Drink

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Part of the Meals series
Common meals
Breakfast · Brunch · Lunch · Tea · Dinner · Supper
Components & courses
Amuse-bouche · Appetizer · Cheese · Dessert · Drink · Entrée · Entremet · Fruit · Main course · Nuts · Salad · Side dish
Related concepts
Banquet · Buffet · Cuisine · Eating · Etiquette · Food

A drink, or beverage, is a liquid which is specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to filling a basic human need, beverages form part of the culture of human society.

Contents

Types of beverage

A carbonated beverage.

Water

Main article: Drinking water

Despite the fact that all beverages contain water, water itself is not classed as a beverage. The word beverage has traditionally been defined as not referring to water.

Alcoholic beverages

Main article: Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol, commonly known as alcohol (although in chemistry the definition of “alcohol” includes many other compounds).

Beer has been a part of human culture for 8,000 years.[1] In Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and many other European countries, drinking beer (and other alcoholic beverages) in a local bar or pub is a cultural tradition.[2]

Non-alcoholic beverages

Non-alcoholic beverages are drinks that usually contain alcohol, such as beer and wine, but contain less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. This category includes low-alcohol beer, non-alcoholic wine, and apple cider.

Soft drinks

Orange juice is usually served cold.
Main article: Soft drink

The name "soft drink" specifies a lack of alcohol by way of contrast to the term "hard drink" and the term "drink", the latter of which is nominally neutral but often carries connotations of alcoholic content. Beverages like colas, sparkling water, iced tea, lemonade, squash, and fruit punch are among the most common types of soft drinks, while hot chocolate, hot tea, coffee, milk, tap water, alcohol, and milkshakes do not fall into this classification. Many carbonated soft drinks are optionally available in versions sweetened with sugars or with non-caloric sweeteners.

Fruit juices and drinks

Most fruit juices and drinks are purely natural products with no or little additives therein. Citrus products such as orange and tangerine juices are very familiar breakfast or "anytime" beverages. Grapefruit juices, pineapple, apple, grape, lime and lemon are all familiar products. Coconut water is a highly nutritious and refreshing juice. Many berries are crushed and their juices mixed with water and sometimes sweetened. Raspberry, blackberry and currants are often popular juices drinks but the percentage of water also determines their nutritive value. Juices were probably humankind's earliest drinks besides water. Grapes juice that was allowed to ferment produced the alcoholic drink wine.

Fruits are highly perishable and so the ability to create juices and store them was of significant value. Some fruits are highly acidic and mixing them with additional water and sugars or honey was often necessary to make them palatable. Early storage of fruit juices was labor intensive, requiring the crushing of the fruits and the mixing of the resulting pure juices with sugars before bottling and capping them.

Orange juice and coconut water remain by far the most highly consumed juices on the market and are there because of their valuable nutrients and hydration abilities.

Hot beverages

A cup of coffee.

A hot beverage is any beverage which is normally served heated. This may be through the addition of a heated liquid, such as water or milk, or by directly heating the beverage itself. Some examples of hot beverages are:

Miscellanea

Masala buttermilk.

Some substances may be called either food or drink, and accordingly may be eaten with a spoon or drunk, depending upon their thickness and solutes.

Measurement

Unit UK US
fl. oz ml fl. oz ml
dash 1/48 0.592 1/48 0.616
teaspoon 1/8 3.55 1/6 4.93
tablespoon 1/2 14.2 1/2 14.8
fluid ounce or pony 1 28.413 1 29.574
shot, bar glass or jigger 3/2 42.6 3/2 44.4
can of Coke 11.6 330 12 330
pint 20 568 16 473
bottle of spirits 24.6 700 25.3 750
bottle of wine 26.4 750 25.3 750

See also

References

  1. ↑ Arnold, John P (2005). Origin and History of Beer and Brewing: From Prehistoric Times to the Beginning of Brewing Science and Technology (Reprint ed.). BeerBooks.com. 
  2. ↑ Hamill, Pete (1994). A Drinking Life: A Memoir. New York: Little, Brown and Company.