An "Arepa" By Any Other Name... Quiz

Answer: Colombia

Santa Marta, Colombia, is indeed the site where Simon Bolivar died, at an estate named Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, on the outskirts of the city on December 17, 1830. Santa Marta is also the oldest remaining inhabited city in Colombia.

Besides Quinta, there is much of interest to see in Santa Marta and the surrounding area, including the Tayrona Natural Park, the best-known ecological reserve in Colombia. The park offers something for everyone, including camping, beaches and tropical forests; it also boasts an archeological wonder, Pueblito, which is one of the 200 pre-Columbian cities discovered near Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Another treasure near Santa Marta is the fishing village of Taganga.
You haven't lived until you eat fish caught minutes before and have a natural fresh fruit juice, salad and fried yucca (also known as manioc or cassava). Oh, and make sure you have an arepa or two while you're at it!

Answer: Venezuela

Caracas, Venezuela, is the birthplace of Simon Bolivar, who I am sure enjoyed an arepa or two or three in his day. Though Caracas is a modern city with a skyscraper-studded skyline, it still has a strong colonial flavor, especially near the house where Simon Bolivar was born on July 24, 1783. The house is now a museum where you can see many colonial-era weapons, banners, uniforms, art and furnishings.

Colombia and Venezuela both claim to have the most delicious arepas in the world. The best way to determine which is right is by going to both places and sampling the different kinds. Yum!

Answer: Mexico

Though "tortillas" are eaten in Guatemala and Honduras, they originated in Mexico under the Aztecs. None of the other three countries mentioned are the home of the Aztec calendar, the buried city (beneath what is today Mexico City) or the largest population in Latin America. Only Mexico can claim these facts as her own.

Tortilla is the name the Spaniards gave to the unleavened flat-bread they found in Mexico in the sixteenth century, and its literal meaning is "little cake." The earliest known record of the tortilla is 10,000 years before Christ. These thin, fire-roasted cornmeal wonders were a staple of the Aztec diet in this part of the Americas in the early 16th century.

Answer: Africa

Africa is indeed the continent that boasts Tunisia in the north as well as South Africa in the south (along with some 50 or so other nations in between). Many of these nations rely on using corn as one of the main components of their diet.

The northernmost point in Africa is not in Morocco, as you might think, since that country is separated from Spain by a scant few miles of water. It is at Ras ben Sakka (Ra's al Abyad) (Cape Blanc), Tunisia. The southernmost point in Africa is in South Africa, at the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas.

One of the most delicious corn cake recipes from this part of the world are South African sweet corn fritters, which are delicious as a side dish or a snack.

A step-by-step recipe (characterized by the herbs used in the seasoning) can be found at http://www.justeasyrecipes.co.za/2009/10/03/sweetcorn-fritters/

1 can sweet corn
1-1/2 cups all-purpose lour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
2 T fresh chives, chopped
1 t baking powder
salt to taste
oil to deep-fry

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Mix the flour, eggs, milk, cheese, herbs, baking powder and salt.
Add the corn.
Heat oil in a frying pan and drop spoonfuls of the batter into the oil.
Cook until golden brown and puffy.

Answer: Mali

Despite the fact that it is not very easy to get there, Mali is worth a visit. The people are joyful and known for their intellectual curiosity and optimism in the face of adversity.

The modern capital, Bamako, is known for its rapid explosive population growth, and it is by some estimates, the fastest growing of all of Africa's cities. The major industry in the area has always been fishing on the Niger River, and the name of the city itself means "crocodile river".

Most people have heard of Timbuktu, but they just think it is someplace far off and inaccessible, never knowing that it is a real place in Mali, and the capital of one of the country's eight regional divisions. Timbuktu and its surrounding area has always been an economic hub, as the center of the gold and slave trades a couple of centuries ago, as well as the Malian pinnacle of Muslim culture and education. Today, the area is a center of turmoil, having declared its independence from the rest of Mali as the nation of Azawad. This autonomy has not been recognized by neighboring African countries or the international community as a whole.

Though the cookies made from the following recipe (http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/mali.php) might not seem very sweet, they are tasty and would be eaten on very special occasions by the people of Mali (and Azawad).

1-1 1/2 cups of corn meal
1 1/2-1 3/4 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
Just over 1/2 cup of milk
2 tbsp of butter
1/2-1 tsp of nutmeg or ground sugar
a splash of salt
a splash of baking soda and/or powder
and bake for the same as a regular batch of cookies (with stoneware for example it is roughly 12 min)

The cookies will not brown, so do not over cook them expecting that. They are really tasty with just enough sweetness and moisture to satisfy even the staunchest hater of cornbread. The nutmeg gives them a distinctive and wonderful flavor.

Answer: True

Bhutan is a small country in Asia at one end of the Himalayas, and is land-locked by Tibet and India. Though not very large in area, it is rich in mountain beauty and very well supplied with water from the many rivers that cross its territory. Some polls say that Bhutan is the happiest Asian nation and one of the happiest countries on earth. It could be due to the natural beauty of the country, its rapid economic growth (thanks to hydroelectric power generation and exportation), or to the fact that its people of all ages consume kharang all day and night!

Kharang is made from domestically-grown roasted corn kernels which come from eastern Bhutan. They are ground up and mixed with water to make a porridge-like dish. Though it has come under criticism for its high alcohol content (which is a natural by-product of fermentation, due to the lack of refrigeration for storing and transporting kharang throughout Bhutan), kharang is a staple in the diet of most Bhutanese from the time they are very, very young until they are very, very old. The government is currently organizing cooperatives in eastern Bhutan to optimize and standardize the production, milling, storage, and distribution of kharang.

Though kharang is not really a corn cake, it is made from the basic ingredient in corn cakes, ground maize, and no mixed geography quiz should be without a question on Bhutan!

Answer: Thailand

The country formerly known as Siam and located at the heart of the Indochinese peninsula has long been a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. The Andaman Sea area in the southern part of the country is the driver for much of today's tourism to Thailand, where there are resorts to rival the most elegant the world over. Much of Thailand's agriculture is grown in the area between two of Thailand's major rivers, the Chao Phraya and the Mekong River.

Thailand is primarily Buddhist, with a robust cuisine that includes many vegetarian dishes. The corn cake of Thailand is a fritter served with a sweet chili dipping sauce.

The country has hopes of expanding its influence in the region by building a canal to rival the Suez and provide a less expensive shipping route to the countries of southeast Asia. Only time will tell if these plans are able to come to fruition.

Answer: Indonesia

Because of its privileged geographic location, Indonesia has been an important player in the region's trade for well over 1,000 years. Indonesia has 33 provinces, probably due to the fact that its islands are scattered over a large area. You might not think of an archipelago sharing land borders with other nations, but Indonesia does. Many of its larger islands are shared with other nations: Borneo (also belonging to Brunei and Malaysia), New Guinea (also belonging to Papua New Guinea), and the island of Timor (also belonging to East Timor).

An Indonesian friend says that Jakarta, the capital, is the place to go to try authentic bregedel jagung, which is actually made with a different kind of corn than that grown in the west. Failing, that however, you can always try to make some your own.

Answer: Australia

Australia is the largest island nation in the world, and the largest inhabited island continent, with myriad landscapes and climates. Much of Australia is covered by arid, flat desert areas at the center of the nation, which is probably why it has one of the lowest populations per square mile of any of the developed countries, and has incorporated and adapted elements of many different cuisines into its culinary offerings.

Though Australian native cuisine does not rely on maize, this Australian recipe shows a local flair in creating "corn cakes with celery salt" (http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9781921382659/coming-home/77282/corn-cakes-celery-salt)

1 cup (250 ml) peanut oil
soft baby celery leaves, to garnish

CORN CAKES
4 corn cobs, stripped
2 stalks celery, diced
4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
3 free-range eggs, separated
1 cup (150 g) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

CELERY SALT
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon celery seeds

For the celery salt, use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to grind the sea salt and celery seeds until fine.
For the corn cakes, pulse half the corn kernels in a blender to form a paste; this will help to hold the batter together. Place the remaining corn kernels and the celery, spring onion and puréed corn in a bowl with the celery seeds, egg yolks, flour and baking powder. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to form stiff peaks. Fold a quarter of the corn batter through the egg whites, then fold in the remaining batter.
Heat half of the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Spoon the batter into egg rings (or, if you prefer, go free-form and spoon the batter straight into the pan) and cook for 3-4 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface. Flip and cook until golden. Cook the corn cakes in batches, adding more oil as needed. Place the cooked corn cakes on a heatproof plate, cover with foil and keep warm in a moderate oven while you cook the rest.
To serve, sprinkle the corn cakes with celery salt and garnish with soft baby celery leaves.
Makes about 16

Answer: The Transantarctic Mountains

The Transantarctic Mountains (often rendered TAM) divide East and West Antarctica by going from the Ross Sea to the Weddell Sea, making this range one of the longest on earth. The TAM's high mountain summits and low valleys are among the few places in Antarctica that are not perpetually covered in ice. Despite the fact that not all of the land mass is ice-covered all year, the temperature can get down to −89 °C (−129 °F). That is probably why there aren't any permanent residents, though 1,000 to 5,000 people normally stay at the research stations located across the continent every year. Only cold-adapted organisms can survive here, such as algae, mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades, along with bacteria. Any vegetation that can be found is limited to lichens, mosses and liverworts.

Because there is no food grown here, and no one is native to the area, Antarctica is one place on earth where no type of corn cake is made.