Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam-Webster in 1951.

Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating, or fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants). Franchise operations which are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.

The capital requirements involved in opening up a fast food restaurant are relatively minimal. Smaller, individually-owned fast food restaurants are becoming much more common throughout the world. Restaurants with much higher sit-in ratios, where customers tend to sit and have their orders brought to them in a seemingly more upscale atmosphere, are known as fast casual restaurants.

History

Although fast food restaurants are often viewed as a representation of modern technology, the concept of "ready-cooked food to go" is as old as cities themselves; unique variations are historical in various cultures. Ancient Roman cities had bread-and-olive stands, East Asian cultures feature noodle shops. Flatbread and falafel are ubiquitous in the Middle East. Popular Indian "fast" food delicacies include Vada pav, Papri chaat, Bhelpuri, Panipuri and Dahi vada. In the French-speaking nations of West Africa, meanwhile, roadside stands in and around the larger cities continue to sell- as they have done for generations- a range of ready-to-eat, char-grilled meat sticks known locally as "brochettes" (not to be confused with the bread snack of the same name found in Europe).

United Kingdom

By the Medieval period it was not peculiar for large cites or major towns to have 'pie shops' or cookhouses. Local pubs and taverns were also providers of 'rapid' if not fast food. As well as these fixed outlets, stalls selling cooked food were quite common. Cornish pasties and their descendants go back at least as far as the 13th century .

The content of pies varied, with poultry (such as chickens) or wildfowl commonly being used. Post World War II, turkey has been used more frequently in fast food.

In areas which had access to coastal or tidal waters, 'fast food' would frequently include local shellfish or seafood, such as oysters or, as in London, eels. Often this seafood would be cooked directly on the quay or close by. The development of trawler fishing in the mid 19th centuryFact: date=March 2008 would lead to the development of a British favorite fish and chips partly due to such activities.Fact: date=November 2007