Bread fork
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Bread fork was one of the highly specialized table serving utensils of the Victorian era. This three-tined piece of silverware was shaped like a trident with a great variety of handles, some being very elaborate. The sole purpose of the utensil was to carry a slice of bread or a bread roll from the service plate to the personal bread and butter plate (serving food with fingers was a taboo at the time[1]).[2] The fork, with its long (three-inch) tines, was invented in England and had some practical use there due to the tradition of serving a whole loaf to the table and cutting it as needed. The person in charge of cutting had to pass the slices somehow, and the fork was a safer replacement for a knife. In the US bread was usually served pre-sliced, making the fork unnecessary.[3]
The utensil proved to be little-used and was popular just for a very short time at the end of the 19th century (an 1893 fashion review considered it a novelty[3]). As a result, there is a large variety of bread forks in excellent condition available in the antique stores.[2] Due to their fancy shapes, these forks are frequently repurposed for serving the meat.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Fox 2017, p. 13.
- ^ a b Wolfman & Gold 1994, p. 96, Bread forks.
- ^ a b Current Literature Publishing Company 1893, p. 554.
- ^ Wolfman & Gold 1994, pp. 15, 89, 95–96.
Sources
[edit]- "Latest fashions in silverware". Current Opinion. Current Literature Publishing Company. 1893. pp. 552–555. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
- Fox, Killian (2017-09-05). "Bread fork". The Gannet's Gastronomic Miscellany. Octopus Books. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-78472-433-7. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
- Wolfman, Peri; Gold, Charles (1994). Forks, Knives & Spoons. Clarkson Potter. ISBN 978-0-517-58828-4. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
External links
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