menjars

Menjars is a Catalan noun that primarily denotes edible items or meals. The singular form, menjar, means both “food” and “the act of eating,” while the plural menjars describes multiple foods or a range of meals. The term is common across Catalan-speaking regions, including Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, and parts of Aragon, and appears in everyday speech, writing, and menus.

In usage, menjars can refer to food in a general sense as well as to particular dishes or kinds of nourishment. For example, un bon menjar can mean a good meal or good food, while una selecció de menjars tradicionals can describe a selection of traditional foods. In nutrition and public health contexts, the word is used to discuss dietary patterns and food groups in plural form, e.g., menjars variats or menjars rics en fibra.

No single cultural tradition defines menjars, but Catalan meals are commonly organized around established terms such as esmorzar (breakfast/snack), dinar (lunch), berenar (afternoon snack), and sopar (dinner); the noun menjars frequently appears in recipes, culinary journalism, and dietary guidance to refer to foods in aggregate.

Cross-linguistically, the Spanish cognate manjares exists with a somewhat different nuance (delicacies or fine foods). The Catalan term remains distinct in ordinary usage within Catalan-speaking communities and in Catalan-language literature and media.