leftovers

Leftovers are foods remaining unconsumed at the end of a meal, which may be saved for eating later. Inedible remains like bones are considered waste, not leftovers. Depending on the situation, the amount of food, and the type of food, leftovers may be saved or thrown away. The use of leftovers depends on where the meal was eaten, the preferences of the diner, and the local culture. Leftovers from meals at home are often eaten later. This is facilitated by the private environment and convenience of airtight containers and refrigeration. People may eat leftovers directly from the refrigerator, reheat them, or use them as ingredients to make a new dish. At restaurants, uneaten food from meals is sometimes taken by diners for later consumption.

Leftovers are foods remaining unconsumed at the end of a meal, which may be saved for eating later. Inedible remains like bones are considered waste, not leftovers. Depending on the situation, the amount of food, and the type of food, leftovers may be saved or thrown away. The use of leftovers depends on where the meal was eaten, the preferences of the diner, and the local culture. Leftovers from meals at home are often eaten later. This is facilitated by the private environment and convenience of airtight containers and refrigeration. People may eat leftovers directly from the refrigerator, reheat them, or use them as ingredients to make a new dish. At restaurants, uneaten food from meals is sometimes taken by diners for later consumption.

"Doggy bag"

Diners in a restaurant may leave uneaten food for the restaurant to discard, or take it away for later consumption. To take the food away, the diner might request a container, or ask a server to package it. In the late 20th century in the United States, such a container was once called a doggy bag or doggie bag. This term has largely fallen out of fashion and is no longer used. This most likely derives from a pretense that the diner plans to give the food to a pet rather than eat it themselves, and so may be a euphemism. The modern doggie bag came about in the 1940s. Some also speculate the name was born during World War II when food shortages encouraged people to limit waste, and pet food was scarce. In 1943, San Francisco cafés, in an initiative to prevent animal cruelty, offered patrons Pet Pakits, cartons that patrons could readily request to carry home leftovers. The term doggy bag was popularized in the 1970s etiquette columns of many newspapers. Containers for leftovers are most common in restaurants that offer a take-out food service as well as sit-down meals, and their prevalence as an accepted social custom varies widely by location. In some countries, people might frown upon a diner asking for a takeaway container. In the UK, in the year 2010 it was still considered an Americanism and an uncommon request to ask for a "doggy bag", but the practice became far more accepted after campaigns for waste reduction and the cost-of-living crisis, and some countries now obligate restaurants to offer take-home options. Some restaurants wrap leftovers in aluminum foil, creating shapes such as swans or sea horses.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370816279 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.