Slender with a small shallow bowl. A dining room staple. The spoon has served many purposes throughout my lifetime. From late night frozen yogurt runs with friends to my mother’s homemade chicken noodle soup when I’m sick, spoons have played a significant role in my relationship with food. But up until recently, I’ve overlooked its importance.
If you’re anything like me, your instinctive utensil of choice is a fork. Unfortunately, forks don’t cater to every meal that I plan on eating. But when given the opportunity to dive into my food with a spoon, grasping onto the handle of a sundae spoon in particular feeds me an unexpected sense of gratification.
The smaller bowl of a sundae spoon allows me to take my time when eating.
Just like the name implies, the anatomy of a sundae spoon is structured to fit perfectly within a tall sundae glass. Regardless of what its initial purpose is, there’s something so appealing about adopting this utensil outside the context of dessert.
With midterms glooming over us and our workload increasingly piling up, we as students forget to take time to ourselves to relax. Food, which has become so standard for us, so utilitarian, is now just another thing we stress to cross off of our to-do lists before moving onto the next thing.
But before I can even begin writing my next Beacon article, there’s a voice inside of my head – which coincidentally sounds like my mother – telling me to eat a good meal first.
More often than not, I find eating a chore. Whether it be the process of making myself food, or even just leaving my dorm to walk to Pilot House, I struggle with finding time to take a break from studying to eat something.
Something that I learned from my Literature and Cultures of Food class is that food is a luxury that should be enjoyed. Rather than dreading the process of getting a meal, I’ve learned to look forward to it. I look forward to the time that I get to spend with myself.
Although the bites are smaller, the sundae spoon allows for more bites to be had overall. It allows time to reflect on what I’m eating and myself. More importantly, it allows for me to indulge in and appreciate my meal.
Janea Melido is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at melido24@up.edu.
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