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Thread: Food ETIQUETTE? How closely do you adhere to the ruels?

  1. #1
    Dinger of Hum Chronopolitano's Avatar
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    Food ETIQUETTE? How closely do you adhere to the ruels?

    I found most of these silly and annoying.
    Why, in the 21st century, should table manners not be a matter of simple politeness (i.e., not bothering others)?
    I especially hate the whole "bad luck" crap.

    I am not a fan even of the "NO ELBOWS on the table" rule -- except for very formal occasions.

    Spooning the soup AWAY from you seems to have derived as a matter of logic, it seems to me.
    But that depends on the bowl shape too.
    Etc.


    CHINA

    1. Chinese tradition believes that long noodles symbolize a long life, so if you're lucky enough to eat a big steaming bowl of long noodles, don't cut them—it symbolizes cutting a long life short.
    2. While eating at the table, you should never point your chopsticks at another person.
    3. Flipping a cooked fish which is on your plate is a serious no-no. If you do, you're inviting bad luck into your life. The tradition stems from Chinese fisherman rituals. While eating, the fisherman would not turn over the fish because they feared it would cause their boats to capsize on their next trip. Instead, you should pull the flesh from beneath the fish.

    JAPAN


    4. While eating at the dinner table in Japan, chopsticks should never be used to pass food between two people. Chopsticks are used to pass bones at funerals after cremation, and by replicating this same gesture at the dinner table, you are both dishonoring a funeral tradition and creating bad luck.
    5. Chopsticks have another function for funeral traditions in Japan. In the home, families stick chopsticks vertically into bowls of rice as an offering to the dead. The vertical chopsticks also symbolize incense burned to sacrifice this dead. While this gesture is acceptable in a person’s home, you are never supposed to place chopsticks vertically in a bowl of food at a restaurant since the gesture is believed to put a curse on the restaurant owner. These beliefs are also the same in Chinese and Korean culture.

    UNITED KINGDOM


    6. As a sign of proper manners in the UK, you should always tilt a bowl of soup away from youwhile you are eating from it. Manners also dictate that you should spoon the soup away from you toward the opposite side of the bowl while you're eating. This is also proper etiquette in the United States.

    KOREA


    7. As a sign of respect in Korea, you should never begin eating at the dinner table until the eldest or most senior person has begun eating.

    CHILE


    8. If you ever decide to travel to South America, remember this: Chileans don’t eat anything with their hands at the dinner table. Ever. Pizzas, french fries, and sandwiches are consistently eaten with silverware.

    UNITED STATES


    9. It's illegal to eat watermelon in public parks within Beech Grove, Indiana. The law was created because an abundance of disposed watermelon rinds punctured the trash bags and caused a mess.
    10. In Gainesvilla, Georgia, it's illegal to eat fried chicken with anything but your bare hands. In 2009, one resident was arrested as a prank for committing the crime—i.e., eating her fried chicken with a fork—on her 91st birthday. Luckily, it was all a joke played on her by a friend, and the charges were dismissed.

    ITALY


    11. While dining in Italy, you should never ask for extra cheese unless it is offered to you. It’s seen as a challenge of the chef’s cooking abilities.

    TANZANIA


    12. While you might think that it is polite to show up just a few minutes early for a dinner party in America, it is actually rude to show up early for dinner in Tanzania. Guests should always arrive 15 or 20 minutes late for a meal to be polite.

    RUSSIA


    13. If you finish a bottle of vodka, the empty bottle should always be placed on the ground. Russians believe that placing an empty bottle back on the table causes bad luck.
    14. Food should never, ever be licked off of a knife or any other eating utensil. The act is considered rude and a sign of poor manners. Some would even consider you a savage, as it can also be interpreted as a sign of cruelty to lick a utensil that cut through your food.
    Last edited by Chronopolitano; Dec 27, 2014 at 01:48 PM.

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  3. #2
    Bored small minded people make up silly rules for all kinds of things. I agree that common sense rules (for example, do not spit at other table guests, don't steal the silverware) are sufficient.

  4. #3
    Bone Collector Bwana's Avatar
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    Are there any rules applied to dumpster diving, in different countries ?

  5. #4
    Moderator - Central tribe125's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chronopolitano View Post

    UNITED KINGDOM

    6.
    As a sign of proper manners in the UK, you should always tilt a bowl of soup away from youwhile you are eating from it. Manners also dictate that you should spoon the soup away from you toward the opposite side of the bowl while you're eating. This is also proper etiquette in the United States.
    Never done it, never seen it done - other than in a period film.

  6. #5
    Just want to add,in order to eat the fish without flipping it,sone people actually can remove the "central" bone along with the smaller "branches" with their chopsticks (well,apparently my English is not that good when it comes to describing the parts of fish....)

  7. #6
    Locally, apart from using the correct silverware and stemware (and elbows off the table and good manners in general) in formal settings, I don't follow any other "rules". Other countries/places, however, are different. We always try to follow their etiquette. Their country, their rules. We see plenty of tourists behaving badly here; I don't want to be one of those when we visit abroad!



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  9. #7
    RUSSIA

    13. If you finish a bottle of vodka, the empty bottle should always be placed on the ground. Russians believe that placing an empty bottle back on the table causes bad luck.


    I believe that should read "When you have finished your bottle of vodka..."
    Semper Ubi Sub Ubi

  10. #8
    Dinger of Hum Chronopolitano's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tribe125 View Post
    Never done it, never seen it done - other than in a period film.
    That, yeah, and there is the asininity of serving soup in flattish bowls - more like plates with the edge turned up.
    It only ends up making the soup go cold faster.
    Form-over-function nonsense!
    Last edited by Chronopolitano; Dec 27, 2014 at 06:06 PM.

  11. #9
    Even at the most formal of occasions, I seldom find people in the U.S. adhering to any social norms.

    In the United States, formality is associated with wealth, and wealth is not a function of social class. In other countries (e.g., Continental Europe or Great Britain), while there certainly is an overlap between wealth and social class, it is not always the case.

    The thing about United States is that pretty much everyone is middle class, the rich and the poor (just on extreme ends of it). There are nevertheless pockets of civilization here and elsewhere, but they are slowly and surely dissipating, only to be replaced by microwave meals on the couch in front of the TV.

  12. #10
    Dinger of Hum Chronopolitano's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by M. Montaigne View Post
    Even at the most formal of occasions, I seldom find people in the U.S. adhering to any social norms.

    In the United States, formality is associated with wealth, and wealth is not a function of social class. In other countries (e.g., Continental Europe or Great Britain), while there certainly is an overlap between wealth and social class, it is not always the case.
    The thing about United States is that pretty much everyone is middle class, the rich and the poor (just on extreme ends of it). There are nevertheless pockets of civilization here and elsewhere, but they are slowly and surely dissipating, only to be replaced by microwave meals on the couch in front of the TV.

    Excellent observation actually.

    Am reading / typing this while enjoying a powerful bowl of chili at my desk. Made it myself, ignoring all the recipial recommendations. Gawd it's good!

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