Editing Dessert (section)

=====Dessert in the “Classical Order” of table service=====
Between the mid-16th and mid-17th century, the stages of the meal underwent several significant changes. Notably, [[Potage#Potage in the “Classical Order” of table service|potage]] became the first stage of the meal, the [[Entrée#"Classical Order" of service|entrée]] became the second stage, [[Entremets#Entremets in the "Classical Order" of table service|entremets]] came to be served in their own distinct stage after the [[Roasting#The roast in the "Classical Order" of table service|roast]], and the last course of the meal came to be called “dessert”.{{sfn|Flandrin|2007|p=71}}

In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, the dessert stage of the meal consisted entirely of foods "from the storeroom" (''de l’office''), such as fresh, stewed, preserved, and dried fruits; fruit jellies; nuts; cheese and other dairy dishes; [[Cookie|dry biscuits (cookies)]] and [[wafer]]s; and, beginning in the mid-18th century, [[ice cream|ices]] and [[petits fours]].{{sfn|Grimod de La Reynière|1805|p=19}}{{Sfn|Flandrin|2007|pp=3, 10, 30, 81, 82, 87, 88}}

On lean days out of Lent,{{efn| name = maigres}} the dishes in the dessert stage of the meal were the same as those served on meat days.  In Lent, though, eggs were never served at any meal, and only dishes that did not include eggs were appropriate for the dessert stage.{{sfn|Flandrin|2007|pp=33, 34}}

Despite the significance of dessert in the structured meals of the time, the dessert course was often not included on the menus or bills of fare of the 17th and 18th centuries.{{sfn|Flandrin|2007|pp=42, 82, 96}}