A meal is an instance of eating Eating is the ingestion of food to provide for all humans and animals nutritional needs, particularly for energy and growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive: carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, and omnivores consume a mixture of both. Eating is an activity of daily living, specifically one that takes place at a specific time and includes specific, prepared food Food is any substance or material eaten to provide nutritional support for the body or for pleasure. It usually consists of plant or animal origin, that contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and maintain life.

Meals occur primarily at homes A home is a place of residence or refuge comfort. It is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and be able to store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either living in the wild or in a domesticated environment. As an, restaurants A restaurant prepares and serves food, drink and dessert to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of cuisines and service models, and cafeterias A cafeteria or cafetería is a type of food service location in which there is little or no table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen . Cafeterias are different from coffeehouses, although that is the Spanish, but may occur anywhere. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day. Special meals are usually held in conjunction with such occasions as birthdays A birthday, as the term implies, is the day or anniversary of the particular day on which a person was born. Though by no means universal, birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a party or, in some instances, a rite of passage. Though major religious traditions such as the Buddhist or the Christian celebrate the birth of their, weddings A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of wedding vows by the couple, presentation of a gift (offering, ring, symbolic item,, anniversaries In the Commonwealth realms, one can receive a message from the monarch for 60th, 65th, and 70th wedding anniversaries, and any wedding anniversary after that. This is done by applying to Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, or to the Governor-General's office in the other Commonwealth realms, and holidays A holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observation is warranted. Examples of types of holidays include:.

A meal is different from a snack in that meals are larger, more varied, and more filling, while snacks are more likely to be small, high-calorie affairs; however, any food eaten in small amounts at an unscheduled time can be classified as a snack.

A picnic In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance, and usually in summer. Descriptions of picnics show is an outdoor meal where one brings one's food, such as a sandwich A sandwich is a food item, often consisting of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or picnics to be eaten as part of a packed lunch. They or a prepared meal (sometimes in a picnic basket A picnic basket is a basket intended to hold food and tableware for a picnic meal. Picnic baskets are standard equipment at many picnics). It often takes place in a natural or recreative area, such as a park A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas, forest A forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These plant communities cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface (or 30% of total land area), though they once covered much more (about 50% of total land area), in many different regions and function as habitats for, beach A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea or lake. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, waves or cobblestones. The particles of which the beach is composed can sometimes instead have biological origins, such as shell fragments or coralline algae, or grassy lawn A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other low durable plants, which usually are maintained at a lower and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn. In recreational contexts, the specialised names turf, pitch, field or green may be used,. On long drives a picnic may take place at a road-side stop such as a rest area A rest area, travel plaza, rest stop, or service area is a public facility, located next to a large thoroughfare such as a highway, expressway, or freeway at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting on to secondary roads. Other names include rest and service area , service station, resto, service plaza, and service.

A banquet A banquet is a large, public, open-air meal or feast, complete with main courses and desserts. It usually serves a purpose, such as a charitable gathering, a ceremony, or a celebration, often preceded or followed by speeches in honor of someone is a large, often formal, and elaborate meal with many guests and dishes.

A multi-course meal

Most Western-world Western culture refers to cultures of European origin multicourse meals follow a standard sequence, influenced by traditional French haute cuisine Haute cuisine or grande cuisine was characterised by French cuisine in elaborate preparations and presentations served in small and numerous courses that were produced by large and hierarchical staffs at the grand restaurants and hotels of Europe. Each course is supposed to be designed with a particular size and genre that befits its place in the sequence. There are variations depending on location and custom A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom. The following is a common sequence for multi-course meals:

1. The meal begins with an entrée An entrée is one of several savoury courses in a Western-style formal meal service, specifically a smaller course that precedes the main course. Usage may differ in North America where the disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal has led to the term being used to, a small serving that usually does not include red meat. It is sometimes referred to as a soup Soup is a food 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 flavor is extracted, forming a broth. Traditionally, soups are classified into two main groups: clear soups and thick soups course as soups, bisques Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly-seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth of crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, crab, shrimp or crayfish. Also, creamy soups made from roasted and puréed vegetables are sometimes called bisques and consommés In cooking, a consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavored stock or bouillon that has been clarified usually through a fining process involving egg protein. It usually requires an advanced knowledge of cooking and past experience to create a high quality consommé. Despite, or perhaps because of, these limitations, consommé has are popular entreés. In Italian custom, antipasto Antipasto , means "before the meal" and is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. Traditional antipasto includes cured meats, olives, roasted garlic, pepperoncini, mushrooms, anchovies, artichoke hearts, various cheeses (such as provolone or mozzarella) and peperone (marinated small green bell peppers, not to be confused is served, usually finger food Finger food is food eaten with the hands, in contrast to food eaten with a knife and fork, chopsticks, or other utensils. In some cultures, food is almost always eaten with the hands; for example, Ethiopian cuisine is eaten by rolling various dishes up in injera bread. In south India food is always eaten without utensils which does not contain pasta or any starch Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store. It is the most important carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in such staple foods as potatoes, wheat, maize , rice, and cassava. In the United States the term appetizer is usually used in place of entrée as entrée is used to refer to the main course.
2. This may be followed by a variety of dishes, including a possible fish A fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. Most fish are "cold-blooded", or ectothermic, allowing their body temperatures to vary as ambient temperatures change. Fish are abundant in most bodies of water. They can be found in nearly all aquatic course or other relevés (lighter courses), each with some kind of vegetable. The number and size of these intermittent courses is entirely dependent on local custom.
3. Following these is the main course A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée course, and the salad course. In North American usage it may in fact be called the "entrée" or central part of the meal. This is the most important course and is usually a larger portion than all others. The main course is called an entrée in the United States.
4. Next comes the salad Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes including: vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits course, although "salad" may often refer to a cooked vegetable, rather than the greens most people associate with the word. According to The Joy of Cooking The Joy of Cooking is one of the United States' most-published cookbooks, and has been in print continuously since 1936 and with more than 18 million copies sold. It was privately published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a homemaker in St. Louis, Missouri, who was struggling emotionally and financially after her husband's suicide the previous year, greens serve "garnish duty only" in a salad course. Note that in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and parts of Europe, the salad course (usually a green salad) is served at some point before the main course.
5. The meal will often culminate with a dessert In Western culture dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common desserts include cakes, cookies, pastries, ice cream, pie, and candies. Fruit may, either hot or cold, sometimes followed with a final serving of hot or cold fruit The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state, such as apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, juniper berries and bananas, or the similar-looking structures in other and accompanied by a suitable dessert wine Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert, such as Sauternes and Tokaji Aszú. Despite the name, they are often best appreciated alone, or with fruit or bakery sweets.
6. The meal may carry on with a cheese Cheese consists of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Typically, the milk is acidified and addition of the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into final form. Some cheeses have molds on the rind or throughout selection, accompanied by an appropriate selection of wine. In many countries cheeses will be served before the meal as an appetizer, and in the United States often between the main course and dessert. Nuts Nut is a hard shelled fruit of some plants that has an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts. Nuts are an important source of nutrients for both humans and wildlife are also a popular after-meal selection (thus the common saying "from soup to nuts," meaning from beginning to end).

Sorbet Sorbet is a frozen dessert made from sweetened water flavored with iced fruit (typically juice or puree), chocolate, wine, and/or liqueur. The origin of sorbet is variously explained as either a Roman invention, or a Middle Eastern drink charbet, made of sweetened fruit juice and water. The term sherbet or charbet is derived from Turkish: şerbat/� or other palate The palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but, in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separate. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior bony hard palate, and the posterior fleshy soft cleansers might be served between courses.

Before the meal, a host might serve a selection of appetizers or hors d'œuvre with appropriate wine Wine is an alcoholic beverage, typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars found in the grapes and converts them or cocktails A cocktail is a mixed drink containing two or more ingredients. Originally a mixture of distilled spirits, sugar, water, and bitters, the word has gradually come to mean almost any mixed drink containing alcohol, and after the meal, a host might serve snacks A snack food is seen in Western culture as a type of food not meant to be eaten as a main meal of the day – breakfast, lunch, or dinner – but rather to assuage a person's hunger between these meals, providing a brief supply of energy for the body. The term may also refer to a food item consumed between meals purely for the enjoyment of its, sweets such as chocolate Chocolate (pronounced /ˈtʃɒklɨt/ or /ˈtʃɒkəlɨt/) comprises a number of raw and processed foods produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC. The majority of the Mesoamerican peoples, coffee Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of coffee cherries that grow on trees in over 70 countries. Green unroasted coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Due to its caffeine content, coffee can have a stimulating effect in humans, and after-dinner drinks (cognac Cognac , named after the town of Cognac in France, is the most famous variety of brandy. It is produced in the wine-growing region surrounding the town from which it takes its name, in the French Departements of Charente and Charente-Maritime, brandy Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine, the wine having first been produced by fermenting grapes. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. While some brandies are aged in wooden casks, most are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of such aging, liqueur A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry, or similar). These are not considered courses in and of themselves.

A meal may also begin with an amuse-bouche An amuse-bouche [amyzbuʃ] or amuse-gueule [amyzɡœl] is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. Amuse-bouche are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so according to the chef's selection alone. These, often accompanied by a complementing wine, are served as an excitement of taste. An amuse-bouche, also called an amuse-gueule, is a tiny bite-sized morsel served before the hors d'œuvre or first course of a meal. These, often accompanied by a proper complementing wine, are served as an excitement of taste buds to both prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to cooking.

An entremet is a small dish that may be served between courses, or as a dessert.

Customs, tradition, and etiquette

Customs and traditions Traditions serve to preserve a wide range of culturally significant ideas, specific practices and the various methods used by distinct cultures. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem which is the accusative case of traditio which means "handing over, passing on" regarding eating and meals vary from country to country, as well as within countries, based on such factors as regional differences, social class, education, and religion. In a complex, multi-cultural society there is increased risk of different customs and traditions clashing. What is correct behaviour, and what is not, and in what circumstances is the provenance of etiquette.

Examples of different customs and traditions:

• Food in some cultures is eaten from individual plates or bowls, while in other cultures people eat from a common one. Even where people tend to eat from individual plates, there may be exceptions, as in the case of some small pieces of food that can be held in the hand easily, such as cookies or some snack foods, where it is common to eat from a common plate, biscuit tin, or similar container.
• Different cultures might have different rules for eating the same item. In much of the west people eat sausages in a bun, or with a knife and fork, while in some countries in Europe sausages are held between the fingers while being eaten.
• In some cultures, it is considered proper to wait until everyone is seated before starting to eat, while in other cultures it is not an issue.
• In some cultures it is considered proper to wait for the host to give the command before guests sit at the table for a meal, while in other cultures there are different rules.
• In some religions, people pray or read aloud from a religious text before and possibly also after eating. In diverse, religiously mixed company where some people might want to pray, and others might not, it may be proper etiquette to allow for a short time of silence allowing those who want to do so the chance to pray.
• Most cultures find eating with the mouth open to be offensive.

Mealtimes

Common meals

These are the most common set mealtimes in the Western-world.

• Breakfast is usually eaten within an hour or two after a person wakes up in the morning.^[1]
• Lunch or Dinner is eaten around mid-day, usually between 11 am and 2 pm. In some areas, the name will change between these two depending on the content of the meal.^[2]
• Dinner or tea is a meal eaten in the evening. In some areas, the name will change between these two depending on the content of the meal.^[3]
• Supper is a light meal eaten in the late evening or overnight before bed.^[4]
• Dessert is typically eaten after dinner. It may be considered a course within a meal or a meal itself. Cakes, pastries, fresh fruit, and ice cream are examples of common dessert food.

Other meals

• Second Breakfast is a traditional midmorning meal served in parts of central Europe.
• Elevenses, also called "Morning Tea," is a drink and light snack taken late morning after breakfast and before lunch.
• Brunch is a late-morning meal, usually larger than a breakfast and usually replacing both breakfast and lunch; it is most common on Sundays.
• Afternoon tea is a midafternoon meal, typically taken at 4pm, consisting of light fare such as small sandwiches, individual cakes and scones with tea.^[5]
• High Tea is a British meal usually eaten in the early evening.^[5]

See also

• Airline meal
• Cuisine
• Food
• Full breakfast
• Leftovers
• List of eating utensils
• Microwave meal
• Nutrition
• Potluck
• Tea (meal)
• TV dinner

Sources and notes

1. ^ "AskOxford: breakfast". http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/breakfast?view=uk. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
2. ^ "AskOxford: lunch". http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/lunch?view=uk. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
3. ^ "AskOxford: dinner". http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/dinner?view=uk. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
4. ^ "AskOxford: supper". http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/supper?view=uk. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
5. ^ ^{a b} "AskOxford: tea". http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/tea?view=uk. Retrieved 2008-07-20.

External links

• “What Time is Dinner?”, a historian looks at the evolution of mealtimes.

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• Meal: Encyclopedia
• Oatmeal: Encyclopedia
• Shopping: Food: Prepared Meals: Directory
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