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Main course

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. The nature of what qualifies as a main course, and how and when it is served, varies cross-culturally. In the "Classical Order" of service à la française, the main course generally follows the entrée (lit. 'entry') course.

History

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For the Romans, the main course was the mensa prima, preceded by a starter gustatio and followed by the dessert mensa secunda.[1] A three course meal is also attributed to Ziryab in 9th century Al-Andalus.[2]

In 17th century service à la française, food was loaded onto the table and people served themselves. This buffet-like service was replaced by service à la russe which used waiters.[3]

Usage

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In the United States and some parts of Canada the main course is traditionally called an "entrée".[4][5][6] The modern French use of the term entrée refers to a dish served before the main course.

According to linguist Dan Jurafsky, North American usage ("entrée") comes from the original French meaning of the first of many meat courses.[6] The first written use of the term 'entree' was in Petit traicté, which was published by Pierre Sargent in Paris between 1534 and 1536. In this book, the first course of the whole meal was named 'entree de table'.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Faas, Patrick (April 2005). Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome. University of Chicago Press. pp. 76–7. ISBN 978-0-226-23347-5.
  2. ↑ Jebara, Mohamad (2024-02-27). The Life of the Qur'an: From Eternal Roots to Enduring Legacy. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-250-28237-8.
  3. ↑ Meiselman, H. L. (2009-03-26). Meals in Science and Practice: Interdisciplinary Research and Business Applications. Elsevier. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-84569-571-2.
  4. ↑ "entrée". ENTRÉE | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge Dictionary.
  5. ↑ Stewart, Marjabelle Young and Elizabeth Lawrence (1999). Commonsense Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious, Simple Manners for the Twenty-First Century. St. Martin's Press. p. 99. ISBN 9780312242947.
  6. 1 2 Porzucki, Nina (22 September 2014). "You are what you eat—and how you translate the menu". The World from PRX. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-11.

Bibliography

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