A pancake is a thin, round, flat food. They are usually made from flour, eggs and milk. Some kinds of pancake use self-raising flour or sugar. Pancakes are usually eaten with toppings like lemon juice and sugar, or strawberry jam and cream.
Scientific name: carica papaya
A papaya, sometimes called a pawpaw, is a soft, tropical fruit that has a taste a little like a mild peach or pineapple. Papayas are usually eaten fresh. The seeds are also edible, with a very sharp flavour and are sometimes ground up and used instead of pepper.
Paprika is a spice, usually found as a powder, made from dried and ground up bell peppers (capsicums). Paprika is often smoked to add to the flavour. Paprika is used to flavour or colour many dishes, and is often sprinkled on meat before it is fried.
Parfait is a dessert made from layers of ice cream, fruit and syrup, topped with whipped cream. It is usually served in a glass.
Parmesan cheese is a hard, strongly flavoured cheese which is most often grated and added to food. It is commonly seen grated and sprinkled onto pasta dishes.
Scientific name: Curly leaf: petroselinum crispum, Flat leaf: petroselinum neapolitanum
Parsley is a herb, which means it is not eaten as a food on its own, but it is added to other dishes for flavour. Parsley is used mostly as a garnish, cut up and sprinkled onto food to make it look nicer. You often find a sprig of parsley being used to decorate food from a restaurant.
Scientific name: pastinaca sativa
The parsnip is an edible root vegetable related to the carrot. It is paler than the carrot, being almost white not bright orange, and has a stronger flavour and is not so crisp. Like carrots, parsnips can be roasted or fried but are most often used in soups and stews.
Scientific name: passiflora edulis
Passionfruits are a small, tropical vine. The fruit itself is hard, and either yellow or almost black. The part of the passionfruit that you eat is the seeds and the flesh around the seeds. You cut the fruit in half and scrape the seeds out. Passionfruit is added to pies, desserts, fruit salad and some drinks.
Pasta is a food from Italy, made from wheat flour, water and sometimes eggs. Pasta, or noodles, are made in a special way and are often dried in shape and sold as hard, dry pasta rather than moist, fresh pasta. Pasta comes in a huge variety of shapes, and even some different colours. spaghetti is one of the commonest types of pasta. The pasta in the picture is macaroni with cheese sauce.