Fired Up on Fiery Spices Trivia Quiz

Answer: Northern Africa

The peppers that are fundamental to harissa came to North Africa with the Spanish, and quickly became part of the flavour tradition of the region. Most associated with Tunisia, harissa paste is a blend of spices that may also include tomatoes, mint, and even rose water. Recipes for Tunisia usually varied by household and region. Some infused smokiness into the paste by searing the skin of the peppers before grinding it in a paste. Harissa is used on fish, lamb and beef dishes and may be added to soups or used as a condiment.

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Answer: Roman

Acknowledge that there is archaeological evidence of mustard being grown on the Indian subcontinent as early as 1800 BC, however, here, we're not seeking who originally grew it or ground it into powder, but who turned it into a condiment that could be applied to cold meats or hot dogs. The best guess at this point are the Romans who used create a paste by mixing a "must" (unfermented grape juice) with a powder from ground mustard seeds. This created a product named "must ardens", meaning burning must, from which the name mustard is derived. Records were found in a late fourth century Roman cookbook called "De Re Coquinaria" that combined ground mustard, pepper, caraway, lovage, grilled coriander seeds, dill, celery, thyme, oregano, onion, honey, vinegar, fish sauce, and oil to create a paste that was, most likely, used as a glaze for roast boar and would become a foundation for mustard.

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Answer: Chili

As with many recipes, there are always variations, but including chili is not one of these. Cinnamon (aka cassia) and Sichuan pepper are the other two commonly used ingredients.
Five spice is generally used when cooking meat, as a marinade or rub. It may not be quite as hot as some other hot stuff mentioned in this quiz, but it can still add a bit of zing to a dish.

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Answer: Black Cumin

Kala jira is its Indic name (may be seen as kala jeera in the US) and it has its origins in Egypt, Iran and the northern parts of India. Smaller and sweeter than regular cumin it is a popular addition to a range of Middle Eastern spice blends, notably Baharat and zhoug. In the Middle East and parts of Northern Africa it is favoured in tagines (stews) and seen as a perfect spice for roast lamb. In India it is used to flavour, amongst others, biryanis, curries and chutneys.

Nigella seed is an exotic spice used in Turkish cuisine and is often referred to as "black caraway seed".

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Answer: Piperine

Pepper is derived from the Piper nigrum plant, which originated in India. The word "pepper' comes from the Sanskrit word for berry, "pippali". Today, most of the world's pepper is grown in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and more recently, Brazil.

The alkaloid piperine is responsible for the pungent taste of pepper. Its isomer, chavicine, produces the heat. Black pepper is harvested while still unripe and then boiled briefly. The pepper skin darkens to black after being dried in the sun. White pepper is allowed to ripen fully before harvesting. The ripe pepper berries are soaked in water for several days after which the decomposing flesh is removed. The naked seed is then dried and becomes white pepper.

Pepper has been used in cooking since 2000 BC in India. Both black pepper and white pepper add heat and flavour to food. White pepper has a taste distinct from black pepper. This is because the skin, which contains much of the heat and aromatic oils, has been removed. As such, it is milder than black pepper. White pepper is often used in Asian cooking and is typically added after the dish is cooked to avoid the bitter flavour that comes from overheating.

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Answer: File

File powder is a staple in the pantry of most southern US kitchens and is commonly used in Creole cuisine. It can be used as a thickening agent in gumbo when the okra is out of season, however, it should be added toward the end of cooking and, once the pot has been taken off the heat. The danger in allowing the file to overheat is that it can form little threads (become stringy) and produce a sticky consistency. The initial use of dried sassafras leaves can be traced back to the Choctaw Indians from the regions of Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana.

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Answer: Mustard (Brassicaceae)

Brassicaceae, as a group, are called the mustard or cabbage family or, alternatively, crucifers. Common radish and horseradish form part of the cruciferous vegetables within the group.

Horseradish has a sharp bite to it due to it containing a number of pungent oils. The oils are volatile and will evaporate during cooking and, accordingly, lose their zing. To retain that sharpness, it is recommended to use it in uncooked sauces. To make the classic horseradish sauce, which is superb with roast beef, it is best to use the powdered form.

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Answer: Smoked-dried Jalapeno peppers

Chipotle comes from the Aztec language "chilpoctli : meaning "smoked chili" and is a smoke-dried jalapeno with a higher "heat" (see Q10) rating than jalapenos because of its dehydrated state. They feature heavily in Mexican inspired cuisines such as Mexican-American, Tex-Mex, and Southwestern dishes. They are left on the bush longer than the green jalapenos. As such, they then turn bright red as they have lost moisture. Then they are finally picked and smoked until they resemble prunes. This takes several days.

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Answer: True

Most curry powder recipes include cumin, coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and chilies in recipe blends but ginger, garlic, caraway, cinnamon, clove, mustard seed, cardamom, nutmeg, curry leaf, and peppers, have also been used. The Portuguese brought chili peppers from Brazil to their Indian colonies in the 1500s and their mixing of other Asian spices enabled the development of something close to what we call curry powder today.

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Answer: Scoville

The Scoville Scale measures capsaicin concentration which is the main pungent compound found in chili peppers. These are collectively called capsaicinoids. The scale is expressed in Scofield Heat Units after its creator, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville who developed the scale in 1912. Some of the common chilies' or peppers' Scoville Heat ratings show how pungent some of these spicy ingredients really are.
Bell Pepper / Capsicum 0
Jalapeno 1000 to 10 000
Cayenne Pepper 10 000 to 100 000
Habenero & Scotch Bonnet 100 000 to 350 000
Pepper X, Carolina Reaper, Dragon's Breath 800 000 to 3.2 million.

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