How to Eat Soup

When you know how to eat soup correctly, you can rest assured your spoon makes it to your mouth without incident.

Some of the best comfort foods are in the soup family, so eating them should be savored and enjoyed. Here are steps to keep your experience pleasant.

A Few Simple Steps

Position yourself in your chair by sitting up straight in a comfortable position close to the table.

Pick up your soup spoon. Hold the spoon with the bowl of the spoon angled away from you. If you are left-handed, use your left hand to hold the spoon exactly as the right-handed person does--but in your left hand.

Fill the bowl and move the spoon toward the opposite side of your soup bowl.

Swipe the bottom of your soup spoon against the top edge of the bowl to remove any drips.

Lift the spoon up straight up from the bowl and then toward your mouth.

You may bring the spoon into your mouth to take a bite of a chunky soup or stew. Or you may sip a spoonful of broth by holding the spoon edge to your mouth.

Additional Tips on How to Eat Soup

Hold your spoon properly: like a pencil--not a shovel or a scoop!
Avoid slurping. It may bring you instant attention, but probably not the kind you want.
Keep your chin parallel to the edge of the soup bowl. This is enough to ensure any accidental drips fall into the bowl.
Never bite your spoon.
Keep your head up. Don't lean down toward your bowl.
If your soup is hot, take very small spoonfuls until it is cool enough to eat. (Avoid blowing, which may be hazardous.)
When there is enough soup left in your bowl to tempt you with one more bite, but not enough to easily dip with your spoon, tip your bowl away from you to make it easier to get that last delicious spoonful.

Resting and Closing

Conversation is one of the joys of dining with other people. If you are speaking and would like to put your spoon down while doing so, rest it in the bowl in the four o'clock position. If you are left-handed, place the spoon in the eight o'clock position of the bowl.

This resting position makes it easy to pick back up and continue eating.

If the bowl is shallow or the service plate is small, rest your spoon in the bowl. If the bowl is deep or the soup is served in a cup, rest the spoon on the service plate.