A variety of eating utensils have been used by people to aid eating when dining. Most societies traditionally use bowls or dishes to contain food to be eaten, but while some use their hands to deliver this food to their mouths, others have developed specific tools for the purpose. In Western cultures, cutlery items such as knives and forks are the traditional norm, while in much of the Eastchopsticks are more common. Spoons are ubiquitous. , main course and salad
History
In some cultures, such as Ethiopian and Indian, hands alone are used or bread takes the place of non-edible utensils. In others, such as Japanese and Chinese, where bowls of food are more often raised to the mouth, little modification from the basic pair of chopsticks and a spoon has taken place. Western culture has taken the development and specialisation of eating utensils further, with the result that multiple utensils may appear in a dining setting, each with a different name and purpose. With the evolution of people's eating habits, further modification continues to take place, mostly in the West.
Over time, traditional utensils have been modified in various ways in attempts to make eating more convenient or to reduce the total number of utensils required.
Chopfork – A utensil with a fork at one end and chopsticks/tongs at the other.
Chork – Pointed and slightly curved tongs, which can be used like chopsticks or as a fork. A different kind of chork is a fork with a split handle, which can be broken in half to make two chopsticks.
Forkchops – Used in a pair, these are basically a pair of chopsticks with a small fork and knife on the non-pointed ends.
Knork – A knife with a single tine, sharpened or serrated, set into the anterior end of the blade.
Prepackaged products may come with a utensil intended to be consumed or discarded after using it to consume the product. For instance, some single-serve ice cream is sold with a flat wooden spade, often erroneously called a "spoon", to lift the product to one's mouth. Prepackaged tuna salad or cracker snacks may contain a flat plastic spade for similar purposes. "Fun Dip" is a type of candy in the United States, where a solid candy "dipping stick" is used to convey flavored sugar to the eater's mouth. The dipper is first licked to provide moisture, and then dredged through a small pouch with the flavored sugar, so that the sugar sticks to the dipping stick. The Barratt Dip Dab is a similar product available in Britain.
