Flatware is the word used to describe the silver utensils we use every day to eat our food. It ranges from the "place setting" to the most specialized pieces your imagination can come up with. Having grown up in the South, I sometimes think I know every piece of flatware known to man and womankind and then I find a piece that I have never seen before. It is one of my favorite treasure hunts!
A place setting is just that, the flatware that serves the "place" you have at the dinner table. Traditionally there are five pieces in a place setting. The knife, dinner fork, salad fork, teaspoon and dessert spoon. In more modern and less expensive sets the place setting is four pieces. The knife, dinner fork, salad fork and teaspoon make up the four piece place setting.
There are a number of ways to acquire your flatware. You can simply go out and buy it yourself. You can buy whatever your budget allows. Sterling silver is going to cost you over one thousand dollars and the upper limit is endless. You can buy plated silver which can also cost in the thousands. The amount of sterling, quality and pattern will determine the cost. There is Stainless Steel which ranges from a couple of hundred dollars for a really nice set to under ten dollars for a simple utility set.
Many brides select a flatware pattern which they register at a store and family and friends give pieces as wedding gifts. This is a very traditional practice and dates back many years contrary to today's practice of "registering" for children's birthday parties, divorce set up for the party that got nothing, new house registering or "I hate everything I have and want all new stuff" registering. I am very opposed to this type of greed. I recently heard of a bride, might I add a very old bride, who registered at a number of stores and had appeared to have "registered" just about everything these stores sold. Your friends like to send a gift let us not go overboard!
One last way to acquire flatware is inheritance. This is an especially nice way to have sterling flatware. Once it is in the family how wonderful to pass it alone from generation to generation. As I have mentioned previously, I have my mother's sterling and it is one of my most treasured possessions. As for my own sterling, the pattern was selected when I was born and I received it as gifts over the years. The set was completed when I got married.
However you come to get a nice set of flatware, use it often. There is no reason not to use sterling daily if you so choose. Just remember not to put knives in the dishwasher because the handles will eventually come unglued. Otherwise, putting sterling in the dishwasher will do it no harm. If I have both sterling and stainless in the basket at the same time, I separate the two and see that they are not touching. Also, promptly remove any food from sterling especially salad dressing or any food that contains vinegar. The acid in fruits needs to be rinsed away quickly also.
A guide to flatware pieces follows. I will start with the basic place setting pieces and add to the guide from time to time. I have some pieces in my collection that don't see a lot of use but they are such conversation pieces. Of course, remember there is a not flatware law that says you cannot come up with an inventive use for any piece you own. If a Lemon Fork works for kumquat slices, go for it and if the Sardine Fork rakes the gravel in the fish tank well, no one other than you will ever know!
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