13 Ways to Use a Fork That You Haven't Thought of Yet

Besides its obvious, intended uses—i.e. the piercing and transfer of food from plate to mouth, and brushing your hair (obvi)—the common fork may well be the most versatile tool in your kitchen.

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Sure you've used one to eat all your life. Maybe you've even used one to fish a piece of burning bread out of a janky toaster—although you probably shouldn't have. But have you ever considered the wondrous scope of possibilities that can be achieved with the simple, utilitarian fork? Observe, my friend—because as they say, they are endless.

Pastry cutters are great for making pie dough—biscuit dough too, for that matter—if you enjoy stopping what you're doing every 30 seconds to clean out the ridges, that is. While food editor Rhoda Boone prefers to use a food processor to make Our Favorite Pie Dough, if one isn't available, she relies on a fork to cut fat into the flour. If dough gets caught in the tines, a quick swipe of down the back of the utensil clears it away for the next pass.

As for decorating that pretty pie crust? Sure, everyone loves a fluted edge. But you know what else everyone loves? Pie. And a fork-tine–pressed edge is just as tasty as a fancy flute, if a bit more rustic. What's more, there's really no better way to seal the edges of a hand pie for a most assured and complete closure. If you're a first-time fork-crimper, the method is simple: After fitting your pie dough into a dish, use the tines—but not the points!—to press the edges down against the lip of the dish. To keep the spacing even, continually place the first tine into the indention left by the last tine in the previous crimp. If you want to fancy it up just a touch, use the fork at an angle.

Finally, serving. If you don't have a pie server, a fork is your next best option. Because it is off-set, like a pie server, it's easier to wedge underneath a pie than a knife would be.

If you're getting out the whisk to make eggs for breakfast, you're doing mornings wrong. Unless you're whipping a full dozen, a fork does the job just as well, plus it cleans up a heck of a lot easier.

It may be called pulled pork, but the pros in Memphis and North Carolina aren't standing around ripping apart low-and-slow cooked meat with their bare hands. Instead, they use two forks, pulling the meat apart by piercing and pulling in opposite directions. If it's really well cooked, the pork practically falls apart on its own. FYI, this works for chicken and turkey too.

Hand-held levered citrus juicers are great. But they take up a lot of room whether you put them in a drawer or in a caddy. Also, you have to have a separate size for each type of citrus you want to juice! WHO HAS ROOM FOR ALL THESE JUICERS!? Just use a fork. Cut the citrus in half and then insert the fork. Next, twist the fork as you squeeze the fruit. The tines will break up the juicy cells, ensuring you get every last drop. Worried about seeds and pulp? Squeeze over a fine-mesh strainer.

Want to drizzle honey over biscuits? Fork. Drape creamy glaze over cinnamon rolls? Fork. Again, it's all about the tines that “grip” on to the viscous liquid and then distribute it evenly as you swoop back and forth over whatever it is you're drizzling. In fact the best pastry chefs in the world use a similar technique to make spun sugar, which is basically super fancy cotton candy.