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It’s likely you already have a gravy boat lingering in the back of some cabinet because you never know what to do with it. The gravy boat has fallen out of favor because most of our meals probably don’t involve a discrete gravy anymore, and when it does exist, it’s served straight on the meat and tastes just as good. But holidays aren’t most nights, for a reason. The whole point of them is to mark a specific occasion by doing things differently. And that means bringing out the gravy boat, this weird and specific thing that only serves one use, that reminds you celebration requires impracticality.
Though more maximalist tablescapes have been making a comeback, the gravy boat remains unpopular. It’s a ridiculous thing, and it could reasonably be replaced by a ladle or bowl or any small cup with a spout already on hand. This is what most people I know seem to have decided on. They can’t be bothered to bring out the inherited gravy boat, or they see no sense in buying one when so many other things will do.
Yes, you could just use a spouted measuring glass, or a regular bowl and spoon, to serve gravy. You could also eat your Thanksgiving dinner with plastic cutlery, or in front of the TV, or out of a trough. Sorry, I understand the trend toward more casual hosting and holidays. Without a fleet of servants, producing dinner for 12 and setting a table with separate utensils for each course is too much for most people to manage, and no fun, either. But at a certain point, why bother celebrating at all if you’re not going to get a little extravagant with it?
Using a gravy boat is like the difference between drinking your tea from a cup and saucer or from a mug. Both work, but one just feels fancier. Blanketing your entree in gravy from a gravy boat is lightly decadent, the wide opening requiring a more delicate hand than with a pitcher, tilting it at just the slightest angle so the sauce pours in neat ribbons. You have to pay the slightest amount of attention to the action, which means paying attention to the whole plate, and the meal, and the day.
If you don’t already have a gravy boat you’ve been ignoring, they’re not hard to come by. You can usually find ceramic, pewter, or even silver options at antique stores and thrift shops, and Etsy is full of them at all price points. There are also more modern options, and, of course, delightful novelty ones.
There are technically other things you can do with a gravy boat. It can hold candy or a few delicate flowers, or chopped herbs that guests can sprinkle on their dinners. But also, it doesn’t have to do anything else. Unearthing a beautiful piece of servingware that you use only a few times a year becomes its own ceremony. It’s a reminder that joy is worth effort, that there is satisfaction to be had in a beautifully set table and excitement in seeing things that aren’t usually there. Celebrations aren’t built on doing things the way they’re always done. And a Pyrex measuring cup on your table would look like crap.
Dina Ávila is a photographer in Portland, Oregon. Photo assistant: Eric Fortier
The popularity of Downton Abbey leads one to wonder if there is naught but a forlorn hope for the return of the fish fork or that loveliest of blades***, the fish knife. One also wonders how many readers under the age of 70 even know what I am talking about. How fondly I recall dining at the Copley Plaza and having the requisite utensils placed before me, not to mention Dover sole at the Savoy Grill. In the spirit of Etiquetteer’s dinner challenges, might you offer some thoughts on place settings of yore?
Etiquetteer will leave the evolution of the sauceboat to Experts in That Field, but will happily direct you to this Ode to the Gravy Boat, which celebrates not only the useful implement, but the gravies and sauces conveyed by it. In the meantime, please continue to provide a ladle when serving your sauce, or gravy. Etiquetteer loves both.
Etiquetteer would like to see a bit of regional silver come back: the iced tea spoon. From Richard Osterberg’s Sterling Silver Flatware for Dining Elegance we learn that this long spoon was substituted by Southern brides for cream soup spoons in their silver services. (Cream soup spoons have round bowls; other soup spoons have oval bowls.) Indeed, Dear Grandmother’s service includes only table knives and a legion of butter spreaders — no fish knives, alas! — and no soup spoons of any kind, but it does include iced tea spoons. Etiquetteer will have to put them out for some sort of parfait dessert this winter.
Alas, the fish knife has disappeared from regular home use. Standard silver services in this century seem to include only five pieces per person, only one a knife. And even at large functions in hotels all the knives look alike with rounded blades; the uniquely pointed fish knife, curved out on the bottom and in on the top, is distinguished by its absence. If the fish knife is to return, Etiquetteer predicts a house to house battle. Let’s start at yours.
Your query sent Etiquetteer off to the pantry to examine Dear Grandmother’s sauceboat*, which falls between your descriptions: a boat-shaped pitcher with a handle, a spout, and an attached underplate. Etiquetteer has always considered it risky to pour directly from this; anything that dribbled onto the underplate could dribble from there to the tablecloth when tilted.
Throwing and Altering a Gravy Boat on the wheel BONUS 3 handles
FAQ
Why do gravy boats have attached plates?
Does a gravy boat need a saucer?
Do you use a gravy ladle with a gravy boat?
Do you pour from a gravy boat?
How do you serve gravy on a boat?
While serving gravy , you want to minimize spills and splashes. Bring the spout as close to the food as possible while slowly tilting the boat to dispense gravy smoothly. If the gravy boat does not have a spout or is too full, use a small ladle or spoon to dish out sauce instead.
Do you need a gravy boat for Thanksgiving?
But wait — no need to run out and buy a gravy boat just for Thanksgiving gravy duties. There are plenty of things in your cupboards that can serve gravy — and honestly, they’re probably cuter than a gravy boat! Here are five things from my own cupboard that have doubled as gravy servers.
Can you use a bowl and a ladle for gravy?
And of course there’s the bowl-and-ladle approach; you can pull your favorite bowl out of the cupboard, put it on a pretty plate, and use a small kitchen ladle or deep spoon to serve the gravy. Personally, I just don’t think I would use a gravy boat very often, and I don’t want to give it space in my cupboard.