To think mash is the easiest thing to eat with chopsticks?

[PennyRa]

Talking with a friend about Christmas, somehow the fact we used chopsticks for Christmas dinner came up (Chopsticks are the norm in our household). Friend said something along the lines of chopsticks are great but can't be used for everything. I replied, yeah sometimes you need a spoon. Friend responded "Yeah, imagine trying to eat mash with chopsticks"...

I didn't want friend to feel bad at the time, maybe they don't have much experience with chopsticks I'm not sure, so just glossed over it, but the more I think about it the more I'm confused.

AIBU to think mash is the easiest thing to eat with chopsticks?

Like - if I take a forkful of mash from the side of the mash pile, the rest doesn’t slump down to fill the gap. It stays put. And I don’t like it when it is sloppy like that. Can’t bear it when it gets piped onto the top of things like fish pie. Shouldn’t be pipeable in my opinion.

I think you a) make terrible mash which makes neat little blocks (not a feature of good mash) and b) don't actually know much about how to properly use chopsticks, being clearly much more culturally British than Asian.

Both of which are ok, but do not give you the height you imagine you have to look down on others the way you are doing.

Exactly! If you can eat it with a fork you can more than eat it with chopsticks

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

Is mash part of your culture?

Wow that's offensive

It really isn't. WTF are you actually talking about?

They eat mash in Asia?

Whaaaatt

This is an odd post to read.

I had mash in Bangkok. However, in Thailand they also generally don’t use chopsticks, it’s fork and spoon most often. I’m not sure what point I’m making or whose side of the mash versus chopsticks argument I’m now on.

I wouldn’t expect to find mash difficult to eat with chopsticks, no. Rice much harder! But fine when sticky.

I would find baked beans on toast tricky. It would be one bean at a time and no toast, unless cutting it up with a knife is allowed in this challenge?

Why is it offensive? I'd agree with the statement.

I'd say mash is the one thing I could eat with chopsticks. Like a PP, lots of butter, some milk. Definitely not pourable and mixed with gravy.
Yanbu op

It's so predictable how this mythical country of culture remains nameless. You've then said you are Eurasian which makes it all the more amusing for chopsticks to be used unless it's not possible.

Your post was nothing more than a chance to poke fun at your friend.... What a nice friend you are to them...

I get that my culture is laughable without a seconds though, but that is all I am asking of you ...a seconds thought

I can see that it would be easy to eat mashed potatoes with chopsticks, but I doubt they're the easiest thing.

Anything that squishes a bit is easy to eat with chopsticks. Mash would be fine. Peanuts are annoying.

Yep completely agree OP mash would be very doable with chopsticks, and the PPs who seem to be outraged at whether its quite the done thing in "your culture" are weirdly amusing and offensive by turns.

Eurasian household here and we (quite sensibly, I think) use utensils which match the origin of the food and would normally be served with it. E.g. a knife and fork for a roast, chopsticks and a ceramic spoon with noodle soup.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say it's part of any culture to eat mashed potato with chopsticks. It's certainly possible though, if the mash is solid enough.

I'm trying to imagine what neat little blocks of mashed potatoes looks like but all I can picture is really lumpy mash. I've never seen mash like what you're describing. Unless you actually meant potato wedges or something?

Oh do you have a Japanese background OP? I do love a katsu curry on mash, though I'd use a fork for it. I can't think of anywhere further south where mash is even a thing (and it probably isn't in Japan either, but to me mash just feels right with a gooey golden curry).

I think she means you use your chopsticks to divide your pile of mash into a little grid of bite sized lumps. Then pick them up to eat.

Some people are really sinking their teeth into the 'neat little blocks' comment. Clearly she means mash of the solid, fluffy type. You know, not gravy-ridden and liquid.

As for some of the others who are hell bent on trying to ascertain where she is from - no, I mean 'really' from, just does it mean if she says she's part-Chinese, -Japanese or -Korean, her opinion holds more weight? It doesn't work like that.

Personally, a fork is best for mash. Yes, you can pick up a lot of mash if it's more solid, light and fluffy with chopsticks, but once you're almost finished it'll be near impossible to 'get to' the rest, so I disagree with you OP. The curved sides and tines of a standard fork are infinitely better to collect mash for consumption!

Chopsticks and mash is like when people eat their fried rice on a plate with chopsticks! It's rice in a bowl with chopsticks. Anyway, I digress...

I am rubbish at using chopsticks but even I could manage to use them to eat mashed potato. I'd like to think people can use whatever utensils they find easiest.