Many people don’t realize that forks are a relatively recent innovation. Before the late 15th Century, most people around fine tables used just spoons; a knife would have been wielded only by the carver who would cut bites into dainty morsels. The Italians were the first to embrace forks, and the trend moved North. In 1518, Martin Luther allegedly exclaimed “God preserve me from forks!” He and other skeptics believed the implement’s prongs were representative of the Devil…

This weekend I was on “Good Food” with Evan Kleiman to talk about the history of utensils, which is really quite fascinating! You can listen to the podcast here.