The etiquette rules for eating fruit may seem confusing at first. But for those who want to understand the rules of etiquette, we have tried to systematize several basic rules that apply at the table in a formal setting.
Fruits can be served at the table in various forms: on a common platter, peeled and cut into pieces or simply washed, fresh or as part of an already prepared dish, in the form of candied fruits, in syrup or with cream in bowls. And it is this factor that influences which cutlery we grab.
Now we will try to highlight the rules of etiquette in some categories to make it easier to eat fruit in a formal setting at the table.
- Peeled fruit. In most cases, peeled and chopped fruit is served to the table already divided into portions for each guest, then you just have to pick up the fork and knife served for the fruit and, cutting it into small pieces, enjoy the taste. The fruit should be placed cut side down on a plate so that the juice that comes out of the fruit will gently drain to the bottom of the plate.
- Unpeeled fruit. Here, you should first pay attention to the type of fruit itself, whether it is customary to peel it and then eat it, or whether it is eaten directly from the peel. If you are not aware of such details, then the best option would be to place the fruit on a plate with the skin down and the cut part up, so that the skin of the fruit absorbs the juice that will form when cutting the fruit. The fruit in this form can be served with either a dessert spoon or a fruit knife and fork.
Note: a very good hint on how to properly eat fruit according to etiquette is the container in which the fruit is served.
Food is eaten from a bowl or bowl with a spoon, and from a flat plate with a fork and knife. If the fruit is served on a common platter and there is a dedicated cutlery nearby for transferring the fruit to your plate, then you have no choice but to use it. And fruits that are transferred by hand will be served to the table without such a device. Never select or taste fruits in order to put the best fruit on your plate. This is not cultural, since the hosts of the dinner tried to serve the best fruits to the table in advance.
But what to do with seeds and pits in fruit according to the rules of etiquette?
It all depends on the size. Stones like plums or apricots are taken with three fingers (thumb on one side, index finger on the other) and placed on the edge of the plate. In order to get rid of cherry pits, for example, use a fork. Gently push the bone with your tongue onto the edge of the tines of a fork and leave it in its intended place, this may be either the edge of a plate or a stand plate in a vase or bowl. And the last type, fruits with seeds that are too small to use a fork. They are carefully spat out into a hand curled into a fist, and are also placed on the edge of their plate. You can’t spit them out into a napkin and put them on the table.
We have looked at the basic rules for eating fruit, but there are still some nuances for eating each individual fruit, especially exotic ones, which rarely appear on the table in our latitudes.
In order to understand them, follow the links located at the bottom of the article:
Eating fruits and berries is undoubtedly a pleasant process. At home no one thinks about the rules of etiquette and how to eat fruit. If at home you can put a banana skin or a peach pit in a fruit bowl, then in a restaurant or at a party you should behave appropriately, that is, follow the rules of fruit and berry etiquette.
How to eat fruit correctly?
Pears and apples are usually on the table in a common vase. Take the fruit with your left hand and remove the skin with your right hand using a knife. By the way, you need to start peeling an apple or pear from the stem and in a spiral. Push the cut skin to the edge of the plate and place the peeled fruit in the middle. Now carefully dry your left hand with a napkin, take a fork into it and cut the fruit into two halves with a knife. Remove the core of the fruit using a knife, holding it with a fork, and place it on the peel scraps. If you are at an official reception or in a restaurant, then you need to eat apple or pear slices with a fork.
Peaches also need to be peeled, but only the part where it can be easily removed. Push the cut skin to the edge of the plate and place the fruit in the middle. To remove the pit, the fruit is taken in the left hand and cut in a circle. After breaking the peach into two parts and removing the pit, place it on a plate and cut it into pieces, putting it in your mouth. The apricot does not need to be cut into pieces, since its halves are much smaller than those of a peach.
As for grapes, they are eaten with their hands - they hold the brush with their left hand, and with their right they tear off the berries one by one. According to table etiquette, grapes should be eaten whole, that is, with seeds and skins. If you are served grapes in a bowl, you need to eat them with a spoon. In this case, it is permissible to spit out the bones onto the edge of the spoon, and then transfer them to a special plate.
For some reason, many of us are afraid of not being able to peel an orange. Take the orange in your left hand, cut a circle at the stem area and make circular cuts vertically. Moreover, the circular cuts should not reach the stalk. Now place the fruit on a plate and open the skin along the cuts to the stalk to make a kind of flower with a whole fruit inside. Then, using a knife and fork, cut off an orange slice and remove the seeds by cutting it in half. You need to eat orange slices with a fork. But eating tangerine does not require any equipment.
Use a knife and fork to eat the pineapple. As a rule, this exotic fruit is served sliced or in bowls, so you need to consume it with a small spoon (dessert spoon, tea spoon).
At home, sitting comfortably in front of the TV, you can fill a fruit bowl with apple cores or banana peels. At a party, and even more so, in a restaurant, such an act will not work... In order not to end up without dessert, I suggest you take a short course in fruit and berry etiquette, an irreplaceable thing in your culinary self-education, capable of putting you in the most favorable light even for a moment. a romantic date, even at an official banquet.
Apples and pears. An apple is taken from a common vase in the left hand and with a fruit knife over a plate, the skin is thinly cut in a spiral, starting from the stalk. The cut skin is moved with a knife to the edge of the plate (farthest from the eater), and the peeled apple is placed in the middle of the plate. After wiping your left hand with a napkin, use a knife and fork to cut the apple in half. One half is set aside a little, and the second is cut into slices. Holding the slice with a fork, cut out the core with a knife and place it on the cut skin. At an informal gathering of friends, you can pick up slices with your fingers, but in restaurants and in formal settings, the apple is eaten with a fork. Pears are eaten the same way.
Peaches and apricots. Peaches and apricots are eaten differently. The peach is taken from the vase by hand and over a plate, using a knife, the part of the skin that is freely removed is peeled. Use the end of a knife to move the peeled skin to the edge of the plate, and place the peeled peach in the middle of the plate. A large peach is taken in the left hand and cut in a circle to the pit, then broken. The bone is removed with a knife. Pitless peach halves are not eaten whole, but cut off piece by piece. An apricot is much smaller than a peach, so it is not cut into pieces, but placed in half directly into the mouth.
Plums. Large plums are broken in half with your fingers and the pit is removed. A small plum is squeezed at the ends until it bursts, and then the pit is removed.
Grape. Grapes are picked not with instruments, but with hands. Hold the brush with two fingers and tear off the berries one by one. It is customary to eat grapes whole. If for some reason you cannot eat grapes with seeds or skin, it is better not to treat yourself to them in public at all. Sometimes grapes are served without branches to each guest in bowls. In this case, it is eaten with a teaspoon or dessert spoon. At the same time, the bones are carefully spat onto the tip of a spoon, and then transferred to a stand plate, and if there is none, then to the edge of your plate.
Orange. The orange is taken in the left hand and the peel is cut off from the side of the peduncle with a knife over a plate. After this, circular cuts are made in the skin with a knife, without cutting it from the side of the stalk. The more cuts you make, the easier it is to peel the orange. After this, the orange is placed in the middle of the plate and, holding it with your hand, the peel is opened up to the stalk along the cuts. Thus, you get a peeled orange in the middle, and on the sides there are peel petals in the form of a flower. Then, having wiped their fingers on a napkin, they take a knife and fork in their hands, use them to separate a slice of orange and, if it is large enough, cut off half, free it from the seeds with the end of the knife, and put it into the mouth with a fork. If a seed accidentally gets into the mouth, it is removed from the mouth onto the tip of a fork and transferred to the edge of the plate.
There is an easier way to handle an orange, a less formal one, let's say. First, cut the peel crosswise, then remove it, and divide the orange itself into slices with your hands.
Tangerines. The tangerine is taken with the left hand and peeled with the right hand over a plate. Then the slices are separated and eaten without using cutlery.
A pineapple. Pineapple is served peeled and cored, cut into circles or slices. Sometimes sugar or powdered sugar is served separately. Eating pineapple with a knife and fork. Pineapple in syrup, cut into slices, is usually served to everyone in bowls, and eaten with a teaspoon or dessert spoon.
Bananas. Bananas are served with the ends cut off. Taking the banana by the stalk with your left hand, with your right hand using a knife, or without it, peel it and place it in the middle of the plate, and the peel on the edge of the plate. The banana pulp is eaten with a knife and fork, cutting into slices.
Watermelons and melons served in slices with peel. The slice is placed on a plate, skin side down, and the flesh is cut into pieces using a knife and fork. The pulp can also be eaten with a teaspoon until the skin becomes firm. Or a slice of watermelon is placed on a plate with the pulp facing you and the rind away from you. Eat with a knife and fork in small pieces, having previously freed them from the seeds with the tip of the knife.
Fresh fruit serving as dessert may be placed in the center of the table before guests are seated, but fruit may also be served by the maid at the beginning of dessert. Guests can also pass the fruit platter to each other. When fruit is served as dessert at a formal lunch or dinner, a fruit knife is placed on each fruit plate. It is brought in on the bottom plate of the hand dish. In less formal circumstances, at the beginning of a meal, a knife and fork are placed on the table - just above the main plate, parallel to the edge of the table.
With baked and boiled fruits, as well as for fresh fruit compotes, a dessert-size spoon is usually served, but teaspoons are often used. Dessert spoon and fork are often served with large fruits that are cooked whole.
Fruit bowls are seven to eight inches in diameter. A salad bowl can be used instead. Diced and baked fruits are served in dishes, usually made of glass and on a coordinating bottom plate.
As a rule, cheese or dry biscuits are served with fruit. Usually only cheese is offered, but a cheese plate may contain several types of food in addition to cheese. The cheese plate is served after guests have finished eating their fruit. The cheese portion is placed on the fruit plate rather than directly on the cookies. A small amount of cheese can be placed on the cracker using a fruit knife or fruit fork.
Apricots. Fresh apricots are picked by hand and eaten by biting off the flesh. Do not take the apricot kernel into your mouth.
Marinated or seasoned apricots, served with a meat dish, are placed on the dinner plate. They are cut and eaten using a fork or knife and fork. The kernels are not taken into the mouth.
Apricot compote is served in a small dish on the bottom plate. Apricots from compote are cut with a spoon. A small apricot is taken into the mouth completely, the kernel is removed with a spoon and placed on the lower plate.
A pineapple. Pineapple can be served unpeeled. In this case, it is cut into wedge-shaped slices. Small slices can be eaten with a fork, while large ones can be managed with a knife and fork. Fresh pineapples are cut and left for a while in sugar, honey or possibly liqueur. They are eaten with a spoon, just like canned pineapples.
Oranges. An orange, cut in half unpeeled, is eaten with a spoon. Before this, the seeds are removed with the tip of a spoon; If the seeds do get into the mouth, they are removed with a spoon. The remaining orange peel and pulp should not be picked up or squeezed to squeeze out the remaining juice.
Whole oranges (except Temple oranges, which are as easy to peel as a tangerine) are not recommended for dessert at the table because peeling them looks unsightly, especially without a fruit peeler. If you do serve oranges, cut the peel into quarters with a fruit knife and pull it back so it looks like flower petals. This opens access to the inside of the orange, and the orange itself is eaten by hand. The seeds are also removed by hand. If you don't have a fruit knife, peel the orange completely, breaking off small pieces of peel. Spiral peeling is a hassle, especially without a sharp enough knife.
Watermelons. Watermelons are usually served cut into semicircular slices or wedge-shaped pieces. Their large size requires the use of a dinner plate. Watermelon is eaten with a fork or knife. Before putting a piece into your mouth, remove the seeds from it with a fork. If the seeds do get into the mouth, they are removed with a fork, although it is also acceptable and much safer to get rid of the seeds with your fingers.
Bananas. When bananas are served whole, do not peel them only partially, bringing them to your mouth with the peel still hanging down. Eating bananas in this way is only permissible on a picnic. At the table, bananas can be peeled either completely or partially, after which you should place the banana near the plate and, breaking off pieces, eat it with your hands. If guests are offered a knife and fork, you can cut small pieces of bananas and eat with a fork, as they do in Europe.
Grape. Individual grapes separated from the bunch should not be served in a fruit dish. Individual parts are torn off or cut off with grape scissors from the bunch and served on a dessert plate. Only after this do the individual grapes come off. You should not bring small bunches to your mouth and bite off grapes with your teeth. It is better to use grapes with hard skins, since soft skins tear easily and a pile of skins from used grapes is a very unattractive sight.
In Europe, grapes are not washed before serving because this spoils the color; Grape pieces are dipped into a hand dish or even water glasses.
Cherries. Fresh cherries are served with cuttings. The stalk is removed after the berry is placed in the mouth. The bone is removed with your fingers.
The compote cherries are eaten with a spoon. The bone is removed from the mouth with a spoon and placed on the edge of the bottom plate, not on the back of the dish.
Grenades. There is only one answer to the question of how to eat this fruit: eat this fruit without company. Pomegranates should not be placed in a fruit dish except for decoration. The pomegranate is cut into wedge-shaped pieces, a piece of fruit with seeds is bitten off, and the seeds are then removed into the hand. It doesn't look good at the table.
Grapefruits. The grapefruit can be peeled and divided into segments; the thin shell is removed and the slices are served on a dessert platter. If half a grapefruit is served, it is placed on the dessert plate. Before the grapefruit is placed on the table, the white pulp is usually removed, the peel is peeled, and the membrane separating the segments is removed; Sugar, honey, sherry, and liqueur are often added. Grapefruit should be cooked carefully to avoid puncturing the rind, which could cause the juice to spill onto the plate. If you do not cut the grapefruit exactly into slices, then it is better not to cut it at all, although if the grapefruit is served hot, it should definitely be divided into slices. Grapefruit is eaten with a teaspoon or a pointed grapefruit spoon. The bones are removed from the mouth with a spoon.
Pears. Fresh pears are cut into four parts. The core is removed. The pear is eaten with your hands or with a fruit fork. Usually the pear is peeled, but this is not necessary. Only at picnics is it permissible to hold an uncut, unpeeled pear and bite off pieces of it.
When served uncut, pears are best handled with a knife and fork.
A large, very juicy Komis pear is cut in half and served unpeeled with the core removed. This pear is eaten with a spoon, like halving a cantaloupe, leaving the skin intact.
Melons. A classic addition to melons of all types is a slice of lemon. Many people season melon with salt and black pepper, so you should not remove them from the table if melon is served for dessert. It is best to serve the slices well chilled.
Melons are often made into balls, marinated in honey or sugar and perhaps also wine and liqueur. Melons in the form of balls are served on a dessert platter; these balls can be piled in a cantaloupe half. The balls are eaten with a spoon.
Cut into slices - semicircular or wedge-shaped - melons are served in a dessert plate unpeeled. Melon is eaten with a dessert spoon or dessert knife and fork.
Thin slices can be peeled and served on a dessert plate in this form; These slices are eaten with a spoon or with a knife and fork.
Semicircular and wedge-shaped melon slices with depressions in them are often filled with sherbet, ice cream, berries, green grapes and other fruits.
Strawberry- the only berry that is served with the stalk. Strawberries are placed on a dessert plate either with powdered sugar only, or with sugar or sour cream (not with sweet cream). They eat it with their hands. You can place separate containers with powdered sugar and sour cream on a plate; Sugar and sour cream can be placed in small quantities on a plate, but not on the berries themselves. Each strawberry is taken by the stem, dipped in sugar or sour cream and eaten after biting a couple of times.
Bones. The general rule is that whatever is put into the mouth with a fork or spoon is removed from the mouth with the same object; everything that is put into the mouth with the hands is also taken out with the hands. An exception is made for small and slippery seeds, which are removed from the mouth with the fingers, but under no circumstances should the palm be used. If processed fruit is served in a dish, then the seeds and seeds are placed on a plate under the dish.
Mango. This delicious fruit is so full of juice, holds its seeds so tightly, and leaves such permanent stains on the tablecloth, that it is best served already peeled and cut into wedges. Sliced mango is eaten with a fork.
Tangerines. Tangerines are an excellent component in a dish with various fruits. The peel is easy to peel off. One slice is detached at a time and eaten with the hands, usually taking a couple of bites. The seeds are returned to the plate by hand.
Nectarine. Large nectarines (smooth peaches) are cut and eaten using a dessert knife and fork. Small nectarines are eaten with the hands, biting off piece by piece, like plums. Do not put the bone in your mouth.
Peaches. It is best to serve fresh peaches with an easily separated pit, since the pulp firmly attached to the pit makes the process of removing the pit very unsightly. Small peaches are cut in half, large peaches are cut into several parts. Peaches are usually peeled (although this is not necessary) and eaten by hand or with a fruit fork. Only at a picnic they hold a peach in their hand, biting off it little by little. Do not remove fluff with a napkin.
Pickled peaches go on the dinner plate, but not on the butter plate; pieces are eaten with a fork.
Whole peaches boiled in syrup are best eaten with a fork and spoon.
Plums. Fresh plums are picked up by hand and eaten, biting off one piece at a time. The bones cannot be put into the mouth. It is best to serve plums already pitted - both fresh and processed.
Figs. Fresh figs are picked up with the fingers and eaten after several bites.
Dates. Dates are best eaten by taking a couple of bites so that there is no need to put the pit in your mouth. If dates are taken into the mouth whole, the pit is removed using your fingers.
Persimmon. When this fruit reaches maturity, it becomes so soft and juicy that it is convenient to handle it at the table only with a dessert knife and spoon. The persimmon is placed on a plate with the tail side down. The peel is cut from top to bottom into four parts. The peel can be eaten, but is usually not done because it has a strong taste, even though the flesh is as sweet as honey. After removing the peel, the pulp is cut into pieces and the seeds are separated. Less commonly, the top part of the persimmon is cut off and the pulp is then scooped out with a spoon. You can cut the peel, and then, before serving the persimmon, pull the pieces from the pulp, like flower petals. The persimmon is then eaten with a knife and fork.
Prunes. Raw prunes made from sun-dried plums are sometimes served in a fruit dish. Prunes are taken by hand and eaten, biting off little by little. Do not put the bone in your mouth.
The prunes from the compote are cut with the edge of a spoon; the bone is left on the dish. If small prunes are taken into the mouth whole, the pit is removed with a spoon and placed on the edge of a plate under the fruit dish.
Apples. The apple is never held entirely in the hand, biting off piece by piece. If served with a fork and fruit knife, the apples are cut into quarters, cored, peeled and eaten with a knife and fork. Apples are commonly eaten in the above manner in Europe. If only a fruit knife is served, the apple is peeled and cut into pieces so that it can be swallowed after a couple of bites; The pieces are eaten with hands.
Berries. IN On most formal occasions, peeled berries are served in small glass dishes placed on a dessert plate. On less formal occasions, the berries are served in a dish without a lower plate. Berries can be served directly on a dessert plate if sour cream is served instead of sweet cream. Powdered sugar is often served instead of sugar.
This text is an introductory fragment. From the book The Complete Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions author From the book Home Canning. Salting. Smoking. Complete encyclopedia author Babkova Olga Viktorovna From the book Encyclopedia of Etiquette. All about the rules of good manners author Miller LlewellynFruit For dessert, fresh fruit can be placed in the center of the table before guests sit down, but fruit can also be served by the maid at the beginning of dessert. Guests can also pass the fruit platter to each other. When fruit is a dessert
From the book How to Travel Around the World. Tips and instructions for making your dreams come true author Jordeg ElisabettaFruits and vegetables You can't imagine how many kilos of fruits and vegetables I threw overboard, sometimes with the gloomy prospect of not seeing anything else for weeks. Heat, humidity and cramped conditions are not the best friends of fresh fruit, and they take revenge for this
From the book A Real Lady. Rules of good manners and style author Vos Elena From the book The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions [with illustrations] author Mazurkevich Sergei Alexandrovich“Brilliant” fruits Recently, a lot of fruits imported from abroad have appeared on sale. They look very attractive. But this is exactly the case when it’s not “all that glitters is great.” The fact is that inventive foreigners, in order to ensure that fruits do not
From the book The Complete Encyclopedia of Household Economy author Vasnetsova Elena GennadievnaVegetables and fruits In agriculture, when growing vegetables, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones and pesticides are used. In order to reduce their impact on the body, it is better to purchase products at rural markets rather than in stores or grow vegetables yourself. After purchase
From the book The Complete Modern Encyclopedia of Etiquette author Yuzhin Vladimir IvanovichWe eat fruit It is advisable to keep the overall interior of the dessert table in pastel colors, decorate it with flowers and original shapes of fruit, which in turn creates a pleasant mood. It is considered very indecent to eat fruit by biting into it. You need to clean it with a knife
From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (FR) by the author TSB author Evening Elena YurievnaFruits and berries The most commonly stored fruits are apples and pears. They are placed in cardboard boxes, having previously wrapped each fruit in wax paper, or toilet paper. You can also cover the fruits with dry sand or fresh sawdust. It should be remembered that
From the book Great Encyclopedia of a Summer Resident author Evening Elena YurievnaFruits All fruits can be frozen whole or as a puree. Peel apricots and freeze in halves, or puree them using a blender and freeze in small portioned bags. You can also puree currants and freeze them in portioned bags.
Fruits Due to the fact that fruits can be served not only as dessert, but also as an addition to a romantic dinner, wine and champagne, it is worth paying attention to the correct use and serving of them. Pineapple No matter how solemn and festive an unpeeled pineapple may look,
From the book Eat, Love, Enjoy. Food. A travel guide for women to restaurants, cuisines and markets around the world by Demay LailaFruits and vegetables NYC Greenmarkets Network of markets Fifty markets in this network are located in the five boroughs of New York. Prices are not as exorbitant as at Union Square Market. Only farmers and local producers are allowed to sell their products here. Rare seasonal vegetables such as chayote
As one well-known hero of jokes and psychoanalysis said, sometimes a banana is just a banana. But you can also mess up with it. For example, half of the population of our planet lives in blissful ignorance that it turns out that they eat bananas incorrectly. Stop putting up with it and making the same mistake! Here's how to really eat a banana.
Even those who are far from working out in the gym and all those protein shakes know about the nutritional benefits of bananas. But in order to get the most out of a positive berry (surprise! And a banana is not a fruit at all, but very much a berry, from a botanical point of view), you need to consume it in the right way. And no, it’s not even a matter of whether you start cleaning it from the “nose” or “tail”.
It doesn't matter which side we peel the banana from. The important thing is that most diligently get rid of these long threads between the peel and the pulp. The yellow elongated fibers don’t look too appetizing, we agree. But throwing them in the trash can is a big mistake. Nutritionists insist on this.
The fact is that these fibers, which, by the way, are called phloem (you can show off your erudition during lunch) are conductive tissue, the “vessels” of a banana. They carry out all the transport of nutrients necessary for fruit growth. And therefore, it is in the phloem that the concentration of all benefits is much higher than in the pulp itself. So throwing them away means depriving yourself of a valuable source of potassium, fiber, vitamin A and vitamin B6.
Phloem will also help determine how ripe a banana is. In greenish fruits, the fibers are weakly expressed and are difficult to separate. But the threads of a ripe banana are easy to detect and remove. But is it necessary?
