A caddy spoon is a spoon used for measuring out tea in the form of dried tea leaves. Traditionally made of silver, they became very popular at the end of the 18th century, when this relatively inexpensive utensil can be found in practically any middle class household. [1] Tea was sometimes stored in elaborate boxes or containers called tea caddies, and these spoons were made to be used with such containers. The caddy spoons went out of fashion in the early 20th century. [1]
In the early period of the tea trade, the chests with tea included scoops made of sea shells in order to take a sample for tasting. This inspired shell-shaped bowls typical for the caddy spoons. [3]
Caddy spoon, with its shallow bowl and a fanciful stubby handle, resembles a scoop more than it does the other spoons. [4] The silver caddy spoons can also be found in a variety of other designs, with bowls shaped like leaves, whimsical patterns, or made to resemble odd things like a huntsman's cup[ which? ] or a coal box, with almost all of them bearing silver hallmarks. [1]
The earliest caddy spoons made in Sheffield had shell-shaped bowls inspired by the shell scoops included with the tea containers shipped from Asia. The early Birmingham spoons used a jockey-cap-shaped bowl. [5]
A teaspoon (tsp.) is an item of cutlery. It is a small spoon that can be used to stir a cup of tea or coffee, or as a tool for measuring volume. The size of teaspoons ranges from about 2.5 to 7.3 mL. For cooking purposes and dosing of medicine, a teaspoonful is defined as 5 mL, and standard measuring spoons are used.
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery, especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for transferring food to the mouth. 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, wood, porcelain or plastic. There are a wide variety of spoons that are made of a variety of materials and by different cultures for many different uses and foods.
In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods either to hold them to cut with a knife or to lift them to the mouth.
The Japanese tea ceremony is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha (抹茶), powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called temae (点前). While in Europe it is known as the "tea ceremony", it is seldom ceremonial in its practice. Most often tea is served to family, friends, and associates; religious and ceremonial connotations are overstated in European places. The English term "Teaism" was coined by Okakura Kakuzō to describe the unique worldview associated with Japanese tea ceremony, as opposed to focusing just on the ceremonial aspect, a perspective that many practitioners frown upon.
The Mildenhall Treasure is a large hoard of 34 masterpieces of Roman silver tableware from the fourth century AD, and by far the most valuable Roman objects artistically and by weight of bullion in Britain. It was found at West Row, near Mildenhall, Suffolk, in 1942. It consists of over thirty items and includes the Great Dish which weighs over 8 kg (18 lb).
Old Sheffield Plate is the name generally given to the material developed by Thomas Boulsover in the 1740s, a fusion of copper and silver which could be made into a range of items normally made in solid silver. The material rapidly gained popularity as a substitute for solid silver, as it was much cheaper to produce. Any object made in silver could in effect be made in Old Sheffield Plate, although objects subject to heavy wear such as spoons and forks were not so satisfactory in plate.
Teaware is a broad international spectrum of equipment used in the brewing and consumption of tea. Many components make up that spectrum, and vary greatly based upon the type of tea being prepared, and the cultural setting in which it is being prepared. This is often referred to as the tea ceremony, and holds much significance in many cultures, particularly in northwestern Europe and in eastern Asia. A complete, cohesive collection of tea ware makes up a tea set.
Tableware items are the dishware and utensils used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. The term includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, serving utensils, and other items used for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of objects varies according to culture, religion, number of diners, cuisine and occasion. For example, Middle Eastern, Indian or Polynesian food culture and cuisine sometimes limits tableware to serving dishes, using bread or leaves as individual plates, and not infrequently without use of cutlery. Special occasions are usually reflected in higher quality tableware.
A plate is a broad, mainly flat vessel on which food can be served. A plate can also be used for ceremonial or decorative purposes. Most plates are circular, but they may be any shape, or made of any water-resistant material. Generally plates are raised round the edges, either by a curving up, or a wider lip or raised portion. Vessels with no lip, especially if they have a more rounded profile, are likely to be considered as bowls or dishes, as are very large vessels with a plate shape. Plates are dishware, and tableware. Plates in wood, pottery and metal go back into antiquity in many cultures.
A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea. When first introduced to Europe from Asia, tea was extremely expensive, and kept under lock and key. The containers used were often expensive and decorative, to fit in with the rest of a drawing-room or other reception room. Hot water was carried up from the kitchen, and the tea made by the mistress of the house, or under her supervision.
Go equipment refers to the board, stones, and bowls for the stones required to play the game of Go. The quality and materials used in making Go equipment varies considerably, and the cost varies accordingly from economical to extremely expensive.
A tea set or tea service is a collection of matching teaware and related utensils used in the preparation and serving of tea. The traditional components of a tea set may vary between societies and cultures.
Tea utensils are the tools and utensils used in chadō, the art of Japanese tea.
Tibetan cuisine includes the culinary traditions and practices of the Tibetan people in the Tibet region. The cuisine reflects the Tibetan landscape of mountains and plateaus and includes influences from neighbors. It is known for its use of noodles, goat, yak, mutton, dumplings, cheese, butter, yogurt, and soups. Vegetarianism has been debated by religious practitioners since the 11th century but is not prevalent due to the difficulty of growing vegetables, and cultural traditions promoting consumption of meat.
A sugar spoon is a piece of cutlery used for serving granulated sugar. This type of spoon resembles a teaspoon, except that the bowl is deeper and often molded in the shape of a sea shell, giving it the name sugar shell. Sugar spoons are sometimes called "sugar shovels" because of their rectangular shape and deep bowl. Sterling silver sugar spoons are used with formal silver coffee or tea sets.
A sugar bowl is a small bowl designed for holding sugar or sugar cubes, to be served with tea or coffee in the Western tradition, that is an integral part of a tea set.
A ladle is a large, deep spoon, often used in the preparation and serving of soup, stew, or other foods.
A lobster pick or lobster fork is a long, narrow food utensil used to extract meat from joints, legs, claws, and other small parts of a lobster. Lobster picks are usually made of stainless steel and weigh as much as an average teaspoon. They have a long, textured cylindrical handle, ending in a crescent-shaped moderately sharp pick, or else a small two-tined fork. A three-tined version has a longer central tine with two shorter side tines with hooks on them. The other end may have a spoon for scooping out meat from inside the lobster. The lobster pick can also be used with other seafood, such as crab and crawfish.
The sugar tongs are small serving utensils used at the table to transfer sugar pieces from the sugar bowl to the tea cups. The tongs appeared at the end of the 17th century, and were very popular by 1800, with half of the British households owning them. The decline of the formal tea party led to the disappearance of the sugar tongs, in the 21st century they are considered an oddity at the table in their original role, but had acquired a new meaning: the tongs now represent Englishness. Also, these tongs still can be used to serve small candy, string beans, slices of cucumber, celery sticks.