From pok choi to pork, here is an alphabetical challenge of foods starting with P that you will love. Not only will you find resources for building that evasive recipe for brewing that authentic port that you like to warm your evening blues with, but you will also find on this list the reason we call it a Parmesan cheese instead of just a Parma. So many foods, whole, fresh and prepared in one place, all packed with good nutritional value!
Let’s start with a summary:
Fruits: Papaya, Passion Fruit, PawPaw, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, Pink Lady, Plantains, Plum, Pomegranate, Prickly Pear.
Vegetables: Pak Choi, Patty Pan Squash,Persian Melon, Plum Tomatoes, Potatoes, Pumpkin.
Grains: Pearl Millet, Proso Millet.
Legumes: Peas, Pigeon Pea.
Meat: Pancetta, Parma Ham, Partridge, Pheasant, Pork.
Seafood: Perch, Periwinkle, Pike, Pilchard, Plaice, Pollock, Prawns.
Dairy: Paneer, Parmesan, Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
Nuts and Seeds: Peanuts, Pecan, Pine Nuts.
Oils and Fats: Peanut Butter.
Sweets and Desserts: Pancakes, Pasta, Pastry, Patty, Pavlova, Pie, Pierogi, Pizza, Pretzels.
Beverages: Peppermint Tea, Pepsi, Pimm’s, Pina Colada, Pink Lemonade, Porridge, Port.
Herbs and Spices: Paprika, Parsley, Peppercorns, Peppermint, Peppers, Pickles, Pimento, Pine Mushrooms, Poppy Seeds.
Prepared/Cooked: Paella, Pasty, Peking Duck, Phaletshe, Pilaf/Pilau, Poached Eggs.
Fruits that start with P
From that savory chewy bite of a plum to that crunchy crispiness of a pear, here is a fruity progress through fruits that start with the letter P.
1. Papaya
Papaya or pawpaw is a nutritious fruit that was first grown in parts of southern Mexico. The whole country still sometimes produces nearly half of the global supplies of the fruit. It is a highly succulent fruit that is usually green-skinned when immature, which ripens into a greenish-yellow tinge. The papaya’s delicious, sweet flesh is soft in texture and a rich orange-yellow in hue.
In terms of nutrition, a papaya provides the following portions of various nutrients:
- 157 percent of the daily value of Vitamin C for combating diseases.
- 3 grams protein, 15 grams carbs and 59 calories.
Related: Mexico papaya market insights.
2. Passion Fruit
Passion fruits belong to the genus Passiflora and are of different types, each containing numerous edible seeds and a sticky pulp inside. In aspect, passion fruits are round or oval and are small-sized, measuring 1.5 to 3 inches across. Their skin tinges range from purple to yellow and even green and red.
Sweet with slightly sour nuances, passion fruits are quite savory. In health, the seeds and pulp are packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, especially calcium.
3. PawPaw
Pawpaw is another name for papaya but it also often describes a particular papaya strain known as the American pawpaw. Scientifically known as Asimina triloba, this is a small deciduous succulent that thrives in the eastern parts of the US. Like other papayas, it is a juicy fruit that is usually green-skinned when immature, which ripens into a greenish-yellow tinge. The seeds are quite large compared to those of other papayas.
In terms of nutrition, an American pawpaw provides the following major nutrient:
- 22 percent of the daily value of Vitamin C for combating diseases.
More resources: pawpaw prices in the US.
4. Peach
Sometimes loosely called a nectarine, a peach is a stone fruit with a round, bright-colored skin, native to the eastern parts of China. The skin is flushed a pinkish-yellow tinge when ripe. Often associated with love and romance in popular culture, a peach is nevertheless a healthy fruit: it is lush with vitamin A for good eyesight and cancer protection. It also has minerals such as iron and potassium, with the latter being important for fluid circulation in the body. So, the next time you bite into the mushy texture of a ripe peach, you will be relishing health.
5. Pear
A pear is a pomaceous kind of fruit, which means one with a pulp with little moisture in it. It is a member of the sub-family pomoideae which is in the rose family. The fruit is shapely with a rounded oval shape, sometimes espousing a pointed end. It has a tough epidermis, crisp white flesh and a core bearing a few seeds.
Though it gives the same minerals and vitamins as an apple, a pear has high sugar content at 15 grams, but compensates with the rare mineral, copper.
6. Pineapple
Ananus comosus in scientific language, a pineapple is a pine fruit with a thick patterned membrane enclosing succulent sweet flesh. The fruit originated in South America. It has vine leaves, including the bunchy calyx on top of the shapely fruit.
With its high composition of juicy water, a pineapple not only refreshes but aids in digestion courtesy of its dietary fiber content. It also helps with fluid circulation, owing to its 4 percent potassium portion of the daily value. This sweet fruit also keeps arthritis at bay.
7. Pink Lady Apple
A 1973 cultivar, Pink Lady apple has near-smooth crimson finish under the lemon green overall tinge. It is actually a range of diverse apples in one cultivar, some of which are branded under this tempting name. Overall, the skin is red while the flesh is white and long to chew.
Like its older namesake, the lady apple, a Pink lady has a sweet yet tart taste while its texture is a little crisp. It has some little juicy content however with each bite.
Related: US apples market insights.
8. Plantains
Plantains, or platanos in the Spanish, is a term for Musa genus bananas that are meant for food preparation, hence the alternative name ‘cooking bananas.’ However, they ripen the same way as other bananas into an inviting yellow tinge and can be eaten as ripe fruits.
A plantain will usually be bigger than your typical banana and its skin will be thick. In content, a plantain is usually starchier and yet less sugary than bananas.
9. Plum
Called a prune in its dried form, a plum is a sweet small, round stone fruit from the Prunus domestica fruit tree. It has many varieties, including European, Japanese and Chinese variations. Plum as a term denotes the rich color of the fruit, usually a cloudy deep red in most varieties.
Here are some culinary pairings you can partake with plums and thus relish their 15 percent daily value of vitamin C:
- Nuts: almonds and hazelnuts
- Stone fruits: like peaches and nectarines
- Foods: like meat, ginger, vanilla and black pepper
10. Pomegranate
Colorful in a bright scarlet, pomegranates, whose diagrams are said to have been used to decorate the hems of Jewish elders in the Old Testament of the Bible, are berries of a shrub native to the Mediterranean. The fruit has much tannin content in its flesh and even its juice may have tinges of these compounds, making it taste a little bitter.
As eaten fruits, pomegranates ooze with a clear balance of sweet and sour tastes. This ranges from one bunch to the next. One bunch of berries may be high in acid, thus sour, while the other may be loaded with sugars, thus sugary.
11. Prickly Pear
Prickly pear is another term for opuntia or nopales, a sweet-tasting fruit of the cactus of the same name that is famous for its showy flowers and bright, pink succulent fruits. Prickly pear is the fruit rather than the fleshy pad of the Opuntia cacti species that thrive in Mexico and other quite dry parts of the tropics. In taste, the fruit has a sweet flavor, with a slightly tart aroma tinged with a hint of citrus. If you harvest the pads instead of fruits, you will also feel the milky, sticky texture that reminds you of okra even as you munch away at the crisp flesh.
Vegetables that start with P
Veggies exotic and veggies universal are all here in this list starting with the oriental favorite among cabbages, pak choi and ending with that king of the melons and gourds, the pumpkin, all starting with the letter P.
12. Pak Choi
With its distinctive vertical sprouting of leaves gathered together like a green bouquet, pak choi or Bok Choy strikes at first as both a spinach and cabbage. Its common name is actually Chinese cabbage. Pak choi is one of the more choice cabbages that comes from mainland China. It is one of the oldest edible vegetables, dating back to 3500 years along the Yangtze River drainage area. Its flat, leafy character helps it come as a go-between for those who prefer neither collards nor cabbage sauces as it falls snugly between these.
13. Patty Pan Squash
Not dissimilar in aspect to their funny name, patty pan squash are actually shaped in a round, shallow, shape that you might associate with a bread on a pan. They also have some dents on their edges that might make you think of a growing flying object.
Despite their looks, they are quite sumptuous treats, which you can roast with black pepper and a pinch of salt, with a few drops of olive oil to bring out their sweet zucchini-like taste to life.
14. Persian Melon
With their beautiful fluent gray-green skin with irregular yellowish netting, Persian melons are cantaloupe-lookalike melons. Their interior continues the fluent clarity of the exterior with the smooth yellow-orange flesh with a moist core. They have a buttery taste that oozes with a pleasantly-smelling waft.
15. Plum Tomatoes
Plum tomatoes or simply Roma tomatoes are big, ovoid types with bright red tint. They make for fleshier and more delicately tasting tomatoes than regular types. Besides, they have less seeds than regular tomatoes, while their low juice guarantees their inclusion in many recipes. They are the number one choice for most cooks for making sauces, ketchup as well as paste.
16. Potatoes
A tuber of the Solanum tuberosum plant, the potato is a starchy root vegetable that grows naturally in the Americas but is naturalized in most parts of the globe. It belongs to the same family of tomatoes-nightshade.
In culinary terms, potatoes are some of the basic food crops that you can engender in your meal in different forms, daily: from marble potatoes to French fries and baked food, this plump, compact-fleshed produce of the garden can also be roasted, steamed and boiled.
17. Pumpkin
Pumpkin is curcubita genus plant that is shaped like a round flattened drum, with an often slightly ribbed thick-rind bright-skinned body. This winter squash variety is playfully used in Halloween parties. It is also a common delicacy in American Thanksgiving’s melon pie parties. The plum, orange-fleshed fruit is more than a plaything, however, for it provides, among others, 15 percent vitamin C and 5 percent of the daily value of vitamin B6. You can use it to make vegetable pies and even pumpkin puree.
Grains that start with P
Who has not relished the satiating whole grain porridge made from pearl millet? Indeed, in this food journey featuring grains that start with P, you will get that rare trait right here!
18. Pearl Millet
Known for its pale green small grains, pearl millet ranks as the most cultivated millet cultivar globally. It is native to much of Africa, India and south Asia. In appearance, the grains-bearing plant is characterized with high flourishing, thin-stemmed grass that develops in tight tufts.
From time immemorial, foods made of whole or ground pearl millet have abounded, including porridge, dosa (flatbread), the upma breakfast meal and as a processed multigrain biscuit.
19. Proso Millet
As one of the oldest domesticated crops, proso millet or broomcorn millet, has existed as a cultivated grain for more than 10,000 years in the north of China. It is related to maize, sorghum and pearl millet.
Taken as porridge or other form, this golden yellow grain is highly nutritious, and contains Vitamins B6/b12 and niacin as well as zinc and amino acids. Its antioxidants are also useful for the body in the fight against cell inflammation.
Legumes that start wth P
Without mincing words, it suffices to say that legumes that start with the letter P are only two, peas and pigeon pea, but what a world of meaning the first one holds!
20. Peas
Peas are small edible seeds of legumes, usually green in color, protected in pods. They are protein-rich relatives of beans, lentils, peanuts and lentils. Taken while green and soft, green peas, as they are known at this immature stage are palatable and healthy: they brim with fiber, antioxidants and protein. When they are dry, they pass into the stage of pulses and are sometimes tinged a golden yellow.
21. Pigeon Pea
The pigeon pea is an important legume in the Fabaceae family of beans, with a high nutritional value. It has social-economic importance as it brings both good harvests and income for small-scale growers in the topics. It grows well in Africa, south Asia, Central America and other warmer climate regions.
In terms of nutrition, a cup of pigeon peas has:
- 44 percent protein content of the daily value
- 21 percent carbohydrates of the daily needs
- 39 percent potassium of the daily requirements
Related: pigeon peas market insights in South Africa
Meat that starts with P
The meat of birds such as partridges and pheasants walks hand in hand in one list with a meaty typicality such as pork in this list starting with the letter P.
22. Pancetta
Pancetta is cured belly meat of a pig which Italians often classify as salume in culinary terms, as it is a most common meaty garnish for pasta-and soup-based meals. Though pancetta and bacon come from the same pork cuts and the former is often called Italian bacon, they are slightly dissimilar. Pancetta is aged with salt, pimento and spices, then made into a roll. Side bacon, on the other hand, uses salting, smoking and slicing as its seasoning, curing and preparation methods, respectively.
23. Partridge
If you are looking for the most attentive and caring parents in the bird world, then a partridge, with its dotted plumage, medium-sized body and a large hatchery of eggs will be your right try. The female lays about 14 eggs, which it looks after with the help of the male till the chicks are hatched.
If you are more interested in the meat, you will find a partridge’s pale-fleshed meat as having a nuance of a chicken reared in the wild in terms of taste.
24. Pheasant
Pheasant is a bird that is native to Asia, characterized by a long tail. Males of the species are usually more colorful in plumage than their female counterparts.
As meat, pheasants taste the same as chicken, albeit with a drier texture with a gamey aroma. As such, they are a traditional delight for eating with bread sauce and vegetables. You can also do well eating roast pheasant with casserole.
25. Pork
Pork is the meat of pigs, domesticated animals that are also known officially as swine. Though an anathema in some cultures and religions, it is nevertheless considered the most commonly eaten meat globally. Its first recorded date of consumption goes back to 7000 years ago.
There are many parts of a pig from which pork is derived including the ribs, sides, loins, back, legs and shoulders. These produce ham, bacon and tenderloin cuts, which make fresh steak or are processed into sausage.
More resources: nutrition from belly pork.
Seafood that starts with P
Whether you are after a real fish like perch or you do not discriminate when it comes to crustaceans such as prawns, then enjoin us as we explore this list of seafood starting with P.
26. Perch
Perch is a widespread fish species that is loved worldwide as a sea game and a sumptuous seafood in one breath. It is of many types, ranging from the European perch to Yellow perch, Nile perch and others. Its most cherished quality, however is its nutritional make up, which provides the following daily value percentages:
- 36 percent cobalamin
- 10 percent calcium
- 6 percent iron
- 5 percent vitamin B6
- 2 percent vitamin C
27. Periwinkle
Sporting gills like fish, periwinkle is a strange sea snail. It is a tiny whelk in other words that lives in a shell. Like many sea molluscs, periwinkles are edible. They are cooked in their shells and served the same. To eat one, you lip the shells opening and suck the cooked flesh out. This seafood will spurt a rush of ocean fluids and will usually be of a delicate, sweet flavor.
28. Pike
Members of the genus Esox, pike, or officially Northern pike, is a small-to-medium predator fish of the northern hemisphere, including freshwater lakes. It thrives on other fish and smaller invertebrates. It weighs between 0.5 and 1.4 kg.
The taste of pike varies from one lake to another and even from one season to the next, given the fish’s carnivorous habits. You will, for example, find the taste muddy but tasty all the same during summer.
29. Pilchard
Sardinus pilchardus or pilchard is a name that describes mature sardines, which gain this name when they are large and of a certain age. In specific terms, certain classifications put pilchards as longer than 15 centimeters while sardines fall below that dimension.
In texture, pilchards are oily and bony. These two attributes contain healthy attributes, including the fact that their bones are rich in calcium as well as phosphorus, two sources of bone health in humans.
Resources: nutrition summary for dried sardines
30. Plaice
Found in seafood markets throughout the year, plaice are flatfish species that roam European, Canadian and American waters. They have bloated smallish bodies that look like inflated bows. They feature orange spots on their upper bodies, and have soft, delectable flesh that you can buy full or in fillet form. Though providing the same sea fare as cod, plaice has a more delicate aroma and lighter texture on the palate.
31. Pollock
Pollock is a fish of the North Atlantic ocean that is also known as Walleye pollock or Pacific Pollock. It ranks next to cods among the most fished sea creatures, owing to their white meat with flaky texture.
As seafood, pollock is considerably lean, which makes it a healthy source for protein and unsaturated fats. Eating the tasty fish also brings you a dose of phosphorus, selenium and Vitamin B12.
32. Prawns
Distinguished from other invertebrates for their rigid outer skin also known as exoskeletons, prawns are sea crustaceans boasting ten legs. Some countries such as the UK designate shrimps as simply prawns because they all move by swimming. Though not all are edible, many prawns are palatable and have been the subject of fishing for centuries.
When they are purchased raw, prawns are usually cold and bluish-gray in tinge and are usually referred to as ‘green prawns.’ Their taste is rather mild and buttery with little fishiness in their odor when cooked.
Dairy food products that start with P
From the classic south Asian milk curd called paneer to the street favorite in the West, the Philadelphia cream cheese, here is dairy like you’ve always wanted it. And it all starts with P.
33. Paneer
A milk curd made from acid-set cheese, paneer is an Indian and south Asian cheese derived from whole fat buffalo’s or cow’s milk. It is a popular ingredient of kadai paneer, a popular spicy milk and masala dish from India. The cheese is made without aging or melting: you just curdle whole milk with a lemonade acid from fruits or vegetables, with a common acidifying candidate being lemon juice.
34. Parmesan
A product of the dairy cattle of Parma and a neighboring province hence its name, Parmesan is a cured cheese with an aging duration of a year or more. It is hard and dry, and so many use it after grating the rind into small flakes.
You can try Parmesan via a number of culinary tickets including ground black pepper pasta, chicken with salad and veal, among other types.
35. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Philadelphia Cream Cheese is a branded type of cream cheese with a history of production going back to 1872. Most consumers today are familiar with the product as a baking or cooking agent since it is considered a very good quality. It is white-tinged and contains a soft creamy paste. It tastes mild with some subtle highlights of tangy flavor.
Nuts and Seeds that start with P
The salty or even sweet crunch of crisp nuts is undeniable. With this in mind, get read to know three classic nuts and seeds starting with the letter P!
36. Peanuts
Throughout the world, you will find people passing time anywhere while munching at roasted or raw nuts. In most probable cases, these are usually peanuts, which some call earth nuts and many others, groundnuts. They are leguminous plants with pods containing edible nuts that grow underground.
Though naturally enclosed in shell, most consumers sample peanuts shell-free in the form of a salted roast packed in retail sachets.
Related: US groundnuts (peanut) prices
37. Pecan
Often associated with the related hickory tree, pecans are the large, thick-walled nuts of the pecan tree. The pecan tree grows in many states and the nut is the state nut of such States as Alabama and California, while the tree is the first tree of Texas.
Pecans espouse a sweet nutty, buttery flavor that is difficult to forget. However, to get at the nut itself brings to light the vivid cliche ‘a hard nut to crack,’ which makes them rather expensive to buy. The shell is hard but once cracked it oozes with ready-to-eat crisp brown content.
38. Pine Nuts
Pine nuts are lozenge-shaped seeds of pine trees that also go by the terms pinoli and chilgoza, among other names. Though not all pine tree varieties provide edible nuts, a good number, 29 in fact, have palatable berries while the rest are just good for wood.
In texture and taste, pine nuts are crunchy, yet soft and have a nutty flavor that verges on the sweet. For some people with allergies, however, they may taste metallic, an after-taste that stays for days unabated.
Oils and Fats that start with P
The thing about oils and fats, such as those here that start with the alphabetical letter P, is that they make for great jellies, condiments and spreads for your morning toast.
39. Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is one of the more nutritious plant-based spreads, albeit a high-calorie type. It is prepared from crushed, dry-roasted groundnuts. These are then processed through a food processor to form a fine creamy powder. This paste, which you can use as margarine on your toast contains these key daily value percentages of nutrients:
Another item in this category is palm oil. You can check our updated prices across different countries, for example the palm oil price in Australia. If you are in the US, please check the palm oil prices in the United States.
Sweets and desserts that start with P
Get ready to eat your way through a classy set of sweet foods made of dough starting with the letter P as well as sauces and desserts. While at it, you will come across interesting etymological terms such as bretzel, the German origin of the classic biscuit, pretzel.
40. Pancakes
Pancakes are batter breads with a flat, round shape, made from grainy batter with or without eggs and dairy products. To make one, you need a heated pan that you anoint with oil, then lay the shaped dough on it until it is crisp. Some gourmets often sweeten their pancakes or add a measure of raw berries as topping.
41. Pasta
Pasta is a popular wheat-based food that is a mixture of wheat flour and water, thickened with eggs, then prepared by mostly baking. The dough is then shaped and cut into thin sheets. It is the basis of many popular delicacies in Italy and other countries. Some of the most popular pasta foods include noodles, which originated in Asia and spaghetti which are perhaps the most common pasta worldwide.
Macaroni in its part, is dry pasta made from durum wheat and cut into hollow, thin tubes. It can be straight or curved, with elbow macaroni used to highlight the elbow shape of curved pasta.
42. Pastry
Pastry describes dough made from fat, wheat flour and water which acts as a thin base or cover for sweet ingredients including cheese, meat, eggs or fruit.
When not describing a thin cover for stuffing other ingredients, a pastry is simply a whole baked food made of flour, water and shortening This blend can be sweet or savory, depending on the ingredients. If it is sweetened, a pastry turns into a confectionery or in specific terms, bakers’ confectionery.
43. Patty
A patty is made of ground meat, mostly beef, and other ingredients such as veggies and grains, a mixture that is then styled into magnificent circular shapes. It is essentially a burger which may not even go with a bun, a combination that makes a hamburger. How to make one?
- Keep the grill heating up and lightly oiled on the grate.
- Mix eggs, salt and pepper into a thick blend.
- Pour in the ready ground beef or other meat together with bread crumbs and do it with bare hands as you normally do dough.
- Shape this into patties of a few inches, heat them on the grill and once hot, eat them separately or enclosed in a bun.
44. Pavlova
Similar to a meringue, only that it comes short of it in terms of overall texture, which is dry for the former and soft for the latter, a pavlova is a Russian meringue cake deriving its name from the ballerina, Anna Pavlova. This baked good requires egg whites and a sweetener with wine vinegar, cream, fruit and flavoring such as strawberry or lemon. It has a crisp rind and a marshmallow chewy feel inside.
45. Pie
Similar to a dumpling, a pie refers to pastry dough filled with a delicious or sweet mishmash which is mostly baked. If a fruit ingredient is used then it becomes a pudding. There are several types of pies, including:
- Fruit pudding pies made of fruits enclosed in dough pastry and baked to a crisp delicacy.
- Meringue, cream or ice cream pies, whose main fillings are egg and dairy products.
- Custard is an open pie, basically a mixture of meats and fruits with egg thickening.
46. Pierogi
With an Asian origin but widely used in many regions of Europe, a pierogi is a rare treat made of dough that is boiled rather than baked! These dumplings are first prepared from stuffed dough with no leavening agents. Fillings can range from potatoes to cheese and sauerkraut to sweets. The stuffed dough is then steeped in boiling water and cooked that way. Minus the fat, you can expect just 52 calories in each ounce of the boiled goodie.
47. Pizza
Pizza is one of the best known fast foods of Italy, and is made of a round wheat flour dough base with a vegetable, cheese or other topping. This delicacy can be also small, in which case it goes by the name pizzetta.
Whether you are yearning for a pizza or pizzetta, you will definitely make one with the same ingredients, namely: olive oil, yeast, mozzarella cheese and a sweetener. You will add these ingredients to the dough before baking and then top the ridged flat base with chopped tomatoes and onions.
More resources: nutrition in cheese pizza.
48. Popcorn
Popcorn is the puffed up snack obtained from a variety of corn kernels that rises and expands when heated in oil. The hard kernel of maize with its starch-rich membrane releases some of its 14 to 20 percent moisture content which evaporates in a covered pot and helps the kernel expand.
Popcorns are generally salty foods but quite healthy otherwise. The grains provide these daily value percentages:
- 52 percent dietary fiber
- 30 percent magnesium
- 24 percent carbs
- 16 percent iron
- 15 percent vitamin B6
49. Pretzels
Made like twisting arms, which is essentially the origin of the German word ‘pretzel,’ as borrowed from the earlier Latin term, pretzels are pastries made from knot-shaped pieces of dough. They are snacks made by baking dough from wheat flour that has been immersed in an alkaline salt solution. The baked goods are then sprinkled with a pinch of Kosher salt and are often flavored. The reason for the alkaline dip is to keep down the dough from rising and hence the consistent chewy texture of this intestines-shaped baked goods.
Beverages that start with P
If your morning is not a morning without tea or your evening chills the heart without a liqueur, then belt up for this beverage ride motored by the letter P. Not only will your satiate your breakfast thirst with peppermint tea, but the evening thirst as well with port.
50. Peppermint Tea
Peppermint tea is an aromatic tea that is made from the infusion of leaves from the plant in boiling water. It is rather the same as that from spearmint leaves with a few flavor differences.
Peppermint tea is herbal, organically sweet and caffeine-free. Like other mint teas, it brings a roughly cooling feel on the tongue when taken as a hot beverage. You can also make a lemonade out of it: you just need to add a few leaves which you mix with hot water and lemon for extra flavoring.
51. Pepsi
Pepsi is a popular carbonated soft drink that began as Pepsi-Cola in 1893, a name that remained for decades. Best known today as the chief competitor of Coca-Cola, this drink got its current shortened name, Pepsi, in as late as 1961. Like most carbonated drinks, it is rather sugary and flavored. A can brings you 39 grams of sugar on average, meaning additional calories to your daily load of sweetened beverages. It is nevertheless a refreshing drink on a hot summer afternoon!
52. Pimm’s
Pimm’s is a high quality branded English gin with humble origins: In 1823, James Pimm, the son of a farmer, began serving a gin-quinine-spice mixture that could help his bar’s visitors digest and sleep well. This clandestine mixture eventually flourished into a public fruit cup drink that is known today as Pimm’s. It is 25% alcohol in total content with the rest fruit flavoring. Some consider it a liqueur or even the start of a full punch.
Flavors include:
- Orange caramel
- Citrus
- Herbal
- Lemonade
53. Pina Colada
If you are out to get tipsy but not enough to smash things around, then pina colada, a mixture of rum and coconut is the one drink for you. It is a combination of creamy coconut milk, rum, pineapple juice and a little water.
Pina colada is taken as an ice blend. You can have it with fruit wedges from a pineapple or a maraschino cherry. This is how they take it in Puerto Rico, where the fruity rum originated.
54. Pink Lemonade
Basically a lemon juice drink, only accented with new flavors, pink lemonade derives its name from the additional ingredients that lend it a pink tinge. To make the drink, you add strawberry and cranberry juice, among other fruity choices over the base lemon juice, then include a pinch of a scarlet food dye.
Another distinguishing feature of pink lemonade is that it is rather sweet because it has more sugar than the classic lemonade.
55. Porridge
A thick paste made from whole grain flour boiled in water, porridge is an iron-rich beverage that doubles as semisolid food in many cultures. To make one, you need flour or ground forms of starchy grains, most commonly corn, rice, oats or wheat. You then add this into a simmering pot of water and stir until the whole solution evens out into a thick flowing paste.
Porridge can be sweetened with sugar, fruit juices or honey. Sometimes, you can even indulge in nutrition by dipping veggies and meats in it, which you scoop with a spoon. This way, you will enjoy more than the 20 percent daily value of iron that a cup of the beverage provides.
Related: the nutrition summary of oatmeal porridge.
56. Port
Drunk everywhere from the Caribbean tiki cultures to its original home in India, port is a rum made from 100 percent molasses from exotic sugarcane plantations. The cane extract is then cured in barrels that have contained old whisky, together with fresh oak barrels.
Owing to this combined aging process, port tastes rather lively and has a gravitating effect. This indigenous dark rum can therefore make one of those fun parties with a cultural ring to it.
Herbs and spices that start with P
From the Hungarian vintage paprika to the aromatic poppy seeds, here is a wholesome list of herbs and spices to garnish and enrich your daily recipe challenges even further!
57. Paprika
Known worldwide in cuisine, paprika is an Hungarian ground, deep-red-to-orange-tinged chili spice from various pepper types. The majority of the chili used for making this aromatic spice are from the Longum group of capsicums.
Which meals can you make with paprika? Quite a lot, but the main ones include paella with smoked paprika, chicken, barbecues, marinades, casseroles, sauces, and a dozen more.
58. Peppercorns
Peppercorn, which turns into black pepper when it is ground, is a plant of the Piperaceae family with a drupe-type fruit of just 5 millimeters diameter. Each drupe has a stone with a single seed. The plant originates from Malabar in Southern India.
In ground form, peppercorn is a versatile shaker-bottle seasoning, distinct for its mainly black pods. As a spice, black pepper boasts more than meets the eye in the nutrition department. It is a source of:
- Vitamin K for fluid circulation in the body.
- Vitamin A for good sight, among other vitamins, like Thiamine, Riboflavin and B6.
- Minerals include manganese.
59. Peppermint
Peppermint is one of many mentha plant species that produce mint, an aromatic extract that makes spicy tea and essential oil. It is a hybrid of water mint and spearmint, which is another mint family species. It has the same aroma as spearmint, only a little spicier.
Peppermint makes a herbal tea that is quite healthy because it has neither sugars/calories nor caffeine. It is said to freshen breath, improve digestion and ease migraine.
60. Peppers
Pepper is a general term that ascribes to tens of members of capsicum family fruits that serve as spices. They range from raw edible low-heat sweet varieties to hot, spicy types that are only used in cooking due to their burning heat on the palate if eaten raw. The most common name associated with peppers are bell peppers. These low-heat green types are packed with iron and vitamin C, a combination that aids the body to absorb the bone-strengthening iron mineral efficiently.
61. Pickles
Pickles is the short term for pickled cucumber, an aromatic solution prepared from chops of a small type of cucumber and brine. In the solution, gourmets commonly add vinegar before leaving the mix to ferment mostly through the lacto-fermentation method.
Pickled cucumbers often form a part of blends of different vegetable pickles. The chops taste sour and salty but the taste is accented and made palatable by the use of chili flavors.
62. Pimento
Similar to bell peppers, only that they are just a little hotter, pimentos or pimientos are low-heat, round yet heart-shaped fruits that are best known for their bright red colors when ripe. They are larger than most chilies at 4 by 3 inches in length and width dimensions, respectively. Though most common in red tinges, there are also green, red and even maroon varieties. In West Indian lingo, the term pimento means allspice.
Related: pimentos nutrition summary.
63. Pine Mushrooms
Pine mushrooms, officially known as matsutake, a Japanese term which gives them their scientific term, Tricholoma matsutake, are edible fungi that thrive in Japan and the Far-east. They grow in vibrant reddish colors when small, before fading into saffron milky white tinges when mature.
In oriental cuisine, they spice meals such as matsutake soup, arborio rice dishes and other Japanese dishes. One thing you will not forget once you have tasted them is their aromatic, spicy flavor.
64. Parsley
Garden parsley or simply parsley is a plant in the Apiaceae family that grows naturally in Greece, parts of North Africa and parts of the Balkans. It doubles as both a vegetable and a herb. Its slender leaves that look like those of carrots are packed with vitamin C and antioxidants that help prevent the development of degenerative diseases such as cancer. Parsley also offers protection against stroke, cardiac conditions and diabetes. You can feature it in salads or drink it as boiled water mixed with water to cure kidney stones.
65. Poppy Seeds
Famous for sensational reasons such as being the sources of morphine and heroin, poppy seeds nevertheless need not lose their glitter as healthy foods due to these two substances. As the dried kidney-shaped oilseeds from opium poppy plants, they will definitely spice up your meals. Their cultivation goes back to ancient civilizations, particularly European and South Asian where they were, and still are, used for various purposes, some of them culinary.
Two healthy uses of poppy seeds:
- Processed into oil for cooking pastries, porridge, baked goods and for food glazing.
- Mixed into a syrup for cleaning female fallopian tubes and for easing cough.
Related: Peru poppy seeds prices
Prepared/cooked foods that start with P
From the Greek and East African pilaf or pilau to that vegetable pickle and those shell-less boiled poached eggs, here is a list to help cook your way, all starting with the letter P.
66. Paella
Often used as a symbol of the cooking culture of the people of Valencia, paella is a rice mixture consisting of saffron and vegetables with chicken, and even fish, done in a single pan. In fact, the meaning of paella from the Spanish is just that: a frying pan.
The most appealing quality of this Valencian dish is that it has integral texture and yet it maintains balanced liquid absorption. This owes to the fact that it comes from the Paella rice grains which have similar liquid absorption qualities.
67. Peking Duck
Peking duck not only describes the type of Chinese duck breed with its white feathers but also the dish that people in China have been making since the Imperial epoch. Its most characteristic features include the thin, very crisp skin with moist tender meat. In the traditional set up, a cook prepares the whole duck, then brings it whole on the dining table and slices its thin browned skin before the people.
Often, the skin holds much of the appeal and hence do not be surprised to find more skin than meat! To achieve the mildly moist crisp-brown cooked skin of authentic Peking Duck, a lot of time and fair preparation expertise are usually called forth.
68. Phaletshe
Phaletsche is a thick porridge of corn meal that people in Botswana take in parties. Its other name is bogobe. It is hard to mention phaletshe and leave out the national dish of Botswana, Seswaa. The latter consists of slabs of meat attached to the bone, cooked with just salt and water.
These two traditional dishes go together, especially in parties, anniversaries or birthday celebrations. A typical phaletshe-seswaa pairing is meant to feed many people, starting with 6 to 8 people on average.
More resources: Food and agriculture produce from Botswana
69. Pilaf/Pilau
Known in the Greek culinary culture as pilaf and in Swahili-speaking regions as pilau, this is a dish made of rice garnished with aromatic spices. It is also sometimes prepared from wheat. The rice cooks for a while in a soupy stock, and is garnished with spices until it dries up. Other ingredients include vegetables and meat. The unique nature of a pilau is its texture: grains cook in one pot yet they do not stick to each other owing to expert mixing.
Related: nutrition in rice paper.
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