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 A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée ("entry") course. Typically, the main course is the meal that is the heaviest, heartiest, and most intricate or substantial o ...

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 and couscous have grown to be quite popular throughout Europe, especially at formal occasions (with couscous appearing more commonly at

dinner parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

with Middle Eastern dishes). When used as an adjective 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 * Baked beans * Baked potatoes * Broccoli *

Cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

Cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species ''Brassica oleracea'' in the genus ''Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – the ...

* Coleslaw * Dinner rolls or other

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

s *

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. Th ...

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. ''sesquipedalis ...

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 * Mushrooms * Pasta salad * Potato salad * Salad (often a "side" salad) * Sautéed mushrooms * Squash * Tater tots 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 restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

s and other American cuisine

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s. 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 on ...

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 A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with "side dish" – as in "French fries on the side" – or may refer to a complimentary sauce or condiment 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