Summary

Eating with one's hands is a traditional practice in many cultures, particularly in India, Africa, and parts of Asia, which promotes mindfulness, health benefits, and a deeper emotional connection to food, despite varying reactions from those unfamiliar with the custom.

Abstract

The article "Eating with your hand — Can or Cannot?" explores the cultural practice of consuming meals with one's hands, a norm in regions like India, Africa, and several Asian countries. This method of eating, which extends beyond finger foods to include full meals with rice or bread, vegetables, and protein, is deeply rooted in Vedic traditions and is believed to enhance the dining experience through mindfulness. The act of using the hands to eat is said to engage the senses, allowing diners to better assess the texture, temperature, and portion size of their food, fostering a more intimate connection with what they consume. Scientifically, the presence of normal flora on the hands can aid digestion, and the ritual of washing hands before meals serves as a hygienic practice. Emotionally, eating with hands can evoke a sense of comfort and satisfaction, as highlighted by personal anecdotes and cultural references. The article encourages readers to be open to trying this method of eating, providing tips for beginners and acknowledging that while it may not be for everyone, understanding the practice can lead to a greater appreciation of diverse cultural norms.

Opinions

Eating with hands is met with mixed reactions, ranging from intrigue to disgust, particularly in the Western Hemisphere.
The practice is seen as a skill that one refines over time, with children learning from an early age and adults guiding them on etiquette.
The use of the right hand for eating is preferred, and training is often provided to left-handed individuals to conform to this custom.
The five fingers are symbolically linked to the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space/ether, adding a spiritual dimension to the act of eating.
Eating with hands is believed to prevent mouth burns by allowing one to gauge the food's temperature before it reaches the mouth.
The article suggests that eating with hands can lead to a more fulfilling and connected eating experience compared to using utensils.
The author expresses a personal emotional connection to food, emphasizing the comfort found in traditional meals eaten by hand.
The phrase "finger-licking good" is rooted in the enjoyment of eating with hands, where the food is so satisfying that one savors every bit, including licking the fingers.
The author encourages readers to try eating with their hands, offering guidance on which foods are suitable for this practice and emphasizing patience and practice to master the skill.
The article concludes by acknowledging that while not everyone may adopt this practice, exposure to it can foster understanding and appreciation of different cultural approaches to eating.

Eating with your hand — Can or Cannot?

Mindfulness at its best

“Wow, that’s so interesting that you eat with your hands. I’d like to try it sometime.”

“What? You eat with your hands? That’s just gross.”

I often get mixed reactions about the daily and customary practice of eating food using your fingers from many people in the Western Hemisphere. In India, Africa, and several other Asian countries, breaking bread and eating with your bare hand is a norm.

I’m not referring to finger foods like French fries or chicken nuggets. I am talking about a multi-course meal that includes rice or bread with vegetables and protein (meat, chicken, fish).

As a South Indian, rice is an integral part of our diet. Eating with your hand takes skill and it is something that one picks up as a child. As they get older, they get more sophisticated with their fine motor skills to be able to scoop up every morsel of rice from the plate. Of course, along the way adults provide informal instruction to shape the expected etiquette when eating with hands.

The Vedic Connection

Practices that continue for hundreds and thousands of years do so because they serve a purpose. If they didn’t, they would become extinct. The right hand is used to eat food. If a child is left-hand dominant, most families will insist on training the child to eat with their right hand.

According to the scriptures, the five fingers represent the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space/ether.

Eating with hands allows for a more mindful experience, where the person is able to feel the texture of the food, determine portion size, and taste the food. One of the benefits of eating the food with the hand is to determine the temperature. If the food is too hot for the fingers, then it is too hot for the tongue and mouth. It prevents the burning of the tongue that can happen when eating with a spoon or fork.

Using fingers to eat the food provides for a deeper connection with the food that we eat. The nerve-endings present at the ends of our fingertips activates a connection between the hand, food, and the mouth. A connection that is lost when using an implement such as a spoon or fork.

The Health Connection

From a scientific viewpoint, our hands and palms contain normal flora, a bacteria that protects the skin and body from harmful microbes and improves digestion. Of course, the pre-meal ritual is to wash hands with a gentle antibacterial soap.

In the olden days when people ate their food sitting cross-legged on the floor, the norm was to wash their feet too prior to a meal.

The Emotional Connection

Food is an emotion for me. After a long trip away, nothing is more satisfying than returning home to a simple meal of rice and dhal (lentil curry) eaten with my hand. In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Choudhury writes about the pleasures of eating with fingers.

The phrase “finger-licking” probably had its roots in the practice of eating with hands. The food is said to be so good that a person ends the meal by licking every bit of sauce from their fingers.

The experiences also often result in muscle memory in eating certain types of food. For example, it is not easy to eat fish with bones using a fork and knife. So much of the meat and goodness is wasted. Eating fish with hands prevents accidents like choking on small scales or bones.

Try it — at your own risk!

I am not sure how open you are to new experiences. But if you’ve gotten to read this far, you are either intrigued by the idea or are totally disgusted by it. In the spirit of engaging in new experiences, if you want to give it a go here are a few things to consider.

Where do I start?

Different foods lend themselves to a certain way of eating. Food that is eaten with hands mostly includes vegetables, meat, chicken, or fish pieces that are cut to bite-size portions. Please don’t think you can get a piece of steak and be successful with eating that with your hands. Actually, that would be a sight to watch…..more like the cavemen!

On the other hand, if you had a drumstick piece of a tandoori chicken, it’s best eaten by holding the bone and biting into the chicken. Yum! Here are some pointers to get you started.

Wash your hands. Always be sure to wash your hands before and (of course) after the meal. Ladies, if you have long, manicured, fingernails I would recommend passing on this experience. Or at least come back to it when you don’t have to worry about the nail polish being stained or chipping off.

Select the food. Next time you are at an Indian restaurant or order take-out, be sure to order the naan or roti (Indian bread) and a curry dish of your choice. If you want to challenge yourself, order some rice too.

Use your hands. As a novice, you may not be able to tear the bread with one hand. You may need the assistance of your left hand to tear off a piece. Serve yourself a portion of the curry on your plate. Using your right hand, dip the bread in the curry and scoop up the vegetable/ chicken/ meat pieces along with some sauce using your fingers and transport it into your mouth. Chew and swallow your food as you would normally do before you take the next bite. I haven’t checked, but I bet there is a YouTube video on this!

Be patient with yourself. Do you remember the time you first used chopsticks? I doubt you were able to pick up a peanut and move it from Point A to Point B with ease. Same with eating with hands. It is an acquired skill that is refined over time. You will get the hang of it with more practice, just like any other skill.

Give it time. You won’t reap the benefits of the different connections discussed above with just one meal. Try this over a period of time to experience the true benefit of eating and savoring your food.

I can’t do this!

If this is not for you, that’s okay too. At least now you know such a practice exists. Next time you go into an Ethiopian or Indian restaurant, you may be more aware of people eating with their hands and you will be more knowledgeable about why they do so.

So where do you stand — CAN or CANNOT?

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