Whether it is for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, a fork is used for eating many things every day. But have you ever thought about why the fork looks like its current shape? Are there any different types of forks used to eat various kinds of foods? Let us answer a few basic questions related to the boundless world of forks. 

First things first, let us explain the basic four-prong fork. Why does it have four prongs? The four prongs of the fork are designed to contribute towards a greater convenience of picking up the food and accompanying it to your mouth. The two and three-pronged forks were also acceptable for piercing but were not handy for collecting the food, being uncomfortable to bring the food to the mouth. Therefore, a four-pronged food is perfect for collecting the food and does not need to be pierced in. 

The History Of A Fork

Before making their way to the dinner table, forks were actually used as food handling tools that helped in moving huge meat shanks over a fire. Instead of an individual plate setting, forks were also used as serving tools after carving out the meat and distributing it into the plates on the table. By imagining this in your mind, it is easy to comprehend how this might have been the exact reason leading to the use of forks as personal cutlery. 

The Fork Prongs

First, we should be aware that different types of forks differ from each other because of the number of points they have. These teeth or fork points are called prongs or tines. The prongs are arranged like a comb and are used to pierce and collect the food during a meal. The number of prongs in a fork determines its use -whether it is for salad, meat, or fruit. 

What Is A Three-pronged Fork Used For?

The different fork types are used for different purposes and customs at the dinner table. The first forks that came into being had only two tines used solely for piercing the foods. However, more prongs were introduced to the two-tined one, so that they could be used for not only piercing, but also picking the food up, and accompanying it to the mouth.

For this reason, the three-pronged forks are often used for side dish salads and desserts, sometimes even fruits. The fork used to eat fish also consists of three prongs, with the middle prong being slightly shorter in length. 

Why The Fish Fork Is Different?

The fork used to eat fish is entirely different from the traditional forks. With being slightly on the flatter side, the middle prong in a fish fork is shorter in length. The reason behind this unique shape of a fish fork is that it contributes to cleaning the fish while piercing and eating it.

However, fish forks can also be of four prongs designed to make a greater lever on the fish to separate its skin from the body. 

Watch this video on different types of cutlery and their usage to get a better understanding:

So, the next time you use the four pronged fork, you will know what its for and can make a good table conversation out of this!