Meals have been traditionally prepared by women in a home kitchen (Painting from the circle of Jean-Baptiste de Saive, 1563)
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Meals
Meals
Suhur
Breakfast
Second breakfast
Elevenses
Brunch
Lunch
Tea
Merienda
Tiffin
Dinner
Supper
Iftar
Siu yeh
Snack
Combination meal
Kids' meal
Value meal
Components and courses
Full-course dinner
Tasting menu
Amuse-bouche
Hors d'oeuvre
Soup
Entrée
Roast
Main course
Salad
Side dish
Entremets
Dessert
Savoury
Meal preparation
Related concepts
À la carte
Banquet
Buffet
Cuisine
list
Drink
Eating
Food
Grazing
History of breakfast
Kamayan
Table d'hôte
Table manners
Table setting
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A meal is an eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food.[1][2] The names used for specific meals in English vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal.
Although they can be eaten anywhere, meals typically take place in homes, restaurants, and cafeterias. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day. Special meals are usually held in conjunction with such occasions as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and holidays. A meal is different from a snack in that meals are generally larger, more varied, and more filling than snacks.[3]
The type of food that is served or consumed at any given time depends on regional customs. Three main meals are often eaten in the morning, early afternoon, and evening in most modern civilizations. 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 or dinner. Except for "breakfast," these names can vary from region to region or even from family to family.
^"meal noun (FOOD) - definition in the British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionaries Online". Archived from the original on 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
^"meal - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online". Archived from the original on 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
^Wansink, B.; Payne, C. R.; Shimizu, M. (2010). ""Is this a meal or snack?" Situational cues that drive perceptions". Appetite. 54 (1): 214–216. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2009.09.016. PMID 19808071. S2CID 21246397.
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