A food paste is a semi-liquid colloidal suspension, emulsion, or aggregation used in food preparation or eaten directly as a spread. Pastes are often highly spicy or aromatic, are often prepared well in advance of actual usage, and are often made into a preserve for future use. Common pastes are some fruit preserves, curry pastes, and nut pastes. Purées are food pastes made from already cooked ingredients.
Prepared shrimp paste with chilli, Thai lime leaves, sugar and water added.
Duxelles being cooked, which is eventually reduced into a paste
Shrimp paste from Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam
Erbswurst, a traditional instant pea soup from Germany, is a concentrated paste
Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening agents, as well as ingredients such as fats or flavorings.
Freshly mixed dough in the bowl of a stand mixer
A statue of a servant kneading dough, from Egypt, Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty, c. 2494–2345 BCE
A laminated dough prepared to make a flaky South Asian flatbread known as paratha
Yeast bread dough after kneading, before rising
