Cutlery

What is a Cutlery? This is derived from the term “Cutler” , a person who is skilled in making knives. Cutlery is a hand accessory to prepare, serve, and eat food in the Western world. In the United States, cutlery is also known as silverware or flatware. It usually means knives, fork and the spoons. A cutlery is inclusive of two forms of utensils: the spork (spoon/fork) and knork (knife/fork).

Earlier good quality cutlery was made from silver, however steel is always used for more functional knives, and pewter is used for some of the cheaper items, like spoons. After the nineteenth century, Electroplated Nickel Silver (EPNS) was used as a cheaper substitute; Now, most of the cutlery, include quality designs, is made from stainless steel. Another alternative is Melchior, a nickel and copper alloy, which sometimes also contains manganese.

Plastic cutlery is preferred for disposable use, and is frequently used for outdoors (camping, excursions and barbecue for instance), fast-food, take-away outlets or airline meals.
 Cutlery are found in different shapes and sizes, according to their usage. A cutlery set contains:

• Spoons and knives for peeling and slicing fruits and vegetables,
• Tea Spoons, Serving Spoons, Dessert Spoons,
• Forks for dinner and salads preparations.
• Collection of seven to eight kitchen knives:

steak knives, chef’s knife, utility knife, paring knife, bread knife, cleaver, carving knife, santoku knife, boning knife, kitchen shear and a honing rod to straighten the edges of the knives.All the knives should be held in a block so as to keep that keeps them organized, clean, and close at hand. Many cutlery sets offer a variety of knives including a full set of steak knives, chef's knife, paring knife, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, utility shears, and sharpening steel Storing cutlery in a proper manner is not an easy task. Some measures should be taken so as to increase the life of the cutlery: