Downeast Cuisine Trivia Quiz

Answer: Moxie

Moxie was invented as a patent medicine in 1876 by a Lowell, Massachusetts doctor named Augustin Thompson. Originally, Dr. Thompson claimed it could be used as a nerve tonic, claiming it could "recover brain and nervous exhaustion; loss of manhood, imbecility, and helplessness".

Its recipe has changed over the years: it has always been made with gentian root extract and wintergreen, but also contained sassafras until the latter was outlawed. In the late 1960s, Moxie tried to sweeten its recipe to compete with other soft drinks and lost half its customers immediately.

In 1980, they reverted to the original recipe and it has remained much the same since. Every July in Lisbon, Maine, Moxie is feted with fireworks, a 5K race, a chugging challenge, a parade, and food stands incorporating Moxie into all sorts of recipes. Before you go try to find some Moxie at your local store, beware! Most people either love or hate Moxie.

Despite my Maine roots, I fall into the latter category; I think it tastes like cough syrup.

Answer: Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams Brewery is in Boston; the other three are all in the Portland area. Maine has over fifty craft breweries, and the Maine Brewers' Guild has a Beer Trail Passport that you can fill out while you visit each brewery in order to get prizes.

Answer: molasses & sugar

The various recipes for baked beans (without ketchup) were introduced to colonists by the Native Americans. Although the local tribes often consumed beans with corn bread, the Pilgrims adapted this and made brown bread instead. Baked beans could be cooked on Saturday and left overnight in the oven; on Sunday, they would still be warm and pious New Englanders could have a hot meal on the Sabbath without breaking the rules of the day of rest.

Answer: 1

One tree produces approximately 40 quarts of tree sap every season, but when boiled down, that amounts to only one quart of maple syrup per year. Furthermore, the maple sugar season is very short and depends on the weather. The starch within the tree is only liquid during the spring when the days are very warm and the nights are still very cold. No wonder real maple syrup is so expensive!

Answer: McDonald's

You can get a McDonald's lobster roll at New England and Canadian locations for just half the price of most of the local lobster shacks. But perhaps because of high prices, red tide, and overfishing, McDonald's did not offer the lobster roll between 2005 and 2014.

Answer: New England rolls are top-loading instead of side-loading.

Frankfurter rolls or lobster buns are split at the top and have a flat bottom and sides so that they stand up easily and can be placed in a three-sided cardboard box. Often, these buns are buttered and grilled before being loaded with lobster or hot dogs. Red snappers, a particular hot dog style unique to Maine, get their name from their neon red color and the snapping sound that the natural casing makes when you bite into one.

Answer: Peas

Boiled dinner is a hearty, slow-cooked meal containing corned beef or ham, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, rutabagas, and turnips. It is often served with horseradish, mustard, or cider vinegar.

Answer: blueberry

Over 60,000 acres of Maine are cultivated with blueberries. In Maine, blueberries are canned, made into pies, used to flavor beers and wine. Moody's Diner in Waldoboro, Maine, is famous for its blueberry muffins which one a gold medal from the Culinary Hall of Fame.

Answer: potatoes

Mashed potatoes are used to bind the sugar and coconut together before the entire concoction is dipped in chocolate. The potato taste isn't strong enough to be noticed, but it does keep needhams from being too sickly sweet.

Answer: whoopie pie

In 2011, Mainers made the world's largest whoopie pie which weighed 1,062 pounds. Although there is controversy about where the whoopie pie was invented, it is the official state treat of Maine and Dover-Foxcroft hosts an annual Whoopie Pie Festival.