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Lahmacun
Lahmacun (Arabic lahm bi-ajin; Armenian lahmajo), also called Turkish or Armenian pizza, is a paper-thin meat-topped flatbread baked at high heat, popular across Turkey, the Levant, and Armenia, with a protected Gaziantep geographical indication.
Laksa
Laksa (叻沙) is a spicy Southeast Asian noodle soup from Peranakan cuisine, in two main forms: coconut-milk curry laksa and sour tamarind-fish asam laksa, with regional variants such as Katong, Sarawak, and Johor laksa.
Lambic
Lambic is a spontaneously fermented wheat beer from Belgium's Pajottenland and Senne Valley, also called lambiek, base of gueuze, faro, and kriek. Wild airborne microbes inoculate winter-brewed wort, which matures up to three years in oak barrels.
Lambrusco
Lambrusco is a family of twelve black grape varieties from Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and the sparkling red wines made from them; three main grapes, Sorbara, Salamino, Grasparossa, plus six DOCs distinguish it.
Lamington
Lamington: Australian and New Zealand square of sponge or butter cake coated in chocolate and desiccated coconut, sometimes jam- or cream-filled; named after Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland 1896–1901; first printed recipe 17 December 1900.
Land grabbing
Land grabbing, also called the global land rush or large-scale land acquisitions, is the large-scale transfer of land rights that dispossesses local users, triggered by the 2007-2008 food crisis, measured by the Land Matrix, and marked by weak consultation, food insecurity, and new carbon-offset deals.
Langenlois
Langenlois, a wine town in Lower Austria's Kamptal first recorded as "Liubisa" (1072–1091), is home to the Gesamtsportverein Langenlois 1921, a 16-branch, 1,000-member sports club whose football side plays in the 2. Landesliga West.
Lángos
Lángos (langoš, langalló) is a Hungarian deep-fried yeasted flatbread, originally baked near the oven flame, classically rubbed with garlic and topped with sour cream and grated cheese; a designated hungarikum street food.
Lao Gan Ma (老干妈)
Lao Gan Ma (老干妈) is a Chinese chili-sauce brand founded by Tao Huabi in 1996 in Guiyang, Guizhou. Known for its soybean chili crisp, it holds about one fifth of China's chili-sauce market, sells in 160 countries, and reported record 5.4 billion RMB revenue in 2025 without loans, financing, or listing.
Lapsang souchong (正山小种)
Lapsang souchong (正山小种, Zhèngshān Xiǎozhǒng) is a pine-smoked black tea from Tongmu, Wuyishan, Fujian, regarded as the world's earliest black tea; exported to Europe from 1610, protected by GB/T 13738.3-2012 and an EU PGI.
Larb (ລາບ)
Larb (ລາບ, Thai ลาบ), also laap or laab, is the national minced meat or fish salad of Laos, eaten in Isaan Thailand, Shan State, and Yunnan, bound with khao khua toasted rice powder, herbs, and chili, served with sticky rice; a UNESCO-listed symbol of Lao identity.
Larch arabinogalactan
Larch arabinogalactan (larch gum, ResistAid, E-409) is a water-soluble, highly branched 6:1 galactose:arabinose polysaccharide (15,000-60,000 Da) from Larix occidentalis and L. laricina heartwood, used as a food additive, prebiotic fiber, and supplement.
Lard
Lard is rendered pig fat, especially abdominal visceral fat, used in cooking and baking. Also called manteca de cerdo; distinguished from rendered pork fat and tallow. Contains 38-43% saturated fat, smoke point 121-218°C, once a major US export to the UK.
Lardon
Lardon (plural lardons; also lardoon): a small strip or cube of fatty bacon or pork fat, French in origin from lard, used in dishes such as coq au vin and quiche Lorraine or threaded into lean meat for larding.
Lasagna
Lasagna (lasagne) is a baked Italian dish of layered wide pasta sheets with cheese, tomato sauce, and often meat or ragù and béchamel. Codified Bolognese version uses spinach egg pasta; name from Greek laganon or Latin lasanum.
Lassi (ਲੱਸੀ)
Lassi (ਲੱਸੀ, لسّی) is a chilled Punjabi yogurt drink made by churning dahi with water or milk, served sweet (meethi) or salted (namkeen); mango lassi is a modern diaspora variant, and the word is first attested in English in 1882.
Latke
Latke (Yiddish; Hebrew levivah/levivot): Ashkenazi Jewish fried potato pancake of grated potato, onion, egg, and flour or matzo meal, eaten at Hanukkah for the oil miracle, with cheese-pancake origins in 14th-century Italy.
Latte
Latte (caffè latte): espresso drink of one or two shots topped with 3–4 parts steamed milk and ~1 cm microfoam, served 8–12 oz; mildest classic espresso drink, distinct from cappuccino and flat white.
Latte art
Latte art is the practice of pouring textured steamed milk into espresso so white microfoam forms patterns against the brown crema, popularized at Seattle's Espresso Vivace in the 1980s.
Latte macchiato
Latte macchiato, Italian for "stained milk," is an espresso-milk drink built milk-first with espresso poured through foam, forming three layers via double-diffusive convection; distinct from latte, cappuccino, and espresso macchiato.
Laura Sharrad
Laura Sharrad (née Cassai) is an Australian chef who was twice MasterChef runner-up (2014, 2020) before winning Back To Win 2025 with 80/90 points and $250,000; co-founder of Adelaide's Nido and Fugazzi and author of two Italian cookbooks.
Lavash (լավաշ)
Lavash (լավաշ) is a thin wheat-flour flatbread baked on the wall of a tonir clay oven, central to Armenian cuisine and inscribed by UNESCO in 2014, with a related 2016 multinational flatbread listing; it keeps dry up to six months.
Lavazza
Lavazza: Italian coffee company founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza; pioneer of coffee blending, Italy's largest coffee firm since 1957, now a global group with €3.9 billion revenue, brands like Carte Noire, Merrild, and Kicking Horse.
Lawson (ローソン) (store)
Lawson (ローソン) is a major Japanese convenience store chain run by Lawson, Inc. (LAWSON, NATURAL LAWSON, LAWSON STORE 100). Founded from J.J. Lawson's 1939 Ohio milk shop; first Japanese store opened 1975 in Osaka; about 14,000 domestic stores plus 7,000+ in China.
Lay's
Lay's is an American potato chip brand founded by Herman Lay in Nashville in 1932, merged into Frito-Lay in 1961 and PepsiCo in 1965; sold in over 200 countries, using about 4 billion pounds of potatoes yearly.
Lazy Susan
Lazy Susan is a rotating tray, an American invention dating to 1917. It uses a bearing assembly to allow users to reach items in dining tables or deep kitchen cabinets.
Le Bernardin
Le Bernardin: French seafood restaurant founded in Paris in 1972 by Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze, opened in New York in 1986; three Michelin stars since 2005, six four-star New York Times reviews, chef Eric Ripert since 1994.
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu, international network of culinary arts and hospitality schools founded in Paris in 1895 by Marthe Distel; about 35 institutes in 20 countries, 20,000 students yearly, known for the Grand Diplôme and alumni like Julia Child.
Le Gavroche
Le Gavroche was a Mayfair French haute cuisine restaurant founded by Albert and Michel Roux in 1967, the first UK restaurant to win three Michelin stars (1982), demoted to two in 1993, closed January 2024.
Lea & Perrins
Lea & Perrins is the British brand founded in Worcester in 1837 by chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, inventor of Worcestershire sauce; its recipe remains a Heinz trade secret, the sauce matures 18 months, and it still ships to over 130 countries.