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Basic French Food Terms Trivia Quiz

Probably no nation is so obsessed with 'eating' as the French. They do not only enjoy preparing meals, eating them, discussing them , but have made their culinary vocabulary into fairly international 'labels'.Just check a few of them.

A multiple-choice quiz by flem-ish. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
flem-ish

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
57,127

Updated
Aug 13 24

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
5728

Last 3 plays: HumblePie7 (5/10), mberry923 (6/10), Guest 172 (10/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What is the typical shape of a French 'croissant'? Hint

cook's hat

crescent

a round roll

an egg-shaped bun

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Question 2 of 10

2. In a baker's shop they don't only sell bread but also 'viennoiserie'. For pastry you normally have to find a 'patisserie'. -Which of these is pastry, and NOT 'viennoiserie'? Hint

croissant

brioche

pain au chocolat

baba au rhum

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Question 3 of 10

3. French bread comes in many different varieties.Which of these loaves weighs the least, is the crispiest and also the thinnest? Hint

pain

baguette

ficelle

flute

4. Pancake houses (creperies) are very popular in certain areas of France. Especially with the young. Apart from 'crepes', you find 'galettes'. Which of these characteristics does NOT apply to galettes? Hint

they are usually made without sugar

they are usually smaller and thinner than crepes

they are usually filled up with a savoury

they are usually made of buckwheat

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Question 5 of 10

5. Some parts of France have excellent seafood. Surprisingly a very popular recipe for lobster in Brittany is 'a l' americaine'.What does that term mean ? Hint

simmered in a delicate mix of cider, shallots and scallions

flamed in bourbon and then simmered in Californian red wine

with a coulis of tomatoes and simmered in white wine and brandy

cold lobster served with 3 sauces : a thousand islands, ketchup and curry

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Question 6 of 10

6. One of the most popular French desserts is an upside-down caramelised apple-pie, usually served warm with ice-cream or cr�me fra�che. What is its name? Hint

Tarte Machin

Tarte Gabin

Tarte Papin

Tarte Tatin

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Question 7 of 10

7. Sometimes the French use really funny names for their recipes.In the display-window of butcher's shops you often can see 'alouettes sans tete' (literally : decapitated larks). What are they in reality? Hint

decapitated quails

decapitated young chickens

little patties of fried chickpea flour

slices of meat wrapped around a stuffing

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Question 8 of 10

8. What is the correct term for a sauce that is a mixture of freshly made mayonnaise (olive oil, egg yolks, a bit of lemon) and squeezed garlic ? Hint

rouille

bourride

rascasse

aioli

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Question 9 of 10

9. What is the name for any soup with shellfish puree as its main ingredient? Hint

consomme

cotriade

veloute

bisque

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which of these would you normally NOT find in a French butcher's display window? Hint

entire pig's heads

skinned rabbits with the furry feet still attached

T-bone steak

offal and organ meats such as liver, tripe, heart, lung, brains

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 05 2024 : HumblePie7: 5/10
Sep 28 2024 : mberry923: 6/10
Sep 25 2024 : Guest 172: 10/10

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is the typical shape of a French 'croissant'?

Answer: crescent

Sometimes their 'brioches' look like a chef's hat.

2. In a baker's shop they don't only sell bread but also 'viennoiserie'. For pastry you normally have to find a 'patisserie'. -Which of these is pastry, and NOT 'viennoiserie'?

Answer: baba au rhum

3. French bread comes in many different varieties.Which of these loaves weighs the least, is the crispiest and also the thinnest?

Answer: ficelle

'Pain' is wider and less crispy than 'baguette'.Approx. 400 grammes.- 'Baguette' is the standard French loaf and weighs approx. 250 grs. - 'Flute' is a lil heavier than 'baguette'.- 'Ficelle' is thinner and crispier and weighs only 200 grs.

Answer: they are usually smaller and thinner than crepes

5. Some parts of France have excellent seafood. Surprisingly a very popular recipe for lobster in Brittany is 'a l' americaine'.What does that term mean ?

Answer: with a coulis of tomatoes and simmered in white wine and brandy

A l'americaine was invented by Pierre Fraisse from Sete. One day,in his Parisian restaurant in the Boulevard des Italiens, he happened to be using a PROVENCAL recipe with tomato, dry white wine, onion, shallots, garlic and cognac. Something he knew from his youth.

But as he had worked for a number of years in Chicago he wanted to present 'his' recipe as a l americaine. The Bretons who must have thought cognac was a not so very American ingredient ,re-baptised it: a l armoricaine i.e. in the style of Armorica= Brittany. - Which is hard to rhyme with the tomatoes. You find more on this in the New Larousse Gastronomique.

6. One of the most popular French desserts is an upside-down caramelised apple-pie, usually served warm with ice-cream or cr�me fra�che. What is its name?

Answer: Tarte Tatin

Papin was a popular soccer player ages ago. - Gabin a popular movie-star. Also ages ago. And Machin is what General de Gaulle used as a description for the United Nations.- The Sisters Tatin seem to have 'invented' their recipe by mistake.

Answer: slices of meat wrapped around a stuffing

Decapitated quails would be cailles sans tete.But there are no head-less Quails in France. - Such patties would be called : panisses.- When you find young chickens in the butcher's shop they will normally be headless indeed but chickens are 'poussins' not 'alouettes'. No headless chicks either in France.

8. What is the correct term for a sauce that is a mixture of freshly made mayonnaise (olive oil, egg yolks, a bit of lemon) and squeezed garlic ?

Answer: aioli

Bourride is an alternative for bouillabaisse.- Bouillabaisse should contain rascasse (scorpion fish). - Rouille is what you spread on a bit of toast when you eat bouillabaisse. It's a mix of mayonnaise, garlic, chilli peppers and fish broth.

9. What is the name for any soup with shellfish puree as its main ingredient?

Answer: bisque

Cotriade is a popular fish soup in Brittany.- Consomme is a 'clear' soup. - Velout� may either be a sauce or a soup. As a soup you combine a vegetable, meat, fish or shellfish base with some form of velout� sauce. For this you may need a roux, stock etc. To obtain the velvety effect this soup requires (velout� is related to velours) you can use egg yolks, cream, butter. Tastes and methods differ.

The term bisque is occasionally but much less frequently used for certain types of tomato and mushroom soup.

10. Which of these would you normally NOT find in a French butcher's display window?

Answer: T-bone steak

The way in which butchers cut up meat differs from country to country. T-bone steak is not a current 'procedure' in France.
"T�te de veau", "t�te press�e" are "charcuterie" sold either at the butcher's or at the delicatessen, often called charcuterie. But French butchers occasionally do also have entire pigs' heads, skinned rabbits, heifers hearts on full bloody display. So for the feeble-hearted it may be wiser to buy their flesh shrink-wrapped in a nice antiseptic supermarket.

Source: Author flem-ish

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