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South Indian cuisine
South Indian cuisine covers the cooking of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. Rice, lentils, coconut, and tamarind base; fermented idli and dosa; tempering; Chettinad heat; Kerala seafood distinguish it from North Indian food.
South Korean beauty standards
South Korean beauty standards: culturally shared appearance ideals (fair skin, V-line jaw, double eyelids, slim body) shaping K-pop, K-beauty, plastic surgery, body image, lookism, and the global cosmetics export industry.
Southern belle
The Southern belle is a romanticized archetype of an upper-class white young woman in the antebellum South, first appearing in literature in 1832 and later popularized by Gone with the Wind.
Southern Comfort
Southern Comfort (SoCo) is an American whiskey-based liqueur created in 1874 by M.W. Heron in New Orleans, originally called Cuffs & Buttons. Owned by Sazerac since 2016, reformulated with real whiskey in 2017; Original is 70 proof.
Souvenir
Souvenir (French "to remember"): a small keepsake bought or kept to recall a place, event, or person. From Old French suvenir c.1100; English use from 1775; central to tourism, worth billions yearly.
Souvlaki (σουβλάκι)
Souvlaki (σουβλάκι), also called kalamaki in Athens, is Greek skewered grilled meat in pita, distinct from rotisserie gyros; first modern shop opened 1924 in Nikaia by refugee Isaak Meraklidis; Greece's most consumed fast food, now 4-6 euros.
Sovereign (British coin)
British gold coin first struck 1489 under Henry VII, revived 1817 as 22-carat £1 coin with Pistrucci's St George reverse; withdrawn from circulation in WWI, revived 1957 as a bullion coin still struck today.
Soy Foods
Soy foods, made from Glycine max (soybean), include tofu, miso, tempeh, edamame, natto, and soy milk; high in protein and isoflavone phytoestrogens, studied for cholesterol, hot flashes, bone, and breast cancer effects.
Soy milk
Soy milk (doujiang, tonyu) is a water extract of soybeans, a plant-based beverage from China, now a fortified dairy alternative with protein comparable to cow's milk.
Soy sauce (酱油)
Soy sauce, known in Chinese as 酱油 and in Japanese as shoyu, is a fermented condiment of soybeans and wheat that originated in China and seasons East Asian cooking.
Soylent (meal replacement)
Soylent is an American meal replacement brand founded in 2013 in Silicon Valley by Rob Rhinehart and co-founders, offering ready-to-drink shakes, powders, and bars with plant-based protein; acquired by Starco Brands in 2023, distinct from the Soylent film fiction.
Space hopper
Space hopper (also Hoppity Hop, Hop Ball): inflatable handled ball toy invented by Aquilino Cosani as the Pon-Pon, renamed Space Hopper by Wembley and launched in the UK by Mettoy, a 1970s craze.
Spaghetti
Spaghetti, from Italian spago (string), is a long thin solid durum-wheat strand, Italy's most popular pasta at over two-thirds of consumption, documented in Sicily by 1154, with a Marco Polo origin myth debunked.
Spaghetti alla puttanesca
Spaghetti alla puttanesca, also aulive e chiappariell, is a Neapolitan pasta with tomato, olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, and chili; named from puttana, first named in print in 1961.
Spam (food)
Spam (SPAM brand) is Hormel Foods' canned pork luncheon meat, introduced July 5, 1937 in Austin, Minnesota; six ingredients, over 9 billion cans sold, spread worldwide by WWII military rations and staples like Hawaiian Spam musubi.
Spam musubi
Spam musubi, also called SPAM musubi (スパムむすび), is a Hawaiian snack of grilled Spam on a pressed block of plain rice wrapped in nori, adapted from Japanese onigiri and popularized in Hawaii in the 1980s.
Spanish cuisine
Spanish cuisine: the regional cooking traditions of Spain based on olive oil, garlic, and wine, shaped by Phoenician, Roman, Arab, and New World influences; known for paella, gazpacho, tapas, Iberian ham, and the UNESCO-listed Mediterranean diet.
Spanish influence on Filipino culture
Spanish influence on Filipino culture: the religious, linguistic, culinary, and artistic legacy of Spanish colonial rule (1565–1898), including Catholicism, Chabacano, baro't saya, fiestas, and galleon-borne Mexican influences.
Spanish omelette
The Spanish omelette, tortilla de patatas or tortilla española, is Spain's thick egg-and-potato omelette cooked in olive oil, optionally with onion; first documented in an 1817 Navarrese memorial, subject of the national con cebolla o sin cebolla debate, and a national symbol.
Spanish wine
Spanish wine, from Phoenician Cádiz plantings to the world's largest vineyard (889,500 ha) and third-largest EU production. DO/DOCa classification, Rioja leadership, Tempranillo and Verdejo, export trends.
Spanx
Spanx: American shapewear and apparel company founded by Sara Blakely in Atlanta on February 15, 2000 with $5,000; invented footless body-shaping pantyhose; Blackstone bought a majority stake in 2021 at a $1.2 billion valuation.
Spar (retailer)
Spar, originally founded as Despar, is a voluntary food retail chain started by wholesaler Adriaan van Well in the Netherlands in 1932, with about 13,600 stores in 50 countries.
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine: wine with endogenous CO2 producing effervescence, at least 3.5 bars at 20°C per OIV. Made by traditional, tank, or ancestral methods; Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, Franciacorta; about 7-8% of global wine production.
Spats (footwear)
Spats are buttoned shoe coverings, short for spatterdashes, that keep shoes and ankles clean; they were a fashionable men's accessory from about 1910 to the mid-1930s.
Spatula
Spatula: a broad, flat, unsharpened blade on a handle for lifting, turning, spreading, or scraping food; also called turner, flipper, or fish slice. From Latin spatula via Greek spathe; types include turners, scrapers, and fish spatulas in silicone, steel, nylon, or wood.
Speakeasy
Speakeasy: an establishment illegally selling alcohol, widespread during US Prohibition (1920–1933), successor to the blind pig and blind tiger; term from speaking quietly about illegal bars. Also, since 2000, legal hidden cocktail bars imitating them.
Specialty coffee
Specialty coffee, also called specialty-grade or third-wave coffee, is coffee recognized for distinctive attributes with significant extra market value; historically scored 80+ on the SCA 100-point cupping scale, now defined by attributes and assessed via the SCA Coffee Value Assessment, distinct from commodity C-market coffee.
Speculaas
Speculaas (Dutch, speculaas): a thin, crisp, spice-filled shortcrust biscuit from the Low Countries, molded in carved wooden boards for St. Nicholas (5-6 December); distinct from the cinnamon-only caramelized Belgian speculoos.
Speedo
Speedo is an Australian-founded swimwear brand, created 1914 as Fortitude by Alexander MacRae and named Speedo in 1928, now owned by Britain's Pentland Group and known for Endurance+ fabric, the Fastskin and LZR Racer racing suits, and Olympic swimwear history.
Spencer Gifts
Spencer Gifts, branded Spencer's, is an American mall novelty retailer founded 1947, owned by Spencer Spirit Holdings with Spirit Halloween; 600+ stores, 18–25 target, adult back-of-store section.