Serene wrote on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:38:07 -0700:

> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>> Becca wrote (I started a new thread):
>>
>>> My mother never allowed us children to eat with our hands.
>>> We had to use utensils, if we wanted to eat. Her mother was the same
>>> way, and she was French. I wondered where this
>>> came from. It is still difficult for me to eat foods like
>>> hot dogs or pizza, without using a fork.
>>
>> Ribs, tacos, egg rolls, and hot dogs are NOT AS GOOD if you
>> don't eat them with your hands. Sushi is MEANT to be finger
>> food; eating sushi with chopsticks is a sign of cultural
>> ignorance.

> Really? I never saw anyone in Tokyo eating sushi with their
> hands, only with chopsticks. And I've never seen this
> assertion before.

I think there is a disparity between tradition and current practice. I
suspect, like me, a lot of Japanese don't like to get their fingers
dirty while eating. However, there's a story about the original sushi
stalls in market places in Japan. It was best to chose the stall with
the dirtiest curtains because it was probably the most popular. Patrons
would rinse their fingers in the supplied tea and wipe them on the
curtain before leaving.
--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not