Licking the Knife..

[Beach Chick]

Love doing this..used to drive my Mom nuts...my favorite is when I slice a sandwich and the mayo is lingering on the somewhat dull small serrated kitchen knife...never a sharp knife.
Do you all still do this?

[FoodFuser]

I was gifted from Momma a really neat sandwich knife.
One side serrated for trimming the bread
the other left blunt, as great invitation
to slurp down those remnants of dressing.

Lapping leftover shards of mayo mustard et cetera
Led to adventures with blades were more sharpened.
Deep lingual strokes from blunt to sharp edge.

It's akin to "cook's oyster" when roasting a chicken
Is dignified act of the licking of knife.
With a wee bit of practice we can safely partake
of every thing we have sliced.

Cook's oyster... cook's ecstasy....
Lay tongue to that blade.

[Motosport]

I am not ashamed to admit that I lick knives, even sharp ones but carefully. I also lick mixing spoons and those electric beater thingies when making cookies or cakes.
Remember: THe tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body!!

[beevod]

"Please pass the knife."

[jnk]

Yes I have, a very long time ago (45 years ago), I cut my tongue and have never done it again.

[MsDiPesto]

I only lick straight razors.

[rockandroller1]

I have never done this, ever. I think it's kind of gross. I don't even lick the spoon if I were to spoon out peanut butter or something, it just bothers me.

[greenish]

If one of the kids licked a knife at our dinner table my mom would bust out with:

The Goops they lick their fingers.
The Goops they lick their knives.
They spill their broth on the table cloth
and lead disgusting lives.

The Goops they talk while eating,
And loud and fast they chew;
And that is why that I am glad
I'm not a Goop -- Are you?

[r_l_kakos]

Oh my goodness! The Goops! I thought my mom and grandmother was the only two out there who could recite that... thanks for the memory.

My mother would kill me if she knew, but yes, I lick the knives (in private, never in front of anyone, including my husband - a guilty pleasure). On sharp ones, I use the finger technique above. Batter off the spatula is a given also.

[srsone]

i never heard that before...
i googled it...it was from a childrens book published in 1900 by a guy named gelett burgess...called the goops and how not too be them...

[Gatogrande]

better things in this world to lick than knives

[srsone]

mostly the butter knife when i spread peanut butter...
or whatever spreader/knife when i use frosting...

and of course any spoon when i make cookies/cake/brownies etc...
and then the bowl when i'm done

[theferlyone]

+1 to all of it...though I learned the hard way that I shouldn't lick whisks/beaters/etc. I have my tongue pierced. Not smart. :-\

[Beach Chick]

cream cheese or peanut butter takes a bit of finesse but not as easy peasy as the mayo.

[blacvulture]

I do. I really pay no mind as to how sharp it is.

[Miss Needle]

Wow. I'm surprised how many people say no. I do it all the time -- sharp knife, dull knife, doesn't matter. I do it very deliberately and carefully and avoid the sharp edge. I'll lick to the sharp edge but never over it. I haven't cut myself yet. DH hates it when I do it because he's so scared I'll cut off my tongue. But I'm also the type of person who constantly burns her tongue and roof of mouth because I eat my food at a very hot temperature (I think it's a Korean thing). Guess I like to live on the wild side.

[Beach Chick]

Love that Miss Needle!
Aloha

[Dagney]

Beach Chick- I love your posts, and god forbid we ever actually meet, methinks you and I could eat and drink like there is no tomorrow.

I have been known to lick the occasional knife, as I love mayo and cannot stand to see it wasted. Tragic Tragic Tragic. And licking a wooden spoon covered in cake batter is required at my house.

[Beach Chick]

Thanks Dag's!
If we ever met, we would have to have Betty Ford on our speed dial to come pick us up!
; )

[rednyellow]

always have, always will.

[Kajikit]

I won't lick it... but if there's something worth having I'll run my finger along the side of the blade and then lick THAT. Slicing my tongue doesn't sound like much fun to me...

[ipsedixit]

Yes ... the knife I use to cut my steak.

[Sinicle]

I am way past middle age, do all the cooking, have very sharp knives and have been licking them for years. My tongue is still intact; it is all in the technique. It drives my wife nuts.

[tracylee]

I can just hear my parents freaking out at me for even thinking of it! No matter what kind of knife, we were not allowed to lick it. It's still something I just don't do. I guess some of their rules have stuck with me all this time.

[Will Owen]

I wasn't allowed to do that, either, but that was then... and I haven't had to obey a parent in over 50 years. Yes, I do occasionally lick a knife, even (carefully!) my very sharp little 4" sabatier, after cutting a sandwich in half, for instance. And I always lick the butter knife after spreading peanut butter. In fact, I overload the PB so there'll be a good bit to lick!

Never in front of anyone, though. One of those things one does in private.

[KaimukiMan]

yep yep...and feels guilty about afterward.... but it tasted so good....

[Atahualpa]

Yes, I lick butter knives all the time.

Yes, occasionally, I have been know to lick a sharp steak knife. Even once or twice my santoku. You just lick from the back side outwards.

Yes, there is a risk of getting cut. But, it isn't like I'm licking across the blade side of the knife. You know, every day, thousands, maybe millions, of men – would you believe – drag very sharp razors that could easily kill them right across their cheeks and necks. Clearly, it can be done safely. So to can a sharp knife be licked fairly safely, or with a risk of only a minor cut (not a severed tongue).

[thew]

it is possible to lick a sharp knife from the other side and not get the sharp part near you. just saying.....

[fourunder]

I can't say I can ever recall licking the the knife per se, but I can definitely admit to keeping the blade between my thumb and fore finger and pulling it back to catch any food remnants on the blade and sticking my fingers to my mouth..... does that count?

[linguafood]

No.

[fourunder]

I'll have to make lunch later and report back to you.....

[porker]

Not really.
I remember looking at the BBQ spatula a few years back just after grilling some hamburgers. Little flecks of meat and a great sheen of yummy fat. It wasn't quite a rational decision, I just licked.
Couldn't taste for 3 days with a burned tongue...

[linguafood]

Oh lighten up already, people. Is it a big etiquette no-no? Absolutely. But life-threatening? Dangerous? A freaking "dull small kitchen knife" you use to spread butter or mayo? Puh-lease.

[taos]

No it's not, but Beach Check asked a question, I gave an answer. You disagree. That's fine.

By the way, I noticed that Beach Chick edited her post after seeing all the responses to add "somewhat dull small serrated kitchen knife ... never a sharp knife."

It kind of makes her original post rather pointless, no pun intended.

[linguafood]

Ha! Good one, tho. And I guess we don't disagree so much if she edited her OP. I hadn't noticed. Sharp knives are not a good lick. Butter knives.... any time. But only if nobody's looking '-)

[Beach Chick]

I did edit my post..when I saw all the posts who thought that I was getting my kicks from some super big ass sharp as hell knife..
Entertaining over the holidays, I saw 6 people lick the dull knife, when cooking..made me think of all the times that I and others do this..

[shaogo]

When I returned to this thread, I thought I was going crazy until I read taos's post about Beach Chick editing her post.

I thought I'd become dyslexic or worse, ignoring the whole "somewhat dull small serrated kitchen knife ... never a sharp knife" part, when making my first post.

[chow_gal]

" I saw 6 people lick the dull knife, when cooking.."

WHILE COOKING? Meaning, they used it again after slobbering all over it. Oh. Oh, my.

[Beach Chick]

hee hee
no silly...we all were making our own sandwiches and I only have DULL knives since I fear sharp ones..(that was a post, a couple of years ago) and one by one, they all licked their own DULL knife with the mayo and dijon mustard..a couple were cutting up the gooey brownies..but all of them licked the DULL knives, after it was all said and done.
Don't you all lick the DULL spoon after making a cake or brownie mix?
; )

[nkeane]

if your "knives" are as dull as a spoon, I would suggest a therapy session or two to overcome that razorbladeaphobia you got there!:-p

[taos]

Still? I never started.

I also don't let my kids touch dangerous tools of any kind unless they can prove they can handle them properly. That means not putting sharp knives in your mouth (also not chewing on electric cords, not operating the chain saw). Your mother seems to have a different approach.

[BeeZee]

Butter knife? absolutely. Peanut butter, cream cheese, butter residue...
Sharp kitchen knife? never. Not worth the risk.

[shaogo]

Our knives are very, very sharp. I can't imagine putting my tongue on one...

[scubadoo97]

Yes in my house there would be the risk of a severed tongue

[Gio]

Still?
No. Never have. Never will....