thumb|Bread fork The '''bread fork''' was one of the highly specialized table serving utensils of the Victorian era. This three-tined piece of silverware was shaped like a trident with a great variety of handles, some being very elaborate. The sole purpose of the utensil was to carry a slice of bread or a bread roll from the service plate to the personal bread and butter plate.{{sfn|Wolfman|Gold|1994|p=96|loc=Bread forks}} Serving food with fingers was a taboo at the time,{{sfn|Fox|2017|p=13}} with few exceptions, like eating a bread roll. It was considered impolite to take a piece of bread from the bread basket or pass it without the use of bread fork.{{sfn|Victoria and Albert Museum|2001}}
The fork, with its long (up to three-inch) tines, was invented in England and had some practical use there due to the tradition of serving a whole loaf to the table and cutting it as needed. The person in charge of cutting had to pass the slices somehow, and the fork was a safer replacement for a knife. In the US bread was usually served pre-sliced, making the fork unnecessary.{{sfn|Current Literature Publishing Company|1893|p=554}}
The forks were marketed separately or in a set with the bread knife.{{sfn|Victoria and Albert Museum|2001}} The utensil proved to be little-used and was only popular for a very short time at the end of the 19th century (an 1893 fashion review considered it a novelty{{sfn|Current Literature Publishing Company|1893|p=554}}). As a result, there is a large variety of bread forks in excellent condition available in the antique stores.{{sfn|Wolfman|Gold|1994|p=96|loc=Bread forks}} Due to their fancy shapes, these forks are frequently repurposed for serving the meat.{{sfn|Wolfman|Gold|1994|pp=15,89,95-96}}
<gallery> Bread forks 01.png Bread forks 02.png Bread forks 03.png Bread forks 04.png </gallery>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Sources== * {{cite book |title=Current Opinion |publisher=Current Literature Publishing Company |date=1893 |chapter-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Current_Opinion/Ws5CAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&&pg=PA552 |ref={{sfnref|Current Literature Publishing Company|1893}} |access-date=2025-05-31|chapter=Latest fashions in silverware|pages=552-555}} * {{cite book |last=Fox |first=Killian |title=The Gannet's Gastronomic Miscellany |publisher=Octopus Books |date=2017-09-05 |isbn=978-1-78472-433-7 |chapter-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Gannet_s_Gastronomic_Miscellany/Uzs1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT13 |access-date=2025-05-31|chapter=Bread fork|page=13}} * {{cite web |last=Victoria and Albert Museum|title=Bread fork |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O59288/bread-fork-harrison-fisher-and/ |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum|date=June 1, 2001}} * {{cite book |last=Wolfman |first=Peri |last2=Gold |first2=Charles |title=Forks, Knives & Spoons |publisher=Clarkson Potter |date=1994 |isbn=978-0-517-58828-4 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Forks_Knives_Spoons/Wsd6qm7eiwIC |access-date=2025-05-31}}
Category:Forks
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