Dynamic Digestible Duos Trivia Quiz

Answer: Butter

Some historians believe that there is evidence of the making of bread by approximately 30,000 BC; it has definitely been a staple prepared food of man since the Neolithic Revolution in every area of the world with the exception of Asia, where the staple food is rice. Butter would have been more difficult to make in many areas, since it would spoil so quickly in warm climates. Clarified butter, called ghee, was used for food and fuel approximately 3,000 years ago.

When did bread and butter become a popular food duo? During the 1500s, the Catholic Church allowed the consumption of bread and butter during Lent.

The idiom, which alludes to bread and butter being a basic food or a person's livelihood, is believed to have originated in the 1700s.

Answer: Milk

Have you ever wondered why cookies, especially chocolate chip cookies, taste so good with milk? A recent study by a chemistry professor has concluded that it is because of the way the chemical compounds interact on the tongue. Milk helps to spread the taste of the cookie over the entire tongue, and also helps to tone down the sweet taste of the cookie.

While this may be true, taste is in the eye of the beholder in much the same way as beauty is!

Answer: Gravy

Remember that potatoes are a New World food, and were not introduced to Europe until sometime during the 1500s. Although both the French and the English take credit for being the first to make mashed potatoes, some of the first recipes appeared in the 1747 book, "The Art of Cookery", by Hannah Glasse, an English writer.

When was gravy added? It appears that gravy made with the natural juices of meat also came into use in the 1500s. Coincidence?

Answer: Mash

In the UK, bangers are sausages that can be made with a variety of meats, such as lamb, pork, or beef. Mash, of course, refers to mashed potatoes. Many times the meal also includes onion gravy and peas. It is believed the term "bangers" came into existence in 1919; it was said that during WWI the sausages made in Britain had such a high water content that they would burst when cooked - hence the name "banger".

Answer: Cheese

Pasta and cheese dishes date back to the 14th century in Italy, but the first modern evidence of the recipe is found in the 1770 "The Experienced English Housekeeper" by Elizabeth Raffald. Believe it or not, some historians believe that Thomas Jefferson introduced macaroni and cheese to America after traveling in Europe.

At first he tried to purchase a machine to make the macaroni, and after finding its product unacceptable, he imported it! Records in 1802 show that he served the dish at a state meal, and it wasn't well liked by all.

Answer: Fries

There are so many people who have claimed credit for inventing the hamburger, that it is almost impossible to tell who really did! Two possible candidates include the "Hamburg steak", served on two pieces of bread of the Hamburg American Line (shipping) beginning in 1847, or a few years earlier in 1758, a recipe for "Hamburgh sausage" that appeared in Hannah Glasse's "The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy".

It is believed that fries originated in Belgium (not France!) in the 1600s, where potatoes were fried in the same way as fish. How did hamburgers and fries become a digestible duo? One theory is that fries were added as a special treat because it was difficult to deep-fry potatoes at home.

Another is that they were a good finger food to include as a side dish.

Answer: Pepper

In Western cooking salt and pepper are commonly found in matched shakers by the stove or on the dining table. Salt has been used to preserve food to centuries; in fact, it was considered to be valuable enough that Roman legions were paid with it! Pepper, native to South and Southeast Asia, has been used in cooking for approximately 5,000 years. Like salt, peppercorns were used as currency, and called "black gold".

The use of the two together dates back to the 1600s in France.

Answer: Chips

Western Sephardim Jews are credited with introducing battered fried fish to England in the 1600s; deep-fried potatoes may have appeared later. One of the first references found to chips is in "A Tale of Two Cities" (1859) by Charles Dickens, "Husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil".

The first fish and chip shop is believed to have opened in London in 1860 by Joseph Malin, who advertised, "fish fried in the Jewish fashion".

Answer: Meatballs

The National Pasta Organization is credited with publishing a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs in the 1920s. Believed to have been introduced to New York City by Italian immigrants, many Italians claim that the dish is "non-Italian", because in Italy the meatballs are much smaller or not used at all in the dish.

Answer: Jelly (Jam)

Who doesn't love this tasty treat? While it appears that originally peanut butter was paired with many other foods like cheese and celery, in a "Good Housekeeping" article, written in 1890, it was suggested that peanut butter be spread on bread. In 1901, the "Boston Cooking-School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics" suggested pairing peanut butter with jelly. Apparently the idea caught on! A survey taken in 2002 revealed that the average American eats 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before they graduate from high school.