Cutlery
Cutlery refers to tools used for preparing, serving and eating food. The most common types of cutlery are knives, spoons and forks. Other words for cutlery are silverware, tableware, utensils and flatware.
The best quality cutlery may be made of silver, but more often silver plating. Stainless steel is used for most good quality household cutlery. Pewter was often used in the past for cheap cutlery. Nickel silver, sometimes called German silver, is another alloy, with copper, nickel, and zinc in it. Plastic cutlery is used for eating fast food, because it is very cheap, and may be thrown away afterwards.
Serving practice and use of cutlery varies somewhat between cultures. Formal dinners have cutlery set out in a traditional manner. There will be two sets of knives and forks, an outer smaller set for the first course and a larger inner set for the main course. Cutlery for later courses will usually be delivered with those courses. In an informal restaurant, cutlery may come wrapped in a cloth napkin (serviette).
Chinese and Japanese food is eaten with chopsticks, and food pre-cut to a size suitable for that method. Some other oriental cuisines are eaten by fork and spoon, with no knife.
Cutlery Media
An example of modern cutlery, design by architect and product designer Zaha Hadid (2007).
A set (known as a canteen) of Georgian era silver cutlery, including ladles, and serving spoons. The thin item on the left is a marrow scoop for eating bone marrow.
Wooden cutlery at Wikimedia Hackathon 2018 Lunch
Wooden disposable cutlery
A table setting for an eight-course meal. It includes a butter spreader resting on a crystal stand; a cocktail fork, soup spoon, dessert fork, dessert spoon and an ice cream fork, as well as separate knives and forks for fish, entrée, main course and salad
Starch-polyester disposable cutlery
