Beverage
Water
Water is the kitchen's main liquid: it boils pasta, hydrates dough, extracts tea and coffee, and becomes stock the moment bones or vegetables go in. Hardness, chlorine, and dissolved minerals change bread, beer, and tea more than most cooks admit—soft water makes a different dough and a different cup than a chalky tap. Distilled water tastes empty and is a poor brew water; sparkling water is a drink and a batter trick, not a stock. Recipes that say only "water" mean potable tap or a simple filter. Reach for a named mineral water when the water is the drink, and for distilled when you are diluting a concentrate and do not want minerals. It is an ingredient with varieties, not a neutral absence of flavour.
Track this ingredient
Cuts & parts
Breeds & varieties
A sample of named types with their own origin and culinary profiles.
Characteristics
Preparations
Provenance
Sources
Traits
Nutrition and pairings
Nutrition
Typical values per 100 g edible portion. Nutrient names open the reference page.
Nutrition Facts
Per 100 g edible portion
Amount per 100 g
- Total Fat 0.11 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Sodium 5.14 mg
- Salt 0.01 g
- Total Carbohydrate 9.64 g
- Dietary Fibre 0 g
- Total Sugars 8.52 g
- Complex / starch 0 g
- Protein 0.5 g
- Water 94.1 g
- Energy 40.8 kcal
- Water 94.1 g
- Carbohydrates 9.64 g
- Sugars 8.52 g
- Monosaccharides 5.96 g
- Disaccharides 2.56 g
- Protein 0.5 g
- Fat 0.11 g
- Vitamins 25 mg
- Vitamin A 20 µg
- Vitamin B1 — Thiamine 0.02 mg
- Vitamin B2 — Riboflavin 0.04 mg
- Vitamin B3 — Niacin 0.44 mg
- Vitamin B5 — Pantothenic Acid 0.09 mg
- Vitamin B6 0.02 mg
- Vitamin B7 — Biotin 0.4 µg
- Vitamin B9 — Folate 1.7 µg
- Vitamin C 2 mg
- Vitamin E 0.04 mg
- Vitamin K 0.2 µg
- Minerals 246 mg
- Major Minerals 239 mg
- Trace Minerals 6.6 mg
- Salt 0.01 g
- Sodium Chloride 0.01 g
Vitamins
vitamin-c: 2 · vitamin-a: 20 · vitamin-b1-thiamine: 0.02 · vitamin-b2-riboflavin: 0.04 · vitamin-b3-niacin: 0.44 · vitamin-b5-pantothenic-acid: 0.09 · vitamin-b6: 0.02 · vitamin-b7-biotin: 0.4 · vitamin-b9-folate: 1.7 · vitamin-e: 0.04 · vitamin-k: 0.2 ·
Minerals
Sodium: 5.14 · Potassium: 197 · Calcium: 37 · Iron: 1.2 · Zinc: 0.4 · Iodine: 5 ·
Beverage bases range from near-water teas to sugar-dense cordials; alcohol adds energy when present.
History
Settled communities organised around reliable freshwater for drinking, cooking, and food processing.
Irrigation and wells expanded agriculture and kitchen water supply in early civilisations.
Municipal water systems and filtration made safe cooking water a standard urban utility.
Bottled mineral and filtered water entered commercial kitchens as controlled-quality options.