"chopsticks" news and stories

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Asian cuisine has been pretty popular here in the U.S. for sometime. It seems to me that many Americans have become fairly agile with a pair of chopsticks. However, I know that not everyone is comfortable using two sticks to transport food from plate to mouth.

If you're one of the number who still struggle with the sticks, there's a new tool that can help you eat your Asian food without all the fuss. The Tukaani chopsticks were created by Finnish designer, Lincoln Kayiwa, and were modeled after the beak of a Toucan. The stainless steel utensil has the two 'sticks' connected by a ring twisted at one end.

The Tukaani chopsticks may be great for beginners, but I still think they're no substitute for learning how to use chopsticks properly. It may take some practice, but using chopsticks isn't so difficult to master that you'd need to use the Tukaani forever. What's your take on the Tukaani chopsticks?

[via Josh Spear]

Metro.co.uk reports that eighteen year old Kathryn Ratcliffe from Newcastle, UK broke the record for eating grains of rice during the Chopsticks Championship. How does someone win this honor? She ate 96 grains in two minutes - breaking the existing record of 64 grains in three minutes.

Kathryn broke her first world record at the age of 12 and she now holds four records! Her other records are for eating Smarties with chopsticks, eating jelly with chopsticks, and separating jelly beans by color into separate pots with a straw.

I wonder what Kathryn has planned next. More with chopsticks? More with straws? Perhaps she'll retire after her fourth win. I doubt she'll quit now. I see many records in her future.

I just came across a new blog (for me) called What Japan Thinks. As I am a lover of all things Japanese, this could be an invaluable resource. Of particular interest to me, on this visit to the blog, was an article on chop stick etiquette.

The blog post is really a vehicle to share the opinions offered in two surveys about using chop sticks. One deals with bad habits that you can't break, and the other is about bad habits that you can't help but notice other people doing.

I thought I was sure to have bad chop stick etiquette, as I have never had any pointers from anyone beyond the very basics of how to use them, but I actually did pretty well based on the habits mentioned in the two surveys. I am really bad about laying the utensils across the top of the plate, but I definitely don't stick them straight up in a bowl of rice. Check it out, and see how your chop stick manners compare.

A lot of sources out there are saying that re-usable dishes and eating utensils, and everything else, are better for the environment. Things like plastic forks and paper plates only use valuable resources and clog up landfills. The same goes for the disposable chopsticks that you get at all the Asian restaurants.

If you're into that kind of thing, here is something you can do. Introducing: re usable chopsticks! I know, I know, re-usable chopsticks are already readily available, but these are even more environmentally friendly. They are made from at least 35% recycled rice, by which I mean rice that would otherwise have been thrown out. The "rice-based biomass plastic" used to make these utensils produces 30% less carbon emissions than regular plastic, at least according to its maker, Index.

I have never really considered carrying around my own eating utensils, but it probably would be a good idea to start. I really don't eat out that often, and I tend to go to places that don't use plastic cutlery, anyway. If I could get a hold of these chopsticks, at least I could take them to Asian eateries. It would be a start, and they do say that every little bit helps.

[Via Trends in Japan]