Finger Food

Fingerfood Recipes for your Party Salsa Dips Mexican Food

Finger food is food meant to be eaten directly using the hands in contrast to food eaten with a knife and fork chopsticks or other utensils In some cultures food is almost always eaten with the hands for example Ethiopian cuisine is eaten by rolling various dishes up in injera bread In the South Asian subcontinent food is traditionally always eaten with hands Foods considered street foods are frequently though not exclusively finger foods

In the Western world finger foods are often either appetizers hors d'oeuvres or entreemain course items In the Western world examples of generally accepted finger food are miniature meat pies sausage rolls sausages on sticks cheese and olives on sticks chicken drumsticks or wings spring rolls miniature quiches samosas sandwiches Merenda or other such based foods such as pitas or items in buns bhajjis potato wedges vol au vents several other such small items and risotto balls arancini Other wellknown foods that are generally eaten with the hands include burger pizza hot dogs fruit and bread Dessert items such as cookies pastries ice cream in cones or ice pops are often eaten with the hands but are not in common parlance considered finger foods In East Asia foods like pancakes or flatbreads and street foods such as chuan also pronounced chuan are often eaten with the hands

In many Western countries there are catering businesses that supply finger foods for events such as weddings engagements birthdays and other milestone celebrations For weddings in particular finger foods are becoming more popular because they are less expensive and offer more flexibility with menu choicescitation needed Gourmet hors d'oeuvres such as quiches pt caviar and tea sandwiches are suitable for a formal event whereas more familiar food such as sliced fruits deli trays crackers and cookies are preferred at more casual celebrations