Editing Spoon

{{Short description|Eating utensil}}
{{About|the utensil|the musical percussion instrument|Spoon (musical instrument)|other uses|Spoon (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Spoom}}

[[File:Cuillère MHNT ETH AC MD 110 Julien Madagascar.jpg|thumb|Wooden spoons, [[Betsileo people]], [[Madagascar]], 19th century]]
[[File:History spoon.jpg|thumb|[[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] spoon and fork (4th century)]]
A '''spoon''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|'|s|p|uː|n}}, {{IPAc-en|US|'|s|p|u|n}} {{Respell|SPOON}}) is a utensil consisting of a shallow [[bowl]] (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a [[handle]]. A type of [[cutlery]] (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a [[table setting|place setting]], it is used primarily for transferring food to the mouth (eating). Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients and for serving food. Present day spoons are made from metal (notably [[stainless steel]], flat silver or [[Household silver|silverware]], plated or solid), wood, [[porcelain]] or plastic. There are many different types of spoons made from different materials by different cultures for different purposes and food.

== Terminology ==
The spoon consists of a ''bowl'' and a [[handle]]. A handle in the shape of a slender stick is frequently called a ''stem''. The stem can end in a sharp point or be crowned with a ''knop'', a decorative knob.{{sfn|Forgeng|Singman|McLean|1995|p=167}} The ''knop-top'' spoons with a variety of knop shapes described by colorful terms like "acorn", "writhen-end" (spiral ornament on a ball), "maidenhead" (a bust), "diamond point," "apostle" were particularly popular in England in the 14th to 17th centuries.{{sfn|Veitgh|1923|p=121}} 

The name ''spoon'' came from [[Old English]] ''spon'', 'chip'.{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|p=186}}<ref>{{OED|spoon}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Catalogue of the silver plate (Greek, Etruscan and Roman) in the British Museum (1921) (14764117764).jpg|thumb|Assorted spoons of the Roman world (British Museum)]]
[[File:Post Medieval Seal Top Spoon (FindID 221156).jpg|thumb|Medieval spoons with ''seal top'']]
Preserved examples of various forms of spoons used by the [[ancient Egypt]]ians include those composed of [[ivory]], [[flint]], [[slate]] and wood, many of them carved with [[religious symbol]]s.<ref name="enc">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Spoon|volume=25|page=733}}</ref> During the [[Neolithic Europe|Neolithic]] [[Ozieri culture|Ozieri civilization]] in [[Sardinia]], ceramic [[Ladle (spoon)|ladles]] and spoons were already in use. In [[Shang dynasty]] China, spoons were made of bone. Early [[bronze]] spoons in China were designed with a sharp point, and may have also been used as [[cutlery]].<ref name="Needham">{{cite book|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Fermentations and Food Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgtFxedkgbcC&pg=PA106|year=2000|author=Joseph Needham|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-65270-4|page=106}}</ref> The spoons of the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]]s and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]]s were chiefly made of bronze and silver and the handle usually takes the form of a spike or pointed stem.<ref name="enc"/> There are many examples in the [[British Museum]] from which the forms of the various types can be ascertained, the chief points of difference being found in the junction of the bowl with the handle.<ref name="enc"/> The ancient Greeks called the spoon ''mystron'' (μύστρον), and they also used pieces of bread scooped out in the shape of a spoon, which they called, ''mystile'' (μυστίλη).<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:id=cena-harpers Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Cena]</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DM%3Aentry+group%3D16%3Aentry%3Dmystile-harpers Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Mystile]</ref>

A 2024 study by archaeologist [[Andrzej Kokowski]] and biologists from [[Maria Curie-Skłodowska University]] in [[Lublin]], [[Poland]], identified 241 small, spoon-shaped objects at 116 archaeological sites across [[Scandinavia]], [[Germany]], and Poland, dating back to the Roman era. These sites primarily consisted of marshes and graves. The study proposes that these objects, often found alongside items associated with warfare and featuring a small disk 10-20 millimeters in diameter, were likely used to administer drugs, especially stimulants, before battles. Germanic peoples of the era had access to various substances with potential medicinal or psychoactive properties, including [[poppy]], [[hops]], [[hemp]], [[henbane]], belladonna, and certain fungi.<ref>{{cite web | last=Gruyter | first=De | title=Barbarian warriors in Roman times used stimulants in battle, findings suggest | website=Phys.org | date=2024-12-02 | url=https://phys.org/news/2024-12-barbarian-warriors-roman.html | access-date=2024-12-05}}</ref>

[[File:Birckala 1017 spoon.jpg|thumb|A [[Crusades|Crusade-era]] spoon from 1017 that was found on archaeological excavation of [[Tursiannotko]] in [[Pirkkala]], [[Finland]]]]
In the early [[Muslim world]], spoons were used for eating soup.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World|first=James E.|last=Lindsay|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|year=2005|isbn=0-313-32270-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/128 128]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/128}}</ref> [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] spoons meant for domestic use were commonly made of cow [[Horn (anatomy)|horn]] or [[wood]], but [[brass]], [[pewter]], and [[latten]] spoons appear to have been common in about the 15th century.<ref name="enc"/> The full descriptions and entries relating to [[silver]] spoons in the inventories of the royal and other households point to their special value and rarity.<ref name="enc"/> The earliest [[England|English]] reference appears to be in a will of 1259.<ref name="enc"/> In the wardrobe accounts of [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] for the year 1300 some gold and silver spoons marked with the ''[[fleur-de-lis]]'', the [[Paris]] mark, are mentioned.<ref name="enc"/> One of the most interesting medieval spoons is the [[Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom#Coronation_Spoon|Coronation Spoon]] used in the [[Coronation of the British monarch#Anointing|anointing of the English and later British sovereign]]; this 12th-century object is the oldest surviving item in the British royal regalia.<ref name="enc"/>

The sets of [[Apostle Spoons]], popular as christening presents in [[Tudor period|Tudor times]], the handles of which terminate in heads or busts of the apostles, are a special form to which [[antiquarian]] interest attaches.<ref name="enc"/> The earlier English spoon-handles terminate in an [[acorn]], plain knob or a [[diamond]]; at the end of the 16th century, the [[baluster]] and [[seal (impression)|seal]] ending becomes common, the bowl being [[ficus|fig]]-shaped.<ref name="enc"/> During [[English Restoration|The Restoration]],{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} the handle becomes broad and flat, the bowl is broad and oval and the termination is cut into the shape known as the [[Red Deer|hind]]'s foot.<ref name="enc"/>

In the first quarter of the 18th century, the bowl becomes narrow and [[Ellipse|elliptical]], with a tongue or rat's tail down the back, and the handle is turned up at the end.
The modern form, with the tip of the bowl narrower than the base and the rounded end of the handle turned down, came into use about 1760.<ref name="enc"/>

<gallery>
File:Cuillère Fontalès Paléolithique MHNT.PRE.2010.0.11.1.jpg|Spoon engraved in reindeer antler, [[Magdalenian]] c.&nbsp;17,000{{snd}}c.&nbsp;12,000 BCE
File:Shang Bronze Spoon (9930355444).jpg|Bronze spoon, [[Shang dynasty]]
File:Hoxne Hoard 20.jpg|Roman spoons from the [[Hoxne hoard]], c.&nbsp;4-5th century CE 
File:Spoon national museum india.JPG|[[Jade]] spoon, [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] dynasty, India 
File:MaryRose-wooden spoon3.JPG|Wooden spoon found on board the 16th century carrack ''[[Mary Rose]]''
File:Yurok (Native American). Spoon, 19th century. Antler.jpg|Native American [[Yurok]] spoons, 19th century
Achaemenid spoon 4TH Century B.C.jpg| [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] spoon (400 BC)
</gallery>

==Types and uses==
{{See also|List of types of spoons}}
[[File:English sterling silver tableware spoons.jpg|thumb|A selection of Georgian-Victorian English sterling silver tableware spoons (c.&nbsp;1790{{snd}}c.&nbsp;1850)]]
Spoons are used primarily for eating [[liquid]] or semi-liquid foods, such as [[soup]], [[stew]] or [[ice cream]], and very small or powdery solid items which cannot be easily lifted with a [[fork]], such as [[rice]], [[sugar]], [[cereal]]s and [[Pea|green peas]]. In [[Southeast Asia]], spoons are the primary utensil used for eating; forks are used to push foods such as rice onto the spoon as well as their western usage for piercing the food.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.satayusa.com/southchina.htm|title=South China Seas Culture & Cuisine|website=www.satayusa.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://uktv.co.uk/food/item/aid/534144| title = UKTV Food: Recipes: Southeast Asian cuisine}}</ref>

Spoons are also widely used in cooking and serving. In baking, [[batter (cooking)|batter]] is usually thin enough to pour or drop from a spoon;<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N4QnyPCAdzUC&q=batter+is+usually+thin+enough+to+pour+or+drop+from+a+spoon&pg=PA4027|title=Savory Baking: 75 Warm and Inspiring Recipes for Crisp, Savory Baking|last=Cech|first=Mary|date=2013-05-14|publisher=Chronicle Books|isbn=9781452100234|language=en}}</ref> a mixture of such consistency is sometimes called "drop batter".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/schoolkitchente00lincgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/schoolkitchente00lincgoog/page/n262 242]|quote=batter is usually thin enough to pour or drop from a spoon called drop batter.|title=The School Kitchen Textbook: Lessons in Cooking and Domestic Science for the Use of Elementary Schools|last=Lincoln|first=Mary Johnson|date=1915|publisher=Little, Brown|language=en}}</ref> Rolled dough dropped from a spoon to a cookie sheet can be made into [[rock cake]]s and other [[cookie]]s, while [[johnnycake]] may be prepared by dropping spoonfuls of cornmeal onto a hot greased griddle.

A spoon is similarly useful in processing [[Fruit preserves|jelly]], [[sugar]] and [[syrup]]. A test sample of jelly taken from a boiling mass may be allowed to slip from a spoon in a sheet, in a step called "sheeting". At the "crack" stage, syrup from [[boiling]] sugar may be dripped from a spoon, causing it to break with a snap when chilled. When boiled to 240&nbsp;°F. and poured from a spoon, sugar forms a filament, or "thread". Hot syrup is said to "pearl" when it forms such a long thread without breaking when dropped from a spoon.

Used for stirring, a spoon is passed through a substance with a continued circular movement for the purpose of mixing, blending, dissolving, cooling, or preventing sticking of the ingredients. Mixed drinks may be "[[muddler|muddled]]" by working a spoon to crush and mix ingredients such as mint and sugar on the bottom of a glass or mixer. Spoons are employed for mixing certain kinds of powder into water to make a sweet or nutritious drink.<!--need more specifics; this is a strange sentence-->
A spoon may also be employed to toss ingredients by mixing them lightly until they are well coated with a dressing.

For storage, spoons and knives were sometimes placed in paired ''[[decorative boxes|knife boxes]]'', which were often ornate wooden containers with sloping tops, used especially during the 18th century. On the table, an ornamental utensil called a ''[[nef (napkin holder)|nef]]'', shaped like a ship, might hold a napkin, knife and spoon.

<gallery>
File:18-03-25-Küchenutensil-DSCF1429.jpg|Spoon with a special tip for kiwifruits or melons
File:18-03-25-Küchenutensil-DSCF1431.jpg|Spoons for salad
File:Spoonful of cereal.jpg|Cold [[breakfast cereal]] held in a [[dessert spoon]]
File:Soup Spoon.jpg|[[Stainless steel]] bouillon spoon
</gallery>

==Language and culture==
Spoons are mentioned in the [[Bible]] ([[KJV]]): God in the [[Book of Exodus]]<ref>{{Bible|Ex|25:29}}</ref> tells [[Moses]] to make for [[Tabernacle]], among other things, spoons of gold.{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|p=187}}

The expression "born with a silver spoon in his mouth" (born into privilege) formed due to the mediaeval custom of gifting a "[[baptismal spoon]]" to a child; well-to-do families were able to afford spoons made of [[precious metal]]s.{{sfn|Von Drachenfels|2000|p=187}} 

Spoons can be [[Spoon (musical instrument)|used as a musical instrument]].

[[File:First rice.jpg|thumb|Spoon-feeding]]
To ''spoon-feed'' oneself or another can simply mean to feed by means of a spoon. Metaphorically, however, it often means to present something to a person or group so thoroughly or wholeheartedly as to preclude the need for independent thought, initiative or self-reliance on the part of the recipient; or to present information in a slanted version, with the intent to preclude questioning or revision. Someone who accepts passively what has been offered in this way is said to have been spoon-fed.{{cn|date=June 2023}}

A '''spoonful is''' the amount of material a spoon contains or can contain. Itis used as a standard [[units of measurement|unit of measure]] for volume in [[Cooking weights and measures|cooking]], where it normally signifies a [[teaspoonful]].{{cn|date=June 2023}} It is abbreviated ''coch'' or ''cochl'', from {{langx|la|
[[cochlearium]]}}, a small Roman spoon. "Teaspoonful" is often used in a similar way to describe the dosage for [[Over-the-counter drug|over the counter medicines]]. [[Dessert spoon]]ful and [[tablespoonful]] may also be found in drink and food recipes. A teaspoon holds about 5 ml and a tablespoon about 15 ml.

The [[souvenir spoon]] generally exists solely as a decorative object commemorating an event, place, or special date.

==Manufacture==
{{See also|Silver#Jewellery_and_silverware|l1=Alloys of silver used in jewellery and silverware}}

For machine-made spoons, the basic shape is cut out from a sheet of [[sterling silver]], nickel silver [[alloy]] or [[stainless steel]]. The bowl is cross rolled between two pressurized rollers to produce a thinner section. The handle section is also rolled to produce the width required for the top end. The blank is then cropped to the required shape, and two dies are used to apply the pattern to the blank. The [[Flash (manufacturing)|flash]] is then removed using a [[Linishing|linish]]er, and the bowl is formed between two dies and bent.
[[File:Forgedspoons-1-.jpg|thumb|The stages of the [[Forge|hand forging]] process]]

To make a spoon the traditional way by way of [[Forge|hand forging]], a bar of [[silver]] is marked up to the correct proportions for the bowl and handle.

It is then heated until red hot and held in [[tongs]], and using the [[hammer]] and [[anvil]], beaten into shape. The tip of the bar is pointed to form the tip of the bowl, then hammered to form the bowl. If a heel is to be added, a section down the centre is left thicker. The edges of the bowl and the tip of the spoon are left thicker as this is where most of the thickness is needed. The handle is then started and hammered out to length going from thick at the neck and gradually tapering down in thickness giving a balanced feel. During this process, the piece becomes very hard and has to be [[Annealing (metallurgy)|anneal]]ed several times, then worked again until the final shape is achieved.

[[File:Euskal Museoa spoons.jpg|thumb|Wooden spoon carving steps]]
The bowl is filed to shape, often using a metal template. The bowl is then formed using a tin cake and spoon stake. The molten [[tin]] is poured around the spoon stake and left to harden. The handle is then bent down to 45 degrees, and the spoon is hammered into the tin using the spoon stake and a heavy hammer, to form the bowl. The bend in the handle is then adjusted to match the other spoons in the set so that it sits correctly on the table. The bowl is then [[file (tool)|file]]d level, a process called striking off. The surfaces are filed, first with a rough file to remove the fire stain from the surface, then with a smooth file. It is then buffed to remove any file marks and fire stain from inside the bowl and is polished to the desired finish.

== Derivatives ==
Both the [[spork]] and the [[sporf]] are derived from the spoon: they combine the bowl of the spoon with the [[Tine (structural)|tines]] of the [[fork]] and with both tines and the cutting edge of the [[knife]], respectively.

== See also ==
* [[Cutlery]]
* [[List of types of spoons]] 
* [[Montreal–Philippines cutlery controversy]]
* [[Scoop (utensil)]]
* [[Spoon bending]]
* [[Spoon theory]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{Refbegin}}
* Bednersh, Wayne. ''Collectible Souvenir Spoons: The Grand Tour''. Collector Books, 2000. {{ISBN|978-1-57432-189-0}}.
* Rainwater, Dorothy. ''Spoons From Around the World''. New York: Shiffer Publishing, 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-88740-425-2}}.
* Spark, Nick. ''Spoons West!  Fred Harvey, the Navajo, and the Souvenir Spoons of the West 1890-1941''. Los Angeles, California: Periscope Film, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-9786388-9-4}}.
* {{cite book | first1 = Jeffrey L. | last1 = Forgeng | first2 = Jeffrey L. | last2 = Singman | first3 = Will | last3 = McLean | date = 1995 | title = Daily Life in Chaucer's England | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | page = 167 | isbn = 978-0-313-29375-7 | oclc = 1170051340 | chapter = Food and Drink | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=olG9GofwXE4C&pg=PA167}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Veitgh |first1=Henry Newton |title=Spoons Of Old English Plate |journal=International Studio |date=October 1923 |volume=LXXVIII |issue=317 |pages=121–124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QPtGAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA21}}
* {{cite book | date = 1911 | last = Jackson | first = Charles James | title = An Illustrated History of English Plate, Ecclesiastical and Secular: In which the Development of Form and Decoration in the Silver and Gold Work of the British Isles, from the Earliest Known Examples to the Latest of the Georgian Period, is Delineated and Described, Volume 2 | publisher = "Country life," limited | pages = 470–537 | oclc = 1074655150 | chapter=The spoon and its history: Its form, material, and development | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BEI1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA470}}
* {{cite book | first = Suzanne | last= Von Drachenfels | date = 8 November 2000 | title = The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware | publisher = Simon and Schuster | pages = 186–195 | isbn = 978-0-684-84732-0 | chapter = The Spoon | chapter-url = }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Spoons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary}}
*[http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/utensil/spoons.htm The History of Eating Utensils - Spoons]. Rietz Collection of Food Technology.
*[http://www.925-1000.com/spoon.html The Making of a Spoon, Georgian style]. ''Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks''. Illustrated article on the hand forging of a spoon.
*{{cite journal|author=Jackson, C. J.|title=The Spoon and its history|journal=Archaeologia|year=1892|volume=53|pages=107–146|doi=10.1017/S0261340900011231|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175012357367;view=1up;seq=135}}
*[http://www.eatingutensils.net/history-of-cutlery/spoon-history/ History of Spoon - Eating Utensils]

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[[Category:Spoons|*]]
[[Category:Eating utensils]]

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