Dear ladies and gentlemen, summer is the season for fruits! I have seen a lot of people serving fruits well prepared in small pieces on a plate, with toothpicks and small forks. But do you know how to eat fruits in high-end restaurants or in formal occasions? A gentle reminder for you: it is the same with the way people in 19th century would do! Now let’s review together!
Banana
If you have a banana (with the skin) on your plate, how would you eat it? Will you grab it with your hands, peel off its skin and put it directly into your mouth？I am sure most of you would agree to do so. However, if you were in formal occasions now, or if you were back to the 19th century, such behaviour would be considered as “the monkey way”, worth for savages and very impolite. The proper way of eating should be:
Steps
1. Cut off the two ends of the banana
2. Use the fork to press the banana softly, with the knife you will open only the skin from one end to the other
3. Use your fork and knife to peel off the skin to the sides, put it together with the banana ends from step 1.
4. Cut and eat in small pieces
It is very elegant, isn’t it? Nowadays you are no longer required to do it for daily occasions, but if you have the chance to have dinner in a fine dining restaurant or in very formal occasions, it would be better if you keep in mind that you need to eat bananas with forks and knives.
Orange
Now, you have an orange in front of you. We all know that its skin is hard to peel off with hands, and using your fingers to eat it is not elegant at all. Luckily, we have one elegant way of removing orange skin since 19th century, do you know how to do it?
Steps
1. Cut off the navel end of the orange to have a flat surface. Place it on your plate with the flat surface down so it can remain stable
2. Hold the top of the orange with fork, with the knife you will make several cuts of the skin top down. You will start the cut at 1cm distance from the top point (leave the top of each piece still connected), with the width of each piece no more than 3cm
3. Detach the skin and flesh with your knife, the remove the skin. Place it with the top point down into a floral shape. You can also put the removed end from step 1 into it. It would look more elegant.
4. Cut and eat in small pieces
As we can see, dealing with oranges is complicated, and it is more complicated if you want to do it nicely and elegantly. However, I am sure you could make it by practice!
Can’t wait to have a try with a banana or an orange, right？Then just do it! And please leave a message and share with us your experience!
