Soup Etiquettes

Soup – Mmmm! As the name is mentioned, unknowingly, you start licking your lips while recalling the awesome taste of the soup, you had last time. Generally the first course of a meal, soup is dished up either in a wide, shallow dish, or a small bowl kept on an under-plate. Every culture has its own manner of having this appetizer. In fact, whether soup is eaten or drunk is a mind-boggling question which often arises and seems to be unanswerable. It is usually eaten with the help of a spoon. Every person has his / her own eating style. Let this ambiguous query remain unsolved; what is more important is how to have soup when you’re sitting with other people at a dining table. Here are given some common dining etiquettes to be followed while having soup.

How To Sip A Soup

When serving soup, place the soup bowls on an underplate.
As and when the soup is served, be careful not to spill the hot liquid on yourself.
In case the soup is very hot and you’re not ready to have it, then wait until it cools. Avoid blowing as it may spill down. Also, it signals that you are impatient and cannot resist.
While spooning the soup, scoop it in the opposite direction by pushing the spoon away from you. Doing so will keep off the soup from landing over your shirt, blouse, or lap, and dribble back into the bowl.
Always sip the soup from the side of the spoon, tilting the soup into the mouth, and not the front (tapered side). Enjoying soup from the front side will accumulate it to the point, thereby increasing the chances of spilling.
Certain rules should be kept in mind while eating clear soups with ‘objects’ in them. While the clear soup can be had from the side of the spoon, objects, like meat and vegetables, should be eaten from the front of the spoon.
Make a habit not to slurp or put the whole spoon in your mouth. Fill the spoon 75% with soup. Dining etiquettes don’t allow noisy eating, so avoid making any kind of noise.
To get the last bits, gently slant the bowl away from you and spoon the soup across the bowl.
Always place your spoon on the under-plate in-between sips and when you are done, with its concave side up, in case the soup is served in a cup or round bowl with a saucer beneath it.
However, if soup is served in a soup plate, without any under-plate, it is best to keep the spoon in the bowl between sips and when you’ve finished, rather than placing it on the bread plate or other plate placed beside.
In case you’ve been served soup with crackers, add one bite at a time, else the soup will end up looking like oatmeal. Simply drop in one or two crackers or crumble one saltine at a time, leaving the remainder in the bread plate.
While eating bread along with soup, break it up into bite-size pieces. Always place the bread or roll and butter on the left side of the plate setting. However, in the absence of bread plate, use an entrée plate. Tear off a bite-size piece of the bread or roll, butter it and eat. Never tear or cut the bread in half, butter it completely, or stuff it entirely into your mouth.

When consumed following the proper etiquette, soup can be relished and enjoyed to its best, without the fear of being watched by business associates or fellow companions at a lunch or dinner. Happy souping!

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