Pea Knife Etiquette and History

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“What Have We Here? The Etiquette and Essentials of Lives Once Lived from the Georgia Era through the Gilded Age and Beyond…

A most popular food with which to show off one’s knife dining skills was peas. Many people practiced lining peas carefully upon a steel knife blade, to “pour” into their mouths, much to the chagrin of spouses and parents. A few uncouth, but industrious people even invented and designed special, “pea knives.” It took, as gentle reminders, repeated news and magazine articles over the years to finally get the practice all but abandoned. – The Smart Set, 1921

An unused pea-knife photo and two unused articles, which were originally chosen for my new book. I thought I would share them here, as knife-eating was much more common in the 1700’s and 1800’s than most people understand. Peas were a staple of many diets, as was pea-flour. Two-tined forks were difficult to pick peas up with, so knife blades, which were wide and flat, with dull blades, made the perfect utensil for many to convey peas to the mouth. Back in the 1960’s, when I would go visit my grandparents, my grandfather used to entertain me by eating his peas from his knife. I found it tremendously funny, and he was quite good at it, but it annoyed my grandmother to no end! 

Friday, August 7, 1959 – The Daily Sun -A-5 – Pea-tiful Report

CHICAGO (UPI)-The Canned Pea Council reported that persons who eat peas with a knife must pick up 60 knife-fulls to eat a one-pound can of peas. The council said the average can contains 902 peas; the average pea-eating knife has a five-inch blade and will hold 15 peas. It figures two peas probably will be dropped.

Dining with Dignity –

Dear Sir: I have been troubled with palsy and find it very hard to get a good knifeful of peas up to my mouth. I was compelled to use a spoon, but somehow they don't taste the same. I saw your advertisement in the Echo and I bought a safety pea knife and I want to tell you it's solid comfort. I can't shake them off. God bless you. John Applegate.-From a Vermont paper, 1927

A page from the book, 

What Have We Here?: The Etiquette and Essentials of Lives Once Lived, from the Georgian Era through the Gilded Age and Beyond...