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Filé powder
Filé powder, also called gumbo filé or kombo, is ground dried sassafras leaves used in Louisiana Cajun and Creole cooking to thicken and flavor gumbo; added off heat, Choctaw in origin, exempt from the 1960 safrole ban.
Filet mignon
Filet mignon (fillet steak) is a thick, extremely tender, very lean steak cut from the beef tenderloin (psoas major), the priciest steak cut, cooked rare to medium rare and first printed on an 1899 New York menu.
Filet-O-Fish
Filet-O-Fish: McDonald's fish sandwich invented in 1962 by Cincinnati franchisee Lou Groen for Catholic Friday abstainers; won a 350-to-6 contest against Ray Kroc's Hula Burger; Alaska pollock, steamed bun, tartar sauce.
Filipino cuisine
Filipino cuisine, the food of the Philippines, blends indigenous Austronesian traditions with Chinese, Spanish-Mexican, and American influences, known for sour dishes like adobo, sinigang, and regional specialties such as Cebu's lechon.
Filo (φύλλο)
Filo (φύλλο, phyllo, fillo), Greek for "leaf", is paper-thin unleavened dough layered with brushed butter or oil for baklava, spanakopita, and börek; unlike puff pastry, its fat is applied between sheets, not laminated into the dough.
Finnish cuisine
Finnish cuisine, the Nordic cooking tradition of Finland (suomalainen ruokakulttuuri), centers on rye bread, fish, berries and potatoes, with dishes like karjalanpiirakka and kalakukko, Russian-influenced eastern flavors, and eight Michelin-starred restaurants as of 2026.
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky is a Sazerac-owned, Canadian-whisky-based cinnamon liqueur at 33% ABV (66 proof), begun as Seagram's Dr. McGillicuddy's in 1984, rebranded in 2007, and sold alongside lower-proof malt and wine-based Fireball Cinnamon products for beer and wine stores.
Firehouse Subs
Firehouse Subs: American fast-casual sub sandwich chain founded 1994 in Jacksonville, Florida by firefighter brothers Chris and Robin Sorensen; steamed subs, Hook & Ladder menu, Public Safety Foundation, RBI-owned since 2021 for $1.0 billion.
First Growth
First Growth (Premier Cru Classé) refers to the five top-ranked red wine estates of Bordeaux's 1855 classification: Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild, and Haut-Brion, ranked by brokers on price and reputation, changed only by Cantemerle's 1855 addition and Mouton's 1973 promotion.
Fish and chips
Fish and chips: battered deep-fried white fish with thick-cut fried potatoes, Britain's classic chippy takeaway. Combined in the 1860s in London or Lancashire from Jewish fried-fish and northern chip traditions; unrationed in both world wars.
Fish maw
Fish maw (dried swim bladder, 花膠-style delicacy) is one of the four seafood treasures of Chinese cuisine; a luxury trade worth hundreds of millions, driving totoaba poaching and vaquita bycatch, authenticated by DNA barcoding.
Fish sauce
Fish sauce (nước mắm, nam pla, patis) is a translucent condiment of fermented fish and salt, central to Southeast Asian cooking. Codex requires ≥6 months fermentation, ≥10 g/l nitrogen, ≥200 g/l salt; garum is its Roman ancestor.
Fishcake
Fishcake: a patty of fish. In Britain, fish mixed with mashed potato, breadcrumbed and fried; in East Asia, surimi fish paste products such as Japanese kamaboko and Korean eomuk (어묵, odeng), shaped and heat-set into a gel.
Fisherman's Friend
Fisherman's Friend is a strong menthol, eucalyptus, and liquorice throat lozenge created in 1865 by Fleetwood pharmacist James Lofthouse, made by family firm Lofthouse of Fleetwood, and sold in over 100 countries.
Five Guys
Five Guys is an American fast-casual burger chain founded in 1986 in Arlington, Virginia, by Jerry and Janie Murrell and named for their five sons. It reached 2,000 stores in 30 countries by 2026, known for fresh beef, peanut-oil fries, and 15 free toppings.
Five-second rule
Five-second rule, also called three-second rule: folklore claim that food picked up off the floor within five seconds is safe. Rutgers 2016 research showed bacteria transfer in under one second; moisture and surface type matter more than timing.
Fizz (cocktail)
Fizz (cocktail family): spirit, citrus, sugar, shaken and topped with sparkling water; the Gin Fizz is the best-known version, first printed in 1876 in Jerry Thomas's guide; includes Silver, Golden, Sloe Gin, Diamond, and Ramos Gin Fizz variations.
Flair bartending
Flair bartending, also called flairtending or flair, is bartending with semi-acrobatic tricks performed while making drinks. Split into working flair (service-safe moves) and exhibition flair (choreographed competition routines); traced to Jerry Thomas and popularized by TGI Friday's and the 1988 film Cocktail.
Flambé
Flambé (flamber) is the culinary technique of igniting alcohol added to a hot pan, burning off raw ethanol while caramelizing flavors. Requires 40%+ ABV spirits; classic in Crêpes Suzette, Bananas Foster, Cherries Jubilee; studies show most alcohol loss comes from evaporation, not the flame.
Flat iron steak
Flat iron steak (butler's steak, oyster blade) is a tender beef cut from the infraspinatus top blade muscle of the chuck, created by removing its central connective-tissue seam; second most tender cut, NAMP 1114D, developed from 2000s muscle-profiling research.
Flat white
Flat white: an espresso-milk coffee drink with thin microfoam, smaller and stronger than a latte, originated in Australia (Sydney 1985, Alan Preston) or New Zealand (Wellington 1989, Fraser McInnes), a still-disputed origin; globalized by Starbucks in 2015.
Flatbread
Flatbread: thin, often unleavened bread such as chapati, tortilla, naan, and pita; the oldest bread type, with evidence from Jordan dating to 14,400 years ago, baked at 300–600 °C.
Flavored fortified wine
Flavored fortified wine: wine strengthened with added spirits and flavored with fruit, sugar, or botanicals. Covers aromatized wines like vermouth (14.5–22% ABV, EU-regulated) and cheap American brands like MD 20/20 (Mogen David, originally 20% ABV, 20 oz).
Flavoring
Flavoring: ingredients added to food to impart or modify taste and aroma, from spices to volatile molecules; defined in US law at 21 CFR 101.22, FEMA-evaluated for GRAS, with diacetyl a known occupational hazard.
Fleur de sel
Fleur de sel (flower of salt, flor de sal) is hand-skimmed surface sea salt with fine pyramidal crystals, classically from Guérande, France (PGI 2012); used as a finishing salt, unlike pond-floor sel gris.
Floating island (dessert)
Floating island (île flottante, œufs à la neige, snow eggs) is a French dessert of poached or baked sweetened meringue on crème anglaise with caramel and almonds, distinct from crisp meringue desserts.
Fluffernutter
Fluffernutter: a New England sandwich of peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff (marshmallow creme) on white bread. Trademarked by Durkee-Mower; name coined around 1960; added to Merriam-Webster in 2021.
Flunkyball
Flunkyball (also Bierball) is a German outdoor team drinking game: hit a central bottle with a ball, drink until opponents reset it and call stop; first team empty wins. Unofficial world championship in Elmshorn; 2024 trademark dispute resolved in 2026.
Focaccia
Focaccia, or fugassa in Genoa, is an Italian yeast-leavened olive-oil-rich pan flatbread with a dimpled crumb; Liguria is its heartland, focaccia di Recco holds IGP status, and its roots trace to Neolithic husking trays.
Foie gras
Foie gras is a French food product made from the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force-feeding. It is a centerpiece of French festive cuisine.