“One Thing” is a column that introduces tips on how to live your life.
For some reason, we were left with two spoons, one with a serrated scoop and one with a pointed tip. It was very strange. We didn’t eat much grapefruit, and when we did, we used a knife to slice it so that we could pull it out with a fork. (Apparently, this is closer to the correct British way of enjoying a sour breakfast with a grapefruit knife and a regular fork.)
But over time, I’ve found myself using the grapefruit spoon more and more — and not just out of desperation when all my other spoons are in the dishwasher. I’ve found the grapefruit spoon has a ton of uses, from seeding tomatoes, jalapeños, and cucumbers (slicing them lengthwise first), to steming strawberries, picking avocados and kiwis directly from their bowls of peels, and scraping honey jars and menorahs.
I’ve got a weird habit I’ve picked up on when I get on a plane. It’s time to stop. The Inevitable Problem of the “Hawk Tua” Girl Phenomenon. I can’t reconcile Tobey Maguire’s clean-cut image with what he may have just done. The shadow of Shibumi is casting a shadow over North Carolina beaches this summer, and it’s only spreading.
Owning this unusual yet secretly multipurpose tool makes you feel fashionable. What other piece of silverware is fun in the modern era? The spoon fork. A few years ago, at a Gorham Silverware exhibit at my local museum, I saw a mustard ladle, sardine tongs with a cute fish paddle, macaroni serving spoons, sugar tongs, a set of 12 fruit knives, asparagus tongs and a set of 24 melon forks. Many of them were part of the show’s centerpiece collection of 816 pieces of gilt silverware made for an insurance magnate between 1866 and 1880, which together filled 17 trunks. Sure, there are now vegetable choppers that are popular on TikTok, but what could be elegant about a hunk of plastic?
There are many things about the Victorian era that I’d like to forget – imperialism, child labor, tight clothing – but I think they got some things right – hair ornaments, mourning rituals, and their fanatical approach to tableware. I’m going to take inspiration from that era when it comes to tableware. Next Mother’s Day, I’m going to ask for a nice pair of grape shears. They’ll be useful for cutting grape clusters as well as slicing kale and grapefruit.
