1,165 articles
Manakish (مناقيش)
Manakish (مناقيش), also called Manaeesh or Man'oushe, is a Levantine flatbread topped with za'atar, cheese, or spiced meat, baked at high heat, and sold hot at dawn from neighborhood bakeries across Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan.
Manchego
Manchego (Queso Manchego) is Spain's PDO-protected hard sheep cheese, made only from Manchega ewe milk in Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, and Toledo, aged at least 30-60 days, distinct from imitators by its regulation.
Manti (food)
Manti (mantı, mantu, mantou) is a family of filled wheat dumplings from Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan: tiny boiled Turkish mantı with yogurt and browned butter, large steamed Uzbek manti, Afghan steamed mantu with split-pea sauce, and baked Armenian sini mantı.
Mantou (馒头)
Mantou (馒头) is Chinese steamed bread, a fermented wheat staple of northern China, earliest attested in Western Jin texts; the Zhuge Liang origin legend is a later Song-era attribution, and related buns spread to Korea, Japan and Central Asia.
Mao tofu (毛豆腐)
Mao tofu (毛豆腐), also called Huizhou or Huangshan hairy tofu, mei doufu, is a fermented tofu from Huangshan, Anhui, coated in white Mucor mycelium, coagulated with sour water, pan-fried, and listed as Anhui provincial intangible heritage in 2022.
Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐)
Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐, mabo dofu in Japan) is a Sichuan dish of soft tofu in a mala doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorn sauce with minced meat, created in Chengdu around 1862 by Chen Mapo and adapted into milder Japanese versions from 1958.
Margarine
Margarine, invented in 1869 by Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès after a Napoleon III prize, is a butter substitute now made from vegetable oils, legally an emulsion of at least 80% fat with at most 3% dairy.
Marie biscuit
Marie (bolacha Maria) biscuit: thin, crisp, mildly sweet semi-sweet biscuit created by Peek Freans in London in 1874 for the marriage of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and the Duke of Edinburgh; a global tea-time staple and dessert base.
Marshmallow
Marshmallow: aerated sugar confection of sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, and air; foam stabilized by gelatin melting about 35 °C. Named after Althaea officinalis root; modern form is a 19th-century French invention; shelf life about 40 weeks.
Marzipan
Marzipan (mazapán, massepain, marzapane) is an almond-and-sugar confectionery paste used for modeling, cake covering, and sweets, graded by almond content (Edelmarzipan, Lübecker and Toledo PGIs) and distinct from almond paste in US usage.
Mashed potato
Mashed potato: cooked potatoes crushed and enriched with butter and milk or cream. Texture hinges on variety (russet vs waxy) and gentle handling; overworking releases starch, producing gluey mash.
Massaman curry
Massaman curry (แกงมัสมั่น, gaeng massaman), also called matsaman or Muslim curry, is a mild, sweet-sour Thai coconut curry with beef or chicken, potatoes, peanuts, tamarind, and warm dried spices, of Muslim origin in southern Thailand.
Matsusaka beef (松阪牛)
Matsusaka beef (松阪牛) is a Mie Prefecture wagyu brand from never-calved Japanese Black heifers fattened 900+ days near Matsusaka, GI-registered in 2017, famed for low-melting marbling fat, rivaling Kobe and Omi beef.
Matzah
Matzah (מצה, matzo) is unleavened bread of five grains eaten on Passover, baked within 18 minutes of mixing flour and water; shmura matzah is guarded from harvest, and machine matzah sparked an 1859 halachic controversy.
Matzah ball (קניידל)
Matzah ball (Yiddish kneidel, kneidlach) is an Ashkenazi Jewish soup dumpling of matzo meal, eggs, and schmaltz, served in chicken soup at Passover and year-round; first recipe printed London 1846, subject of the gebrokts custom debate and the floater-versus-sinker texture argument.
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, or mahonesa, is an oil-in-water emulsion sauce of vegetable oil, egg yolk, and vinegar, standardized at 65%+ oil in the US, named after Mahón, Menorca, and commercialized from 1912 by Hellmann's.
McChicken
McChicken: McDonald's crispy chicken sandwich of breaded patty, lettuce and mayo on a bun; US value-menu item at 390 calories, sold worldwide as マックチキン and McChicken Sandwich with regional recipes.
Meal
A meal is an occasion for eating at a set time, or the food eaten then, typically breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with smaller occasions called snacks.
Meal, Ready-to-Eat
Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) is the US Armed Forces' standard self-contained shelf-stable field ration, in retort pouches since 1981, about 1,250 kcal per meal with a flameless ration heater since 1992.
Meat pie
Meat pie is food made with meat, vegetables, or fruit covered in pastry. It is a national dish in Australia and a traditional item in Greece and Quebec.
Meat Products
Meat products are manufactured foods made from animal carcass portions, such as sausage, ham, and head cheese. Defined by MeSH, regulated by USDA/FDA, preserved by curing, smoking, drying, and fermentation; processed meat is an IARC Group 1 carcinogen.
Meatball
Meatball: small ball of ground meat with binders and seasonings, known worldwide as polpette, köttbullar, köfte, and bakso; USDA requires cooking to 160 degrees F for safety.
Meatloaf
Meatloaf (also meat loaf) is a baked dish of ground meat bound with breadcrumbs, egg, and seasonings, molded in a loaf shape. American staple peaked in the 1950s; first US recipe late 1870s; USDA safe temperature 160 °F.
Menudo (soup)
Menudo (also pancita, mondongo) is a Mexican soup of slow-cooked beef stomach in dried-chile broth, often with hominy; called menudo in the north, pancita in the center, mondongo in the south, with a hangover-cure reputation and probable Spanish callos origin.
Meringue
Meringue: whipped egg whites and sugar foam used in pavlova, lemon meringue pie, and baked Alaska; three types (French, Swiss, Italian) differing in heat application; name first printed in Massialot 1691, etymology unknown.
Mett
Mett, also called Hackepeter or Schweinemett, is a German specialty of seasoned raw minced pork eaten raw on bread rolls (Mettbrötchen) with raw onion, sold same-day under strict German rules, with the Mettigel hedgehog as its party form.
Meunière sauce
Meunière sauce (beurre meunière), French brown butter sauce with lemon juice and parsley, spooned over flour-dusted fish pan-fried in butter; sole meunière is the classic version, with a richer Creole variant in New Orleans.
Meze
Meze (mezze, maza; Turkish meze, Greek mezedes) is the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern tradition of small shared dishes served in waves with drinks such as rakı, ouzo, or arak, distinct from tapas and antipasto in its hospitality etiquette and open-ended, conversation-paced meal structure.
Mie goreng
Mie goreng (mi goreng, mee goreng, bakmi goreng) is Indonesia's stir-fried noodle dish: wheat-egg noodles wok-fried with kecap manis, garlic, shallots, vegetables, egg, and protein, with Chinese roots, Java/Sumatra/Sulawesi variants, and a famous instant version.
Migas
Migas ("crumbs") is an Iberian dish of soaked stale bread fried in olive oil or lard with garlic, paprika, and pork; in Mexico and Texas the name covers scrambled eggs with fried corn tortillas, distinct from chilaquiles.