In Consider the Fork, Bee Wilson’s exploration on the history of knives is thoroughly enjoyable. She compares how the use of knives - both in the kitchen and as part of table etiquette - have evolved in different cultures.
I was fascinated by the description of the Chinese tou. A knife similar in appearance to a French cleaver but thinner, less weighty, and without any tapering, curving or pointing.
In junior highschool when I was 12, I took my first home-ec class. Being a Canadian school, I was first taught to follow recipes with basic metric measurements (millilitres and litres). Once the class got to grips with metric, we moved on to learning American recipes using cups. I can remember being instructed to fill the 1 cup with flour, then tap it on the table to help the flour settle, top up with more flour if necessary and then level it using the flat side of a knife to ensure accuracy.