Twenty-five questions about where dishes come from, what's really in them and why some foods behave the way they do. A good round for dinner parties and office lunches.
Which Italian city is considered the birthplace of modern pizza?
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Naples
Neapolitan pizza dates to the 18th and 19th centuries. The art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo is on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Question 2
What is the main ingredient in guacamole?
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Avocado
Guacamole comes from Mexico; the name traces back to the Nahuatl word āhuacamōlli, roughly "avocado sauce."
Question 3
Which spice is the most expensive by weight?
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Saffron
Saffron is the dried stigmas of the crocus flower, picked by hand; each flower gives only three.
Question 4
What is the main ingredient in traditional hummus?
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Chickpeas
Hummus is blended chickpeas with tahini, lemon juice and garlic. Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea.
Question 5
Which nut is the base of marzipan?
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Almond
Marzipan is ground almonds and sugar, sometimes with egg white. Lübeck in Germany and Toledo in Spain are both famous for it.
Question 6
Which country is the world's largest producer of coffee?
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Brazil
Brazil has been the top producer for more than 150 years. Vietnam is second, mostly growing robusta beans.
Question 7
Which vegetable is fermented to make sauerkraut?
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Cabbage
Shredded cabbage and salt ferment with natural lactic acid bacteria. Sauerkraut means "sour cabbage" in German.
Question 8
What is tofu made from?
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Soybeans
Soy milk is curdled and pressed into blocks, much as cheese is made from milk. Seitan is the one made from wheat gluten.
Question 9
Kimchi is a traditional dish from which country?
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Korea
Kimchi is fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage with chili, garlic and fish sauce. It's eaten in both Koreas.
Question 10
Which compound gives chili peppers their heat?
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Capsaicin
Capsaicin is measured on the Scoville scale. Piperine is the compound that makes black pepper pungent.
Question 11
Which grain is used to brew Japanese sake?
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Rice
Sake is brewed from polished rice, water, yeast and koji mold, which turns the rice starch into sugar.
Question 12
Where was the Caesar salad invented?
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Tijuana, Mexico
Restaurateur Caesar Cardini is credited with creating it at his restaurant in Tijuana in the 1920s. It's named after him, not Julius Caesar.
Question 13
Which common fruit carries its seeds on the outside?
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Strawberry
Each "seed" on a strawberry is technically a tiny fruit called an achene. A typical strawberry has around 200.
Question 14
Paella comes from which region of Spain?
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Valencia
Valencian paella traditionally uses rice, chicken, rabbit and beans. The name refers to the wide, shallow pan.
Question 15
Feta cheese traditionally comes from which country?
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Greece
Since 2002, EU law has reserved the name feta for brined cheese made in parts of Greece from sheep's milk, or sheep's and goat's milk.
Question 16
Honeybees make honey from what?
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Flower nectar
Bees collect nectar, add enzymes and fan it with their wings until most of the water evaporates. Pollen is their protein food.
Question 17
Which kind of chocolate contains no cocoa solids?
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White chocolate
White chocolate is cocoa butter, sugar and milk. US rules require at least 20% cocoa butter but no cocoa solids.
Question 18
Prunes are dried versions of which fruit?
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Plums
Prunes are dried plums. Dried grapes are raisins.
Question 19
Which dish of raw fish "cooked" in citrus juice is a classic of Peru?
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Ceviche
The acid in lime juice changes the fish's proteins much as heat does. Peru has declared ceviche part of its national heritage.
Question 20
What is traditional Japanese miso mainly made from?
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Fermented soybeans
Miso is soybeans fermented with salt and koji. The longer it ages, the darker and saltier it gets.
Question 21
Which US state grows the most potatoes?
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Idaho
Idaho grows about a third of the US potato crop. Washington is usually second.
Question 22
The pasta name linguine means what in Italian?
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Little tongues
Linguine are flat and narrow. Spaghetti means "little strings" and vermicelli "little worms."
Question 23
Chocolate is made from the seeds of which tree?
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Cacao
Cacao seeds grow in large pods. They are fermented, dried and roasted before being turned into chocolate.
Question 24
What is the main ingredient in traditional Japanese tempura batter besides flour?
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Ice-cold water
Tempura batter is flour, egg and very cold water, mixed only briefly so it fries light and crisp.
Question 25
What is a croque madame?
Show answer
A croque monsieur topped with a fried egg
A croque monsieur is a grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich, often with béchamel. Add a fried egg and it becomes a croque madame.
Key numbers
Questions
25
Format
Multiple choice, 4 options
Explanations
Every question
Answers
Hidden until you open them
Where foods come from
Many food questions are really geography questions in disguise. Caesar salad comes from Mexico, not Italy. Paella is Valencian. Feta, by EU law, can only be made in parts of Greece. These make great trivia because the obvious guess is so often wrong.
What's in them
The other half of the set asks what things are made of: chickpeas in hummus, almonds in marzipan, soybeans in tofu and miso, and the cocoa butter (but no cocoa solids) in white chocolate. A few explain the science behind the answer, like why strawberry "seeds" are really tiny fruits, or which compound makes chili peppers hot.
Running a food round
Pair the round with the food. Ask the hummus and guacamole questions while the dips are out.
For a harder round, read the question without the options and give a point for any answer that names the right country or ingredient.
Chocolate questions are popular. If you need a tiebreaker, ask how many seeds a strawberry has; the closest guess to 200 wins.
Every answer about where a food comes from follows the usual reference account. Where food history is disputed, as it often is, we leave the question out rather than settle an argument with a guess.
More food facts are mixed into the fun facts list, and our round ideas include several food formats.
Questions people ask
What's a good food trivia question to start with?
Where the Caesar salad was invented. Almost everyone guesses Italy; the answer is Tijuana, Mexico, where restaurateur Caesar Cardini is credited with creating it in the 1920s.
Are there chocolate trivia questions here?
Yes: which tree chocolate comes from, and which kind contains no cocoa solids. The fun facts page has more food facts, including why honey can last for thousands of years.
Can these food questions work for a cooking class or team lunch?
Yes. They need no special knowledge, take about ten minutes for the full set, and the explanations give the group something to talk about while they eat.