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The Humble Anchovy Trivia Quiz

In honour of my joining The Anchovies, I thought I'd find out a bit more about the wee beastie - how much do you know about the humble anchovy?

A multiple-choice quiz by Rowena8482. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Rowena8482

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
289,855

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
409

Question 1 of 10

1. What is an anchovy, anyway? Hint

Fish

Shellfish

Mollusc

Amphibian

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Question 2 of 10

2. In ancient Rome, anchovies were a staple ingredient of the fish sauce "garum."
Which bit of the fishy ingredients were the "garos" which gave rise to the name? Hint

Eyes

Fins

Intestines

Skin

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Anchovies can concentrate a particular chemical responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans.
Which chemical is it? Hint

Phenolic Citrate

Domoic Acid

Amaric Nitrate

Benzoic Acid

4. Fish sauce made from black anchovies on the island of Phu Quoc is protected by copyright/labelling laws, in the same way as Champagne.
Only sauce from the island can have "Phu Quoc" on the label.
Which country is Phu Quoc island part of? Hint

Vietnam

The Philippines

Laos

South Korea

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Which character from "Friends" orders pizza with anchovies "chopped right up and put under the sauce"? Hint

Monica

Rachel

Joey

Chandler

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Question 6 of 10

6. Do anchovies have teeth?

Yes

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Question 7 of 10

7. Anchovies are an ingredient in the dish pasta puttanesca.
The name of this dish comes from a particular profession - which one? Hint

Prostitutes

Milliners

Priests

Teachers

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Question 8 of 10

8. In which country would you find anchovies served as "Kozhuva"? Hint

Bulgaria

Russia

India

Croatia

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Question 9 of 10

9. What is 'peculiar' about the yolk of an anchovy egg? Hint

They are all double yolked, without exception

Elongated 'sausage' shape

They have no yolk

The yolk is a peculiar bright green colour

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Which species of anchovy has the Latin name "Engraulis encrasicolis"?
Hint

African Anchovy

European Anchovy

Pacific Anchovy

Mediterranean Anchovy

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is an anchovy, anyway?

Answer: Fish

Anchovies belong to the family Engraulidae, and are found in temperate oceans worldwide, with large concentrations in the Mediterranean Sea.
They are preyed upon by almost every predatory fish in their environments, and also by humans.

2. In ancient Rome, anchovies were a staple ingredient of the fish sauce "garum." Which bit of the fishy ingredients were the "garos" which gave rise to the name?

Answer: Intestines

As well as being an ingredient in almost every dish in the "Apicius" ancient Roman cookbook, garum was used as a remedy for dog bites, ulcers, and dysentery!
The city of Pompeii was famous for its garum.

3. Anchovies can concentrate a particular chemical responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans. Which chemical is it?

Answer: Domoic Acid

Domoic acid is produced by tiny diatoms called Pseudo-nitzschia and is a neurotoxin.
It bio-accumulates in the food chain and if consumed, can cause permanent memory loss, brain damage, or even death!

4. Fish sauce made from black anchovies on the island of Phu Quoc is protected by copyright/labelling laws, in the same way as Champagne. Only sauce from the island can have "Phu Quoc" on the label. Which country is Phu Quoc island part of?

Answer: Vietnam

Many people consider Phu Quoc fish sauce to be the best in the world.
Three tons of black anchovies and one ton of salt are fermented in hand made vats for at least a year before the first tasting takes place.
The Knorr company has a licence to produce genuine Phu Quoc sauce, and markets 2,500 tons a year.

5. Which character from "Friends" orders pizza with anchovies "chopped right up and put under the sauce"?

Answer: Rachel

Rachel and Ross are fighting and Ross hates anchovies. When Rachel orders the pizza with them on, Ross says he can "pick them off" and Rachel retaliates by asking for them chopped and under the sauce so he can't.

6. Do anchovies have teeth?

Answer: Yes

Anchovies do indeed have teeth, described as "small and sharp," in both the upper and lower jaws.
Their diet consists of plankton and small fry of other fish.

7. Anchovies are an ingredient in the dish pasta puttanesca. The name of this dish comes from a particular profession - which one?

Answer: Prostitutes

Pasta puttanesca means "pasta the way a whore would make it". (Or "tart's spaghetti as Delia Smith so delicately puts it!)
The sauce is called sugo alla puttanesca, and it is a modern dish rather than a traditional one, becoming popular from the 1960s onward.

8. In which country would you find anchovies served as "Kozhuva"?

Answer: India

Kozhuva can be fresh or dried anchovies, and form a popular part of the protein intake of people in the southern states of India because of their low cost.

9. What is 'peculiar' about the yolk of an anchovy egg?

Answer: Elongated 'sausage' shape

Anchovies spawn in June and July, and their eggs are transparent and buoyant.
The yolks are a sausage shape rather than round.
The eggs hatch a couple of days after fertilisation, and the fry take a year to reach 40-90 millimetres in length.

10. Which species of anchovy has the Latin name "Engraulis encrasicolis"?

Answer: European Anchovy

The European anchovy is a staple of the cuisine of various countries around the Black Sea. It is known colloquially as hamsi, hapsi, hamsie and hamsia.

Source: Author Rowena8482

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ertrum before going online.
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