- Quarter: To cut or divide into four equal parts.
- Qalat daqqa: Arabian spice blend of ground peppercorns, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon used in meat and vegetable dishes.
- Quail: A small game bird, usually readily available from specialty butchers.
- Quatre-epices: A classic French spice blend of ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and white pepper, often used in baking and sweets.
- Queen of puddings: A traditional British pudding of baked, breadcrumb-thickened custard layered with jam and meringue.
- Queijo da Serra: Portuguese semi-hard high fat cheese.
- Quenelle: A poached skinless, fine-textured French dumpling, usually of fish, poultry or veal.
- Quiche: Savoury custard tart made from short crust or puff pastry.
- Quill: Cinnamon bark rolled up into a cigar-like tube.
- Quince: A relative of the apple and pear, this large fragrant, lumpy yellow fruit has very hard, astringent flesh which, cooked long and slow with sugar, fruit juice or other sweeteners, develops a fine flavour and soft, pink flesh. Though their season is relatively short, they keep for some weeks unrefrigerated.
- Quinoa: A grain native to South America. Gluten-free, with a nutty flavour and high in protein, it has latterly been dubbed a superfood. It’s available from health food stores, and can be used in breads, salads, soups and stews. It’s pronounced KEEN-wa.
- Quick Bread: A bread leavened by chemical leaveners or steam rather than by yeast.