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Discovery: The Origin of Stuff: Fork

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Fork

22/06/2020 GMT

The Origin of Stuff

BBC World Service - Discovery, The Origin of Stuff, ForkSearch BBC

Katy Brand explores the life of the unsung hero of the cutlery world – the fork.

Katy Brand reveals how the fork shaped British table manners and, to this day, influences the taste of the food it ferries into our mouths.

The fork is essential. Even camping without one is a false economy, in Katy’s experience. Even a spork - with a spoon at one end and a fork at the other, with a knife formed along one prong - just won’t do. You need both - a fork to steady the meat and a knife to cut it with.

So how did the fork come to be so indispensable?

We didn’t always love the fork. Public historian, Greg Jenner, reveals how it was abandoned for the chopstick in Ancient China, and greeted with scorn in Western Europe when a Byzantine princess ate with a golden double-pronged one.

It was only after the traveller, Thomas Coryat, in 1608, celebrated its use by pasta-loving Italians that the English started to take note. By the mid-19th century, there was a fork for every culinary challenge – from the pickle and the berry, to ice-cream and the terrapin. The utensil transformed the dining experience, bringing the pocket knife onto the table in a blunt, round-tipped form, and ushering in British table manners.

So is there a perfect version of the fork? With the help of tomato, milkshake and mango, Katy discovers that the material a fork is made from can drastically alter a food’s taste.

Featuring material scientist, Zoe Laughlin, and food writer and historian, Bee Wilson.

Picture: a fork, Credit: BBC

Discovery: The Origin of Stuff

Katy Brand explores the origins of stuff.

Katy Brand explores the life of the toothbrush. Despite its humble start as a tooth cleaning stick, she reveals how ingenuity and innovation have ensured its place in our lives.

What is the most personal item you own - one you don’t want anyone else using?
 
For Katy Brand it’s her toothbrush. So how did the toothbrush become one of life’s essentials?
 
With the help of public historian, Greg Jenner, Katy goes back to ancient times, when the toothbrush was merely a stick. But the brush, as we know it, only came into being much later when a convict spied a broom in his cell and had a bright idea.
 
But how has ingenuity and innovation shaped the toothbrush and ensured its place in our lives? And given most are plastic, how environmentally friendly is the toothbrush’s legacy?
 
Featuring designer and toothbrush collector, Sophie Thomas, and advocate for clean teeth, Peter Dyer, Chair of Hospital Dentists at the British Dental Association.

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