Unveiling the Mystery: Why Utahns Don’t Take the Last Piece

There is a Utah tradition of leaving the last portion which research shows comes from an old etiquette rule.

How do you feel about taking the last piece of cake, the last donut or the last morsel of a shared plate?

Like most families, ours developed a culture of rules that we would obey at the risk of being scorched off the family tree. Like Sirius Black in the Harry Potter novels. One such rule was that you don’t take the last bite of family-style food. I don’t remember ever being taught the rule, but I do remember being chastised by the eyes of justice when I went for the "lastys".

I asked around and a lot of us in Utah had similar expectations on the last bite. It became a fun topic to laugh about.

This concept might be much older than you thought. There is an etiquette rule that states.

Never eat the last piece of something you didn't buy

The origin of this statement is cloudy, but the rule seems strong in the Midwest. In Minnesota it is so prevalent that there are jokes, commentaries and opinion pieces on the habit.

But it did not originate in the Midwest, it came from the old world.

Trivselbit is a word that means, "the comfort or security piece" in Sweden. Meaning the last piece is to be left as a token of comfort or security.

In Germany there is a saying that translated goes something like this:

This always remains decency: None takes the last of the coffee from the pot, no one picks up the last sandwiches on the plate.

In Jewish tradition there is a tale of guests surrounding a plate in tension looking at the last piece. Like a murder mystery novel, the lights go out and then a shriek is heard. The lights come on to reveal a guest with hand outstretched, but it has a fork stuck in the back of it.

Next time you feel silly for not taking the last piece just remember that this might be an old tradition past down from the culture of your past.