Excerpt
Most common food names don’t need capitalization. But brand names and stylistic emphasis capitalization are exceptions to follow.
When writing about dishes, ingredients, and other culinary terms, it’s not always clear if those names should be capitalized or not. Proper nouns get capitalized, but are food names proper? In this post, we’ll look at guidelines and best practices for capitalizing food-related words.
Proper Nouns vs Common Nouns
In English grammar, proper nouns refer to specific unique places or things and are capitalized. For example:
- Larry (name of a person)
- Italy (name of country)
- Microsoft (name of company)
Common nouns refer to general categories or concepts and are not capitalized. For example:
- person
- country
- company
Most food names like pizza, apple, cheeseburger, etc. are common nouns. They refer to broad food categories not unique proper names.
Food Names as Brand Names
While most foods are common nouns, specific food brand names are capitalized like:
- Hellmann’s Mayonnaise
- Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- Pringles Potato Chips
Brand names function as proper nouns referring to those unique products. Capitalization protects trademarks and intellectual property.
You can use this tool to help you convert food or brand names between uppercase and lowercase.
Capitalizing Food Names for Emphasis
Sometimes food writers will capitalize common food nouns for stylistic emphasis. For example:
- Make a bowl of Chilli
- Tonight’s Special is Steak
This capitalization adds visual flair, commonly seen on menus and recipes. But grammar rules don’t require capitalizing common food names.
This tool can help you toggle capitalization of food names or brand names between uppercase and lowercase.
Grammar Guidelines for Food Names
Most formal grammar guides recommend not capitalizing common food names and ingredients. For example:
- I’m making fried chicken for dinner.
- Please pick up a gallon of milk at the store.
Brand names and emphasis capitalization are exceptions. But in general prose, lowercase is preferred.
Consistency Matters
Whether capitalizing or not, consistency in format is important for any text. Don’t capitalize “orange juice” in one place but “Orange Juice” elsewhere. Consistent style prevents distraction.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In most writing, common food terms do not need to be capitalized. But brand names and stylistic emphasis capitalization are exceptions.
My guidelines would be:
- Use lowercase for general food names in regular text
- Capitalize registered brand and trademarked names
- Capitalize judiciously for emphasis if desired
- But stay consistent with any style choice
Following standard grammar rules while allowing for intentional capitalization provides the easiest way to handle food terms. Just stay consistent!
