Foods that start with C

List of Foods That Start With C

1

Cacao

The fermented seed of a Mesoamerican rainforest tree — the raw material that becomes chocolate, prized by the Aztecs as currency and a sacred drink long before Europeans encountered it.

2

Cake

A baked sweet dessert centered on flour, sugar, eggs, and fat — the broadest dessert category in world cuisine, with hundreds of regional traditions from Japanese castella to American birthday cakes.

3

Calamari

Squid prepared as food, most often coated in batter and deep-fried into golden rings — a Mediterranean fishmonger's mainstay that has gone global as a bar appetizer.

4

Calzone

A folded Neapolitan pizza — the same leavened dough as pizza, sealed around a filling of ricotta, mozzarella, cured meats, and sometimes tomato sauce, then baked until puffed and charred.

5

Camembert

A small, soft, bloomy-rind cow's-milk cheese from Normandy with a velvety white crust and an oozing pale-yellow interior — younger and earthier than Brie but the same cheese family.

6

Camomile

A gentle herbal infusion brewed from the dried flowers of the chamomile plant, prized for centuries as a calming bedtime tea and a mild digestive remedy.

7

Candle Nut

A large, waxy, oil-rich nut from a tropical tree, essential to Indonesian and Malaysian cooking as a creamy thickener for curries and spice pastes — toxic when raw, safe when cooked.

8

Canned Salmon

Wild-caught Pacific salmon preserved in cans — a convenient, shelf-stable source of complete protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and calcium-rich edible bones, long a staple of budget-conscious and health-aware households.

9

Cannellini Beans

A large, white, kidney-shaped Italian bean — creamy when cooked and central to Tuscan cooking, especially the slow-simmered soups *ribollita* and *pasta e fagioli*.

10

Cannoli

Sicily's defining pastry — crisp fried pastry tubes filled with sweetened sheep's-milk ricotta, studded with candied orange peel or chocolate chips, served at every Sicilian celebration.

11

Canola Oil

A neutral, high-smoke-point cooking oil pressed from a Canadian-bred variety of rapeseed — one of the most-used oils in North American kitchens and food processing.

12

Capers

The pickled flower buds of a Mediterranean caper bush, brining and salting transforming them into briny, lemony bursts that brighten chicken piccata, pasta puttanesca, and bagels with smoked salmon.

13

Carambola

A glossy yellow tropical fruit that produces five-pointed star slices when cut crosswise — Southeast Asian in origin, sweet-tart, and the source of the alternate name "star fruit."

14

Carbonara

Rome's iconic pasta made with guanciale, eggs, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper — no cream, no onion, no garlic; the sauce is an emulsification of egg and fat achieved off the heat.

15

Cassoulet

Languedoc's monumental slow-baked casserole of white beans with confit duck, Toulouse sausage, and pork — named after the earthenware *cassole* it cooks in; subject of fierce regional rivalry.

16

Ceviche

Raw fish "cooked" by citrus acid — a South American technique of marinating fresh fish in lime juice with chilli, onion, and coriander; the national dish of Peru.

17

Challah

Enriched Jewish braided bread — a Shabbat and holiday loaf made with eggs, oil, and a touch of honey, with a characteristic plaited shape and glossy egg-wash crust.

18

Cheese

A fermented dairy product made by curdling milk and pressing the solids — over 1,800 named varieties globally, with traditions stretching from 7,000-year-old Polish cheese-making sites to modern industrial cheddars.

19

Chelsea Bun

A sticky, spiral-rolled sweet bun from London's Chelsea — a rich yeast dough rolled with butter, brown sugar, and mixed dried fruit, cut into spirals, baked in a close-packed tin so the sides rise together, then glazed with a syrup or fondant while still hot; a London street food classic dating from the early 18th century, when the Chelsea Bun House attracted crowds of thousands.

20

Chocolate

Roasted and ground cacao beans transformed into bars, candies, and beverages — originally a bitter Mesoamerican ceremonial drink, now a $130+ billion global industry.

21

Christmas Pudding

The great British festive dessert — a dense, dark steamed pudding made months in advance with dried fruit, suet, black treacle, spices, and stout or brandy; served flaming with brandy on Christmas Day; traditionally made on Stir-up Sunday (the last Sunday before Advent) and steamed for hours until almost black; often contains hidden silver coins for good luck.

22

Churros

Spanish deep-fried choux-dough pastry sticks — extruded through a star-shaped nozzle to create ridged cylinders, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and dipped in thick hot chocolate.

23

Ciabatta

A rustic Italian white bread with an open, holey crumb and crisp crust — invented in 1982 in Verona as an Italian answer to the baguette, now one of the most widely eaten breads in the world.

24

Clafoutis

A rustic French baked dessert from the Limousin region — black cherries baked in a thick, eggy batter that puffs up in the oven to a soft, custardy, pancake-like consistency; simple and quick to make, it is the definitive home dessert of southwest France; purists insist the cherries must remain unpitted to preserve their flavour, the almond-like note from the kernel infusing the batter.

25

Clotted Cream

The richest cream in the British repertoire — thick, pale gold, slightly granular, with a minimum 55% fat content; made by heating unpasteurised or pasteurised cream in wide shallow pans until the surface forms a characteristic golden crust; associated above all with Devon and Cornwall, where it is the essential accompaniment to scones in a cream tea; clotted cream from Devon has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status.

26

Coronation Chicken

A cold chicken dish in a lightly curried, sweet mayonnaise sauce, created specifically for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation luncheon in 1953 — soft-cooked chicken mixed with a sauce of mayonnaise, cream, curry powder, mango chutney, and dried apricots; a staple of British supermarket shelves, sandwich fillings, and party buffets for over 70 years.

27

Cottage Pie

Britain's most comforting baked dish — a rich minced beef and vegetable filling in a thick gravy, topped with a layer of creamy mashed potato and baked until the surface is golden and crisp; the word "cottage" refers to the humble rural home it was associated with, and "shepherd's pie" is the lamb version.

28

Couscous

Tiny semolina granules steamed to light fluffiness — the staple grain of North Africa, traditionally steamed over a slow-cooked stew in a couscoussier and served with lamb, vegetables, and harissa.

29

Crème Brûlée

The classic French custard dessert with a burnt caramel top — a rich, silky vanilla-infused cream set to a barely trembling consistency, covered with a thin layer of caster sugar that is caramelised under a grill or with a blowtorch to form a brittle, shattering golden disc; the moment of cracking the caramel top with a spoon is one of the small pleasures of restaurant dining.

30

Crepes

Thin, lacy French pancakes cooked on a flat griddle and folded around sweet or savory fillings — a Breton specialty turned global street food.

31

Croissant

A French laminated pastry of butter folded into yeasted dough, baked into a flaky, crescent-shaped icon of the patisserie.

32

Croque-Monsieur

France's definitive hot sandwich — a grilled ham and cheese toastie topped with béchamel sauce and more cheese, then gratinéed until golden; add a fried egg on top and it becomes a croque-madame; a staple of French café menus since the early 20th century.

33

Crumpet

A uniquely British yeasted bread product — a thick, spongy disc riddled with hundreds of small holes that form during cooking on a griddle; the holes make crumpets perfect for absorbing butter, which melts through the holes from the top surface; a winter breakfast comfort food inseparable from British tea culture.

34

Curry

A broad family of saucy, spice-driven dishes from South and Southeast Asia, now globally adopted, built on aromatic spice blends specific to each region.

35

Custard

The great British pouring sauce and dessert base — custard ranges from thin, pourable sauce through thick pastry cream to firm set dessert; in Britain, "custard" usually means the warm, pourable vanilla sauce poured generously over pies, crumbles, and puddings; made either from eggs and cream (real custard) or from custard powder and milk (the British standby invented by Alfred Bird in 1837 for his egg-allergic wife).