Foods Beginning with I Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ibérico ham

The large black Ibérico pig is native to Spain. It is finished on a diet of acorns before what the farmers call the "matanza" meaning "sacrifice". Parts of the pig are used to make chorizo, salchichón and morcilla sausages. The fatty legs are cured in sea salt and allowed to dry in the open air.

They are cured between two and four years. The result is Jamon Ibérico de Bellota which is very expensive and very flavourful.

Answer: ice wine

Grapes allowed to freeze on the vine can be quickly harvested and pressed, discarding the frozen water and fermenting the concentrated sugar-laden juice which does not freeze. The result is ice wine (in German, "Eiswein") which is a sweet dessert-type wine balanced with high acidity.

There are a lot of risks in ice wine production. For this reason, the bottlings tend to be small and the prices high. Canada is a significant producer because the conditions for making ice wine are common and widespread in this country.

Answer: iceberg lettuce

Poor iceberg lettuce! It is neither as flavourful nor as nutrient rich as many other lettuces and thus it is defamed by critics. It is, however, a sweet and tasty green which is more acceptable to young eaters than bitter spinach or radicchio. It is also high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K, and folate. Formerly called crisphead lettuce, iceberg lettuce got its name from California farmers who shipped it by rail under mounds of crushed ice.

Answer: Icelandic salt

Salt making has been practiced in Iceland since the King of Denmark ordered it in the 18th century. Geothermal energy is used to extract salt from sea water (of which Iceland has a lot). The water is taken from the North Arctic Ocean stream and reduced using the heat of magma deep within the earth. Icelandic salt is hand harvested, scarce and expensive. And the carbon footprint of Icelandic sea salt is zero.

Answer: Illawara plum

The Illawara Plum is known by many names: Daalgaal, Goongum, Plum Pine. Its scientific name is Podocarpus elatus. It grows naturally in east coast of Australia, in eastern New South Wales and eastern Queensland. The fruit is valued by Aboriginal people and Europeans, as well.

It has a mild pine flavour and is commonly made into jam or jelly. The fruit is also baked into muffins and cheesecake.

Answer: Inca berries

Inca berries (Physalis peruviana) have a remarkable number of different names: cape gooseberry, goldenberry, uchuva, poha, aguaymanto, topotopo, deng long guo, coqueret, alkékenge, or lanterne chinoise, cerise de terre, and Pichuberry. Its origin is in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador but it has been transported around the world and thrives in many temperate and tropical regions.

It was cultivated by the Incas. Rather like a tomatillo, each berry grows within a husk called a calyx. The sweet-tart fruit is eaten raw, mashed into sauces, jams and chutneys, used to flavour ice cream, and used as a filling for tarts and pies.

Answer: Indian corn

Indian corn (also called flint corn) appears as a decorative element in fall holidays in North America. It is one of the oldest strains corn, having been a staple in Native American diets before Columbus. Indian corn is edible. It is used as cattle feed but also to make hominy and polenta.

Answer: Irish Cream

Bailey's Original Irish Cream has been bottled since 1974. It (and a number of imitators) combine Irish whiskey with Irish dairy cream and several flavours (chocolate, vanilla, undisclosed others). The Irish name for the drink is uachtar Gaelach. It is drunk straight as a cordial, served on the rocks, mixed with coffee (and sometimes Kahlúa) to make Irish coffee, and sometimes flavours some wicked desserts.

Answer: Irish whiskey

The Irish have been distilling whiskey (note the spelling) since the 13th century. In the US and Ireland, "whiskey" is spelt with an "e" whereas in the UK it is spelt "whisky" without the "e". There are several methods of producing "uisce beatha" (the water of life): single-malt Irish whiskey made from malted barley, single-pot still made of malted and unmalted barley, and grain whiskey made in a continuous column still, which is used to blend with the other two sorts. Two popular labels are Bushmill's and Jameson's.

Answer: Italian buttercream

There at least half a dozen varieties of buttercream but the most common are American, Swiss, and Italian. In its most basic form, buttercream is a beaten mixture of butter (or other fat) and sugar used to fill, coat and/or decorate cakes and pastries. Probably the most difficult buttercream to prepare is Italian Buttercream. Egg whites are whipped at room temperature. Hot sugar syrup is poured slowly into them to cook the egg whites. Butter and other flavourings are finally added into the mixture.

The reward for all this careful work is a remarkably stable buttercream which is silky smooth in the mouth.