The term “appetizer” can refer to the main course or a dish that precedes it, depending on the language used. In American English, the appetizer has become the main course, while in French and British English, it remains a light course before the main dish. Main entrees now include meatless options and vegetarian and vegan options are becoming more common.
A main appetizer is essentially the same thing as a main course served at dinner or other large, multi-course meal. By itself, however, the term “appetizer” can refer to the main course or a dish that precedes the main course, depending on whether the speaker is using American English, British English, or French. The appetizer has become the main course of American English due to centuries of evolving food trends. Main entrees originally consisted of meat dishes, but modern day menus can also include salads and other meatless options.
The term “antipasto” originated in France around 1555. It came from a term meaning “entrance” and entrée was served with great fanfare at the beginning of a many-course meal. Over the next century, however, the order of an extravagant French meal changed. The appetizer, a dish usually consisting of hot beef, pork, or lamb, was served after the soup and hors d’oeuvres but before the main or final course.
English usage of the term “appetizer” dates back to the late 1750s. By the 1800s, both British and American usage of the term referred to the third course of a meal, after soup and fish but before the main course, as in french menu. This course usually consisted of some type of beef, pork or lamb also in English usage.
After World War I, preparations for formal meals changed. Meals in general included fewer extravagant meat courses than in the past. In American English, the appetizer has reclaimed its current place as a main or final course, wearing the title of “main entrée” in the process. Chicken and fish have become entree options, along with the standard beef, pork, and lamb options of yesteryear. In English French and English, however, “appetizer” or “antipasto” continues to refer to a light course, consisting of egg or fish, served near the beginning of a meal and before the main course.
For formal and semi-formal dining, a main entrée includes both a main course and one or more side dishes. The main course typically consists of meat, poultry or fish, while the side dish may include a grain or starch – such as potatoes, rice or noodles – along with a cooked vegetable or fruit. A main course entree of a single dish combines meat, vegetables and grain usually served separately in a dish. Restaurants might offer lasagna, spaghetti, or many other Italian-style pasta dishes as main options. Less formal restaurants and semi-formal or casual dinners may also offer home fries, hearty stews, and large dinner salads as main entrees.
As vegetarian and vegan lifestyles become more common, many restaurants and diners offer a greater selection of meatless main entrees. Some vegetarian entrees are meatless versions of dishes that typically contain meat, such as meatless dinner salads and French fries that substitute tofu in place of chicken, beef, or pork. Other dishes that are naturally meatless, such as eggplant parmesan, may also qualify as vegetarian entrees.
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