5 Etiquette Tips That’ll Ensure You’re Eating That Soup Properly

Soup can be served hot or cold and makes for a delicious appetizer. It has many merits, but there are also a few catches. Despite being a simple food, learning how to eat soup properly can be a little challenging, especially for kids.

Even some adults find it hard to escape having a dish without soiling themselves with slurps and spills in the process. But is there really a proper way to eat soup? Here are some etiquette tips that can help.

1. Choose the Right Soup Bowl

This is one of the most important tasks. Learning to eat soup properly starts with the bowl or cup your soup is served in. If the event is a casual lunch, you can serve your soup in a soup cup or deep bowl on top of an underplate. For more formal events or dinners, you should serve soup in a shallow soup bowl with an underplate.

The type of soup you serve also determines what kind of bowl it should be served in. If it is a clear soup at dinner, a shallow bowl is fine. Note that all soup bowls should include an underplate, even if there is already a plate on the table. This allows your guests to put their spoons on the underplate without getting their dinner plate or table dirty.

2. Avoid Slurping

You can slurp your soup within the confines of your home, but when you eat soup with others, slurping is often considered to be annoying or distracting. Most people slurp to cool their soup as they eat, but there is a better, less messy alternative.

Instead of slurping, try sipping the soup from the side of your spoon like a drink. If you’re worried it’s too hot, take a small sip, and it will tell you if you need to wait for it to cool down before enjoying your dish. Never blow on your soup in a formal setting. Proper soup protocol dictates that you lightly hold the spoonful of soup above your bowl so it cools before you bring it to your mouth.

3. Eating or Drinking Your Soup

While this varies by culture, American etiquette depends on how the soup is served as well as what kind of soup it is. If you’re served soup in a cup, you can drink the remaining broth after you've eaten everything else first. But if you’re served soup in a soup bowl at a formal event or dinner, you should never drink from your soup bowl directly, as it’s considered poor etiquette.

4. Eat Soup with a Spoon

Most people eat soup by scooping it toward their bodies. However, when you do that in the opposite direction, any soup that falls off of the spoon will trickle back into the bowl instead of elsewhere. As you spoon your soup away from your body, remember to also gently wipe the bottom of the spoon on the top edge of your bowl. This removes any extra soup so the drips don’t end up in your lap.

5. Dipping Bread in Soup Etiquette

Dipping bread in soup at home is fine. However, it can be messy and increase the chances of spilling or dripping soup on yourself if done in public. The correct way to eat soup at formal gatherings dictates that you should never dip your bread into your soup. Instead, sip your soup from your spoon, place your spoon on your plate, and then use the same hand you use for your spoon to pick up your bread and take a bite.

Conclusion

Learning how to eat soup may be a little tricky, but with the tips above, you should be just fine in any gathering. Remember that the rules don’t have to apply when you’re at home but in public, be cautious of the etiquette (that way you can be invited again.)