A knife is considered one of the most ancient pieces of flatware. In ancient times knives were weapons used for hunting and for defense purposes. After a while, a knife was adapted for various household chores and, finally, it was used as a piece of equipment for kitchen.
A special kitchen knife had more rounded edges than the weapon knife did. Legendary Cardinal Richelieu is believed to be father of the modern knife design. It was believed that the Cardinal was sick and tired about how the nobility misbehaved during the dinner time. Most aristocrats used the sharp knife edge to pick their teeth with it. The new knife design improved their manners.
The knives were created from different materials. The most popular items were made of copper, bronze and iron. The tableware for the nobility was made of gold or silver.
According to most historical sources the first spoon was invented in the 3rd century BC. First spoons were made of clay. Ancient people molded shapes, which were different from what we are used to considering the modern spoon shape. Then the clay spoon was fired in a fire pit. The spoon was scoop-shaped and was used only for cooking. Soon, the ancient people learned how to carve spoons from bones, horns, stones and animal shells.
First metal spoons appeared in ancient Greece and Rome. The nobility used spoons made only from precious metals like silver and gold. The bronze was also a common material to manufacture a flatware. Nevertheless, the flatware was still used only for cooking and serving purposes. It was in the Medieval times, when humans first realized how convenient it was to eat with a spoon.
The fork is considered the youngest tableware piece. Many centuries ago, it was used only for cooking and serving purposes. The first fork had only two teeth. It has the same shape in Greece and Rome. It is believed that the first ancient fork that was found by archaeologists was more than 2.5 thousand years old. The first time people used a fork individually was in the 11th century. According to the legend, the first person, who was eating with a fork, was Princess Maria of Byzantium. The Princess felt disgusted eating food with her bare hands. Thus, silver and golden forks ware created especially for her. Until the early 17th century forks were used only by the nobility. Later, the Catholic Church proclaimed everybody who did not use forks to be atheists.
The Types of the Flatware
At St-Petersburg Global Trade House we offer you several elegant flatware sets and a large variety of separate items. Before buying any type of flatware you should be aware of how to use each flatware item and what types of flatware exist.
A cutlery set includes a standard tablespoon, a fork and a knife. They are used for most of the first and second courses. However, cutlery sets are never used for fish dishes. Flatware items vary is size. Male and female options exist; they may differ in size and design.
A fish flatware set consists of a pair of a special knife and a fork. A fish knife has a wide and a blunt edge. A fish fork is always smaller than a regular cutlery fork. The fish fork always has a special notch between its teeth. This fish fork`s unusual feature is created to help you to separate fish pieces and to take out fish bones.
Dessert flatware sets are used not only for dessert, but for hot and cold appetizers as well. The set consists of a dessert spoon, a fork and a knife. Dessert flatware is also suitable for fruit. And it is often used together with children`s dinnerware sets.
Cake flatware is a separate flatware category and is used only for cakes and small pastry. This set includes the smallest forks and knives among all the other flatware.
Spoons for hot drinks are the smallest spoons among the other flatware spoons. They are used to mix sugar and honey in coffee or tea. A coffee spoon length is 5.1’’ (13 cm), and the length of a tea spoon is 5.5’’ (14 cm).
There is also a large number of serving flatware. For example, a large kitchen spoon is used to serve soups. A large salad spoon and a fork are used to mix the salad ingredients and to lay them on individual plates. The structure and length of these spoons help not to damage gentle green salad leaves and don’t deform succulent vegetable shapes.
Meat forks are designed separating and cutting a steak. These forks are very sharp and long. You can hold and serve the large meat pieces using them.
How to Take care for Flatware
It is very important to take a proper care for your flatware. Flatware is manufactured from different types of metals and for that reason it is so durable. At St-Petersburg Global Trade House we offer a great variety of stainless steel and cupronickel flatware. Consider several tips how to make your utensils more durable.
Stainless steel care tips:
- You can wash stainless steel items manually and in the dishwasher. However, you need to make sure that the items do not scratch each other. They should not be placed tight together when being washed.
- Stainless steel appliances never rust. However, they are very acid-sensitive. Thus, if stainless steel appliances are exposed to acidic foods, you need to wash your stainless steel appliances as soon as possible.
- You need to wipe stainless steel appliances with soft wipes if you want your flatware to shine.
Cupronickel flatware care tips:
- You need to remember that copper is a part of cupronickel. Copper is easily oxidized when it is in contact with water. Thus, you have to wipe your cupronickel item thoroughly as soon as you wash it.
- You need to dissolve a small amount of baking soda in water and dip your cupronickel in this solution for a minute.
- You can clean dark surface stains with a flannel napkin soaked in alcohol.
- If you cupronickel item darkened, clean it with Coke! Fill a glass with Coca-Cola, Fanta or Sprite and dip your flatware into it for couple hours. The stains will dissolve!
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