A main course is the featured or primary dish in a
meal
A meal is an eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The names used for specific meals in English vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal.
Although they ca ...
consisting of several
courses. It usually follows the
entrée
An entrée (, ; ) in modern French table service and that of much of the English-speaking world (apart from the United States and parts of Canada) is a dish served before the main course of a meal. Outside North America, it is generally synonym ...
("entry") course.
Typically, the main course is the meal that is the heaviest, heartiest, and most intricate or substantial on the menu. Typically, meat or fish is the main component; but, in vegetarian meals, the main dish will occasionally make an effort to resemble a meat course.
Usage
In the United States and Canada (except
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
), the main course is traditionally called an "entrée".
English-speaking Québécois follow the modern French use of the term entrée to refer to a
dish served before the main course.
According to linguist
Dan Jurafsky
Daniel Jurafsky is a professor of linguistics and computer science at Stanford University, and also an author. With Daniel Gildea, he is known for developing the first automatic system for semantic role labeling (SRL). He is the author of ''The La ...
, North American usage ("entrée") retains the original French meaning of a substantial meat course.
See also
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Full course dinner
A full-course dinner is a dinner consisting of multiple dishes, or ''Course (meal), courses''. In its simplest form, it can consist of three or four courses; for example: first course, a main course, and dessert.
Basics
A multicourse meal o ...
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Wikibooks Cookbook
Food and drink terminology
Courses (food)
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tl:Ulam