Outline of meals: Difference between revisions

[[File:Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563.jpg|thumb|Meals have been traditionally prepared by women in a home kitchen (Painting from the circle of Jean-Baptiste de Saive, 1563)]]

Meals occur primarily at [[home]]s, [[restaurant]]s, and [[cafeteria]]s, 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 [[birthday]]s, [[wedding]]s, [[Wedding anniversary|anniversaries]], and [[religious holiday|holidays]]. A meal is different from a [[snack]] in that meals are generally larger, more varied, and more filling than snacks.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1016/j.appet.2009.09.016}}</ref>

==Common meals==

===Mealtimes===

The type of meal served or eaten at any given time varies by custom and location. In most modern cultures, three main meals are eaten: in the morning, early afternoon, and evening. Further, the names of meals are often interchangeable by custom as well. Some serve [[dinner]] as the main meal at midday, with [[supper]] as the late afternoon/early evening meal; while others may call their midday meal [[lunch]] and their early evening meal [[supper]]. Except for "breakfast", these names can vary from region to region or even from family to family.

==Other types of meals==

[[File:Swedish buffet-Smörgåsbord-01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|A Swedish [[smörgåsbord]] [[buffet]]]]

[[Image:Mumbai Dabbawala or Tiffin Wallahs- 200,000 Tiffin Boxes Delivered Per Day.jpg|thumb|A [[dabbawala]] in [[Mumbai]] with meals packed in [[tiffin carrier]]s]]

* A [[barbecue]] is a meal at which food (often meat or fish) is cooked out of doors on an open fire or portable grill.<ref> {{Citation | title=Outdoor: grill your way 'round the world | author1=[[Ben O'Donoghue|O'Donoghue, Ben]] | year=2008 | publisher=Hardie Grant Books | location = Prahran, Victoria, Australia |isbn =9781740665599}}</ref>

* A [[banquet]] is a large, formal, elaborate meal, with many guests and dishes.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/banquet "Banquet."] (definition). [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ Merriam-webster.com]. Accessed August 2011.</ref>

* A [[blue-plate special]] is a term used in the United States by restaurants that refers to a specially low-priced meal, usually changing daily.

* [[Brunch]] is a late-morning meal, usually larger than a breakfast and usually replacing both breakfast and lunch; it is most common on Sundays. Brunch originated in [[England]] in the late 1800s, and in the 1930s became popular in the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite book | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=yrTKLHbl4TkC&pg=PA8 | title=Joy of Cooking: All About Breakfast and Brunch | publisher=Simon and Schuster | author=[[Irma S. Rombauer|Rombauer, Irma S.]]; Becker, Marion Rombauer; Becker, Ethan | year=2001 | pages=8 | isbn=0743206428}}</ref>

* A [[buffet]] typically involves diners serving themselves from foods placed in a public area. Buffets are effective for serving large numbers of people at once, and are often seen in institutional settings, such as business conventions or large parties. Some restaurants also offer buffets, such as a lunch buffet, or are specifically buffet restaurants.

* [[Elevenses]], also called "morning tea", is a light snack<ref>{{cite book | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ntnrA6ubjIcC&pg=PA103 | title=Dictionary of Leisure, Travel and Tourism | publisher=A & C Black Publishers Ltd | author=A & C Black Publishers Ltd | year=2009 | pages=103 | isbn=1408102129}}</ref> and drink taken in the late morning after breakfast and before lunch.

* A [[last meal]] is a meal served to a prisoner before his execution.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-death-row-inmates-pick-comfort-foods-for-last-meals/ | title=Study: Death Row inmates pick comfort foods for last meals | date=August 29, 2012 | agency=[[CBS News]] | accessdate=22 December 2013 | author=(AP)}}</ref>

* A [[multicourse meal]] is a meal of multiple dishes served in sequence.

:* A [[full course dinner]] in its simplest form, can consist of three or four courses, such as soup, salad, meat and dessert. In formal dining, a full course dinner can consist of many courses, and in some instances the courses are carefully planned to complement each other [[Gastronomy|gastronomically]].

:* A [[main course]] is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the [[entrée]] ("entry") course. In the United States it may in fact be called "entree".

* [[Meals on Wheels]] are meals delivered as a service to the homes of people who are unable to prepare their own.<ref>{{Citation | title=Meals on Wheels : what it is - how it began - what it is now - what it can become! | author1=Meals on Wheels Inc. (S. Aust.) | year=1963 | publisher=Meals on Wheels}}</ref>

* A [[picnic]] is an outdoor meal where one brings one's food, such as a [[sandwich]] or a prepared meal (sometimes in a [[picnic basket]]). It often takes place in a natural or recreational area, such as a park, forest, beach, or lawn. On long drives a picnic may take place at a roadside stop such as a [[rest area]]. Picnics are often consumed on a [[picnic table]].

* A [[potluck]] is a gathering of people where each person or group of people may contribute a dish of food prepared by the person or the group of people, to be shared among the group.

* [[Second breakfast]] is a traditional mid-morning meal served in parts of [[central Europe]], i.e.: [[Austria]], [[Bavaria]] ([[Germany]]) and [[Poland]].

* [[Tea (meal)|Tea]] can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes, depending on a country's customs and its history of drinking tea. However, in those countries where the term's use is common, the influences are generally those of the former [[British Empire]] (now the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]). Tea as a meal can be small or large.

:* [[Tea (meal)#Afternoon tea|Afternoon tea]] is a mid-afternoon meal, typically taken at 4&nbsp;pm, consisting of light fare such as small sandwiches, individual cakes and scones with [[tea]].<ref name="Tea">{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/tea?view=uk|title=AskOxford: tea|accessdate=2008-07-20}}</ref>

[[File:WLA ima Ming burial figurine table.jpg|thumb|Ceramic meal in a [[Ming Dynasty]] burial figurine table]]

:* [[Tea (meal)#High tea|High tea]] is a British meal usually eaten in the early evening.<ref name="Tea"/>

* [[Tiffin]] is a [[second breakfast]] or light [[lunch]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/tiffin?q=tiffin | title=Definition of tiffin in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=22 December 2013}}</ref> most commonly in [[India]]. "Tiffin" can also refer to boxed or packaged lunches that are delivered by [[dabbawala]]s in [[Mumbai]] to workers in the city.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=CnFYXwAACAAJ&dq=tiffin&hl=en&sa=X&ei=INm3UtLeBsrooATm_4DwDw&ved=0CEkQ6AEwAg | title=''Tiffin'' (abstract) | publisher=Midpoint Trade Books Incorporated | author=Narsimhan, Mahtab | year=2011 | isbn=1770860398}}</ref>

* [[Réveillon]] is a celebratory long dinner held on [[Christmas Eve]] in French-speaking countries.

* Sacred meals, such as the [[Eucharist]], a form of [[theophagy]] or symbolic rite.

* Symbolic meals, such as were prepared for or represented in tombs, were designed for consumption by the deceased in the after-life. They are often represented in [[funerary art]].

* A [[wedding breakfast]] is a dinner given to the [[bride]], [[bridegroom]], and guests at the [[wedding reception]] that follows a [[wedding]] in the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]], Germany, Austria and Scandinavia.

:* [[Rehearsal dinner]] – a pre-[[wedding]] ceremony in [[North America]]n tradition, usually held after the wedding rehearsal and the night before the wedding ceremony.

* [[Yum cha]] is a [[Cantonese cuisine|Cantonese]] morning or afternoon meal where [[dim sum]] dishes<ref>{{cite book | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=CML_o_k8r5kC&pg=PA145 | title=Hong Kong | publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] | author=[[Richard Sterling|Sterling, Richard]]; [[Elizabeth Chong|Chong, Elizabeth]]; Qin, Lushan Charles | year=2001 | pages=145 | isbn=1864502886}}</ref> and [[tea]] are served. In the U.S. and U.K., the word dim sum is often used in place of yum cha.

<center><gallery caption="" widths="175px" heights="175px">

Image:Albert Anker - Stillleben - Unmässigkeit.jpg|Simple meals often consist of bread and/or meat [[Albert Anker]], [[Still life]] ''Excess'' (1896)

File:Peninsula Afternoon tea.jpg|Afternoon tea

File:Sveas brunch (cropped).jpg|[[Brunch]] foods

File:Toronto Picnic.jpg|People enjoying a [[picnic]]

</gallery></center>

===Types of meals===<!-- Many of the articles linked here can be used to expand this article -->

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

* [[Ambigu (meal)]]

* [[Baconique meal]]

* [[Box lunch]]

* [[Break fast]]

* [[Buffet]] / [[Smörgåsbord]]

* [[Bull roast]]

* [[Cawl]]

* [[Chhota haazri]]

* [[Collation (meal)]]

* [[Dal bhat]]

* [[Deipnon]]

* [[Eid al-Fitr]]

* [[Family meal]]

* [[Fish fry]]

* [[Free lunch]]

* [[Futurist meals]]

* [[Hog fry]]

* [[Iftar]]

* [[Jiggs dinner]]

* [[Kaiseki]]

* [[Kids' meal]]

* [[Maahefun]]

* [[Midnight breakfast]]

* [[Mixed grill]]

* [[New England boiled dinner]]

* [[Pig roast]]

* [[Ploughman's lunch]]

* [[Rijsttafel]]

* [[Tamil cuisine#Meals - Restaurant|Saapadu]]

* [[School meal]]

:* [[Free school meal]]

:* [[Oslo breakfast]]

:* [[Reduced-price meal]]

:* [[School Breakfast Program]]

:* [[School meal programs in the United States]]

:* [[Seoul Free Lunch referendum, 2011]]

:* [[Summer Food Service Program]]

* [[Suhoor]]

* [[Sunday roast]]

* [[Twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper]]

* [[TV dinner]]

{{Div col end}}

===Meal structure in cuisines===

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

* [[Arab cuisine#Structure of meals|Meal structure in Arab cuisine]]

* [[Aztec cuisine#Meals|Meal structure in Aztec cuisine]]

* [[Bengali cuisine#Bengali meals|Meal structure in Bengali cuisine]]

* [[Danish cuisine#Main meals|Meal structure in Danish cuisine]]

* [[Dutch cuisine#Structure of meals|Meal structure in Dutch cuisine]]

* [[English cuisine#Meals|Meal structure in English cuisine]]

* [[French cuisine#Structure of meals|Meal structure in French cuisine]]

* [[German cuisine#Structure of meals|Meal structure in German cuisine]]

* [[Iranian cuisine#Structure of meals|Meal structure in Iraqi cuisine]]

* [[Meal structure in Italy|Meal structure in Italian cuisine]]

* [[Moroccan cuisine#Structure of meals|Meal structure in Moroccan cuisine]]

* [[Service à la française]]

* [[Service à la russe]]

{{Div col end}}

===Related terms and concepts===

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

* [[Cuisine]]

* [[Culinary art]]

* [[History of breakfast]]

* [[Humanitarian daily ration]]

* [[IATA code#IATA meal codes|IATA meal codes]]

* [[Last Supper]]

* [[Manchu Han Imperial Feast]]

* [[Meal Monday]]

* [[Meal, Ready-to-Eat]]

* [[Meal replacement]]

* [[Meals on Wheels]]

* [[Meal train]]

* [[Meal voucher]]

* [[Meat and three]]

* [[Menu]]

:* [[À la carte]]

:* [[Table d'hôte]]

:* [[Tasting menu]]

* [[National dish]]

* [[Plate lunch]]

* [[Platter (dinner)]]

* [[Prison food]]

* [[Smoko]]

{{portalbar|Food|Drink|Culture}}

==Further reading==

* Flandrin, Jean Louis (2007). [http://books.google.com/books?id=oDqNbd_b3oQC&printsec=frontcover ''Arranging the Meal: A History of Table Service in France'']. University of California Press. ISBN 0520238850

* Latham, Jean (1972) [http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Pleasure_of_Your_Company.html?id=uZ1jQgAACAAJ ''The pleasure of your company: a history of manners & meals''], London: A. and C. Black. ISBN 0713612649

* [[Michael Pollan|Pollan, Michael]] (2006). [http://books.google.com/books?id=Qh7dkdVsbDkC&printsec=frontcover ''The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals'']. Penguin. ISBN 1594200823

* [[Hervé This|This, Hervé]] (2009). [http://books.google.com/books?id=GJIiz6g9PCoC&printsec=frontcover ''Building a Meal: From Molecular Gastronomy to Culinary Constructivism'']. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231144660

* [http://www.history-magazine.com/dinner2.html “What Time is Dinner?”] – a historian looks at the evolution of mealtimes.

* [http://womensportsfitness.com/?id=4e24f66c “Small meals or big ones?”] – a comparison of the number of meals taken per day.