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Meal

language culture Maturity 11-13 Next article →

A meal is a special time when people eat food. It happens at a specific time of day. Meals are different from snacks because they are larger and more filling. Most people eat three main meals every day. These are usually in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. People eat meals in many places like homes or restaurants.

Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563
Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563

Some meals are for regular days. Other special meals celebrate big events like weddings or birthdays.

Preparing a meal involves many steps to get food ready. First, people use meal prep to plan what they will eat. This includes choosing and measuring ingredients. Then, people use cooking to prepare the food. Cooking is the art of using heat to make food ready to eat. People use many tools like stoves or ovens to do this. Some food is even prepared without heat. In South America, a dish called ceviche uses acid from lime juice to cook fish.

Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563
Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563

Breakfast is the very first meal of the day. The name means to break the fast from the night before. In the UK and Ireland, many people enjoy a full breakfast. This includes cooked foods like bacon, sausages, and eggs. You might also see a full English breakfast or an Ulster fry. In the 1800s, breakfast was often just toast or porridge. Isabella Beeton wrote about many breakfast ideas in her 1861 book.

Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563
Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563

Lunch and dinner are also important parts of the day. Lunch is often eaten at midday. Some people carry a packed lunch in a box or a bag. In Mumbai, India, workers use tiffin boxes to carry lunch. The word lunch comes from the word luncheon. Dinner can be a large meal at noon or in the evening. A full-course dinner might have many parts. In Italy, a formal meal has four courses. These include antipasto, primo, secondo, and dolce.

Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563
Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563

Throughout history, meals have brought people together. Most meals were communal affairs where people shared food and talked. In the 20th century, many people began to eat lunch away from home. This changed how people prepared their midday meals. Today, more adults in some countries eat their meals alone. However, many people still feel that eating is a social act. Even when eating alone, people often go to restaurants to be around others.

Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563
Jean-Baptiste de Saive (circle) Kitchen interior with maid 1563
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