At the table fully armed

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Most of the population of our large country has not yet bothered to get acquainted with the rules of behavior at the table. There are many reasons for this. The main one is the lack of prospects to use this knowledge in practice. Most of us manage to safely avoid visiting high-society parties and multi-star restaurants during our lives. And in a family circle or at a neighbor's birthday party, simple people gather, with a knife and a fork there are not accustomed. So you can relax and eat as God pleases. That's right, but life is an extremely unpredictable thing. Today you can't even think about anything like that, and tomorrow, you see, you are having dinner at Buckingham Palace. In a word, the required minimum of graceful manners will not interfere with anyone, even if only theoretically.

Nowhere without an aperitif

In the harsh conditions of Russian reality, an aperitif takes root with difficulty. Having found its proper application at the capital's banquets, its practical relevance decreases significantly with distance from the capitals. And in fact, why would a Russian be “dispersed” by some light, or even non-alcoholic, drinks? Our national tradition requires everything at once and, most importantly, a lot. Hot drinks in this case are no exception. However, the aperitif was not invented in vain. Not all joint feasts aim at plentiful libations with the subsequent performance of the repertoire of Soviet-Russian pop stars. The well-bred public does not go to parties at all for this, but mainly in order to gaze at others, show themselves and draw appropriate conclusions. In this case, the aperitif is irreplaceable.

Clever French, conceiving this tradition, pursued several goals. An aperitif will quench your thirst and whet your appetite before your main meal. And most importantly, it allows guests who arrived earlier than others to do at least something while waiting for the rest of the guests.

Soft drinks are served as an aperitif, ranging from mineral water to juices. Vermouth or all kinds of cocktails are traditionally used as light alcohol. At receptions, the aperitif is usually served on large trays covered with napkins. A light snack is also offered for drinks: olives, lemon and a variety of nuts.

Drink by all the rules

No matter how long the preparatory part lasts, sooner or later it ends, and the guests who have managed to work up an appetite are happy to sit down at the dining tables. Alcoholic drinks are always present on the tables, which, however, have nothing to do with the aperitif. This is, so to speak, "heavy artillery" and everything is important here: what you drink, how you drink, and even from what you drink.

The main drink in Russia is, of course, vodka. They use it, mainly chilled, poured into glasses. The contents of the glass are overturned in one gulp into the "burning insides", after which it is eaten.

The ritual of wine consumption is incomparably more complicated. Having filled the glass, it will be a good form if you raise it to your eyes and admire the rich color of the wine, then inhale the aroma and after that, after sipping the contents a little, pay tribute to the exquisite bouquet. Drinking wine in one gulp is bad manners, typical mainly of alcoholics, who, due to their illness, absolutely do not care what to drink.

White wine is usually served with fish, chicken, liver and seafood. Red - for meat, duck, game, mushrooms and dessert. White wine should be served chilled, but red wine should be at room temperature or slightly warmed up. In addition, red wine should be allowed to “breathe” a little before drinking, leaving it open for about an hour before drinking. Pouring wine must be extremely careful. If it is aged for a long time (which is especially appreciated), over the years of storage, sediment accumulates at the bottom of the bottle, which should not get into the glasses of guests. First of all, the owner of the table pours a little wine for himself, then pours it to all those invited, and only after that he finally fills his glass.

The shape of the glass is also important. If, for example, tall and narrow glasses are used for champagne (this shape promotes the formation of bubbles), then for cognac the glass should be closed (so that it is more convenient to warm the drink poured to the bottom with the palm of your hand). Wide top glass for light white wines. For reds, they usually use slightly rounded glasses. But for tart wines such as sherry, the glass should be of a simple, straight shape.

By the way, champagne, so beloved by us, is correct to serve not at the beginning, but at the end of the solemn feast.

Food requires sacrifice

The hardest part about eating food is figuring out what is being eaten. Once upon a time, our ancestors ate with their hands and did not know grief. Since those ancient times, the rules of etiquette have become much more complicated. It turned out that if meat must be eaten with a fork and a knife, then a knife is not acceptable for eating fish. For fish dishes, either two forks are served, or a spatula acts as a knife to separate the bones. And if the bone is nevertheless treacherously in the mouth, sticking it out with your hands, and even more so, spitting it out is unacceptable. It is necessary to carefully, with the tip of your tongue, put it on a fork, and only then on a plate (your own, of course). By the way, the procedure for absorbing fish in compliance with all the rules of etiquette is so difficult that many, in order not to embarrass themselves, prefer to completely abandon this dish.

Contrary to popular belief, eating chicken with your hands is a sign of bad taste. You will have to separate the meat from the bone with a fork and knife. Not an easy task. In addition, in this way, it is never possible to completely separate the meat from the bone. On the face, so to speak, the translation of the product, but there's nothing you can do about it.

However, eating chicken with a knife and a fork is not yet aerobatics. Eating spaghetti really requires manual dexterity, since using a fork you need to pick up two or three pasta on a fork, wind them in a cocoon on it, and only then send it into your mouth. Agree, to do it gracefully and naturally, it takes a certain skill.

It's no secret that decent people eat first courses without smacking and sipping. But there is a lot of controversy around the question of where to tilt the plate at the final stage of the meal. In a public place, definitely, nowhere. You just leave some soup in the bowl and that's it. It is also indecent to spread paste on bread. In general, if possible, it is better not to smear anything on bread. It is eaten by breaking off small pieces from a slice taken from a bread basket. As for the pate, it is eaten with a fork.

Even an ordinary sandwich cannot be eaten in the usual way, that is, with your hands. Sausage should be placed not on bread, but on a plate and cut into pieces there. The exception is canapes, which is understandable, there is already nothing to cut there.

Some difficulties arise with fruit. Apples and pears, for example, are usually cut into quarters. Then, picking up a quarter on a fork, you should remove the skin with a knife (I don't know why you can't eat with the skin). Only after all these manipulations, the fruit is cut into pieces and eaten. Peaches and apricots are used according to the same principle.

But oranges require their own method. Having cut the peel crosswise, remove it and, dividing the pulp into slices, eat it. You cannot peel citrus fruits in a spiral manner.

Plums can be easily eaten with your hands, however, like grapes, cherries and cherries. Melon is eaten with a spoon, and watermelon is eaten with the same knife and fork.

As you can see, there are a lot of wisdom, try to remember at least something, it will suddenly come in handy. Well, if you forget, carefully follow the manipulations of knowledgeable people and repeat after them. Of course, not everything will work out right away, but this is a matter of training.