Has anyone tried the Joyce Chen chopsticks available only by mail
order? They look thicker and rounder than the flat angular Korean
chopsticks I can get at the Korean supermarket. I'd like to try out
the Chen chopsticks. The plastic (no, not IVORY) Chinese ones feel
right but I hate the material. I'm worried that the Korean ones feel
too pinny.

Hi!

I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.

You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
;-D) you have your matching spoon.

Bye, Sanne.

sanne wrote:
Hi!

I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.

You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
;-D) you have your matching spoon.

Bye, Sanne.

Yeah, thanks to helpful Koreans I know that the matching spoon is for
delivering rice and to not pick up the rice bowl (which you do have to
do in Chinese and Japanese meals, right?) I stirred towards those
metal bowls with lids but my Korean/Japanese rice never comes out
properly. Also, I was advised against getting Asian made beaten metal
cookware because of microscopic flaking that eats into your system that
was in an Australian news expose a few years ago.

In New York, the prices for the absolutely basic Korean steel
chopsticks are 99 cents each or 10 (5 pairs) for $7.99 at local Korean
supermarkets(plural - yes, I checked.) A set of spoon and chopsticks is
typically $2.49. The steel chopsticks are very strong and unbendy.
Tableware designs start getting sweet in a Yellow Handkerchief way as
prices go up. The pricier stuff will definitely go over big in Chinese
Asia with the success of tv drama Jewel in the Palace. I want to
switch because my plastic ones make me uneasy so even if metal
chopsticks are not feng shui approved (I have no idea), I still have to
make this switch.

The hollow Joyce Chen 9 inches are about $10 for 5 pairs plus shipping.
There is also an 11 inch type from Joyce Chen.

Japanese long cooking chopsticks with a plastic handle are $8.95 from
House of Rice.

On 29 May 2005 07:09:20 -0700, wrote:

sanne wrote:
Hi!

I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.
snipped
I make my own chopsticks out of those long fire place matches, seems
like a waste to throw away 8 inches of good wood and you don't have to
wash them and they are a dime a dozen. Did you know the majority of
the worlds commercial chopsticks are made in the US. As for a rice
bowl, I use a wooden one.

"sanne" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi!

I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.

You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
;-D) you have your matching spoon.

Bye, Sanne.

I was born and raised in Korea myself. Hi Sanne, we meet again, hehe.

Anyways, what's so good about Korean metal chopsticks? I thought they were
just terrible to get used to when I was young, and got me to use it the
"wrong" way(scissorlike). Thank god I got to use it "right" way later. It
was also very slippery when eating noodles. My mom swears by it, but I'd
stick to wooden or light ivory ones anytime.

Alai wrote:
"sanne" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi!

I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.

You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
;-D) you have your matching spoon.

Bye, Sanne.

I was born and raised in Korea myself. Hi Sanne, we meet again, hehe.

Anyways, what's so good about Korean metal chopsticks? I thought they were
just terrible to get used to when I was young, and got me to use it the
"wrong" way(scissorlike). Thank god I got to use it "right" way later. It
was also very slippery when eating noodles. My mom swears by it, but I'd
stick to wooden or light ivory ones anytime.

the wood or bamboo ones will allow bacteria to embed (plus I couldn't
find any and I'm now afraid of lacquer coating) and the light ivory
ones are either a wrong against elephants or actually plastic that may
b toxic!
My hand cramped and even though we are not used to the look of them -
we are not Korean after all - we are going to have them as the
standard.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Alai wrote:
"sanne" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi!

I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.

You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
;-D) you have your matching spoon.

Bye, Sanne.

I was born and raised in Korea myself. Hi Sanne, we meet again, hehe.

Anyways, what's so good about Korean metal chopsticks? I thought they
were
just terrible to get used to when I was young, and got me to use it the
"wrong" way(scissorlike). Thank god I got to use it "right" way later.
It
was also very slippery when eating noodles. My mom swears by it, but I'd
stick to wooden or light ivory ones anytime.

the wood or bamboo ones will allow bacteria to embed (plus I couldn't
find any and I'm now afraid of lacquer coating) and the light ivory
ones are either a wrong against elephants or actually plastic that may
b toxic!
My hand cramped and even though we are not used to the look of them -
we are not Korean after all - we are going to have them as the
standard.


Your worries about wood chopsticks are just plain silly. A good washing
kills any bacteria. We put ours in the dishwasher and they last thru many
dozens of washings. Wood - actually bamboo - provides the right surface
texture to hang onto food. The ivory or plastic ones are pretty but hard to
use. The idea of using metal chopsticks is revolting to me. I know that
seems strange since metal forks etc. are the norm, but that's the way it
seems.


--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

I miss the bamboo chopsticks that we used to have but I don't trust the
new manufactures from China and I believe that the ones from Japan may
actually be made in China. I touched my teeth with the metal
chopsticks yesterday when I was delivering rice into my mouth and the
sensation was horrible.

"Your worries about wood chopsticks are just plain silly. A good
washing
kills any bacteria. We put ours in the dishwasher and they last thru
many
dozens of washings..."



How long do people use soft or hard wood or bamboo chopsticks? Can
they be used indefinitely? When would you discard them?


ww

wrote:
How long do people use soft or hard wood or bamboo chopsticks? Can
they be used indefinitely? When would you discard them?

We use our bamboo chopsticks until they start discoloring badly (or
until my wife says "let's change them", whichever comes first). At
99 cents for a ten pairs, it's not a big deal to throw out twenty
pair every three to six months.

We have some wooden chopsticks (not sure if they're soft- or hardwood),
which cost about three times as much (!), and basically only use them
for cooking.

We run our dishwasher on "extra hot wash", and place our chopsticks (both
kinds) on the top rack in a single layer (with other dishes above
that, often). Never had a problem.

Donald

Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as wood into
the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too. The wood
doesn't warp at all?


ww

In oups.com,
typed:

Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as
wood into
the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too.
The wood
doesn't warp at all?


We put wooden chopsticks in the dishwasher too, and have never
had a problem with doing so.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Ken Blake wrote:
In oups.com,
typed:


Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as
wood into
the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too.
The wood
doesn't warp at all?



We put wooden chopsticks in the dishwasher too, and have never
had a problem with doing so.


Same here with bamboo chopsticks. I put mine in the utensil section,
angled toward the interior with narrow ends up, and wash with an extra
hot wosh. They come out beautifully and last a long time.

--
Kael
-- take out "the dog" to reply...!

In ,
Kael typed:

Ken Blake wrote:
In oups.com,
typed:


Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as
wood into
the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too.
The wood
doesn't warp at all?



We put wooden chopsticks in the dishwasher too, and have never
had a problem with doing so.


Same here with bamboo chopsticks. I put mine in the utensil
section,
angled toward the interior with narrow ends up, and wash with
an extra
hot wosh. They come out beautifully and last a long time.


Yes, when I said "wooden chopsticks" I meant to include bamboo
chopsticks as a a kind of wooden ones. We've never had a problem
with any kind of wood--bamboo or any other.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

wrote:
Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as wood into
the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too. The wood
doesn't warp at all?

With things like wooden spoons, always put the concave-side down, of
course. And i'm sure the dishwasher does cut down on the life of
bamboo and wooden chopsticks by some amount, compared to hand-washing.

But it's a dollar for ten pair, which last at least four months on
extra-hot wash. Three dollars for the wooden ones. Who cares?

Donald