Food is any substance that can be consumed to help the body grow, usually composed primarily of carbohydrates, fats, minerals, water and/or proteins, that can be eaten or drunk and metabolized by almost all multicellular entities for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus. Ranching, farming, fishing, hunting, foraging, grocery shopping 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. Global cuisines can be defined as cuisine based upon global, continental, national, state or local regions; essentially as cuisines of the world.
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 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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Gordon James Ramsay
B. November 8, 1966
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE and born in Johnstone, Scotland, is a celebrity chef, television personality and entrepreneur. He has been awarded a total of twelve Michelin stars, and is currently one of only three chefs in the UK whose restaurant is rated at three Michelin stars. He is famous in the UK for presenting TV programmes about competitive cookery and food such as Hell's Kitchen and The F-Word. He is best known in the United States as the host of FOX's Hell's Kitchen, which premiered in May 2005, and of Kitchen Nightmares, which premiered in September 2007, based on his successful British show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. |
Oatmeal Stout Brownies This recipe, created by Joe Stutler, was a national finalist in the 2006 Cooking With Beer Challenge. The malt and oats in the beer enhance the flavor of the chocolate in these delicious brownies. Not overly cake-ey, not overly fudge-ey, the texture is nicely balanced. They're also decadently chocolate, and surprisingly light (thanks to the eggs). Great with a fruity beer, such as a lambic (Framboise, yum!).
Stevia is a genus of about 150 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family ( Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. The species Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.
With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Stevia also has shown promise in medical research for treating such conditions as obesity and high blood pressure.
Stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, even enhancing glucose tolerance; However, health and political controversies have limited stevia's availability in many countries; for example, the United States banned it in the early 1990s unless labeled as a supplement. Stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan, and it is now available in the US and Canada as a dietary supplement, although not as a food additive. Rebiana is the trade name for a stevia-derived sweetener being developed jointly by The Coca-Cola Company and Cargill with the intent of marketing in several countries and gaining regulatory approval in the US and EU. Truvia is Cargill's consumer brand of Rebiana-based sweetener.
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Cookery has become a noble art, a noble science; cooks are gentlemen. |
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— Robert Burton
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...that in Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is thought to have many medicinal properties and many in India use it as a readily available antiseptic for cuts and burns? Whenever there is a cut or a bruise, the home remedy is to reach for turmeric powder. Ayurvedic doctors say it has fluoride which is essential for teeth. It is also used as an antibacterial agent. |
An orange and its cross section
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The following are categories relating to food. 
Select [►] to view subcategories
The following are topics relating to food
| Beverages |
Alcoholic beverage, Beer, Cocktail, Coffee, Distilled beverage, Energy drink, Espresso, Flaming beverage, Foodshake, Juice, Korean beverages, Liqueur, 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, Macerating, Marinating, 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, Burger, 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, Hot dogs, 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, 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, Software, Supermarket, Sustainable agriculture |
| Food organizations |
American Culinary Federation, American Institute of Baking, American Society for Enology and Viticulture, Chinese American Food Society, European Food Information Resource Network, Food and Agriculture Organization, Institute of Food Science and Technology, 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 composition, 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, Bread, Cheese, Coffee, Dessert, Entrée, Entremet, Hors d'œuvre, Main course, Nuts, 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, Protein combining, Yo-yo dieting |
| Occupations |
Baker, Butcher, Chef, Personal chef, Farmer, Food stylist, Grocer, Waiter |
| Other |
Food chain, Incompatible Food Triad |
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