Let's think about the three utensils always present on our tables: fork, spoon, and knife. Today I'll talk to you about the first two:
The Spoon
When I think about the origin of the spoon, I like to imagine Eve quenching her thirst by pressing her lips to a mother-of-pearl shell. Indeed, the first object suitable for scooping and containing a liquid could very well be a leaf or a turtle shell. Its Latin name, "cochlear," meaning shell, assures us of its origin.
The spoon did not have a widespread use at the table of the Romans; it was rarely used and sometimes as a substitute for the fork. It is worth remembering that back then, food was presented to diners in small pieces. The spoons of the Roman era were similar to small ladles with a pointed handle.
It seems that at that time, spoons were used to eat eggs while the tip of the handle was very useful for extracting mollusks and snails from their shells. The metal bowl, which remained unchanged for centuries, changed in the 1700s when, to comply with new etiquette rules, the way of holding the spoon changed. It was no longer held in the palm of the hand but grasped between the thumb and index finger and supported with the middle finger.
The Fork
The need for the fork was certainly less felt because nature has given man Adam's fork, that is, the fingers, suitable for easily grasping any object or food. Thus, it was born last, and its development was much slower. It was only sporadically used for convivial purposes, mostly remaining in the kitchen in the form of that large fork that chefs use to remove large pieces of meat from pots and that carvers use in the dining room to immobilize and slice them.
The origin of the fork certainly dates back to a very ancient era, not easy to establish, but its use in Italy does not date back many centuries. This table utensil was forgotten by writers in the description of ancient banquets, and it was also neglected by painters, but it was present in household inventories, where it appears under the names "imbrogliatoio," "broccatoio," and "brocchetto," which derive from the verb "imbrogliare," meaning not only to hit the target but also to skewer, as its etymology seems to derive from the French "broche," which in Italian means spit.
It is between the 8th and 10th centuries that the fork, as we understand and use it, found its place on the refined tables of Byzantium, the fabulous capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, from where it was brought to Italy when the Byzantine princess Maria, married to Doge Orseolo II, brought as a dowry a golden fork with three prongs. The new custom of eating with a fork instead of hands scandalized Friar Pier Damiani so much that he begged the Pope to condemn the fork because it resembled the utensil (the pitchfork) handled by the devil.
But with the age of academies and wigs, the fork was the object that seemed to best respond to refinement and effeminate mannerisms. Since then, even the fork, which many generations had used less frequently, gained general favor and became indispensable on every table.