C

cabanossi - A salami-like type sausage. It is usuall made of pork and beef but there are chicken, duck and turkey versions.

cacciatore - (adjective) Italian word for hunter's style. Usually meat prepared in a tomato sauce, with herbs and other seasoning; often with mushrooms.

cajeta - is a Mexican confection usually made of sweetened caramelised goat's milk - or half goat's, half cow's milk. It has a similar taste to dulce de leche but it is not so thick. Typically used to accompny desserts.

cake - name - A sweet baked dessert, typically made from ingredients like flour, sugar, and eggs, often layered or frosted, and served on special occasions or as a treat.

A pizza calzone is folded over in a similar fashion to Cornish pasties or Spanish empanadillas.

candy - name -A sweet confectionery treat typically made from sugar or syrup along with flavorings, often formed into small pieces, individually wrapped most of the times.

caviar - Sturgeon eggs preserved in salt. Caviar comes in many grades and types. Real caviar is rare and there are many substitutes.

cellar  - name - a storage room beneath ground level; basement; cave. Usually cooler than the main floors and used for long term storage of wines and non-perishable food, or short term storage of food.

cereal - name, type of food - Grain, seed of verious types of grass, each of the foods produced from those different types of grass, like the popular breakfast food made from processed grains, often eaten in a bowl with milk, or used as an ingredient in baking or snack foods.

cheese - name, type of food - A solidified, often ripened, form of curds from soured milk, produced in a variety of flavors, textures, and forms through the coagulation of the milk protein casein, often aged for flavor development.

chickpeas, garbanzo beans - Round, beanlike seeds of a plant that is grown for food. Very popular in India, the Middle East, and Spain.

chai - The Indian name for tea.

chapati - A type of Indian flatbread, usually made with whole wheat flour and grilled or fried.

charmoula - A Middle Eastern marinade, and a Middle Eastern sauce, made of stewed onions flavored with vinegar, honey and ras el hanout spice mix.

chayote - A type of squash used in Latin American cooking. Chayote is has a pear shape and a taste similar to zucchini. Cook as you would zucchini or any summer squash. Chayote can also be eaten raw.

chile, chili, chilli - Any fruit of the Capsicum family (peppers) that is piquant, from mildly hot to scorching. Chili peppers are usually on the small side.

chili paste - A spicy Asian condiment. Typical ingredients are red chili peppers, garlic, vinegar, and salt but they may vary. Use chili paste to season sauces, soups, and marinades.

chitlins, chitterlings - The small intestines of freshly slaughtered hogs. They are simmered until tender and, once boiled, they may be used in soups, or covered in batter and fried.

chomp - eating verb, informal - chew or bite hard and making a lot of noise noise; eat.

chow - name, informal - food.;

chuck - Slang for food.

chutney - Indian sauce that is made from fruit, vinegar, sugar, and spices, cooked slowly until soft.

cider - A drink made usually from pressed apples where the juice is fermented producing an alcoholic drink. You may find places where this definition applies to "hard cider" while "cider" is just apple juice and it is not alcoholic. There is also pear cider.

cilantro - Frehs coriander leaf; also called Chinese, Thai, or Mexican parsley.

clotted cream - A dairy product made by heating shallow pans of milk to near 82°C, holding them at this temperature for about an hour and then skimming off the yellow wrinkled cream crust that forms - minimum 55% fat. Traditionally served with tea and scones in England.

comestibles - Food, ecible items, items of food that are fit to be eaten.

conch - A mollusc gasteropod - genus strombus - common in the Caribbean islands such as Turks and Caicos, Trinidad, or Jamaica. One conch steak typically weighs about 1/5 to 1/3 lb. These steaks are taken home, beaten with a device, such as a rolling pin, to tenderize, and then cubed for conch salad or conch fritters.

condiments - Edible substances we add to othre foods to enhance their flavor. Condiments range from simple seasonings such as salt and pepper to a more elaborate relish such as mustard or ketchup.

cookie - name, type of food - A small, sweet baked cake, often containing ingredients such as flour, sugar, and some type of oil or fat.

cornstarch, cornflour - A starch usually. made from corn used to thicken sauces.

cornmeal - Ground corn, ground maize.

consume - eating verb - eat or drink, used especially when eating or drinking large amounts.

couscous - A type of pasta made of semolina flour in the shape of tiny cillynders popular in North African cuisine. Typically steamed over a casserole, but there are pre-cooked variteis that take about 5 minutes to be ready. Couscous on its own has a nutty flavor, with an interesting texture as long as it is not over cooked, but it can be seasoned in many different ways.

cracker - name, type of food - A thin, crisp, often unleavened piece of bread, typically used as a vehicle for cheese, dips or other toppings.

cram - eating verb - stuff oneself or something with food.

crème fraîche - French tangy, thick cream, similar in taste and texture to sour cream. The cream is not pasteurized, containing bacteria that thickens it naturally. Crème fraîche is used in sauces and soups because it can be boiled without breaking, unlike sour cream.

cuisine - The foods of a particular country or region. The way those foods are prepared.

cut - name, type of food - Refers to a specific portion of an animal's flesh that has been separated from the whole carcass as one piece, often named according to the part of the body from which it was taken.