What the Fork?!

Some people have an issue with the three-tined fork. Do you?

Honestly, neither of us has ever even noticed if a fork had three of four tines. It wasn't until someone pointed it out to Kevin that we got thinking, what the 'fork' is the difference between three and four tined forks anyway?

Hours of research later... We first found that a three-tined fork is sometimes called a pastry fork, yet several pastry forks available for purchase have four tines, so we could not accept this. Then we saw that seafood forks usually have three tines, but then read that those are curved out slightly, so could not accept this either. Finally, we found this:

Originally a fork, which had two tines, was used solely as a spear to hold meat while cutting. Three tines were tried to allow for more width and make for a more pleasant mouthful. Five tines were too wide for comfort in most mouths, so four tines basically became the norm. So, mystery solved, a three-tined fork is merely an older-style utensil!

That conclusion is just fine with us, but full disclosure, all we really care about is the food making it into our mouths!





Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content