the teaspoon we tend to
823.6 -> take utensils for granted we say hand me
826.399 -> a teaspoon and we don't really think
828 -> about what that means but actually the
830.399 -> teaspoon is a fairly recent development
833.36 -> it came about only in the mid 17th
835.92 -> century when tea was introduced to the
838.32 -> west from china and it became the rage
841.279 -> it was a really big fad and of course
843.839 -> people wanted the proper utensils to
846.079 -> serve it with
847.279 -> especially in england where they added
849.44 -> milk and sugar to their tea
851.76 -> the french teaspoon is a little bit
853.519 -> smaller than the standard english one
855.92 -> and as you might imagine the american
858.079 -> teaspoon is a little bit bigger because
860.399 -> everything is super sized here we call
862.639 -> it a teaspoon but it's evolved into just
865.279 -> our basic dessert spoon and that's why
867.68 -> i'm going to enjoy some ice cream with
869.68 -> it right now although the proper
871.44 -> etiquette for soup is to scoop away from
874.399 -> you with a teaspoon you can eat it
876.56 -> however you like you don't have to eat
878.639 -> from the side
880.27 -> [Music]
883.279 -> here we have a caviar spoon which is one
885.68 -> of my favorite utensils ever partly
888.32 -> because i love caviar so much it does
890.959 -> not have a metal bowl this is a very
893.92 -> important point with caviar you don't
896.399 -> want any metal at all
898.399 -> you want mother of pearl or horn or in
902 -> the past ivory so that the fish row
905.279 -> would not get a tainted flavor from the
907.92 -> metal but i think mother of pearl is the
910.16 -> best because it comes from the sea its
912.079 -> oyster shells until the sturgeons became
914.72 -> endangered caviar was a much more
916.88 -> everyday food
918.32 -> over the years as more and more sturgeon
920.48 -> were fished it became endangered and it
923.279 -> was really in the 19th century that
925.6 -> special implements developed to serve it
929.04 -> so caviar should always be served highly
931.519 -> iced what you technically should do
934.72 -> is spread it on a tiny bling these are
937.36 -> little russian pancakes and just turn it
940.48 -> upside down
942.079 -> and then pop it into your mouth or if
944.88 -> you're a caviar taster you can put it
947.36 -> right here
950.079 -> and eat it like that
951.68 -> i'm gonna eat this whole thing it's
953.199 -> terrible but now that i put my spoon in
954.959 -> it no one else can eat it
958.11 -> [Music]
959.759 -> do you like to eat grapefruit in the
961.36 -> morning
962.32 -> there is an ingenious spoon for eating
965.04 -> it
965.759 -> as you can see it's of a small size and
968 -> it has very sharp serrations here it's
970.88 -> extremely pointed compared to either the
973.199 -> soup spoon or the bullion spoon or even
975.68 -> the teaspoon for that matter at the end
977.92 -> of the 19th century refrigerated train
980.399 -> cars started traveling across the united
982.8 -> states from california to the east coast
985.68 -> and bringing with them oranges and
987.6 -> grapefruit and all kinds of other citrus
989.839 -> fruit which suddenly became more
991.759 -> accessible to people and so the
994.079 -> grapefruit spoon was born and all you do
996.8 -> is you start digging in along the
999.6 -> segments and you cut the segments as
1002 -> though it's a knife
1003.92 -> and then because there is a bowl to the
1006.56 -> spoon it comes right out in one
1008.959 -> beautiful piece
1010.48 -> this one you can put right in your mouth
1012.639 -> bow forward
1014.83 -> [Music]
1016.639 -> this is a bullion spoon one of the
1018.639 -> interesting things about utensils is
1020.8 -> that many of them developed in response
1022.8 -> to culinary trends instead of having
1025.439 -> thick soups it became fashionable to eat
1028.079 -> thin soups called bullion or consomme in
1031.039 -> small cups so you needed a smaller spoon
1033.839 -> in order to eat it with elegance this is
1036.4 -> only about five or six inches long as
1038.319 -> opposed to the larger soup spoon the
1040.4 -> reason there were so many soup spoons
1042.959 -> and forks for that matter is because
1045.6 -> people wanted to display their wealth it
1047.919 -> was performance so you would go into a
1050.64 -> banquet table and you would see so many
1053.2 -> forks and so many spoons that you really
1055.2 -> didn't know what to do you had to
1057.2 -> understand etiquette
1061.6 -> ah
1066.4 -> the spork was invented in new york city
1068.64 -> in 1874.
1070.799 -> when a doctor named samuel francis took
1073.2 -> out a patent on it he actually had a
1076 -> three-way utensil that had a sharp
1078.16 -> cutting edge as well but this fork and
1080.88 -> spoon combination became the standard
1083.76 -> the problem with the spork from my point
1086.32 -> of view
1087.28 -> is that the tines of the fork are never
1090.08 -> long enough to actually spear anything
1093.28 -> and the bowl of the spork is not really
1095.84 -> so good for scooping especially if you
1098.4 -> have something like soup so i think it's
1101.28 -> a pretty useless utensil but it's the
1104.08 -> kind of utensil that you'll find at all
1106.48 -> kinds of receptions and buffets
1109.84 -> i'm sorry i can't get enthusiastic about
1112.559 -> it i just really feel like it's
1115.039 -> not good for anything
1117.29 -> [Music]
1121.679 -> here we have the demi-toss spoon as you
1124.24 -> can see it's quite tiny it's only about
1127.039 -> three and a half inches long and it's
1129.6 -> designed for serving specifically with
1132 -> after-dinner coffee in a tiny cup demi
1135.76 -> toss means half a cup since teaspoons
1138.88 -> weren't used as much in france as in
1141.28 -> england and coffee was more prevalent
1143.52 -> there the demi-toss spoon evolved from
1146.4 -> the teaspoon to be smaller and more
1148.559 -> suitable for the after dinner coffee
1151.28 -> and so
1152.16 -> what you want to do is take your sugar
1155.2 -> drop it into the coffee cup take your
1157.52 -> spoon and stir the reason the demi toss
1160.48 -> spoon is so small is it's designed to
1163.2 -> rest on the saucer it's not really a
1166.32 -> utensil that you use for eating it's
1168.64 -> solely for stirring
1171.36 -> [Music]
1172.96 -> here we have a parfait spoon as you can
1175.52 -> see compared to all the other spoons
1177.28 -> we've looked at it has a very long
1179.52 -> handle and that's so it can reach deep
1182.32 -> into a parfait dish
1184.64 -> which is tall and narrow parfaits were
1187.76 -> invented in france in the late 19th
1190.64 -> century the word means perfect and they
1193.76 -> really are pretty perfect and what this
1196.24 -> spoon allows you to do is reach deep
1198.799 -> down and not just eat from the surface
1203.28 -> these are delicious
1204.88 -> this spoon has another very important
1207.36 -> purpose and that is as an iced teaspoon
1210.96 -> because it comes in a very tall glass
1213.52 -> and the long handle will enable you to
1215.44 -> reach down to the bottom to stir sugar
1217.84 -> into it
1221.52 -> this is a straw spoon
1223.52 -> when you look at it front on you might
1226 -> not see what makes it so distinctive but
1229.039 -> the end of it is actually a straw when
1232.159 -> you first get a milkshake it's really
1234.4 -> icy and cold and very thick so you want
1237.84 -> to dig right into it with a spoon but
1240.08 -> what happens as the milkshake begins to
1242.48 -> melt it turns into slush at the bottom
1245.679 -> and it's really hard even with a long
1247.919 -> handle to scoop it all out that's where
1251.039 -> the straw part comes in perfectly handy
1256.32 -> i love this utensil and there you have
1258.88 -> it every utensil you need to enjoy a
1261.6 -> really great meal these tools tell us a
1264.159 -> tremendous amount about the progress of
1266.24 -> civilization and the desire for both
1269.039 -> beauty and utility at the table i hope
1271.76 -> this episode has given you a glimpse
1274.159 -> into what utensil to use for what
1276.48 -> thankfully the table has been
1278.08 -> transformed since the gilded age and we
1280.48 -> no longer have to worry about 146
1283.52 -> different utensils and how to use them
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Opnit2FIrk