1
Achacha
A small Bolivian rainforest fruit related to mangosteen — bright orange-red skin enclosing white, juicy, sweet-tart flesh with the citrus-tropical fragrance of its family.
If you've been searching for foods that start with A, you'll find 18 detailed foods below. We're not interested in giving you only a list of names — every entry on this page links to a full profile with the kind of detail you'd actually want to know.
For foods, that means origin, cuisine, meal type, ingredients, and nutrition.
List of Foods That Start With A
2
Adzuki Beans
A small, deep-red East Asian legume sweetened into a paste (*anko*) that fills mochi, daifuku, and dorayaki — and the secret sweet ingredient in Japanese desserts everywhere.
3
Agar-Agar
A vegetarian gelling agent extracted from red algae, used in East Asian desserts and as a vegan substitute for animal-derived gelatin in jellies, custards, and mousses.
4
Agave Syrup
A liquid sweetener pressed from the core of the blue agave plant, marketed as a natural alternative to honey and sugar — sweeter than table sugar, with a low glycemic index but high fructose content.
5
Ajowan Seed
A small, peppery, thyme-scented seed essential to South Asian breads and pickles — chemically the most thymol-rich spice, sharper than oregano and crucial to lentil dishes.
6
Albacore Tuna
A large, fast-swimming open-ocean tuna with notably pale flesh, sold as "white tuna" in cans and "shiro maguro" in sushi bars — a leaner, milder alternative to other tunas.
7
Alfalfa Sprouts
Tender, threadlike sprouts of the alfalfa legume — fresh, mildly nutty, and mostly used raw in sandwiches and salads, despite occasional safety concerns about raw sprouts.
8
Allspice
A single dried berry from a Caribbean tree whose flavor combines cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in one — central to Jamaican jerk seasoning, Middle Eastern stews, and pickling spice blends.
9
Almond Oil
A pale, lightly nutty oil pressed from almonds — used both as a delicate finishing oil in Mediterranean cooking and as a skin-moisturizing carrier oil in cosmetics.
10
Almonds
The seed of a small Mediterranean tree related to peaches and apricots, eaten raw, roasted, in baking, and processed into milk, flour, oil, and the famous Sicilian marzipan.
11
Amaranth
An ancient pseudocereal seed that was a staple of the Aztec Empire, packed with complete protein and gluten-free, popped like popcorn or simmered into porridge.
12
Amchur Powder
Indian dried green-mango powder — a tangy, slightly sweet souring agent used in chaat, samosa fillings, and dry-spice blends where lemon juice would water down the texture.
13
Anchovies
Small saltwater fish cured in salt for months and packed in oil, prized for the deep umami punch a few fillets add to sauces, dressings, and Mediterranean cooking.
14
Aniseed
A small grayish seed from a Mediterranean herb in the parsley family, with a sweet licorice flavor — the foundational spice of pastis, ouzo, sambuca, and Christmas baking.
15
Annatto Seed
A small brick-red seed from a tropical American shrub — the source of bright orange-red food coloring in cheddar cheese, chorizo, and Filipino kare-kare, with a mild peppery-nutty flavor.
16
Apple Crumble
Britain's most beloved home-baked dessert — sharp cooking apples underneath a buttery, sandy rubble of flour, butter, and sugar, baked until the fruit is soft and bubbling and the topping is golden and crisp; simple, forgiving, and deeply satisfying; endlessly variable in fruit filling, and nearly always served with custard, cream, or vanilla ice cream.
17
Apple Pie
A classic baked dessert of spiced apple slices in a flaky pastry crust, deeply rooted in American comfort food but with European origins.
18
Avocado Toast
Mashed avocado on toasted bread — a 2010s breakfast phenomenon that became a generational cliche, but rooted in much older Australian café cooking and Mexican peasant food.
About foods starting with A
That's our current list of foods starting with the letter A. We add new entries every week — if you have a favorite food starting with A that isn't on this page, let us know and we'll write it up.
Looking for more? Try foods that end with A, or contain A anywhere in the name.