Silver Serving Pieces for the Thanksgiving Table

Updated on 11/13/2018

Thanksgiving is the time when extended family gathers together to enjoy a special meal with all the trimmings. Unique silver flatware serving pieces meant to serve specific foods have been made since Victorian times and can be found in many patterns. Grace your Thanksgiving table with some of these special serving pieces.

Sure, you could probably could get away with using an asparagus fork to serve your green beans, or an aspic server for the cranberry sauce, but we won’t tell.

Pictures are from Replacements.com.

 

 

 

Edited from a post originally published on 11/13/2017.

1. Butter picks can have a single spiral prong like this one or two splayed prongs. They are used to pick up pats of butter to place on the bread and butter plate and are usually 5 to 6 inches long. This butter pick is in the 1828 Repousse pattern by S. Kirk & Son.

2. Bread forks were used during a formal luncheon or dinner to serve bread at a time when you wouldn’t even think about grabbing a dinner roll with your bare hands. This one is the 1892 Richelieu pattern by Tiffany & Co.

3. Casserole spoons can have solid bowls (larger than bowls of tablespoons) to serve casseroles, or pierced bowls to serve casseroles that must be drained. Some have bowls that are shaped like a shell. Newer ones made of stainless steel feature festive pierced holiday designs. They are about 9 to 11 inches long. This is the 1924 Wedgwood pattern by International Silver.

4. Cranberry servers are used to scoop and serve jellied cranberry sauce, probably from a can. Cooked cranberry sauce or fresh cranberry-orange sauce needs a spoon. This cranberry server measures about 8 1/2 inches. It’s stainless steel with a sterling silver handle in the 1034 Candlelight pattern by Towle.

5. Cream soup spoons usually are smaller than other soup spoons and have round shallow bowls. They are 6 to 7 inches long and are designed for bouillons, clear broth soups, and creamed soups. (Tip: It’s polite to fill the spoon with your pumpkin soup by pushing it away from you and then sipping from the rim.) This spoon is an example of the 1892 Stieff Rose pattern by Kirk Stieff.

6. Crumb knives are used to gather and remove crumbs between courses. The straight edge is scraped across the table into a shallow dish a little like a dust pan. A more elegant way to remove crumbs from your table. This piece is part of the 1894 Renaissance pattern by Dominick & Haff.

7. Entrée servers are also like casserole spoons and are used to serve vegetables, casseroles, and other main dishes. This 8 1/2-inch server is the 1901 Florentine-Fiorenze pattern by Gorham.

8. Joint forks are large, two-pronged serving forks used to hold a large piece of meat. The prongs fit around the bone so that the meat can be held in place while it is being carved. This fork is an example is the 1892 Repousse pattern by S. Kirk & Son.

9. Bonbon scoops became popular after chocolate manufacturing became more widespread in the 1880s and bonbons took off. Touching the chocolate was messy, so the scoop made it neater. The 5-inch-long scoop pictured here is the 1904 Violet pattern by Wallace Silversmiths.

10. Rice/potato spoons are serving pieces that have large bowls for larger portions of rice or potatoes served in addition to or as part of an entrée. This are 9 1/2-inch silver plated spoon is the Marley pattern from 1897 by Christofle.

 


 

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