Fork love
I loved forks before I started researching this theme.
I love them because despite the simplicity of their design they can take on so many different variations.
I love them because they are useful and dangerous, unlike their duller neighbours, spoons.
I love them especially because there are so many ways to look at forks and get a completely different perspective.
From above, from the side, over the diagonal. Focusing on the tines - or the stem. Travelling along the line of the fork, or viewing it, rather aggressively, full frontal. The fork you look at miraculously takes on completely different, and beautiful, shapes.
But after researching the history of forks for this blog and podcast series my love has deepened even more.
It is fascinating how this clever eating utensil has gone from scandalous to ubiquitous, so let’s have another look at the history of the fork before we get creative.
Fork scandal
A Byzantine princess introduced the fork at the Italian court back in the 10th century - and was immediately condemned for such decadence.
A high ranking clergy member commented:
Instead of eating with her fingers like other people, the princess cuts up her food into small pieces and eats them by means of little golden forks with two prongs.
God in his wisdom has provided man with natural forks - his fingers. Therefore it is an insult to Him to substitute artificial metallic forks for them when eating.
The princess died not long after…obviously punished by the Divine for her sinful use of forks.
Fork use
Now it’s important to be aware of how forks were used at first, which was quite different from contemporary use.
Rather than use them as a vehicle to move food from the plate to your mouth, forks would be used to spear a piece of food, lift it from the plate or serving bowl, and shake any excess sauce from it.
After that you would use your hands to pluck the food from the fork using the tips of the fingers, and put it in your mouth.
These early forks were small, with short straight tines, and probably used only for spearing and holding food.
Fork design
However, when it comes to spearing peas and similar foods, the widely spaced two-prong fork was impractical. So between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the tines increased in number from two to three and then to four.
In addition, the profile changed from flat to slightly curved, allowing not just for spearing but also for scooping of food.
Fork anxiety
With Victorian times came a plethora of forks - and fork anxiety.
Pastry Fork, London, 1886, Francis Higgins, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Sardine Fork, England, 1875-1900, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
When faced with five or more forks, do you know which one to use for which food? Can you pick out the pastry or pickle fork from a line-up?
The fork has helped us eat without using our God-given fingers: an excellent innovation from a hygienic point of view. And it has been a great medium for artists to create amazing designs on a very small scale, as we’ve seen earlier this week.
Design for a spoon and fork, Mathieu Lauweriks, 1874 - 1932, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Fork creativity
Now let’s get creative with forks. Here are some suggestions:
Photograph a fork from as many different angles as possible
Catch up on the shadow play assignment from earlier this week.
Catalogue your family’s forks, or, if you haven’t got a funny fork collection, create your own virtual exhibition using online collections.
Design a fork for a special type of food - how about a jellybean fork, a seaweed fork or an avocado fork? What would they look like?
Make marks with a fork: use an old or plastic fork to paint, scratch or draw in the sand
Have lots of fun playing with forks this weekend.
And when you’re done, do share your fork creations on Instagram or Twitter, using the hashtag #kramerseye and sharing where you found them.
