History of the Skewer - Origins and Invention of Skewers

Ever since our ancestor discovered how to tame the flame, they enriched their diet with the variety of new foods. As one of the earliest recipes for preparing meat was roasting it over the flame, our ancestors discovered that the easiest way to accomplish that is to string pieces of meat on long thing pieces of wood. This invention of first skewer represented only the beginning of life for this popular eating utensil. Ease of creation, maintaining and simple use enabled it to remain one of the most popular utensils for cooking over the open flame, and was used regularly by all the civilizations and nations from the dawn of time up to today.

Tradition of using skewers was recorded in the histories of many areas. Japan has a very long history of cooking and grilling meat over charcoal, and Hawaii has a clash of many traditions of Pacific which entails roasting almost everything over the fire with skewers - from meat to fruits and pineapples.

In modern times, skewers are used in variety of ways. In addition of its traditional use, they also found their place as holders of candy and other sweet products, garnishes on cocktails, and many others types of food that are sold "on a stick" in many outdoor market/sidewalk businesses.

Materials from which modern skewers are made range from the traditional wood and bamboo, to the glass, metal and other decorative materials.