This is a categorically-organized list of foods.
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body.[1] It is produced either by
plants,
animals, or
fungi, and contains essential
nutrients, such as
carbohydrates,
fats,
proteins,
vitamins, and
minerals. The substance is
ingested by an
organism and assimilated by the organism's
cells in an effort to produce
energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.
Note: due to the high number of foods in existence, this article is limited to being organized categorically, based upon the main subcategories within the
Foods category page, along with information about main categorical topics and list article links.
Baked goods are cooked by
baking, a method of
cooking food that uses prolonged dry heat.
Breads
Breads –
Bread is a
staple food prepared from a
dough of
flour and
water, usually by
baking. Throughout recorded history it has been popular around the world and is one of humanity's oldest foods, having been of importance since the dawn of
agriculture.
Cereals – True
cereals are the seeds of certain species of
grasses. Maize, wheat, and rice account for about half of the calories consumed by people every year. Grains can be ground into flour for
bread,
cake,
noodles, and other food products. They can also be boiled or steamed, either whole or ground, and eaten as is. Many cereals are present or past
staple foods, providing a large fraction of the calories in the places that they are eaten.
Dairy products –
Dairy products are food produced from the
milk of
mammals. Dairy products are usually high energy-yielding food products. A production plant for the processing of milk is called a
dairy or a dairy factory. Apart from breastfed infants, the human consumption of dairy products is sourced primarily from the milk of
cows, yet
goats,
sheep,
yaks,
horses,
camels, and other mammals are other sources of dairy products consumed by humans.
Fruit – In common language usage,
fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of a plant that are sweet or sour and edible in the raw state, such as
apples,
oranges,
grapes,
strawberries,
bananas, and
lemons. On the other hand, the botanical sense of "fruit" includes many structures that are not commonly called "fruits", such as
bean pods,
cornkernels,
wheat grains, and
tomatoes.[2][3]
Edible
tubers – Not all
tubers are edible. Those that are include
potatoes,
sweet potatoes and
yams. Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store
nutrients. They are used by
plants to survive the winter or dry months, to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season, and as a means of
asexual reproduction.[4] There are both stem and root tubers.
Edible fungi –
Edible fungi are the
fleshy and
ediblefruit bodies of several species of macrofungi (
fungi which bear fruiting structures that are large enough to be seen with the
naked eye). They can appear either below ground (
hypogeous) or above ground (
epigeous) where they may be picked by hand.[6] Edibility may be defined by criteria that include absence of
poisonous effects on humans and desirable
taste and
aroma.[7][8]
Edible nuts and seeds –
Nut is a fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, where the hard-shelled fruit does not open to release the seed (
indehiscent). In a culinary context, a wide variety of dried seeds are often called nuts, but in a botanical context, only ones that include the
indehiscent fruit are considered true nuts. The translation of "nut" in certain languages frequently requires paraphrases, as the word is ambiguous.
Eggs –
Eggs are laid by female animals of many different species, including
birds,
reptiles,
amphibians, and
fish, and have been eaten by humans for thousands of years.[14] Bird and reptile
eggs consist of a protective
eggshell, albumen (
egg white), and vitellus (
egg yolk), contained within various thin membranes. Popular choices for egg consumption are
chicken,
duck,
quail,
roe, and
caviar, but the egg most often consumed by humans is the chicken egg, by a wide margin.
Fish –
Fish is consumed as a food by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both
the animal and to the food prepared from it. In
culinary and
fishery contexts, the term fish also includes shellfish, such as
molluscs,
crustaceans and
echinoderms. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout
recorded history.
Staple foods –
Staple food, sometimes called food staple or staple, is a food that is eaten routinely and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet in a given population, supplying a large fraction of the needs for energy-rich materials and generally a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well. Most people live on a diet based on just a small number of staples.[15] Most staple plant foods are derived either from
cereals such as
wheat,
barley,
rye,
maize, or
rice, or starchy
tubers or
root vegetables such as
potatoes,
yams,
taro, and
cassava.[16] Other staple foods include
pulses (dried
legumes),
sago (derived from the
pith of the sago palm tree), and fruits such as
breadfruit and
plantains.[17] Of more than 50,000 edible plant species in the world, only a few hundred contribute significantly to human food supplies. Just 15 crop plants provide 90 percent of the world's food energy intake (exclusive of meat), with
rice,
maize and
wheat comprising two-thirds of human food consumption. These three alone are the staples of over 4 billion people.[18]
Appetizers (also known as
hors d'oeuvre) – Items served before the main courses of a
meal, typically smaller than main dishes, and often meant to be eaten by hand (with minimal use of silverware). Hors d'oeuvre may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or they may be served before seating. Stationary hors d'oeuvre served at the table may be referred to as "table hors d' oeuvre". Passed hors d'oeuvre may be referred to as "butler-style" or "butlered" hors d'oeuvre.
Condiments –
Condiment is something such as a
sauce, that is added to some foods to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor,[19] or in some
cultures, to complement the dish. The term originally described pickled or preserved foods, but has shifted meaning over time.[20]
Confectionery –
Confectionery, or the making of confections, are food items that are rich in
sugar. Confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories, bakers' confections and sugar confections.[21] Bakers' confectionery includes principally sweet pastries, cakes, and similar
baked goods. Sugar confectionery includes sweets, candied nuts, chocolates, chewing gum, sweetmeats,
pastillage, and other confections that are made primarily of sugar. Confections include sweet foods, sweetmeats, digestive aids that are sweet, elaborate creations, and something amusing and frivolous.[22]
Paste – Food paste is a semi-liquid
colloidal suspension,
emulsion, or aggregation used in food preparation or eaten directly as a spread.[23] Pastes are often highly spicy or aromatic.
Spread – Foods that are literally spread, generally with a knife, onto
bread,
crackers, or other food products. Spreads are added to food to provide flavor and texture.
Dried foods –
Drying is a method of
food preservation that works by removing
water from the food, which inhibits the growth of
bacteria and has been practiced worldwide since ancient times to preserve food. Where or when dehydration as a food preservation technique was invented has been lost to time, however the earliest known practice of food drying is 12,000 BCE by inhabitants of the modern Middle East and Asia regions.[24]
Fast food –
Fast food is the term given to food that is prepared and served very quickly, first popularized in the 1950s in the United States. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a
restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for
take-out/take-away.
Fast food restaurants are traditionally separated by their ability to serve food via a drive-through. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by
Merriam–Webster in 1951.
Kosher food –
Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of kashrut (Jewish
dietary law). Food that may be consumed according to halakha (Jewish law) is termed kosher in English, from the
Ashkenazi pronunciation of the
Hebrew term kashér, meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption). Food that is not in accordance with Jewish law is called treif or treyf, derived from Hebrew trāfáh.
Noodles
Noodles – The
noodle is a type of staple food[25] made from some type of
unleavened dough which is rolled flat and cut into one of a variety of shapes. While long, thin strips may be the most common, many varieties of noodles are cut into waves, helices, tubes, strings, or shells, or folded over, or cut into other shapes. Noodles are usually cooked in boiling water, sometimes with
cooking oil or
salt added. They are often pan-fried or deep-fried. Noodles are often served with an accompanying sauce or in a soup. Noodles can be refrigerated for short-term storage, or dried and stored for future use.
Pies –
Pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a
pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various
sweet or
savoury ingredients.
Salads –
Salad is a ready-to-eat
dish often containing leafy vegetables, usually served chilled or at a moderate temperature and often served with a
sauce or
dressing. Salads may also contain ingredients such as fruit, grain, meat, seafood and sweets. Though many salads use raw ingredients, some use cooked ingredients.
Sandwiches –
Sandwich is a food item consisting of one or more types of food placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein two or more pieces of bread serve as a container or wrapper for some other food.[26][27][28] The sandwich was originally a portable food item or
finger food which began its popularity primarily in the
Western World, but is now found in various versions in numerous countries worldwide.
Sauces – In
cooking, a
sauce is
liquid, cream or semi-
solid food served on or used in preparing other
foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a
French word descended from the
Latinsalsa, meaning salted. Possibly the oldest sauce recorded is
garum, the
fish sauce used by the
Ancient Greeks.
Snack food –
Snack food is a portion of food often smaller than a regular
meal, generally eaten between meals.[29] Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged and processed foods and items made from fresh ingredients at home.
Soups –
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients such as
meat and
vegetables with
stock,
juice, water, or another
liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a
broth.