Too lazy to use a knife? Sick of switching back and forth from fork to spoon when you eat your Ramen noodles?

Ah, yes. These dining conundrums have befallen even the best of us at one time or another. The solution?

Enter, crazy new cutlery. The Washington Post's Jane Black reviewed a few new designs that promise to rid us of our dining woes (or, at the very least, provide us with fodder for our next dinner party conversation).

Among the new designs:

• The "Knork," designed to serve as both knife and fork. A little awkward, but helpful for those parties where the you're perched in a corner, attempting to eat off of a tiny paper plate with just a fork.
• Mono Zeug Tools are based on primitive Neanderthal designs, in that the knife is designed to be a piece of honed flint, and the spoon, a variation of a curved oyster shell.
  
• Curvware is designed to be ergonomic so that you don't strain your hand or grip too hard when attempting to, say, cut your steak. Black pronounced it "very comfortable."
• Ramen spoon - Admit it: Ramen noodles can be annoying to eat. This design changes all that, with a spoon for the broth and fork tines for those slippery noodles. And while I wouldn't go so far as to call it "genius," as Block does, it is pretty neat. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait 'til May before you buy it.
  

Check out the video of Black testing out these new tools here.

Designboom, a mod blog devoted to the latest and greatest in product design, recently came out with the winners of its 2006 Dining in 2015 contest. The challenge was exactly as it sounds: to design a food-related product that would be useful in 2015 at work, in travel, or at home.

Chefs and designers from Italy and Japan judged the entires and came up with the top three and an honorable mention.

Let's start from the bottom and work up. The honorable mention [ed. note: shown in photo] was an eco-friendly solution to dinner prep: silicone and nylon triangle-shaped buckets that allow the cook to boil three different foods all in one pot, thereby saving energy, time, and water. I totally expect it to be selling out on QVC in no time.

Third place? A creative ceramic salt and pepper shaker that forces you to physically break open the canister to access the spices inside. The goal of the project? There isn't any, really, but we bet it's really, really fun to break open. Save it for a day when you're really pissed off at someone, and then smash away. (But don't get carried away - - then you'll just have a mess of salt, pepper, and white ceramic shards to clean up).

I admit that I have more specialty cooking gadgets than is absolutely necessary. Pickle grabbers, microplanes, whisks and potato mashers fight it out daily for the limited storage space in my kitchen. However, there are a few items that seem excessive, even to me. Take, for instance, this popcorn fork. Yes, someone has invented a utensil for one of life's perfect finger foods (with a built-in salt shaker).

What do you think? Is it crazy, or does it seem like the perfect way to prevent greasy popcorn fingers?

Via Apartment Therapy: the kitchen

The fork, once known as a split spoon, is a vital eating utensil for just about everyone these days. The implement originated sometime during the early Middle Ages, caught on in Italy in the 11th century and gradually spread across Europe, heading first to France and then to Spain, over the next few centuries.

When they first came into use, it was considered very rude to eat from them and spoons, knives and fingers were the implements of choice for most diners. These days, there are few foods that cannot be eaten with the aid of a fork and it would be considered quite rude to resort to using fingers in most dining situations. Culinary etiquette experts offer a few pearls of wisdom on what foods are appropriate to eat with your hands (just in case one of these experts happens to show up the next time you're having a meal out).The foods you can eat by hand are:

• Bread: break slices of bread, rolls and muffins in half or into small pieces by hand before buttering.
• Bacon: the crispy American style can be picked up and eaten. The more ham-like Canadian bacon should be cut.
• Finger foods/meals: Follow the cue of your host. If finger meals are offered on a platter, place them on your plate before putting them into your mouth. Make sure a napkin is nearby.
• Foods that are meant to be eaten by hand include: corn on the cob, ribs, lobster, clams and oysters, chicken wings, sandwiches, certain fruits, olives, celery, dry cakes and cookies.

Have you ever seen someone using a fork, knife or another eating utensil in a way that seems incredibly awkward? Because the ability to use a knife and fork is a mark of a well-socialized individual and is a skill that is typically picked up from observing others, it is hard not to wonder they picked up such unusual habits. In Japan, some schools are wondering the same thing and want to make sure that such sloppy, untraditional habits of chopstick use are stopped before they spread any further. The Hisatagakuen Sasebo Girls' High School will be testing students on their skill with chopsticks as part of their entrance examinations. The 10-minute test will require that students "transfer beads, marbles, dice and beans from one plate to another."

Administrators say that the purpose of this test is to show respect for "the Japanese spirit" but, in light of the decline of chopstick use among Japanese children, it also seems like a rather unusual way to make sure everyone has good table manners.

As if there aren't enough strange food gadgets in the world already, we manage to keep finding new and unusual ones. These Finger Forks look like miniature versions of the Wolverine's claws, but are small enugh to slip, ring-like, onto each finger. They are made of stainless steel and, like other types of forks, are sharp enough to pierce most foods. They are suggested for use at cocktail parties, but you run the risk of having people think that you are repeatedly dipping your fingers into the various dips and sauces. They would be better suited to a restaurant where the food is typically eaten with the fingers - many Moroccan restaurants, for example - so someone unfamiliar with the practice can stay within their comfort zone and still use a utensil. The forks might also work out well for people who can't manage chopsticks and are too embarassed to ask for a fork.

[via boingboing]

Sometimes you just want to eat your pizza with a knife and fork, especially jumbo-slices or those weighed down by extra toppings, which can be impractical to eat out of hand. But isn't using a fork AND a knife a hassle? Why not combine the two implements into one pizza fork?

Officially, the product is called a Nyfork ($12) and it can be used to cut anything you might normally use a knife for, including veggies and meat, leaving your other hand free. The package notes that the fork was "kept secret from the American public for years" (no doubt as some sort of two-handed cutlery conspiracy), but also has a warning that the cutter wheel is very sharp, and caution should be used when eating from the fork.

I'll give it points for aesthetics, but I'll stick to using a regular knife and fork for my pizza - or anything, for that matter.

Let's face it: if you're not in the house, you're probably not using silverware. But eating with your hands is not only messy, but sometimes it's just not all that convenient. Fried chicken and burgers are fine when eaten out of hand, but what about potato salad or pie?

This nomad traveling silverware set attaches to a lanyard that you can wear around your neck when out hiking or keep in the glove compartment of your car (for emergencies). It includes a miniature stainless steel fork, knife, spoon and bottle opener, all of which tuck neatly away in a plastic case when not in use.

You could use plastic silverware, but this is not only more practical, but it's more eco-friendly, since there is nothing to throw away. A few uses, and this $20 gadget will pay for itself - not to mention that it would made a great gift for anyone who is outdoor-oriented and not taking all their meals at a dining room table.

When the spork was first invented, there is little doubt that its creators thought that they had created the ultimate fusion of eating utensils. The spork soon spread to school cafeterias and even into those little plastic baggies they pass out with the meal on airplanes. But the spork wasn't as useful as it could be because you couldn't cut anything with it. To compensate, airplanes included knives with their sporks and schools prepare lunches with no discernable texture. The spork, however, has finally evolved to take cutting abilities into account. The Spork/Knife, coined as the sporknif by Bea of La Tartine Gourmande, has a fork/knife on one end and a paddle-like spoon on the other. It is made from durable, heat-resistant PC material, comes in a variety of colors and only costs a few dollars.

You may never need another utensil again.