A Salad Fork

Why is there such thing as a “salad” fork?

Better yet, why is there not a pasta fork?  Maybe, a Jell-O fork?  Jell-O is righteously difficult to eat.  For that, I am envisioning a fork with some manner of clamping mechanism.

Curious about salad forks, I conducted some internet research.

Salad forks are (I don’t know why) approximately six inches long.  They sport shorter and flatter tines than dinner forks.

Dinner forks, by the way, are seven inches long.

When setting the table, placement of the salad fork depends on the sequence of courses. If salads are served after an entrée, the salad fork will be second on the left. For salads served as an entrée, the salad fork will be first on the left.

Bad news.  As I sloshed around on the internet, I found more and more forks.  Turns out there are all kinds of forks.  I have listed a few for you here:

Dinner Fork

Fish Fork

Salad Fork

Dessert Fork

Seafood Fork

Strawberry Fork (Seriously?)

Lobster Fork

Ice Cream Fork (Wait?   What?  A fork for ice cream?)

Pastry Fork

Snail Fork

Oyster Fork

First thought: What’s the deal with all the forks for foods from the water?

Second thought: What if you had to use chopsticks for eating ice cream?

Third thought: Would it be appropriate to have a second and third glass of Scotch today?

—Mitchell Hegman

Sources:  www.etiquettescholar.com, https://difference.guru, www.hunker.com