Merienda is a light meal in

southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

, particularly

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(''merenda'' in Galician, ''berenar'' in Catalan),

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

(''lanche'' or ''merenda'') and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(''merenda''), whence the word spread to

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

in, according to dictionaries, the Venetian dialectal format ''marenda'', and was popularised throughout all of former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

as an official snack in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

, as well as

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(''goûter''),

Hispanic America Hispanic America ( or ), historically known as Spanish America () or Castile (historical region), Castilian America (), is the Spanish-speaking countries and territories of the Americas. In all of these countries, Spanish language, Spanish is th ...

the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

(''meryenda''/''merienda''),

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(''lanche'' or ''merenda''). Usually taken in the afternoon or for

brunch Brunch is a meal, often accompanied by "signature morning cocktails" such as mimosas, bloody marys, espresso martinis, and bellinis, taken sometime in the late morning or early afternoon – the universally accepted time is 11am-2pm, though mod ...

, it fills in the meal gap between the noontime meal and the evening meal, being the equivalent of

afternoon tea Tea is an umbrella term for several different meals consisting of food accompanied by tea to drink. The English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of various kinds an ...

in the English-speaking world, or between breakfast and lunch. It is a simple meal that often consists of a piece of fruit, bread, biscuits, yogurt, and other

snack A snack is a small portion of Human food, food generally Eating, eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including Food packaging, packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at ho ...

s accompanied by fruit juice, milk, hot chocolate, coffee, spirits, or other beverages. It is typical for

Argentines Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Paraguayans Paraguayans () are the citizens of Paraguay. Though the majority of Paraguayans reside in Paraguay, significant communities have been established in multiple countries, most noticeably Argentina, Spain, United States, Brazil. History The first ...

, and

Uruguayans Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...

to have merienda around 5:00 pm, between the midday meal and

supper Supper is used commonly as the term for the main evening meal, although its use varies considerably. Supper may be used to describe a snack or light meal in the evening, either after or instead of dinner. Etymology The term is derived from th ...

. It generally consists of an infusion (e.g.,

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

mate Mate may refer to: Science * Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in: ** Mate choice, intersexual selection *** Mate choice in humans ** Mating * Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins Pers ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

mate cocido ''Dicionário escolar da língua portuguesa/Academia Brasileira de Letras''. 2ª edição. São Paulo. Companhia Editora Nacional. 2008. p. 295. (, 'boiled maté', or just in Corrientes Province), (, 'maté tea'), (), or ( Cuyo, Argentina) ...

, etc.) and a baked snack (e.g.,

scones A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

, toasts,

cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

facturas A Danish pastry (sometimes shortened to danish; , ) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the '' viennoiserie'' tradition. Like other ''viennoiserie'' pastries, such as croissants, it is a variant of puff pastry made of laminated yeast-le ...

, etc.), usually accompanied with

dulce de leche ''Dulce de leche'' (), caramelized milk, milk candy, or milk jam is a confection commonly consumed after slowly heating sugar and milk over several hours. The substance takes on a spreadable, sauce-like consistency and derives its rich flavour ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

. In the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, ''

merienda Merienda is a light meal in southern Europe, particularly Spain (''merenda'' in Galician, ''berenar'' in Catalan), Portugal (''lanche'' or ''merenda'') and Italy (''merenda''), whence the word spread to Serbo-Croatian in, according to dictiona ...

'' ( Filipino: ''meryenda'') is a generic term encompassing two light meals: the first is a morning snack that may correspond to either

elevenses Elevenses () is a short break taken at around 11:00a.m. to consume a drink or snack. The names and details vary among countries. Regional variations Australia and New Zealand Australia and New Zealand have "morning tea" that occurs at approxi ...

, or

second breakfast Second breakfast (; ; ; ) is a meal eaten after breakfast, but before lunch. It is a traditional meal in Bavaria, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. In Bavaria and Poland, special dishes are made exclusively to be eaten during second breakfast. In Vi ...

; the second one is the equivalent of

. ''Merienda'' taken in the early evening around sunset just before or in place of dinner is meanwhile distinctly referred to as ''merienda cena''. Generally speaking, ''merienda'' refers to any kind of dish or snack in a portion smaller than the traditional "full meal" consisting of rice and a complementary viand (unless the ''merienda'' is taken as brunch or ''merienda cena''), coupled with either a cool or hot drink (usually coffee). Common fare may be sweet or savoury, ranging from breads and pastries (notably ''

pandesal Pandesal, also written as pan de sal (, lit. "salt bread"), is a staple bread roll in the Philippines commonly eaten for breakfast. It is made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt. Description ''Pandesal'' is a popular yeast-raised bread in th ...

''), desserts and sweets, street food, to noodle dishes. In coastal parts of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and on the Greek island of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, it is referred to ''marenda'', a meal eaten between breakfast and lunch. Usually it is a light snack, like sandwiches or toast, eaten during a work break.

''Goûter''

In France, the merienda is called ''goûter'' or ''quatre-heures''; the latter name refers to its timing at around four in the afternoon. The modern ''goûter'' is lighter than a full meal and is more often consumed by children than by adults. It was a full cold meal until the 18th century, before which the ''goûter'' was taken at around 17:00 hours, but began to decline in popularity thereafter, since the evening meal was consumed at about 18:00 hours.

References

{{Meals navbox Argentine cuisine Brazilian cuisine Latin American cuisine Filipino cuisine Moroccan cuisine French cuisine Spanish cuisine Portuguese cuisine Andorran cuisine Italian cuisine Greek cuisine Croatian cuisine Serbian cuisine Slovenian cuisine Polish cuisine Meals

''Goûter''

See also

References