What Is the Best Way to Gracefully Eat a Salad?
No, seriously! How are you supposed to eat these things? Most of the time we end up indelicately shoveling too-large leaves into our mouths and smearing our cheeks with dressing in the process. We refuse to eat salads in public anymore. Inquiring minds want to know: do you have a favorite method for eating salads with decorum?
It seems like there are two options. You can try to spear yourself a forkful, using a handy crouton or garbanzo bean as an anchor. This method works well as long as your salad contains an ingredient that can be used as the aforementioned anchor. Even so, it can often be frustrating to repeatedly pinion the slim leaves against the plate only to have them fall away the instant you lift your fork.
Alternatively, you can dispense with the stabbing and try scooping. This is my preferred method (when not in public). It involves swooping into the salad, lifting out a platform of leaves with a few salad accouterments balanced precariously on top, and getting it into your mouth before it all tumbles back into the bowl.
I should admit that I am a fairly recent salad convert, and as such, I haven’t had as much practice with salad eating or time to refine my method. I turn to you for help.
(Image: Flickr member bredgur licensed under Creative Commons)