How kitchen tools changed what we eat

Consider the Fork is Bee Wilson's witty account of how cooking changed around the world, revealing the history of everyday kitchen objects. The lessons answer how tools used for eating helped shape what people ate and how they ate it. They trace changing ideas about table manners and the place of utensils in everyday meals.

1 article, 1 video, 1 book · about 11 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson: Summary and Reviews · BookBrowse.com · 4 min read

   The fork changed how people ate: not so long ago, eating anything from a fork had seemed absurd. By the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the basic rule of Western table manners was: if in doubt, use a fork. The fork was polite because it was less overtly violent than a knife, less babyish and messy than a spoon, and forks were advised for everything from fish to mashed potatoes, from green beans to cream cake. These kitchen tools shaped what people ate and how they consumed food.

2. Watch
   

   19 Tools To Make Cooking Easier · YouTube · 7 min watch

   The video presents Joshua Weissman's choices of essential kitchen tools, including a scale, mixer, Vitamix blender, and sous vide cooker, as a guide to making a home kitchen easier to run and cooking easier.

3. Book
   

   Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat · Bookshop.org

   Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson presents a history of eating habits and mores through the technologies people use to prepare, serve, and consume food.

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