270. Using a Fork and a Spoon

40:19 One does not need to wash his hands for preserved fruit since neither the sugar nor the fruit juice is considered a liquid in this regard. If the fruit is preserved in honey, and the honey is thoroughly congealed, it is also no longer a considered a liquid but a food, so hand-washing is not necessary. If the honey is not yet congealed and is still runny, it is a liquid and one would have to wash. (The Magen Avraham still considers it a food – Mishnah Brurah 158:14.) Butter is a form of milk; in its congealed state it’s a food and melted, it’s a liquid.

40:20 If a food is normally eaten with one’s bare hands, one must wash before eating it even if he intends to use a fork or a spoon. Something that’s only eaten with utensils, such as pancakes, or preserved fruit in honey in a place where the local practice is to use utensils, do not require hand-washing.