something i was reading the other night i found rather interesting.
.......Among the many marks which distinguish castes, eating habits are significant. The ritual of eating is both religious and social. What a man eats and how he eats it affect not only his status as a caste-man but also the welfare of his soul. "The foolish man who, after leaving eaten a Shaddha - dinner, gives the leavings to a Sudra, falls headlong into Kalasutra hell. Persons of some of the lower castes may pollute the meal of the other caste-men by merely looking upon it; and conversely, foods may be uterly ruined if at mealtime men of certain upper castes happen to see certain low-caste men, or a dog, for example. "There are abundant proofs that the repast has kept a religious meaning for the Hindus. The Brahman avoids eating at the same time or out of the same vessel not only with a stranger or an inferior, but even with his own wife and his yet uninitiated ones.
The status of commensals, of course, is of prime importance. The rule is that persons of different castes may not eat together.
A Kshatriya who comes to the house of a Brahmania is not called a guest. ......But if a Kshatriya comes to the house in the manner of a guest, the householder may feed him.....after the above-mentioned Brahmanas have eaten. Even a Vaisya and a Sudra who have approached his house in the manner of guest, he may allow to eat with his servants, showing thereby his compassionate disposition
