Entrée

An entrée is a dish served at a meal. In many lands, it comes before the main food. It can be a small snack or a starter. This food helps start the meal.

Long ago, people ate many stages of food. Some dishes were boiled in pots. Other dishes were meat that was roasted.

On meat days, people ate meat or fowl. They might eat pig or birds. On lean days, people ate fish or frogs instead.

Some entrées were very large. They were big pieces of beef or turkey. Other entrées were small and fancy.

Today, the word can mean different things. In some places, it is a small dish. In other places, it is the main part of the meal.

An entrée is a dish served during a meal. The meaning of the word changes depending on where you live. In most places, it is a starter. This is a small dish served before the main course. In the United States and parts of Canada, it means the main course. This is the biggest part of the meal.

Long ago, meals had many stages. In the 1500s, the first stage was called the entree de table. This means "entrance to the table." People ate sausages or fruit like grapes and peaches to start. Later, the order of food changed. By the year 1650, the entrée came after the soup.

There were different kinds of entrées. Some were very large. These were called grosses entrées. They could be whole turkeys or big pieces of beef. Other entrées were small and fancy. These were called ordinary entrées. They used small pieces of meat or fish. On meat days, people ate birds or pig. On lean days, they ate fish or even frogs. Most entrées were served hot.

An entrée is a special dish served during a meal. Its meaning changes depending on where you live in the world. In many places, it is a starter. This is a small dish served before the main course. However, in the United States and parts of Canada, the word refers to the main course. This is the biggest and most important part of the meal.

In the past, meals were organized into many different stages. The word first appeared in a book printed around 1536. At that time, the first stage was called the entree de table. This name means "entrance to the table." People often started with sausages or raw fruits like peaches and grapes. Later, the order of the meal changed quite a bit. By the year 1650, the entrée became the second stage of the meal.

There were many different types of entrées served at a table. Some were very large and were called grosses entrées. These could be whole turkeys or large pieces of beef. One type was called le bouilli, which was a boiled piece of beef. Other entrées were much smaller and more fancy. These were called ordinary entrées. They used small pieces of meat or fish instead of large chunks.

What people ate depended on the type of day it was. On meat days, entrées included things like pig or fowl. On lean days, people ate fish, shellfish, or even frogs. During Lent, people sometimes ate vegetable dishes called entrées en racines. Most entrées were served hot to the guests. They were often cooked in moist ways, like in a sauce or a stew.

Over hundreds of years, the way we serve food has shifted. In the 19th century, cold entrées became much more common. By the 20th century, many of the old names for different dishes fell out of use. Today, many North American menus use the term "main course" instead of entrée. This helps avoid confusion about which part of the meal is being served. It is interesting to see how one word can hold so many different meanings.

An entrée is a specific course served during a meal. Its meaning depends heavily on where a person is eating. In most of the English-speaking world and in France, an entrée is a starter. It is a small dish served before the main course. However, in the United States and parts of Canada, the term means something different. There, an entrée refers to the main course or the only course in a meal.

The culinary history of the entrée began in the 16th century. The term first appeared in print around 1536. It was found in a book called Petit traicté auquel verrez la maniere de faire cuisine. This book included a collection of menus at the end. In these early menus, the first stage was the entree de table. This term means "entrance to the table." The second stage was potaiges, which were foods boiled or simmered in pots. The third stage was the services de rost, consisting of meat or fowl roasted in dry heat. The final stage was the issue de table, or "departure from the table."

Over time, the structure of the meal changed significantly. Between the mid-16th and mid-17th century, the order of courses shifted. The potage became the first stage of the meal. The entrée moved to become the second stage. By 1650, the word had lost its literal meaning of "entrance." It now described the specific stage after the potage and before the roast or dessert. The term also began to refer to the actual dishes served during that stage.

Entrées were categorized by their size and preparation. Large dishes were known as grosses entrées or grandes entrées. These included large joints of meat like beef or veal. They also included whole fowl such as turkey or geese. One specific type was the entrees de broche, which were spit-roasted and served in a sauce. Another type was le bouilli, a boiled joint of beef served early in the meal. In the late 18th century, these large dishes were often called relevés, or "removes."

Small entrées were also very common and were called entrées ordinaires. These were distinguished by the small size of their ingredients. While the dishes were "ordinary," they were often very refined and elaborate. Large meats were cut into smaller pieces or fillets for these courses. Another type of small dish was the hors d'oeuvre. In the late 17th century, these were small, hot, "extra" dishes. By the 19th century, hors d'œuvre became a distinct stage served before the other entrées.

What people ate for an entrée depended on religious and cultural rules. On meat days, entrées featured butchers' meats, suckling pig, fowl, or game. On lean days, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, turtles, and frogs replaced meat. During the season of Lent, people ate vegetable entrées called entrées en racines. These were dishes made of vegetables. Most entrées were served hot and used moist cooking methods. Common preparations included sautés, ragoûts, and fricassées.

The 19th and 20th centuries brought more changes to dining traditions. In the 19th century, cold entrées became much more common. As church authority declined in France, rules for meat and lean days were followed less strictly. By the end of the 19th century, many specific names for different types of entrées fell out of use. In the 20th century, the French entrée became associated with its position in the meal. It became a small dish preceding the plat principal, or main course. In North America, the older meaning of a substantial meat course persisted for a long time. Recently, many North American menus have moved toward using the term "main course" to avoid confusion.