What's the deal with the soup spoon?

When did the soup spoon become the de facto spoon at the deli?

Soup spoons are great for one thing... eating soup. Well, three things if you also count that picnic race where you have to transport an egg from one place to another in a spoon, and tunneling your way out of prison.

But for spoon borne foods that are not soup, the soup spoon is an awful choice. It is meant to be held to the lips and drunk from, not inserted entirely into the mouth. It's simply too wide and deep and round for that. If you've ever eaten a yogurt or oatmeal with a soup spoon you know it's almost impossible to get all the food out of it without turning it over and licking the inside with your tongue. And who wants to do that?

The humble teaspoon is my hero spoon. It's shallow and tapered and fits easily into the mouth. It's not so deep that your lips can't wrap around it and pull off the food. And the tapered shape makes it easy to scoop out that last bit of yogurt or pudding from the bottom of the cup.

So why is it that every time I buy a yogurt or an oatmeal at the deli, they throw a soup spoon in the bag? They might as well put a spork in there for all the good it does me.



I think it's a convenience thing. Like whoever orders the plastic cutlery only has to order one kind of spoon, not two. Maybe they think they'll save some money that way. I guess the reasoning is "a spoon is a spoon, let's just get the one that does everything."

But I think they've got it wrong. The teaspoon is the more versatile spoon. The one that does it all. I'd rather eat soup with a teaspoon than anything else with a soup spoon any day.