Foods Beginning with B, Part 2 Quiz

Answer: baharat

The modern term "baharat" is the plural of the Arabic word for spice. There are as many recipes for compounding baharat as there are grandmothers in the Middle East. Typical ingredients include: allspice, black peppercorns, cardamom seeds (removed from their pods), cassia bark/cinnamon, chili peppers, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, loomi (dried black lime), mint, nutmeg, paprika, rosebuds, turmeric, and saffron. Different mixtures are sometimes used for different purposes.

The spices are then toasted (to bring up their flavour) and then finely ground.

This mixture can be rubbed into meat (lamb, beef, chicken or fish) or made into a marinade with olive oil and lime juice, or added to soups, or offered at the table as a condiment. [Chef's note: Baharat is best made in small batches as it loses its potency quickly after it is ground.]

Answer: basmati

The English word "basmati" derives from the Hindi word "bāsmatī" meaning fragrant, which derives from the Sanskrit words "vas" meaning aroma and "mayup" meaning grain. Basmati rice has been grown in India, Nepal and Pakistan for too many centuries to count.

It is a long-grained rice with a distinctive and very pleasant odor (which, to my nose, has notes of butter, nuts, and cedar). [Chef's tip: the aroma of this rice is best preserved by soaking it in water for half an hour which shortens the cooking time.] A variety of basmati rice is grown in the US in Texas and branded Texmati.

Answer: Béchamel sauce

Sauce Béchamel is one of the "mother sauces" in classic French cuisine. This means that many other derivative sauces are made from it. For example, Sauce Mornay is simply Sauce Béchamel to which cheese (and perhaps a tiny bit of mustard) has been added.

There is debate, but the name may derive from a steward to King Louis XIV of France named Louis de Béchameil. It is found in other cuisines, as well, e.g. "besciamella" in Italy, "besamel" in Greece, and plain old white sauce in the US. It just sounds so much fancier to call your white sauce "Sauce Béchamel" in your best French accent.

Answer: Bergkäse

Bergkäse, which means "mountain cheese" in German, describes a variety of cheeses produced in and around the Alps. The name applies more to the origin of the milk than it does to a particular style of cheesemaking. Generally, Bergkäse is hard or semi-hard, with few if any holes, and a nutty taste. The name Bergkäse is not protected by the European Union as a protected designation of origin nor any of the other special protections afforded some food products. Some national protections are afforded.

Answer: Bénédictine

The herbal liqueur Bénédictine was invented in 1863 by Alexandre Le Grand, a French wine merchant. He founded the Palais Bénédictine. Because he took his recipe from one created by the religious order of Benedictine monks as a medicine, he honoured them with the name.

The highly-secret recipe contains twenty seven flowers, berries, roots and spices steeped in brandy. These may include angelica, juniper, myrrh, mace, fir cones, lemon balm, tea, coriander, clove, vanilla, orange peel, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Consumers often mixed Bénédictine with brandy to produce a drier drink; the company began selling such a mixture, under the name B&B, in the 1930s.

Answer: bitter melon

A member of the Cucurbitaceae family, bitter melon or bitter gourd is grown in the subtropical parts of Asia and Africa, and in the Caribbean. Momordica charantia is called many things in many languages, which reflects how widely dispersed it is. The plant originated in Africa but was first domesticated in Southeast Asia. Bitter melon figures prominently in Chinese cuisine, in Indian curries, in soups, in Nepalese pickles, in Pakistani soft drinks, in Vietnam, it is stewed for the the Tết holiday, and in Trinidad and Tobago, its fried with onion, garlic and scotch bonnet peppers so hot it makes one forget that the melon is bitter.

Answer: black currant

Black currants (Ribes nigrum) grow natively on bushes in temperate Eurasia as well as in Oceania and North America, where they have been transplanted. The edible berries are tart and are therefore cooked with sugar to produce syrups, pie fillings, and preserves. Black currants are a popular fruit in the UK, less so in the US due to a ban on their farming imposed because they vector white pine blister rust which threatened American forests.

The apéritif crčme de cassis is made of black currant juice.

When mixed with white wine, it becomes a drink called a Kir and, when mixed with champagne, a Kir Royale.

Answer: blowfish

There are a lot of fish called blowfish or pufferfish because of their ability to expand themselves to appear much larger than their unexpanded selves. Other names for them are balloon fish, bubblefish and sea squab. The problem with eating these creatures is that most of them produce a poison called tetrodotoxin capable of killing whatever eats the blowfish. Nonetheless, there is a specialty market in Japan and Korea for this dish, prepared by chefs who know which species are the safest and how to remove the most toxic parts. In Japan, this is called "fugu" and in Korea "bogeo."

Answer: borage

Francis Bacon wrote that borage (Borago officinalis) had "an excellent spirit to repress the fuliginous vapour of dusky melancholie." Borage is a Mediterranean flowering annual plant now grown throughout Europe and abroad. The leaves have been used for centuries both as food and as medicine.

The leaves are eaten fresh in salads and used dried as an herb. The flowers are remarkably sweet and may be elegantly frozen in ice cubes to beautify drinks. In Persia, the dried flowers are used to brew a tisane. Borage (both the flowers and the leaves) is the traditional original garnish in the classic cocktail Pimm's Cup.

Answer: Brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts do not enjoy the proper respect owed to them because, when overcooked, they emit a sulphurous odour which makes the whole house reek. The vegetable has been grown in Europe for many centuries, at least since Ancient Roman times. They are popular in Brussels, Belgium, for which they are named. [Lexicologist's note: given the propensity to elide in spoken English, this vegetable is too often called "Brussel sprouts."] They are grown in the US, especially in the areas around Monterey, California, and the Skagit Valley of Washington State.

They may be boiled (but not for too long), steamed, fried or deep-fried. [Cook's note: Frying in rendered bacon fat with a bit of onion, finished with a glurg of balsamic vinegar, creates a lovely side dish.]