A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal."Side dish."
(definition.
Merriam-webster.com
Accessed August 2011.

Common types

Flickr stuart spivack 173603796--Macaroni and cheese

Side dishes such as salad, potatoes and bread are commonly used with main courses throughout many countries of the western world.

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

and

couscous Couscous ( '; ber, ⵙⴽⵙⵓ, translit=Seksu) – sometimes called kusksi or kseksu – is a Maghrebi dish of small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, ...

have grown to be quite popular throughout Europe, especially at formal occasions (with couscous appearing more commonly at dinner parties with Middle Eastern dishes). When used as an

adjective In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...

qualifying the name of a dish, the term 'side' usually refers to a smaller portion served as a side dish, rather than a larger, main dish-sized serving. For example, a "side salad" is usually served in a small bowl or salad plate, in contrast to a large dinner-plate-sized entrée salad. A typical American meal with a meat-based main dish might include one vegetable side dish, sometimes in the form of a salad, and one

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

side dish, such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, and french fries. Some common side dishes include: Pleskavitsa

Asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus '' Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified ...

* Baked beans * Baked potatoes * Broccoli * Cabbage * Cauliflower *

Coleslaw Coleslaw (from the Dutch term ''koolsla'' meaning 'cabbage salad'), also known as cole slaw, or simply as slaw, is a side dish consisting primarily of finely shredded raw cabbage with a salad dressing or condiment, commonly either vinaigrette ...

* Dinner rolls or other breads *

French fries French fries ( North American English), chips ( British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or '' allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France ...

or steak fries *

Green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedali ...

s *

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

* Macaroni salad * Macaroni and cheese * Mashed potatoes *

Mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s * Pasta salad * Potato salad * Salad (often a "side" salad) * Sautéed mushrooms * Squash *

Tater tots Tater tots are grated potatoes formed into small cylinders and deep-fried, often served as a side dish. The name "tater tot" is a registered trademark of the American frozen food company Ore-Ida, but is often used as a generic term. "Tater" ...

Some restaurants offer a limited selection of side dishes which are included with the price of the entrée as a combination meal. In contrast, sometimes side dishes are ordered separately from an a la carte menu. The term may or may not imply that the dish can only be ordered with other food.

are a common side dish served at fast-food restaurants and other American cuisine restaurants. In response to criticism about the high fat and

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of ...

content of French fries, some fast-food chains offer other side dishes, such as salads, as substitutes for the standard French fries with their combination meals.

"On the side"

The related phrase on the side may be synonymous with "side dish" – as in "French fries on the side" – or may refer to a complimentary

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separat ...

served in a separate dish. For example, a diner may request a salad be served with its dressing "on the side".

References

External links

Wikibooks Cookbook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Side Dish Food and drink terminology Serving and dining

Common types

"On the side"

See also

References

Further reading

External links