Timeline for What is way to eat rice with hands in front of westerners such that it doesn't appear to be yucky?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
53 events
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| Nov 29, 2019 at 4:08 | history | edited | Aquarius_Girl | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Nov 2, 2016 at 2:11 | comment | added | Rowan | @Bohemian It's about context and cultural respect. Different situations and locations call for different behaviours. We all need to have a bit of tolerance and respect for other cultures. When in Rome indeed. | |
| Nov 1, 2016 at 4:02 | comment | added | Bohemian | @rowan if someone ate sloppy/loose food with their fingers in my home that would be the last time they would eat at my home. I wouldn't say anything, but my stomach would turn. If I was at someone else's home and they ate like that, I would thank them for their hospitality and never return. You will not find a "how to eat rice and curry with your fingers" in any respected western etiquette book. I would go so far as to say you may be asked to leave from better restaurants. I for one would complain to management if someone near me ate in such an uncivilised manner. When in Rome, eat like romans | |
| Nov 1, 2016 at 0:53 | comment | added | Rowan | @Bohemian Please don't try and speak for everyone when you express a personal opinion. Not all 'Westerners' find it 'disgusting'. | |
| Nov 1, 2016 at 0:45 | comment | added | Rowan | Depends where you are as well - if you invite me into your home to share a meal then most people would have no problem with how you choose to eat in your own home. I do this with my partner's family all the time - I eat with a fork while they mostly eat with their hands. Obviously in a public setting then the context will dictate etiquette and behaviour. | |
| Oct 31, 2016 at 11:19 | comment | added | Bohemian | Just to let you know from a westerner's point of view... Eating a rice/curry mix with your fingers is disgusting. It's (usually) OK to eat a relatively large single object like a piece of carrot, piece of bread etc with your fingers as long as your fingers stay well clear of the mouth. Eating rice with fingers requires the fingers to get very close to or enter your mouth, which is repulsive. Only young babies eat like this. Most children over 12 months are using forks and spoons for loose food. To a westerner, shoving loose food in your appears primitive, uncultured and animal like. | |
| Oct 31, 2016 at 1:50 | comment | added | Juan Carlos Oropeza | You are in India or a Western Country? | |
| Oct 30, 2016 at 23:52 | comment | added | Möoz | Jump in it. Swim in it. Own it! It's not up to idiotic strangers to decide how you should behave. | |
| Oct 30, 2016 at 11:25 | comment | added | Rui F Ribeiro | I wont even notice you eating with your hands, but people do notice when people do not wash hands afterwards. We used to have a indian workmate, and his keyboards was a mish mash of different colours. | |
| Oct 29, 2016 at 4:40 | comment | added | Dawood ibn Kareem | First up - I am a Westerner, but if you and I ever share a meal, you are welcome to eat it in any way you see fit. I will not be disgusted by your eating habits, I promise. Even if you touch my food while eating with your fingers; it's all perfectly fine. But can I just point out that Westerners generally eat rice with a fork, not a spoon? Eating rice with a spoon would seem just as odd to most of us, as eating it with fingers; so if you're using a spoon to "fit in" with Westerners' expectations, it's not going to work. | |
| Oct 29, 2016 at 2:01 | vote | accept | Aquarius_Girl | ||
| Oct 28, 2016 at 21:11 | answer | added | Jack Aidley | timeline score: 41 | |
| Oct 28, 2016 at 20:27 | comment | added | MonkeyZeus | @PeterA.Schneider Excellent explanation. Also, not that I would actually do this but someone touching my food with their hands when uninvited would illicit the urge for a solid kick in the throat. | |
| Oct 28, 2016 at 13:57 | comment | added | Peter - Reinstate Monica | As I said in a comment below, many people I know (Germans and Americans) would find it not yucky but rather uneducated. Table manners are a central part of proper western child-rearing. But in America, don't you dare touch somebody else's or the common food with your fingers! I know Americans who would instantly stop eating. (They hate double dipping, they think sharing a bowl of peanuts in a pub is unsanitary, etc. Americans are really squeamish from a European perspective.) | |
| Oct 28, 2016 at 13:09 | comment | added | SantiBailors | I would recommend not to touch anything except your food and utensils during and after eating with your fingers, and clean your fingers only with napkins. That would remove some of the biggest causes of discomfort at that sight that might arise in Westerners. But I see no way to avoid causing some level of disgust, which is a spontaneous feeling, not a decision. I would also wonder how Indians would feel watching a foreigner eating in India in ways considered disgusting and wonder if it could make sense to refrain from eating in a way considered disgusting in the foreign country where you eat. | |
| Oct 27, 2016 at 20:40 | comment | added | MonkeyZeus | The old saying When in Rome... is not exclusive to Rome; it is applicable to all countries. So yes, people will naturally be put off by seeing things which they are not used to. You can certainly try to continue your customs in public but don't be surprised if you find it difficult to make friends. | |
| Oct 27, 2016 at 18:14 | comment | added | user541686 | @Davor: Uhm, if you're gonna stretch it that far, be a little honest about the downsides too. I can't speak for other countries like the UK, but Americans also have more allergies than people from other countries, and it is also said to be due to their obsession with hygiene. Maybe you'll say that having an allergy is better than dying, but it's also kind of terrifying living with life-threatening allergies... | |
| Oct 27, 2016 at 16:58 | answer | added | Chris Johns | timeline score: 8 | |
| Oct 27, 2016 at 11:54 | comment | added | Davor | @Gendarme - India has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world because of poor hygiene. We invented eating utensils for a reason, nothing about them is arbitrary. | |
| Oct 27, 2016 at 5:32 | comment | added | Gendarme | Reading the answers, I cannot help noting that in our (apparently not so) advanced civilization we get offended by friendly people who mean no harm (and do no harm) not following our arbitrary rituals. Very interesting. | |
| S Oct 26, 2016 at 18:24 | history | suggested | John Kugelman | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Inline links, improve grammar
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| Oct 26, 2016 at 17:46 | review | Suggested edits | |||
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| Oct 26, 2016 at 13:12 | vote | accept | Aquarius_Girl | ||
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| Oct 26, 2016 at 13:00 | history | protected | RoflcoptrException | ||
| Oct 26, 2016 at 9:19 | vote | accept | Aquarius_Girl | ||
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| Oct 26, 2016 at 9:15 | comment | added | Amazon Dies In Darkness | I would not concern yourself with the judgements of others... imagined or otherwise. | |
| Oct 26, 2016 at 8:02 | comment | added | Lie Ryan | Under no circumstances would I feel compelled to satisfy the nosiness of those not in my dining group. If the guy on the next table don't like the way I eat, that's their problem, not mine. Unless you're in a town with less than 100 people, you likely won't ever see them again anyway, so why waste effort to try to impress them? | |
| Oct 26, 2016 at 7:55 | comment | added | Lie Ryan | Generally, I follow one of three etiquettes: What's the norm for the cuisine? What's the norm in the country/region where the restaurant is located? Who do you want to impress on the table? If you're eating Indian/Pakistani curries, it's always perfectly acceptable to eat with hands, no matter where you are in the world. But if you eat Italian rice/risotto, don't eat with your hands, unless you're in an Italian restaurant in India/Pakistan. Overriding all those, if you want to impress your boss, client, girlfriend/boyfriend, parents in law, friends, etc, then do what you must. | |
| Oct 26, 2016 at 7:35 | comment | added | Mawg | Where is this happening? Are these westerners visiting India? Or are you visiting the West? If it doesn't happen often (rare westerner vesting you in India, or a two week trip to the west), then just go bread, or a spoon. If you are living in the west for a long time, then you might have to consider an alternative. Your concern for others is commendable. | |
| Oct 26, 2016 at 6:58 | answer | added | Mick | timeline score: 2 | |
| S Oct 26, 2016 at 5:07 | history | mod moved comments to chat | |||
| S Oct 26, 2016 at 5:07 | comment | added | RoflcoptrException | Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. | |
| Oct 26, 2016 at 4:44 | answer | added | Roamer-1888 | timeline score: 11 | |
| Oct 26, 2016 at 3:30 | answer | added | Selene Routley | timeline score: 6 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 23:18 | answer | added | Thorsten S. | timeline score: 14 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 21:10 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackTravel/status/791024132993482753 | ||
| Oct 25, 2016 at 19:34 | review | Suggested edits | |||
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| Oct 25, 2016 at 19:16 | answer | added | CWilson | timeline score: 7 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 16:43 | answer | added | cjrj | timeline score: 3 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 16:28 | answer | added | Crowley | timeline score: 2 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 15:57 | history | edited | Aquarius_Girl | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 25, 2016 at 15:20 | history | edited | Aquarius_Girl | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 25, 2016 at 15:17 | answer | added | DTRT | timeline score: 13 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 15:03 | history | edited | DTRT | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
"Bad manners" is a softer than "disgusting".
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| Oct 25, 2016 at 14:25 | history | edited | Fattie | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
putative edit
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| Oct 25, 2016 at 14:14 | answer | added | motoDrizzt | timeline score: 73 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 13:48 | history | edited | JoErNanO♦ |
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| Oct 25, 2016 at 13:45 | answer | added | frostshoxx | timeline score: 126 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 13:33 | comment | added | user13044 | It depends in part on where you are (as in regions, countries), as our UK-aholics have pointed out, some regions are used to Indians and their dining habits, but if you are in rural America you might find folks who will consider eating rice with the fingers to be dirty and disgusting. You will have to judge each setting by itself and decide which is more important, you pleasuring yourself by eating with your hands or being polite to the folks around you. | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 12:20 | comment | added | DTRT | Have you tried eating with a spoon and then just waiting? This is based not on the utensil but biology and psychology. Satiety is a combination of both. | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 10:26 | review | Close votes | |||
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| Oct 25, 2016 at 10:15 | answer | added | JonathanReez♦ | timeline score: 29 | |
| Oct 25, 2016 at 9:56 | history | asked | Aquarius_Girl | CC BY-SA 3.0 |