Chopsticks? Ceramic spoons? Metal?

[rawpriestess]

Hi, just for fun I was wondering how many people use chopsticks? or some kind of ceramic spoon, such as a Chinese soup spoon? or regular metal utensils? or say plastic?

Just curious. I know alot of people do not like to eat with metal.

I often make food with wooden spoons, and hardly ever allow metal to contact my food, unless it is in the Vita Mix or food processor, etc.

I use ceramic knives to prepare food with, and wooden spoons, I often use chopsticks to eat with and Chinese ceramic spoons to eat soup with.

I try not to use metal if possible.

[tvillemom]

I would vote....but I mostly use wooden spoons to prepare with, or silicone scrapers (but that would be for my SAD eating family, to scrape pots and pans) oh yeah...I do use a scraper to scrape out the food processor or blender. And we do eat with metal spoons, never thought about it until going raw, and now I've noticed how many people DO NOT EAT with metal! :eek: Never thought about it......so much to learn!
Wendi

[Pailani]

What's wrong with metal? I love stainless steel. I even have stainless steel chopsticks. But I don't like wooden utinsels, especially in my mouth. The mere thought of it is like the idea of fingernails on a chalkboard to a lot of people

[Punky]

I use it all to prepare: stainless steel, silicon, wood, did I miss anything?
I eat with all too: chopsticks, ceramic spoons and metal too.
I've heard ceramic knives help the food not oxidize as quickly? is that true?
I didn't know it mattered about eating utensils though. I still use
metal knives for cutting on plastic or bamboo cutting boards. Be neat to get a ceramic knife someday.

[rawpriestess]

Hi, the metal oxidizes the food, and adds that ucky "metal" taste.

You don't notice it much until you eat some food without that metal taste.

it's kind of like that tin can taste when you used to eat canned food.

Or that tin foil taste, when food was cooked in it.

Anyway, I only use glass bowls and pans now, no metal, I use pyrex type dishes, and ceramic knives, I also use the Chinese ceramic spoons, but I have no real fork thingy to use, so I use chopsticks.

I understand about the wooden spoon in your mouth, I always think it will scrape across my teeth and give me the willies, but it keeps me from licking it, so that's okay, that way, I just make the food, instead of eat it all while I'm preparing it.

I know some of my food photos have metal utensils in them, but I have changed just recently, and wondered how many others have too.

But to each his own, If metal doesn't bother you, then it doesn't bother you.

Just like I eat garlic and onions, and I freeze alot of my raw food, where lots of people don't. It's all each person's own choice.

[Punky]

I would love to try some ceramic knives! Just haven't gotten around to ordering them yet. My youngest son is sensitive to certain metals...once as a toddler he rubbed a metal spoon all over his face in the restaurant and when I was driving
his face started swelling up (eyelids too) and I was freakin' out.
This happened at a park once too with the metal chains on the swings.
And on several other occassions too where his older brother was taking horseback riding; he would climb on the metal fencing watching and sure enough
his face would start swelling on the ride home; I then got wise and wiped him down with wet wipes really good before we drove home. weird...
So I believe some people are definately sensitive to it and may taste it for sure.
I taste it from foods in cans!

[Doe]

RP, where do you get your ceramic utensils? What caused you to think about changing? Did you read some info somewhere? Links please.

Teri S

[Sicilian Girl]

I checked out some ceramic knives online and they are spendy! RP, did you get your for a decent price? If so, where did you find them?

Thanks!

[rawpriestess]

I collect dragons, so I buy Chinese ceramin spoons that have dragons on them, when I was at a raw pot luck years ago, some people there brought their own Chinese soup spoons, then in the most recent raw pics that we've been posting on this site, I saw that Rawveganmom has chopsticks in her pics, so I thought that sounded good to me.

Then I've been using ceramic knives for years, because I know they don't oxidize lettuce etc. (I know this becaus a million years ago, I used to sell tupperware, and they had this special knife coated with plastic to cut lettuce with so it wouldn't oxidize) anyway, I bought my first set of ceramic knives off ebay, for way low price, I should have known better, although they were cool and all that, they weren't very sharpt, they were eagle brand, now I only use Kyocera, brand, which is very sharp, and of course, very expensive, never bought them off the net, always go to this cool hip store in Pike Place market in Seattle, called Sur La Table, there may be some around you, you can go to a knife store, (like a sword and hunting knife, swiss army knife store) and buy them too.

I just like the black bladed ones. White, just isn't as pretty to me.

Anyway, all of this, and my feeling really terrible lately, has caused me to taste the metal forks and spoons in my mouth so badly, that I asked Dragggon to get some sharp sticks, or make me a wooden fork or something, so I wouldn't have to taste the metal, so he found our chopsticks, and is making me some wooden forks that are small enough to use with my raw food.

I love chopsticks, but he likes to make things, so he is making me wooden utensils.

Plus, I do have some ceremonial things, like glass knives etc. that I can use.

[Punky]

Will ceramic knives help slow down the oxidation of a cut up apple?
those turn quickly if I don't squirt lemon juice on them.

[Punky]

now I only use Kyocera, brand, which is very sharp, and of course, very expensive, never bought them off the net, always go to this cool hip store in Pike Place market in Seattle, called Sur La Table,

Cool, we have lots of Sur la Tables in Dallas.
Now I know what I am putting on my Santa list (yes I am shameless
when people ask me what I want! ha! I tell them).
RP, u don't have to reply to my apple ?; that was answered when you talked about the lettuce.

p.s. I have always had those asian ceramic spoons in my house; grew up with them since my mom is Asian. I have always liked using them for soup.My son always asks to use them too.
You can get them at asian markets, Pier 1, cost plus/World Market, etc...
They are inexpensive (which is good since they do break on occasion when dropped)

[Punky]

http://www.surlatable.com/common/products/product_details.cfm?PRRFNBR=13283

Hey RP,
while looking up those knives on Sur la Table I saw these Bamboo eating utensils and thought of you!

[jenna rose]

Funny this should pop up. I've been on a mission for a little while now looking for a really good pair of chop sticks. I've seen all different kinds but I don't know the best material to use - ceramic, wooden, plasic, metal, etc.

Also, I always thought it wasn't good to use wooden items - utensils, cutting boards, things like that because they're porous and can be harder to clean.

[rawpriestess]

Oh Punky they are perfect. --- Thank you thank you :o)


I've had some beautiful teakwood serving platters for years, and also some bamboo salad bowl, and some teakwood bowls too.

I have 3 cutting boards, 2 bamboo, and one wood one. We use all three all the time, we actually have a huge hard wood chopping block, but I sent it to be banished in the garage, with the other meat things, when my hubby moved all of his food stuffs out there.

I haven't eaten meat in 10 years, so there is no challenge, there.

I have often used the wooden bowls for salad etc, and just use some olive oil on them to keep them from absorbing food etc. never had a challenge.

I've used the large wooden salad bowls and fork and spoon, (no NOT the 3 feet tall ones, you hang on the wall), the about 1 foot long ones that used to come in those coole salad bowl sets, and always loved them.

So, for me, it is something that I choose to continue to use.

I love the ceramic too, and yes the spoons can break.

I try to use ceramic or pyrex, or correll as it doesn't break. I like that.

[truthseeker]

I have attended a few seminars on health and have heard that bamboo is best. I have also heard that metal does leave behind microscopic amounts of metal on your food. I am guessing it would be similar to teflon in the food from the pans? Not sure just a guess.

[SamuelWilson]

I go with the whole asian theme. Wooden chop sticks, fancy ceramic bowls, spoons, etc.. I have a actual clam shell I put dips in. I am a vegan, but since the clam was not in the shell and I didn't eat the clam, I think it is alright. I would not want people to harvest live clams just for their shell though.

[Autumn]

I use wood utensils to uncook with and some silicone as well. For eating, I use either wood or ceramic chopsticks and stainless spoons and knives. I often carry disposable chopsticks in my purse when I'm out.

I wish I knew about ceramic cutting knives when we bought our set a few years ago. We spent $800 on Henkels. Looking at Sur La Table, the ceramic probably would have been around the same price at the time.

[sport]

"Also, I always thought it wasn't good to use wooden items - utensils, cutting boards, things like that because they're porous and can be harder to clean"
Jenna Rose
I recall many years ago watching a consumer affairs program where they checked on antibacterial products applied to chopping boards and compared them to wooden ones that were just washed in water. The wooden ones had less bacteria because they have a natural anti bacterial property that the wipe up stuff could not beat.
I also recall being told early on in my life that you should not cut greens (lettuce or cabbage etc) with a knife but should shred it with your hands. Cutting it breaks some natural bonds and allows neutrients to leak whereas when you shred it it tears along natural bonds. This maybe an old wives tale (and I am an old wife so who better to tell it) but there is usualy a grain of sense in all the old stuff.

[Pailani]

I also recall being told early on in my life that you should not cut greens (lettuce or cabbage etc) with a knife but should shred it with your hands. Cutting it breaks some natural bonds and allows neutrients to leak whereas when you shred it it tears along natural bonds.

But if you're eating it right away, would that make a difference?

Actually, most of what I'm eating these days is green smoothies, and my blender has metal blades. Imagine if they made blenders with ceramic blades!

[Ariannah]

for myself, I core, peel fruit (pineapples for instance) with a knife, but just eat it with my fingers. Salad I eat with a fork, raw soups I eat with a spoon.

Our family uses standard stainless steel utensils... yawn, how boring ;)
My oldest daughter loves to eat her rice with chopsticks.

[sport]

"But if you're eating it right away, would that make a difference?

Actually, most of what I'm eating these days is green smoothies, and my blender has metal blades. Imagine if they made blenders with ceramic blades!"

I expect that this advise was given out long before they invented blenders (I certainly heard it long before I heard of a blender) so you are correct and we will have to do the best we can with what we have.

[simple berry]

>>>I also recall being told early on in my life that you should not cut greens (lettuce or cabbage etc) with a knife but should shred it with your hands. Cutting it breaks some natural bonds and allows neutrients to leak whereas when you shred it it tears along natural bonds. <<<

it's true -- the leafies get oxidised. cut up some iceberg and put it in the icebox for a day, alongside some you've shredded by hand -- you'll see the browned edges. dunno what that means for immediate eating, but considering i have a base metal allergy as well, the metal knife has got to go.

i eat with wooden chopsticks, partly because metal forks seem uncouth now, but i think the chopsticks hurt my hands.
nothing wrong with eating salad by hand, i guess, but that would mean eating very mindfully.

priestess -- any reason not to buy ceramic knives from the 'net? they are SO much cheaper. that was going to be my house (shoebox) warming - present to myself.

where can you find good lead-free ceramic utensils?

[Sharon in Colorado]

I got talked into getting a couple of gold caps on my back teeth, and whenever the metal utensil hits it, there's a horrible feeling and taste in my mouth. There's some kind of bad energy reaction when gold and other metals meet.

Those with gold caps on their teeth may know what I'm talking about.

I've also been looking for glass drinking straws for my smoothies. A couple of raw sites sell them for a high price. They are by Pyrex.

[rawpriestess]

Simpleberry,

No reason you can't buy things off the net, I just wanted to let people know that the Eagle brand, was not very sharp, the Kyocera brand is very sharp, but much more expensive, you can find them on ebay usually.

I have been using chopsticks for years, have several pair of beautiful lacquered ones, and take them with me to restaurants.

I use ceramic knives to prepare foods with and it really does make a huge difference.

There is (I think Tibetan monks) a monestary somewhere, where they eat only raw vegan foods, and they use no utensils, they only open with their bare hands, if something needs to be mixed, they use their fingers.

I actually had a conversation with an apple once, who did not want me to cut it with a metal knife, as long as I ate it with my teeth it was fine.

Then when I thought of our septic tank, it wasn't happy again.

It told me (in apple ESP) (YES, you can laugh, but it's true) that it's entire sole purpose in life was to make more apple trees, and when it could do that by being eaten and mixed with my fertilizer, then redeposited on the ground and grow, it would be totally fulfilled.

If it was cut with metal, or cooked or had the seeds smashed, it would be unhappy.

We always remove seeds and compost them so that the apple can be okay with them. LOL

I know this may sound nuts, but I've had happy fruit ever since.

[aisah]

[There is (I think Tibetan monks) a monestary somewhere, where they eat only raw vegan foods, and they use no utensils, they only open with their bare hands, if something needs to be mixed, they use their fingers.]

Where I am from, eating with fingers is the norm, so I have been brought up to eat with my fingers. Said that food tastes better that way. Also you get 'connected' with the food. There is a bonding between you and the food. You bless the food (yes you talk to the food :), you feel the food, even smell the food ( you won't believe how very aromatic and orgasmic it can be!!) and you consume the alive food with delight :D I feel you get better nourishment that way (merely eating it as compared with eating with awareness)! Not forgetting there are many nerve senses on our finger tips! Some may oppose to this practise fear of our fingers being dirty and all which ends up contaminating the food but I would suggest washing hands (duh!) before/after food handling is best hygiene practise, there is no need for soap. I have been eating with my fingers since I was a kid and had not had any bad stomach complains or sort. Plus, even before the food reaches your mouth, there are already millions of good/bad bacteria in it. What we can't see does not mean it is not there.

So I go for preparing/consumption of my food with wooden, bamboo, ceramics, fingers. This is a very asian practise.... yes we have those metal 'good quality' brands here too and I am avoiding them much as I can! Sadly, some asians are now dropping their fingers/chopsticks style of eating to adopt the fine-dining style. Oh it is good to always have short finger nails too, sad to say even this practise, in asia, is now slowly being discarded :(

[Halo Aglow]

I just ordered a couple of Pyrex glass straws. I was using plastic straws and the plastic taste kept on interfering with the wonderful raw flavors in my smoothies and other drinks.

I use chopsticks a lot, but still use my metal utensils too. I plan to buy some wooden utensils very soon to replace all my metal use.