The New York Times has a long paean to eating with your hands, Mind Your Manners: Eat With Your Hands:
“Eating with the hands evokes great emotion,” she said. “It kindles something very warm and gentle and caressing. Using a fork is unthinkable in traditional Indian eating. It is almost like a weapon.”
Eating with the hands is common in many areas of the world, including parts of Asia and much of Africa and the Middle East. But until recently, you would have been hard-pressed to find many restaurants in the United States — especially those with $20 or $30 entrees — where digging in manually was encouraged. Now, several high-profile chefs are asking diners to get their hands dirty, in the belief that it heightens the sensual connection to food and softens the formality of fine dining.
I never learned to eat with my hands. And about 10 years ago my parents gave up the practice because they worried about hygiene. But what do readers think? The emotional resonance for particular eating practices is obvious. I don’t know about hygiene. My parents’ rationale seems plausible to me, but I’m surely biased, and I don’t know the scholarly literature in this area.