A canapé or canape is a small, prepared, and usually decorative hors d'oeuvres which is held in the fingers, and often eaten in one bite. Crackers or small slices of bread or toast are cut into various shapes and serve as a base for such savory foods as meat, cheese, fish, caviar, foie gras, purees or relish. Hors doeuvre (or alternatively appetizer or starter) refer to the food served before or outside of (French: hors) the main dishes of a meal (the œuvre). ... In the United States of America, cracker refers to a dry, thin and crisp savoury biscuit that developed from military hardtack and nautical ship biscuits. ... Residents of North America and Europe often eat pre-sliced white bread. ... For other meanings, see Toast (disambiguation). ... Meat is animal tissue (mainly muscle) used as food. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the curdled milk of various animals—most commonly cows but sometimes goats, sheep, reindeer, and water buffalo. ... Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus, the most abundant fish species in the world. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Caviar Caviar is the processed, salted roe of various species of fish, most notably sturgeon. ... Pâté de foie gras served picnic-style with Sauternes and bread. ... A relish is a cooked or pickled sauce, usually made with vegetables or fruits, generally used as a condiment. ...

Traditionally, the canapes are made from stale white bread, cut in thin slices and then shaped into the various shapes with a cutter or knives. Shapes might include circles, rings, squares, strips or triangles. These pieces of bread are then be prepared by one of the following techniques:

• Frying in deep fat and draining on absorbent paper
• Sautéeing in butter or other fat
• Toasting

The foods are sometimes highly processed and decoratively applied (i.e. piped) to the base with a pastry bag. Decorative garnishes are then applied. Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Deep frying Deep frying is a cooking method whereby food is submerged in hot oil or fat. ... Sauté [V. saw-tay] is a method of cooking food a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. ... balls of butter on a plate Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh cream. ... In biochemistry, fat is a generic term for a class of lipids. ... Toasting, chatting, or DJing is the act of talking or chanting over a rhythm or beat. ...

Canapes are usually served on a canape tray, and eaten from small canape plates.

A canape may also be referred to as "finger food", although not all finger foods are canapes.

In Italy, canapés are called tramezzini.

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