11 Interesting Chopstick Facts Revealed On This Unique Eating Tool

Food is an essential part of human survival, different communities have their very own unique style of cooking and even more distinguished approaches when it comes to eating their traditional cuisines.

The knife and fork are used worldwide as the dinner table crockery, making it easier for us to eat our food without causing much mess at the table.

It is in human nature to come up with something more new and advanced every day and when it comes to our kitchen tools they are more or less bound to be experimented with.

Asian cuisine is remarkable and is sure to make your taste buds dance! It's inevitable to slide past the famous chinses crockery, which is commonly used for eating.

When it comes to unique eating tools, humanity has a big list, the end of which we will never reach.

From ancient times to till now, we have used, disposed and invented various tools. Whether it is to cut through meat or simply to enjoy soups, we have a whole orchestra of tools that specialize in making us learn and follow more of those table manners!

What are chopsticks?

In ancient China, people invented chopsticks for more than just one purpose. The efficient grip that chopsticks provided helped eat food items such as noodles, which are very famous in china.

• Chopsticks are a kind of eating tool which helps in eating noodles, these are longer sticks with a blunt end.
• Today, chopsticks are used all across the world, they are very famous since they provide you with a nice experience when you are eating traditional Chinese food.
• In ancient China, a royal family in those times would specially request their chopsticks to be made out of silver. As silver can detect poison and turn black. Silver chopsticks were very famous in those times.
• Markets are flooded with different chopstick styles, but the most used chopsticks come with a pointed end and are made of wood or bamboo.
• Silver chopsticks are still made in China, but are solely and to preserve ancient Chinese culture.

Origin Of Chopsticks

Disposable chopsticks are the right way to a more sustainable future. Apart from being used for eating, the interesting history of chopsticks in china started with a different goal.

• The name chopsticks arrived from the Chinese word chop chop which means fast or quick.
• In earlier times, chopsticks were not used for eating, they used a knife and fork.
• Chopsticks were only used to cook, although, as the population of China increased there were very few resources for every individual person, which lead people to cut costs and use their utensils in multiple ways.
• What started as a utensil to use in boiling pots, are today used by more than 33% of the world's population on their dinner table.

Evolution Of Chopsticks

Since the use of chopsticks is now widespread and millions of people use them, disposable chopsticks have come into the market to make the whole process cleaner.

• In ancient times, the Chinese population used to cook in pots with a very narrow opening, this lead them to come with the invention of chopsticks. As chopsticks can get inside the narrow pot opening more easily, it then became an essential part of the Asian Chinese kitchen.
• It can become a little difficult to eat with chopsticks, the very first time. However, one can start practicing by placing the chopsticks on their preferred hand then slowly practicing openings and closing of the chopsticks with index fingers with the support of thumb.
• Chopsticks are not a sacred tool, however it's the staple eating tool of Asia.
• Chopsticks are a symbol of Chinese traditions and values.

Eating Styles With Chopsticks

Here are some facts on how chopsticks are used for eating!

• In China and Japan, its considered a bad omen to hold chopsticks upright.
• Chopsticks can make eating an exercise as well! It's fun to know that when you use a chopstick for eating you are using almost 30 joints and 50 muscles of your fingers, wrists, and arms.
• Royal Chinese families often used silver chopsticks to safeguard them from any assassins who may have poisoned the food.
• Not all chopsticks are of the same style, as chopsticks are mainly used in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, these cultures use different kinds of chopsticks.
• The Chinese chopsticks are very long, they either have rounded ends or they have blunt ends.
• When it comes to traditional Japanese chopsticks, they use small chopsticks, which have a very sharp end.
• In Korea not many people use wooden chopsticks, these communities make their chopsticks from metal, wood, and plastic, and they are shorter in size compared to the Chinese chopsticks.
• Vietnamese people use the classic Chinese style chopsticks, which are very long and come with a blunt end.
• Many communities have different names for chopsticks, in japan, they are also known as hasi or otemoto.