- Joined
- Nov 26, 2016
- Location
- central NC
(Wikimedia Commons)
The ice cream fork was a product of the cutlery overkill during the Victorian era. It seems table-setting became a competitive art form for the Victorians so the requisite utensils were soon accompanied by numerous odd utensils like aspic spoons, snail forks, bonbon scoops, and, of course, ice cream forks. This utensil seems especially odd since people initially associated the common fork with the devil’s pitchfork. We can thank the Italians’ love of pasta and the table-setting boom in the 19th century for making the fork acceptable.
Today ice cream forks aren’t often seen, but proper etiquette still calls for them, especially when eating ice cream sundaes. It all depends on how the ice cream is served. If it’s placed in a bowl, it’s proper to use a spoon to scoop it up. If it’s presented on a plate, you should get out that ice cream fork.
It's rare to find ice cream forks in kitchen shops these days, but these relics are still available on the internet.