Paging Emily Post...

My breakfast table became an etiquette disaster area this morning. My menu:

Sliced Oranges
Cooked Barley and Farina Cereal, Milk

An attractive dessert is made by cutting oranges crosswise in quarter-inch slices and laying the slices in an overlapping row on a glass plate, allowing about four slices to each person. The slices may be sprinkled with sugar and moist coconut or served plain.

As you can see, the American Woman's Cook Book gives detailed instructions for making Sliced Oranges, but apparently not detailed enough for me! They made a pretty little plate of fruit, but I guess I've never eaten Sliced Oranges at the table before. I folded them in half and bit right into them - and promptly ended up with two orange juice stains on my favorite vintage tablecloth. What's a girl to do?

After frantically treating the stains, I consulted my 1941 etiquette book. How can Sliced Oranges be eaten without making a messy faux pas? Alas, Lily Haxworth Wallace was mum on the topic of table manners when it comes to citrus fruit. Several other vintage etiquette books I was able to search online had conflicting advice. Nobody seemed to be able to agree on a strategy. I finally came across a recipe booklet published by Sunkist in 1940 which offered some useful information. Oranges should be peeled before slicing. The outer peel and membrane should be removed entirely before the orange is sectioned, sliced, or cut in pieces. The sections, etc. should then be eaten with a fork and knife.

*blushing*

This must have been one of those common kitchen knowledge kind of things that a girl once learned at her mother's knee. Isn't it something I made it to early middle age without having any kind of basic survival skills in the kitchen? My grandmother would be embarrassed.