nonsavoury

Nonsavoury is an adjective used to describe foods or flavors that are not savoury. In culinary usage, it typically refers to items that are sweet, sugary, or otherwise lacking the salty, umami, or spiced character associated with savoury dishes. The concept can also cover foods that do not fit the common savoury category, including certain bland or neutral-tasting items.

Etymology and usage: The form is built from non- + savoury. In British English, savoury broadly describes flavorful foods that are not sweet; in American usage, savory can also mean tasty. Nonsavoury is relatively rare in modern writing and is more commonly written as non-savoury or nonsavory, or replaced by terms like sweet depending on the context. Spelling variants arise from different regional conventions.

Examples and context: Typical nonsavoury items include desserts, confections, fruit-based dishes, sweet dairy products, and baked goods. In nutrition or diet planning, distinguishing nonsavoury from savoury helps categorize meals by palate profile. The term can be ambiguous across cultures where certain flavors blend sweet and savoury, such as in some sauces or snacks that balance distinctive tastes.

See also: savoury, sweet, dessert, confectionery.