How to Use a Spoon and Fork to Eat Spaghetti

Spaghetti with fork and spoon

While a true pasta purist would never do it, proper etiquette recommends using both a fork and a large dessert spoon to eat spaghetti or other long pasta strands. Learning to do this right takes practice and is best attempted at home before it is tried in public. Once mastered, using a spoon and fork can make eating pasta less messy and easier to enjoy.

Things You'll Need

• Large dessert or tablespoon
• Fork

Instructions

1. Choose a large dessert spoon or a tablespoon with a large bowl.

2. Pick up several stands of spaghetti with the tines of the fork.

3. Hold the spoon in your other hand and press the bowl of the spoon against the end of the fork tines. This will keep the spaghetti from falling off the fork.

4. Twirl the fork in the bowl of the spoon to wrap the spaghetti around the tines of the fork.

5. Lean close to the table, place the spaghetti in your mouth and pull away the fork. Repeat until the spaghetti is finished.

Tips & Warnings

• Small children may need spaghetti cut into smaller pieces until they develop the motor control needed to perform this process.

• You can also use a piece of bread if a spoon is not available to help you twirl the spaghetti on the fork.

References

• University of Kentucky: Table Manners (PDF)