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Mango Forks

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Author	Topic: Mango Forks
silverSMITH Posts: 23 Registered: Aug 2018	posted 08-27-2018 02:39 PM Noticed a recent post on another forum about mango forks. I have what I think are 2 sets of mango forks. One is sterling with stainless blades, & the other Christofle silverplate. No pattern names on either. There is a nice 40-page booklet by Maura J Graber I was able to purchase online a couple years ago. It is “Let Them Eat Cake...” & details the “saga of the mango fork & the unique eating habits of the Dutch.” Maybe mangos ended up in Holland via the Dutch East India Company. Maura began her collection of dining oddities to use as unique pass-a-rounds in her etiquette classes. The booklet is a quick read & features numerous pictures of cake forks (cakevorts, taartprikkers) & various other serving pieces. [This message has been edited by silverSMITH (edited 08-27-2018).] IP: Logged
dragonflywink Posts: 993 Registered: Dec 2002	posted 08-27-2018 05:05 PM The first pic shows mango forks, which should have two straight pointed outside tines and a long sharp center tine to pierce the mango pit - the second pic shows melon forks... From a 1911 Ercuis catalog: ~Cheryl [This message has been edited by dragonflywink (edited 08-27-2018).] IP: Logged
silverSMITH Posts: 23 Registered: Aug 2018	posted 08-27-2018 05:33 PM Thank you. I believe it was your beautiful Dutch cake fork I saw pictured. I was unable to add to that post, but have requested to be considered for all-access. Presently, I have no information on the mango forks, but believe the Christofle (melon fork) mark to be pre-1935. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote: “tho’ an old man, I am but a young gardener.” I, too, have much to learn. Thanks again. [This message has been edited by silverSMITH (edited 08-27-2018).] IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 08-27-2018 09:18 PM Thanks for sharing. Do the melon forks have a cutting edge on one side? IP: Logged
silverSMITH Posts: 23 Registered: Aug 2018	posted 08-27-2018 09:57 PM No, it appears to be of equal thickness, & smoothness all the way around the extended tines. It does however have that notched area on the right side which I assumed was to aid with cutting, although it would need to be transferred to the left hand & used as a knife. So questionable! I have a 600-page book, “The Art of the Table,” which gives etiquette for eating almost anything imaginable, but both methods given for eating mango/melons involve use of a spoon for scooping. Their loss! 😢 [This message has been edited by silverSMITH (edited 08-27-2018).] IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 08-28-2018 08:54 AM silverSMITH- Please make sure our email to you has not been put in SPAM IP: Logged
silverSMITH Posts: 23 Registered: Aug 2018	posted 08-28-2018 04:55 PM Will do. I have received numerous ones so far. Having issues getting my form to submit. Thanks. Referring to the last post on the melon knives, I learned today through reading captions in a book, that what I uneducatedly called the “notched edge,” should have been referred to as a “single negative cusps,” which I now assume is decorative instead of functional. That’s why I am here — to learn. [This message has been edited by silverSMITH (edited 08-28-2018).] IP: Logged
dragonflywink Posts: 993 Registered: Dec 2002	posted 08-30-2018 11:36 PM The cake fork was just an image to show the form, those fancy Dutch designs aren't much to my taste, though I can see the appeal, and there are a few hanging around my Mom's house... ~Cheryl IP: Logged

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