Etiquette as a system of rules began to be created many decades ago. It continues to be supplemented and overgrown with new details to this day. One of the components is table etiquette or rules of conduct at the table. It is almost always indicated what is needed with the help of instruments. However, there are times when it is worth eating with your hands.
Eating with your hands means not using any kind of cutlery: forks, spoons, knives, chopsticks. And this is explained not by the lack of culture, but, on the contrary, by special traditions that were laid down in antiquity.
Where and who eats with his hands
There are countries in which it is customary to eat many or all dishes only with your hands. Ethiopian cuisine, for example, dictates that all cooked dishes be wrapped in a flatbread called injera.
In Malaysia and India, spiced rice is one of the most popular dishes. It is eaten exclusively by hand. To do this, people squeeze their palm in the shape of a boat and scoop up food. However, this does not look barbaric. On the contrary, having hands is considered an art there, which must be mastered in order to do it beautifully and correctly.
The main countries where it is customary to eat with your hands are Africa, India and the Middle East. In total, about 2.5 billion people eat daily without cutlery. In Islamic culture, there is also a custom to eat with your hands not only from your own, but also from a common dish. Among the Turkic peoples, a dish called beshbarmak is eaten by hand. The word itself is translated as five fingers or five fingers. This is due to the fact that this people was nomadic, and there was no opportunity in the steppe with instruments. In Europe, the tradition of eating by hand disappeared after the four-pronged fork was invented in the 17th century.
What do they eat with their hands
The first dishes eaten with hands are meat and poultry. They have been prepared since antiquity. Perhaps that is why such a custom has been preserved. In the Western world, snacks, desserts, sweet dishes, and pastries are usually eaten in this way. Most people eat sandwiches, corn sticks, pies, pancakes, nuggets with their hands. Recently popular sushi and rolls can also be eaten with your hands if there are no chopsticks on the table.
It is customary to eat dishes on skewers or canapes with your hands. They are served at major events, special occasions such as weddings. They are usually small in size, so you can safely pick them up and eat them in one go, and the ingredients depend on the event. The more expensive and noble it is, the more exotic components are put on a skewer. You can put slices of bread and sausages, or blue cheese and olives.
In addition, it is customary to eat vegetables and fruits in their natural form with your hands. If a person is in good physical shape and does not have any medical contraindications, then he may well eat the apple with his hands. Perhaps he will cut it, but he will eat the pieces without the help of a fork and knife.
