Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a dinner, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses. The word comes from the Old French desservir, "to clear the table."
The word dessert is most commonly used in Ireland, U.S., Canada, Australia (and in France), while sweet, pudding or afters would be more typical in the UK and some other Commonwealth countries for this course. According to Debrett's, pudding is the proper term, dessert is only to be used if the course consists of fruit, and sweet is... Read More
