the level of communal eating differs. i would say in western culture, things like chips and dip and finger foods are typical communal eating. in asian countries, one might use their own personal utensils to get food out of the same serving dish. this is because what food that a person touches with their utensil will be taken and eaten by them so it's keeping the other food relatively undisturbed. but things like soups are usually not eaten out of the same bowl. it's served separately. asian countries seem to do the communal eating thing the best or in the happy medium. countries where there is a lot of communal hand-dipping are probably more poor or not as educated about sanitation but there definitely is something bonding about eating and sharing. for instance, grabbing bread from the same basket is more sanitary than ten people jamming their fingers into a mushy dish. the germs don't spread around with the bread as much as the second scenario. but with all these cultures, the closer you are to people, the less these become issues. people often drink and eat after others that are close friends or family members. for instance, one might take a sip from their cup and offer it to a spouse or friend to try. when one is eating something, a friend or family member might try some using the same utensil depending on usually how much you like them or feel close to them and perceive them to be 'safe'. even when one is cooking, people often use the utensil they are stirring/cooking with to taste the food and put it right back into the food. usually this is not perceived to be a problem with most people, especially family members or friends.
Eating from the same bowl used to be a norm in the countryside, at least in some European countries. Big bowl of a milk dish, or polenta, or a salad, and everyone at the table eating from it with a spoon. Family, or whoever the guests at the house were. If there was a big work to do at a farm and other people would come to help, they all ate from the same big bowl. I think this has mostly died out by now, although I did take part in such eating when I was little. In some families, they still eat salads from the same big bowl. But there is/was much less of eating with hands. I am sure Indians, for example, would eat something that has the consistency of polenta with hands, but this is not done here. Foodstuffs that are cut into smaller pieces, like meat or pickled vegetables, would be taken off the common plate with bare hands, though. When many people worked together on a big task, like getting the hay together or building a house, one person was in charge go around and to give the workers to drink, and they all drank from the same glass. Sharing food also was not uncommon. I remember exchanging things with others, esp. at big work gatherings. City people are quite different. I have had friends from the city who were uncomfortable or flat out refused a mandarine I peeled, what to speak of sharing a plate. And I absolutely resent eating with hands what can be eaten with a spoon or fork.
Note the right hand is extended for eating and salutations. That left one is excused for other...less sanitary tasks. The cook should show everybody they are washing their hands. They should make a grandiose presentation to their guests before starting in the kitchen, that they are washing their hands. Everything goes better in the kitchen.
Yeah, just like that, on the dirt floor with rugs and cushions around the table, in Africa many years ago. Good meal too. :burp: Or in the older, original version, Utnaphishtum. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I ate communaly when I was in Iraq with some of my fellow servicemen and some Iraqi's. I don't particularly like it, nor would I likely do it again but I did at the time for the cultural experience.
I've eaten hot pot with other Americans many, many times and never encountered any such resistance. So I think you're overgeneralizing from a too-small sample set, here. There are certainly people who are irrationally picky, but that's hardly an American thing. Those diners in the photos in the OP would freak out if somebody joined in to their meal and used his left hand, for example.
