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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.
Fishnet stockings
Fishnet stockings are hosiery with an open, diamond-shaped knit that leaves the skin visible, worn since the 1920s by showgirls, adopted by punk in the 1970s, and now a fashion staple.
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.
Flag Day (United States)
Flag Day (United States), observed June 14, commemorates the 1777 adoption of the Stars and Stripes; not a federal holiday, proclaimed annually by the President since Wilson's 1916 proclamation, permanent under Truman's 1949 law.
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 cap
The flat cap, also called the cloth cap or Ivy cap, is a soft rounded wool cap with a short stiff front brim, worn since the fourteenth century.
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.
Flight jacket
Flight jacket, also called aviator or bomber jacket: military aircrew outerwear born with the 1917 U.S. Aviation Clothing Board, evolving from leather A-2, B-3 and G-1 to nylon MA-1 and flame-resistant CWU-45/P, later a civilian fashion staple.
Flip-flops
Flip-flops, also called thongs, jandals, or slippers, are flat Y-strap thong sandals known since ancient Egypt (ca. 1500 BC British Museum pair), mass-produced in rubber postwar from the Japanese zori, with Havaianas launched in 1962.
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.
Folgers
Folgers is an American coffee brand founded in San Francisco in 1850 by James A. Folger, known for cup-testing, the 1984 'Best Part of Wakin' Up' slogan, and P&G then J.M. Smucker ownership.
Folk art
Folk art: community-rooted art learned through family, apprenticeship, or local custom rather than academies; handmade, often utilitarian or ritual, traditional yet innovative; term popularized in 1920s America, exhibited at MoMA in 1932.
Folk costume
Folk costume (also ethnic or traditional costume, German Tracht) is traditional apparel expressing regional, national, or ethnic identity, worn daily or ceremonially; it declined under industrialization, was revived as national dress in the 19th century, and persists through museums, heritage listings, and diaspora use.
Fondant icing
Fondant icing: a partially crystalline sugar paste of tiny sucrose crystals in saturated syrup, used poured or rolled to glaze and decorate cakes; 10–15% water, 371 kcal/100 g.
Fondue
Fondue, from French fondre (to melt), is the Swiss dish of cheese melted with white wine in a caquelon, with bread dipped on long forks; earliest recipe 1699 Zurich, national dish via 1930s Swiss Cheese Union promotion.
Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting
Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting is an American quilting TV series and magazine created by Marianne Fons and Liz Porter; the PBS series began in 1995 and the magazine became America's highest-circulated quilting magazine.
Fontina
Fontina is an Italian PDO semi-cooked cheese from Valle d'Aosta, made from raw whole milk of Valdostana cows, aged at least 80 days, with Fontina DOP Alpeggio and Lunga Stagionatura variants.