Foods Beginning with T Trivia Quiz

Answer: T-bone

The terms T-bone steak and Porterhouse steak mean different things in different parts of the English-speaking world. They are cuts of beef taken from the short loin and include both a strip steak and a tenderloin steak, joined by a T-shaped bone. The Porterhouse is usually larger and contains a larger tenderloin (filet mignon) than does the T-bone.

These tend to be high-quality steaks, very expensive, and respond best to quick cooking over (or under) direct heat.

Answer: tamarind

Tamarind pods grow on trees in tropical and subtropical climates. Tamarindus indica is native to Africa. The name comes from the Arabic "tamar hindi" meaning Indian date. The pulp is used to flavour curries and sauces, to make chutney, in candy, and to make a refreshing beverage called agua de tamarindo.

Answer: taramasalata

The Greek word "tarama" means a sort of caviar: the salted and cured eggs of a variety of fishes including cod, carp, grey mullet and pike. Sometimes the roe is smoked. These are combined with olive oil or sunflower oil, lemon juice or vinegar, garlic or spring onions, and a thickener such as bread crumbs, cooked potatoes or almonds.

This mixture is ground with a mortar and pestle (the old way) or whirred in an electric food processor (the new way) to produce a smooth beige spread schmeared on bread.

Answer: tenderloin

The tenderloin is a cut of beef from which a tenderloin roast or filet mignon is cut. Cut a different way, it is part of a T-bone steak. The tenderloin is a long thin boneless muscle (the psoas major muscle) which is exceptionally tender, hence the name. It is served in Chateaubriand steak, beef Wellington, steak tartare/carpaccio and simply as filet mignon.

Answer: Tewkesbury mustard

In Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 2", Falstaff says of his friend Ned Poins, "He a good wit? Hang him, baboon. His wit's as thick as Tewkesbury mustard. There's no more conceit in him than is in a mallet." (Act 2, scene 4) Tewkesbury mustard is a mixture of mustard seed ground into flour and grated horseradish root, dried and formerly formed into balls which were later rehydrated with vinegar, wine, beer, cider or water.

This mustard was created in the English village of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire.

The modern stuff is sold already hydrated in jars.

Answer: Tia Maria

There There are conflicting stories about the creation of the Jamaican coffee liqueur Tia Maria. What is certain is that it was created in Jamaica using Jamaican rum, Jamaican coffee beans, vanilla and sugar. Through a remarkably convoluted history of corporate ownerships, it is now produced in Italy (!).

Some find it quite similar to the Mexican liqueur Kahlua. It may be served as an after-dinner cordial, or straight on the rocks, or mixed into one of many inventive cocktails, e.g. the Tia Espresso martini.

Answer: tilefish

Tilefish are shallow-water fishes found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are an important food fish but for concerns about the amount of mercury which their flesh contains. The US Food and Drug Administration has advised that pregnant or nursing mothers ought to avoid consuming tilefish, especially those caught in the Gulf of Mexico. Tilefish are prepared by oven roasting, pan frying and grilling.

The Japanese make a delicious tilefish soup called amadai osuimono.

Answer: tomato

A tomato is a fruit, the berry of Solanum lycopersicum, but are treated culinarily as a vegetable. The first tomatoes grew in South and Central America. The Nahautl word for tomato is "tomatl" which the Spanish corrupted to "tomate". Europeans suspected that tomatoes, which are related to nightshade/belladonna, were poisonous.

They grew well around the Mediterranean and found their way into all of the local cuisines. Tomatoes are consumed, raw in salads and cooked in sauces. The juice is essential to a Blood Mary.

The puree is essential to ketchup. Fried green tomatoes may be an acquired taste.

Answer: Triple sec

The Dutch East India Company created Curaçao by steeping herbs, spices and the dried skins of oranges from the island of Curaçao. The French invented Triple Sec by soaking sun-dried orange skins (no herbs, no spices) in neutral spirits and then distilling it three times, hence the name.

The result is a clear sweet liqueur with an intense orange flavour. Cointreau is a version of Triple Sec. A related liqueur is Grand Marnier which is made with brandy rather than neutral spirits. All of these are used to build numerous popular cocktails, e.g. Margaritas, Cosmopolitans and Mai Tais.

Answer: turmeric

The cultivation of turmeric is very ancient. It is used around the world as a flavourant and a colourant. The plant (Curcuma longa) is a member of the ginger (Zingiberaceae) family. The rhizome is boiled, dried and powdered to create a warm pepper-mustard flavour which is essential to many curries.

The spice is prominent in the cooking of India, Thailand and China. In the US, it is used more for its intense golden-yellow colour (in places one might not expect such as prepared mustard, popcorn popping oil, yellow cake mix, orange juice concentrate).

The Moroccan spice mix ras al hanout invariably contains turmeric. This may be the most frequently mispronounced of all the spices. Turmeric is pronounced TER-muh-rik, not TOO-muh-rik. The word entered Modern English from the Middle English "turmeryte" and "tarmaret" in around the 15th century.