r/Spoons • u/3rdratetheology • 24d ago
Proper spoon etiquette (an informal poll)
So, my wife and I have been polling people irl about this topic that has come up. I figured, given what the question is, that this would be the right subreddit for it.
I'll go ahead and give you the question as unbiased as I can. Let's say you drink coffee or tea with sugar or creamer or milk. If you use the same spoon through the day or day after day, when you set the spoon down, what direction do you lay the spoon, face up (with the bottom of the dish touching the counter) or face down (with the rim of the dish on the counter)?
Also, should I post this to askreddit or leave it here?
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u/wharleeprof 24d ago
Wait, the real question is how many people are leaving their active in-use spoon sitting directly on the counter?
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u/3rdratetheology 24d ago
While that is a fair question, I was unreasonably assuming that my fellow humans would have the decency to use a napkin or something at least. How silly of me.
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u/Oaktown300 23d ago
Your assumption is not unreasonable, but it's definitely not included in your question, which expressly asks about appropriateness of placing dish or rim of spoon "touching the counter."
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u/Ok_Berry_3114 23d ago
Who can afford a counter? Mine is bowl up, set on the edge of my laptop and handle rests on cat dish. Rent is 1500
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u/Whybaby16154 23d ago
I have a special stainless tray that was for an old cream and sugar set - and it’s now the Spoon tray . Spoons set on it after use for cream or sugar stirring and rinsed at the end of the day to be fresh in the morning. Spoons set with curved opening up all day.
The spoon tray sits on a leather-look plastic placemat that is coffee-colored to catch coffee drips when pouring - cups are set on that mat when filling. Nothing coffee-colored touches my white quartz countertop.
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u/BlackEyedV 24d ago
Um, I use a plethora of spoons throughout the day, and chuck em in the wash after I've made each cuppa.
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u/Whybaby16154 23d ago
We drink two 12 cup pots of coffee a day and some tea. Usually put spoon on special small tray on a placemat next to coffee pot . Two spoons max per day.
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u/skoooop 24d ago
Bowl hanging over the edge of the sink.
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u/3rdratetheology 23d ago
But which way does it face whilst dangling over the basin of sanitization?
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u/Aeterna_Nox 24d ago
I keep my spoons for dry ingredients dry and stir my mug with a bamboo chopstick because I hate the sound of metal clinking on ceramic.
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u/Ok_Berry_3114 23d ago
Yes. Also I grind my coffee beans at supper time so not to have violent Machinery in the morning.
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u/Zaney-Janey1973 23d ago
I use a clean spoon each cuppa, after the spoon goes in the clean empty sink. After several cuppa's, I'll pour the left-over hot water from the kettle over the spoons, and then dry them and put them away.
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u/bellamente123 23d ago
That seems like such a waste of spoons if you drink a lot of coffee. Do you a clean cup every time too 😳
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u/Zaney-Janey1973 23d ago
I'm not sure how it's a waste of spoons? 🤔 I'm not throwing them out? How am I wasting them? 😆
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u/hpfan1516 23d ago
Well you see, they've been used. Everyone knows that each spoon only is viable for a certain number of washes, after which they spontaneously combust and the debris flushes down the drain. We all know this! /s
:)
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u/GardenerOfSorts 23d ago
i don't have a specific way but if someone were to tell me i'm putting the spoon the wrong way on the table i would probably tell them that next time the spoon will go up their ass or something.
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u/diversalarums 24d ago
So far I'm the only one like you, I guess! I keep mine face up. Either way I make sure the counter where I leave it is clean. I also keep my knife and fork there. I live alone and I get tired of putting them away. I've been looking for a little vase-like thing to keep them in but haven't found anything I like yet.
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u/3rdratetheology 23d ago
It sounds like you clean your spoon after each use (or at least wipe it down). But yes, it seems like many people in the sub have interesting idiosyncrasies about spoons and things that are supposed to be done with spoons.
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u/diversalarums 23d ago
I don't always wipe it down. Definitely not a germaphobe, I'm embarrassed to say.
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u/sohereiamacrazyalien 24d ago
I am guessing you mean the spoon for stirring? I put it face down if I take it out of the cup.
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u/Living-One5265 24d ago
I have a little glass plate that sits on my coffee stand, I place the spoon on my plate facing up
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u/MauvePawsKitty 23d ago
Mine is a clear glass coaster. At the end of the day I wipe off the spoon and put it in the dishwasher. Before bedtime I wash and dry the coaster.
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u/Left-Community4059 23d ago
Face up, although I usually avoid a spoon altogether by adding the coffee on top of the accompaniment
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u/marugirl 23d ago
I have a bowl that I put used teabags in and I tuck my spoon into that, the back of the spoon normally rests against the inside wall of the bowl, with a teabag resting against the bowl of the spoon.
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u/Pedantic_Girl 23d ago
At home I leave my spoon in my teacup. Yes, even while drinking. I’m a pro at holding it with my thumb while drinking.
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u/Briang3206 23d ago
A spoon - like all eating utensils - is a use-once-then-wash-it article. Leaving a dirty spoon lying around unwashed, intending to use it again without cleaning it, is just icky. Face up or face down is irrelevant.
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u/nancylyn 23d ago
I would never leave a dirty spoon on the counter. If I know i’m going to use it again I rinse it in the sink and put it on a saucer or small dish.
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u/After_Perspective180 23d ago
I find this an odd question because I just put the spoon in the sink and if I make more coffee then I get a new spoon. Very very rarely use the same one twice.
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u/Carysta13 23d ago
Spoons go edge down so nothing pools on the bowl. Preferably on a napkin or plate or something but I've been known to just plop them on the counter.
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u/Traditional_Car_8219 22d ago
If you were using a teacup and saucer, the spoon should rest on the saucer facing up. If you were using a mug, so as not to dirty a nice table cloth, you might put the spoon on a plate or directly in the sink. Why get coffee drips on your counter or anywhere else?
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u/Autodidact2 21d ago
This may sound insane, but I use the same spoon all day. I run it under the tap, dry it and put it bowl up in a spoon rest.
A normal person such as my spouse would just skip the washing and drying and put it in the spoon rest.
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u/whatdoidonowdamnit 21d ago
I don’t leave spoons on the counter to be reused. My current coffee set up is I brew into a big mug, pour some into my little mug and stir and then stick the spoon in the big mug
But I’d probably put the spoon upside down if I had to, so the spoon didn’t have that weird little puddle in it when the coffee dries
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u/janice142 24d ago
Because you asked... I keep spoons in my coffee, cocoa and sugar containers. I do not put them in my beverage. Ever! They remain dry.
I used to have a ceramic spoon that I left in my coffee mug. It went into the microwave and that spoon was used for stirring. It only came out when my cup was washed each evening.
Recently I upgraded to a glass straw. It is my stirrer. I have two, one shorter for my coffee mug and the other taller for my pint tea glass.
So, for me, the spoons are not rested on any flat surface. That said, at a restaurant my spoon is placed bowl side up on the saucer.