broken spaghetti vs. table manners

[marmalade]

Back to the broken spaghetti controvery today...

Is it worse to break spaghetti, or to twirl up a mass of noodles that just barely fits in your mouth?

Mmph!

[TinSoldier]

We break spaghetti for the kids. Otherwise I really have no preference.

[COTSBOE]

The pasta can be re-twirled if it is too large to comfortably eat. It is a great lesson in coordination and dexterity.


Broken spaghetti cannot be fixed, however, and is by far the greater crime.

[Stephane]

Breaking spaghetti is as high as heinous table manners as it can be.

My wife can't handle spaghetti. She cuts them. She tried cutting them for the kids and to my greatest delight, they asked her not to (keep in mind that they are 2 and 4). They try very hard to use the fork properly. I've told them that they can use the spoon as a guide, but they are both being stubborn and want to do it like "papa" .

The youngest just end up using his hands, but try and cut the spaghetti, you'll get the tantrum of the year.

Ah.. Life is good.

[Mouser]

I see nothing wrong with cutting spaghetti or any other pasta, for that matter.

[TinSoldier]

Wait -- you mean cutting it while eating or breaking it before cooking?

Doesn't matter I guess -- I do both. I used to do the twirly thing when I was a kid but not so much any more.

[Stephane]

Wait -- you mean cutting it while eating or breaking it before cooking?

Doesn't matter I guess -- I do both. I used to do the twirly thing when I was a kid but not so much any more.

I mean cutting while eating, for two reasons: 1- I usually cook and I ain't doing it. 2- If she cooks, I won't eat it if it's broken. It's a heritage thing with me. <shrug>

[marmalade]

The pasta can be re-twirled if it is too large to comfortably eat. It is a great lesson in coordination and dexterity.

Yeah, but the hypothetically uncouth twirler in the poll doesn't know that. Imagine him munching on a giant pasta roll.

I still wouldn't break pasta to prevent it, so I guess that means breaking pasta is worse, but I'm really sorta torn on the subject.

[Stephane]

Yeah, but the hypothetically uncouth twirler in the poll doesn't know that. Imagine him munching on a giant pasta roll.

I still wouldn't break pasta to prevent it, so I guess that means breaking pasta is worse, but I'm really sorta torn on the subject.
I was one such uncouth twirler, especially around the age of 8 or so. My father started buying extra long spaghetti and one strand would be enough for a mouthful with about 15 minutes of twirling.

[marmalade]

Me too, but older. I remember thinking, "This is kinda gross. I'm glad nobody's here to see this."

[Haze]

I break it before cooking for the children but have it unbroken or uncut otherwise.

[Magnus Bergqvist]

Broken spaghetti (or spaghetti cut into small pieces) is worse...

If you want it in that small pieces, serve macaroni

/Magnus

[silverwhisper]

i'd like to point out that in chinese cuisine, b/c long noodles represent long life, cutting them or even biting them short is something of a sin, too.

[BattleNymph]

Breaking spaghetti is a sin of tradition.


Trying to stuff a huge, messy spaghetti ball into your mouth without choking on it is a sin of manners.


I'd much rather have broken spaghetti than watch someone at the table trying to stuff a wad of spaghetti in their face..

[Stephane]

That huge spaghetti ball is a sin of skill. Yours to master.

[Cranky Dog]

Uh, I fit somewhere in the middle.

I like big mouthfuls, but if it's too big (which it usually is), I cut it down to smaller size. Strands that are too small don't hold on the fork well so they stay medium length.

I never even heard about anything being a sin regarding spaghetti.


Cranky Dog
"I have a sinful pasta opinion, international!"

[Hitcher]

You can break it in half for small children or a short pot.

You can also mix the spaghetti with the sauce for the kids but adults should eat it properly. AND NO SLURPING! :shoot: :spank:

[COTSBOE]

You can also mix the spaghetti with the sauce for the kids but adults should eat it properly. AND NO SLURPING! :shoot: :spank:

How do you mean, "properly"?

Mixing it with the sauce is proper. Pasta is traditionally cooked for the last bit in the sauce so as to infuse the noodles with flavor.

Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your statement.

[Paulypalooza]

The pasta can be re-twirled if it is too large to comfortably eat. It is a great lesson in coordination and dexterity.


Broken spaghetti cannot be fixed, however, and is by far the greater crime.
Listen to the Italian for he knows of what he speaks.
I see nothing wrong with cutting spaghetti or any other pasta, for that matter.

Ignore this poor slob I have tried to teach him the ways of pasta and Italian cooking, sadly I see I have failed.

[Parzival]

<shrug> Who cares? It tastes the same either way.

[silverwhisper]

ah yes, the unwashed heathen perspective is now represented. :D

[Parzival]

<sniffs> Nope. I'm still good.

[carmachu]

Broken is the worse sin. Although for sarah she gets it cut up, since she hasnt mastered twirling yet.

that reminds me of a funny story when dating the mrs.

[Paulypalooza]

that reminds me of a funny story when dating the mrs.

well are you gonna tell us or what?

[carmachu]

well are you gonna tell us or what?

Sitting around my parents table teh first time for a spagetti dinner, my father askes her to pass the gravy. She just looks at him like what? he repeats it, then someone passes the spagetti sauce....


She didnt get that in our house, gravy meant sauce....

[rightwingwizard]

Were the eating of spagetti a religious rite, the breaking of same prior to cooking would indeed be a cardinal sin. Since it is not, the breaking is reduced to the level of a culinary infraction.

As to the cutting of the strands in order to accommodate the uninitiated, that would be a greater offence. If cut you must, do so discretely without fanfare so as not to offend those about who are busily stuffing oversized balls of spagetti into their mouths.

My son now tells his Irish/German wife that if there are no remnants of the meal on the childs lap at the conclusion of said meal, it was not properly served. And we aren't even Italian.

[Water Jess]

My secret sin is that when no one's looking, I like to slurp it. :D