Foods That Start with V!

Some of these dishes beginning with V may sound odd to you, and that’s because they are! From French veloute to Indian vindaloo, this collection of dishes beginning with V takes you on a culinary journey across the world.

One of the most fascinating elements about learning about alphabet meals is that you not only learn about various cuisines, but also about other languages and civilizations.Don’t worry, nothing will be lost in translation! Our list of meals that begin with V also contains many products from closer to home, and maybe you’ll discover a few new facts about dishes you’ve previously tasted.

20 Foods That Start with the Letter V

1. Valencia Orange

Valencia oranges are named after the Spanish city of Valencia. Although it is unclear if the oranges originated there, they were clearly popularized in that area and hence took on the name of the city.

Valencia oranges differ from the second most prevalent kind, navel oranges, in both look and taste. Valencia oranges having a thinner skin and are much better for slicing and juicing than navel oranges, which have a thicker rind and are easier to peel and munch on. This is because navel oranges contain a chemical that causes their juice to rapidly become bitter, but Valencia oranges, thankfully, do not.

2. Valerian Root

The valerian plant grows tall and produces lovely pink and white blossoms. Despite their beautiful aroma, we humans are not interested in these flowers. We’re looking for the plant’s root! Valerian root is widely recognized for its many health advantages, which range from supporting deep sleep to alleviating anxiety and relieving muscular cramps.

Valerian root, although a natural substance, is not completely understood and hence poses certain hazards. It’s unclear if valerian root is safe for pregnant or nursing women, and it seems to interact with a variety of other drugs and supplements. Despite these reservations, valerian root remains an excellent option for many individuals to acquire the sleep they need without the sleepiness or unpleasant side effects associated with many prescription drugs.

3. Vanilla Beans

Who knew that vanilla beans are really produced by a kind of orchid plant? of addition to beautifully gorgeous blossoms, this climbing vine-like plant of the genus Vanilla produces clusters of pods that are long and green before maturing, much like string beans. These unripe pods are harvested and then dried in an incredibly labor-intensive process, yielding the dried, deeply brown pods we know as vanilla bean pods.

When the dried vanilla bean pod is split open, it releases a slew of sticky, tiny seeds that may be utilized to infuse rich vanilla flavor into everything from vanilla ice cream to baked products and sauces. But don’t be too eager to throw the empty pod! The pod will always contain a few leftover seeds and will have enough of scent on its own. Put any empty vanilla pods into your sugar bowl and over time, a deliciously fragrant sugar will grow, suitable for all of your coffee and tea sweetening requirements.

4. Vegetable Oil

Unlike grapeseed or olive oil, which originate from specific sources, vegetable oil is often a combination of several diverse oil sources that join together to form a homogeneous mixture. The majority of vegetable oils are manufactured from a mixture of canola oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, maize oil, soybean oil, and safflower oil.

While not very flavorful, vegetable oil is ideal for frying and roasting. It has a very high smoke point, which means it can be heated considerably more than other oils. When an oil is heated over its smoke point, the components within it begin to burn, creating unpleasant and perhaps harmful consequences.

5. Vegetable Soup

Vegetable soup, as the name implies, is soup prepared from veggies! There are several soups that fit under this category, including minestrone, cream of mushroom soup, lentil soup, and borscht, to mention a few.

However, just because a soup is labeled as vegetable soup does not guarantee it is vegetarian or vegan friendly. Many vegetable soups take the easy route and use chicken stock or broth as a basis of delicious flavor to build on. Just because there are no real chunks of chicken or meat in there does not imply that animal products were not employed as flavoring!

6. Velouté

Velout is one of the five mother sauces that provide the foundation of traditional French cuisine, together with bchamel, espagnole, tomat, and hollandaise. Velout, like white sauce, begins with a roux, which is a blend of melted butter and flour. These ingredients are then cooked on the stovetop until they resemble paste and are gently roasted.

The next stage in white sauce is to add milk or cream, however in velout, chicken stock is used instead. The end product is a thick and rich sauce that serves as the excellent savory foundation for many other sauces. Other common velout-based sauces include allemande sauce, most forms of gravy, white wine sauce, and sauce suprme.

7. Velvet Beans

The velvet bean plant flourishes in tropical parts of Africa and Asia, producing vines up to 50 feet long! While velvet beans are in the legume family with many other beans and peas that are major food sources, they are not eaten as often as their cousins. Rather, they are more often employed as poultry or cattle feed, or for medical uses by humans. Velvet beans are known to have components that may aid in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, and the beans are also used to cure snakebites!

8. Venison

Although most people connect venison with deer meat, it may also apply to the flesh of other big game animals such as elk, caribou, and moose. Game meat products, such as venison, have a radically different taste and texture from beef, whether hunted in the wild or farmed on industrial ranches.

Because of the foragers diet the animals consume throughout their lives, venison has a rich, earthy taste with nutty and herbal undertones. Venison is also considerably thinner than beef, thus care must be taken not to overcook or dry up the flesh. When cooking venison, oil is always required, and it lends itself nicely to low-and-slow recipes such as stews and braises.

9. Vermicelli Noodles

Vermicelli is a long, thin pasta from Italy that is often prepared with semolina flour and eggs. The thickness of vermicelli noodles varies greatly depending on where and how they are prepared. Vermicelli is often thicker than regular spaghetti in certain countries, but in others, the name vermicelli may refer to pasta that is much thinner than spaghetti, closer to angel hair pasta in reality.

or bean flour are used in Asian cuisines, while fideos are a kind of broken and toasted vermicelli used in Latin American cookery.Vermicelli has also found its way into various cuisines. Vermicelli prepared with rice flour and other grains

10. Vermouth

Vermouth is an aromatized, fortified wine that is often used as a cooking wine as well as an essential component in many classic cocktails such as the martini, negroni, and Manhattan.

Aromatized wine is one that has been infused with flavor-inducing components such as herbs and spices, while fortified wine has had more alcohol put into it to increase the total alcohol concentration of the product. Vermouth is a popular option for cooking since its high alcohol concentration provides more deglazing power while adding a more herbal taste than regular white wine.

11. Vichyssoise

Vichyssoise is a rich, creamy soup named after the French town of Vichy! While there are numerous modifications and adaptations, at its heart, vichyssoise is a cold potato and leek soup that is blended and thickened with milk or cream.

As a result, vichyssoise is an excellent method to experience the soothing sensation that a cup of soup can provide, especially during the hot summer months! Vichyssoise is a blank canvas for additional tastes and garnishes. Try it with chopped chives, crumbled bacon, or even a drizzle of hot chile oil.

12. Victoria Plum

The Victoria plum is one stone fruit that is delicious! With just one mouthful, you can see why this delicious and very juicy fruit was given the regal honor of being named after Queen Victoria herself. Victoria plums have a rich yellow flesh that is fantastic fresh but also great in prepared applications including pies, jams, compotes, and jellies. Victoria plums are most often found in the United Kingdom and Europe, as their name suggests.

13. Victoria Sponge Cake

Not only do plums hold her name, but the legendary Victoria Sponge cake was also named after her! The Victoria sponge cake is made out of two layers of light and fluffy sponge cake sandwiched together with lots of cream and jam.

Whipped cream and raspberry jam are traditional accompaniments. However, the variety of varieties has risen over time, and additional jam tastes are often chosen. In addition, the whipped cream may be replaced with buttercream frosting or vanilla icing. The whole cake is normally coated in powdered sugar rather than completely iced, however more elaborately adorned versions are certainly prepared!

14. Vidalia Onions

Vidalia onions are a kind of sweet onion that is distinguished by its mild taste and slightly flattened, UFO-like form. To be regarded an authentic Vidalia onion, the onion must fulfill extremely precise specifications and be cultivated and harvested only in the United States state of Georgia. Vidalia onions, like other sweet onion types, have a reduced acidity and a greater total sugar content.

As a result, these onions are ideal for eating raw (with little eye-watering), and they also make excellent caramelized onions for French onion soup! Vidalia onions are yellow, as opposed to the dazzling white Spanish onions, and may be identified from other yellow onions by their distinct form. Check the sign or the produce sticker if in question. If it says Vidalia, you know you’ve got a good one on your hands!

15. Vienna Sausages

The Vienna sausage is a particular sort of sausage that is sometimes used interchangeably with hot dogs, frankfurters, and cocktail wieners. Vienna sausages are manufactured from a combination of pig and beef and lack any significant seasoning, giving the sausage a bland taste.

Vienna sausages are named after the city of Vienna, where they originated, but in other areas of the globe, this term most usually refers to tiny, thin sausages that have been cut into segments and bottled in a gelatinous liquid to preserve them. Vienna sausages are unusual in that they are a meat product that does not need cooking; yet, many people utilize Vienna sausages in recipes such as bean dishes, casseroles, and the famous pigs in a blanket.

16. Vindaloo

Vindaloo is a saucy, spicy Indian curry dish that is a popular food item in Indian cuisine and restaurants. While there is no one method to create vindaloo, most recipe variants include a sauce made with curry paste, coconut milk, ginger, vinegar, fiery chilies, and spices like cumin and garam masala.

The sauce may then be used to season and prepare the dish’s major components, whether they be chicken or vegetarian choices like as tofu and veggies. The whole meal is generally served over white rice, which is ideal for soaking up the spicy, flavorful sauce.

17. Violets

Violets are tiny, but tasty, small blooms that grow wild over most of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Flowers vary in color from purple to light blue, as well as white and yellow! They have a faintly sweet but intensely flowery taste, and although they do not keep well after harvesting, they may be processed into a number of items that maintain their flavor and scent.

Violets may be candied whole, cooked in sugar syrup, used in drinks, baked into a cake, or crushed and combined with ordinary granulated sugar to provide a flowery taste to any dish that calls for sugar. These violets should not be mistaken with African violets, which, although similar in appearance, are not edible.

18. Vinegar

Vinegar is the acidic liquid that results from acetic acid bacteria digesting the ethanol contained in wine, spirits, and cider. These bacteria are found naturally in alcohol products and may devour the alcohol particles, releasing acetic acid as a byproduct. As it turns out, acetic acid is vinegar!

The kind of alcohol used as a starting point has a direct impact on the type of vinegar generated as a consequence. Red wine, for example, produces red wine vinegar, while fermented apple cider produces apple cider vinegar. Acetic acid is what gives vinegar its distinctive strong tang, similar to lemon juice but without the citrus taste. When emulsified with olive oil, most vinegars (with the exception of distilled white vinegar, which may be fairly harsh) form a wonderful and easy vinaigrette.

19. Vodka

Vodka may seem to be water, but one smell will convince you that it is anything but! Vodka is a distilled alcoholic beverage recognized for its lack of taste, in contrast to many other spirits. As a result, vodka is an excellent choice for producing sophisticated cocktails and mixed beverages in which another component or taste is highlighted.

Vodka is often assumed to be manufactured from potatoes, although it is really distilled from a variety of grains including maize, rye, and rice. As the craft of distilling evolves, some distillers experiment with tastes by including fruits and vegetables into their blends!

20. Vol au Vent

Vol au vent is a French meal that consists of a light and airy puff pastry shell that is sliced and fashioned in such a manner that it may be filled and fried with any number of wonderful contents! The most common fillings for vol au vent are chicken or turkey in white wine sauce, game meats in gravy, or shellfish in cream sauce. Vol du vent, on the other hand, makes an excellent dessert and may be filled with sumptuous contents like French berries and cream, chocolate mousse, or flavored custards.

Final Thoughts on Foods That Start With V

We hope that this list of meals beginning with V has encouraged you to try something new or to learn more about a dish you already know and enjoy. Try a vermouth-based cocktail the next time you’re at the local watering hole, or check what veggies are in season at the produce market and create your own vegetable soup recipe.

There are still more meals that begin with the letter V to be discovered. Send us an email with your favorites!