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Food is any substance, usually composed primarily of carbohydrates, fats, water and/or proteins, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus. Ranching, and fishing, hunting, foraging and other methods are ways to obtain food.

Most traditions have a recognizable cuisine, a specific set of cooking traditions, preferences, and practices, the study of which is known as gastronomy. Many cultures have diversified their foods by means of preparation, cooking methods and manufacturing. This also includes a complex food trade which helps the cultures to economically survive by-way-of food, not just by consumption.

Many cultures study the dietary analysis of food habits. While humans are omnivores, religion and social constructs such as morality often affect which foods they will consume. Food safety is also a concern with foodborne illness claiming many lives each year. In English, the substance food is often used metaphorically or figuratively, as in food for thought.

  

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Saffron crocuses flowering in a garden in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
Saffron has been used as a seasoning, fragrance, dye, and medicine for more than 3,000 years. The world's most expensive spice by weight, saffron consists of stigmas plucked from the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). The resulting dried "threads" are distinguished by their bitter taste, hay-like fragrance, and slight metallic notes. Saffron is native to Southwest Asia, but was first cultivated in Greece. Iran is the world's largest producer of saffron, accounting for over half of the total harvest.

In both antiquity and modern times, most saffron was and is used in the preparation of food and drink: cultures spread across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas value the red threads for use in such items as baked goods, curries, and liquor. Medicinally, saffron was used in ancient times to treat a wide range of ailments, including stomach upsets, bubonic plague, and smallpox; clinical trials have shown saffron's potential as an anticancer and anti-aging agent. Saffron has been used to colour textiles and other items, many of which carry a religious or hierarchical significance.

Saffron cultivation has long centred on a broad belt of Eurasia bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the southwest to Kashmir and China in the northeast. The major saffron producers of antiquity—Iran, Spain, India, and Greece—continue to dominate the world trade. The cultivation of saffron in the Americas was begun by members of the Schwenkfelder Church in Pennsylvania. In recent decades cultivation has spread to New Zealand, Tasmania, and California.

  

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Kimchi, Kimchee or Gimchi (김치) is a Korean dish of pickled vegetables, usually cabbage or Muwoo (white radish), and commonly served as a side dish. It is commonly fermented in a brine of anchovies, ginger, garlic, green onion and chilli pepper. There are infinite varieties, at least as many as there are households. The following is a standard recipe for baechoo (napa cabbage) kimchi.
  

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Cubeb (Piper cubeba), or tailed pepper, is a plant in genus Piper, cultivated for its fruit and essential oil. It is mostly grown in Java and Sumatra, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and carefully dried. Commercial cubebs consist of the dried berries, similar in appearance to black pepper, but with stalks attached — the "tails" in "tailed pepper". The dried pericarp is wrinkled, its color ranges from grayish-brown to black. The seed is hard, white and oily. The odor of cubebs is described as agreeable and aromatic. The taste, pungent, acrid, slightly bitter and persistent. It has been described as tasting like allspice, or like a cross between allspice and black pepper.

Cubeb came to Europe via India through the trade with the Arabs. The name cubeb comes from Arabic kabāba (كبابة‎), which is of unknown origin, by way of Old French quibibes. Cubeb is mentioned in alchemical writings by its Arabic name. In his Theatrum Botanicum, John Parkinson tells that the king of Portugal prohibited the sale of cubeb in order to promote black pepper (Piper nigrum) around 1640. It experienced a brief resurgence in 19th century Europe for medicinal uses, but has practically vanished from the European market since. It continues to be used as a flavoring agent for gins and cigarettes in the West, and as a seasoning for food in Indonesia and Africa.

  

Food news

  

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It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it.
Julia Child,
  

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Jeff Smith (January 22, 1939July 7, 2004) was the author of a dozen best-selling cookbooks and the host of The Frugal Gourmet, a popular American cooking show which began in Tacoma, Washington and aired on PBS from 1988 to 1997, and consisted of 261 episodes.

Jeff Smith was born on January 22, 1939. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1962 and from Drew University in 1965. He started off as a United Methodist minister whose first food-related venture was the Chaplain's Pantry, a deli and kitchen supply store near downtown Tacoma, where he offered cooking classes to the public. Soon after launching the show in Tacoma, he received a cooking show on a local PBS member station in Seattle. With an appearance on the Phil Donahue show in 1983 and a move to Chicago, his career took off.

Smith wrote many books about food and cooking, including The Frugal Gourmet (1984), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks With Wine (1986), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American (1987), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome (1989),The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother (1990) and The Frugal Gourmet's Culinary Handbook: An Updated Version of an American Classic on Food and Cooking (1991), and many more that he wrote with his assistant Craig Wollam.

  

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Credit: Julius Schorzman (User:Quasipalm)

A small cup of coffee.

  

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Food lists

The following are lists relating to food:

American cheesesAppellation d'Origine Contrôlée cheesesApple cultivarsBasil cultivars * BeanBreakfast cerealsBritish cheesesCakesCerealCheesesChristmas dishes (list)CitrusCocktailsDelicaciesDietsDrupeEgg dishesFishFoodsFood additivesFood additives (Codex Alimentarius)Foods named after peopleFrench cheesesFrench dishesFruitsTropical fruitHerbs and spicesIndian dishesIndonesian dishesItalian dishesJapanese snacksJapanese dishesJewish dishesKorean beveragesMango cultivarsMoroccan dishesMushroomsPhilippine snack foodPulse (legumes)SeafoodSeedsSnacksSoft drinks by countrySoupsVegetable oils * VegetablesVodkas

  

Topics related to Food

Beverages Alcoholic beverage, Beer, Cocktail, Coffee, Energy drink, Espresso, Flaming beverage, Foodshake, Juice, Korean beverages, Milk, Milkshake, Non-alcoholic beverage, Slush, Smoothie, Soft drink, Sparkling water, Sports drink, Tea, Water, Wine
Cooking Baking, Barbecuing, Blanching, Baking Blind, Boiling, Braising, Broiling, Chefs, Coddling, Cookbooks, Cooking school, Cooking show, Cookware and bakeware, Cuisine, Deep frying,Double steaming, Food and cooking hygiene, Food processor, Food writing, Frying, Grilling, Hot salt frying, Hot sand frying, Infusion, Kitchen, Cooking utensils, Microwaving, Pan frying, Poaching, Pressure cooking, Pressure frying, Recipe, Restaurant, Roasting, Rotisserie, Sautéing, Searing, Simmering, Smoking, Steaming, Steeping, Stewing, Stir frying, Vacuum flask cooking
Cooking schools Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, Culinary Institute of America, French Culinary Institute, Hattori Nutrition College, International Culinary Center, Johnson & Wales University, Le Cordon Bleu, Louisiana Culinary Institute, New England Culinary Institute, Schenectady County Community College, State University of New York at Delhi
Dining Buffet, Catering, Drinkware, Food festival, Gourmand, Gourmet, Picnic, Potluck, Restaurant, Salad bar, Service à la française, Service à la russe, Table d'hôte, Thanksgiving dinner, Vegan, Vegetarian, Waiter, Wine tasting
Foods Baby food, Beans, Beef, Breads, Breakfast cereals, Cereal, Cheeses, Comfort food, Condiments, Confections, Convenience food, Cuisine, Dairy products, Delicacies, Desserts, Diet food, Dried foods, Eggs, Fast foods, Finger food, Fish, Flavoring, Food additive, Food supplements, Frozen food, Fruits, Functional food, Genetically modified food, Herbs, Hors d'œuvres, Ingredients, Junk food, Legumes, Local food, Meats, Noodles, Novel food, Nuts, Organic foods, Pastas, Pastries, Poultry, Pork, Produce, Puddings, Salads, Sandwiches, Sauces, Seafood, Seeds, Side dishes, Slow foods, Soul food, Snack foods, Soups, Spices, Spreads, Staple food, Stews, Street food, Student food, Sweets, Taboo food and drink, Vegetables
Food industry Agriculture, Bakery, Dairy, Fair trade, Farmers' market, Farming, Fishing industry, Food additive, Food bank, Food co-op, Food court, Food distribution, Food engineering, Food processing, Food Salvage, Food science, Foodservice distributor, Grocery store, Health food store, Institute of Food Technologists, Meat packing industry, Organic farming, Restaurant, Supermarket, Sustainable agriculture
Food organizations American Culinary Federation, American Institute of Baking, American Society for Enology and Viticulture, Chinese American Food Society, Food and Agriculture Organization, Institute of Food Technologists, International Association of Culinary Professionals, International Life Sciences Institute, International Union of Food Science and Technology, James Beard Foundation, World Association of Chefs Societies
Food politics Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, European Food Safety Authority, Food and agricultural policy, Food and Agriculture Organization, Food and Drugs Act, Food and Drug Administration, Food and Nutrition Service, Food crises, Food labelling Regulations, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Food security, Food Stamp Program, Food Standards Agency (UK), Natural food movement, World Food Council, World Food Prize, World Food Programme
Food preservation Canning, Dried foods, Fermentation, Freeze drying, Food preservatives, Irradiation, Pasteurization, Pickling, Preservative, Snap freezing, Vacuum evaporation
Food science Appetite, Aristology, Biosafety, Cooking, Danger zone, Digestion, Famine, Fermentation, Flavor,Food allergy, Foodborne illness, Food coloring, Food chemistry, Food craving, Food faddism, Food engineering, Food preservation, Food quality, Food safety, Food storage, Food technology, Gastronomy, Gustatory system, Harvesting, Product development, Sensory analysis, Shelf-life, Slaughtering, Taste, Timeline of agriculture and food technology
Meals Breakfast, Second breakfast, Elevenses, Brunch, Tiffin, Lunch, Tea, Dinner, Supper, Dessert, Snack
Courses of a meal Amuse bouche, Coffee, Dessert, Entrée, Entremet, Hors d'œuvre, Main course, Salad, Soup
Nutrition Chronic toxicity, Dietary supplements, Diet, Dieting, Diets, Eating disorder, Food allergy, Food energy, Food groups, Food guide pyramid, Food pyramid, Food sensitivity, Healthy eating, Malnutrition, Nootropic, Nutraceutical, Nutrient, Obesity, Protein, Yo-yo dieting
Occupations Baker, Butcher, Chef, Personal chef, Farmer, Food stylist, Grocer, Waiter
Other Food chain, Incompatible Food Triad
  

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  • This page was last modified on 15 November 2008, at 02:03.

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