Foods Beginning with O Trivia Quiz

Answer: oats

Oats are an ancient cereal grain equally suitable for consumption by humans and livestock. The oat (Avena sativa) is grown for its seed which must be crushed, flaked and/or ground into flour. From one perspective, an oatmeal-raisin cookie is a nearly perfect breakfast.

In addition to their use as a breakfast cereal and in baked goods, oats are used to produce a milk substitute. A higher use is the brewing of oatmeal stout. Clever home cooks, unable to procure oat flour, may blitz old-fashioned oats in a food processor until finely ground into flour.

Answer: octopus

The octopus is a salt-water creature who lives around the world. Their English name means "eight footed" in Greek. The arms of the octopus are eaten, cooked or raw, especially in Mediterranean and Asian cultures. "Takoyaki" is fried octopus in Japan. Koreans eat small octopus while it is still alive. Grilled octopus is a delicacy in Greece.

Much of the octopus consumed in the US is eaten in Hawai'i where it is known as "tako" (from the Japanese word) and "he'e" (in Native Hawaiian).

Answer: okra

Technically a fruit, okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is used as a vegetable in African and Southern American cookery. The seed pods accompanied slaves from Africa to the US and became a staple of American Black cuisine. The term okra is very old and first appears in English in the Colony of Virginia in 1679, where it derives from an African word "okuru." It is a constituent of any proper gumbo and is also good deep-fried in a corn-meal batter served with a spicy sauce rémoulade sauce.

Answer: Old Bay Seasoning

A German Jew, Gustav Brunn, escaped from Germany, fled to Baltimore, Maryland, and founded the spice company in 1939 which produced his "Delicious Brand Shrimp and Crab Seasoning." This was later named "Old Bay" after a ship which worked the Chesapeake Bay.

The blend contained black pepper, cardamom, celery salt, cloves, crushed red pepper flakes, ginger, laurel leaves, mustard, and paprika. Its original use was to season crab and shrimp dishes. Cooks' imagination has taken it in many varied directions, e.g. flavoured potato chips, popcorn topping, boiled peanuts, French fries, corn on the cob, and an ingredient in Subway Sandwiches.

It is sold by McCormick in a distinctive yellow box.

Answer: oloroso

Spanish vintners make oloroso sherry in Jerez and Montilla-Moriles. Unlike many sherries, it is dry. The wine is aged exposed to air (a process called "oxidative aging") and is therefore darker in colour than Amontillado. It is sometimes blended with other sherries to produce sweet wines.

The plain dark nutty-tasting wine is served as an apéritif or as a dessert wine. "Oloroso" is Spanish for scented and this wine has a lovely nose.

Answer: orange

The orange (Citrus × sinensis) is a hybrid between the pomelo (Citrus maxima) and the mandarin (Citrus reticulata). All of this crossing occurred long ago in the area of greater China and India. One Chinese author wrote of it in the 4th century BC. The trees grown well in tropical and subtropical climates.

The fruit is grown to be eaten fresh, to be squeezed for juice and to be zested to obtain the fragrant oil-rich surface skin. There are a very large number of varieties and their nomenclature is not at all used consistently: the tangor, the ponkan, the clementine, the Sumo Citrus, the china (lower case). Marmalade is made from oranges; so is curaçao, triple sec, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, Mandarine Napoleon and Citronge.

Answer: oregano

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is so closely related to marjoram (Origanum majorana) that it is sometimes called wild marjoram. This herb, essential to French and Italian cookery, originated in the Mediterranean. The English word oregano derives from the Spanish word "oregano" which derives from the Latin "origanum" which derives from the Ancient Greek "origanon" which means something like "the brightness of the mountains." Greek oregano (Origanum onites) is similar to the common Western variety. Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is not oregano at all!

Answer: Oregonzola

Oregonzola is made by the Rogue Creamery in southern Oregon. It is a semi-soft cheese made from organic milk from dairy cattle in Grants Pass, Oregon. The tangy blue-veined cheese was invented in the 1990s by Ignazio Vella, in the heritage of Italian Gorgonzola cheeses.

The texture is buttery which allows it to be smeared on toasted bread. For after dinner, it pairs well with pears, apples, figs, dates and prosciutto. [Chef's hint: crumble Oregonzola and gently-roasted pignoli (pine nuts) over polenta at the time of service.]

Answer: Ovaltine

Ovaltine was invented in Bern, Switzerland, and first shipped to the United Kingdom in 1909. The Swiss name for the product was "Ovomaltine" with reference to its ingredients: eggs and milk. A typographical error resulted in the product's trademark in Britain (as well as the in US and Canada) being "Ovaltine" rather than "Ovomaltine" which error has remained undisturbed.

The basic recipe for Ovaltine is malt, milk, eggs and cocoa. It is mixed with hot or cold milk to produce a beverage. It was marketed to children, in the US by the Captain Midnight programme on radio and TV, and in the UK by The League of Ovaltineys on the radio.

Answer: oyster

Oysters (Ostreoidea) in great variety grow around the world in salt water. They are bivalve molluscs. The flesh may be eaten raw or cooked; eating raw oysters has become progressively more dangerous as pollution and disease increase the risks. The Modern English term oyster derives from the Old French "oistre" which descended from the Latin "ostrea" which compares to the Ancient Greek "ostreon" meaning oyster.

Some find Pacific oysters in general and Olympic oysters in particular to be preferable but these are matters only of taste.