Foods Beginning with W Trivia Quiz

Answer: wahoo

Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) is both a commercial catch and a game fish. It swims in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In Hawai'i, it is called "ono". The flesh is white, delicate and flavourful. In Hawaii and the Caribbean, wahoo commands a high price in restaurants. Wahoo may be pan-seared, baked or grilled. Because the flavour of the fish is mild, it is best not to use too spicy a marinade or sauce with it.

Answer: water chestnut

Not a nut at all, the Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) is the corm of a plant which grows under water or in mud. The "chestnuts" may be eaten raw, lightly boiled, stir-fried, grilled or pickled. Several Asian cuisines dry and grind water chestnuts into a flour from which sweet baked goods are made. Like lotus root, they remain crisp even when cooked and are therefore a valued textural element in dishes.

Answer: water spinach

Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) is not really spinach at all. It is a leafy green which grows in water or muddy soil, mostly in Asia. It is also called water spinach, swamp spinach, river spinach, Chinese spinach, water morning glory, and Chinese watercress.

It is called "ong choy" in Cantonese, "kong xin cài" in Mandarin, "eng chhai" in Hokkien, "kang kung" in Malaysia and Indonesia, "phak bung" in Thailand, "rau muong" in Vietnam, "trokuon" in Cambodia and "kang kóng" in the Philippines. Water spinach may be steamed, boiled or stir-fried, usually with other vegetables, and served with a spicy sauce.

Answer: Welsh onion

The "Welsh" in Welsh onions (Allium fistulosum) is highly misleading. The green onion is not from Wales nor even much used in Welsh cooking where the leeks predominates. The "Welsh" in these onions derives from an obsolete English word meaning remote or foreign or not from around here.

The Welsh onion is similar to the common onion (Allium cepa) but has no bulb. It is also called bunching onion, spring onion, long green onion and chibbles (in Cornwall). In Jamaica, they are called escallion. The Japanese call them "negi" and in Korea they are "pa".

The greens are used in salads, in soup, to garnish other dishes, and even as a ligature to artistically tie up tiny bundles of food for service.

Answer: wheatgrass

Wheatgrass is of intense recent interest to those enthused by its reputed nutritional and curative properties. It is simply the first blades of wheat (Triticum aestivum) once it has sprouted and begun to grow. It is available in health-food shops fresh, as frozen juice, in pill form and dry powder.

A common use is to whir it up with fruits and vegetables in a blender to make a sort of smoothie. Quite apart from its modern use, wheatgrass has been a traditional culinary ingredient in Persia and India for centuries. Wheatgrass tofu and (green!) wheatgrass pasta are a specialty in some Chinese restaurants. Wheatgrass pasta can be made at home using either the juice or the powder form.

Answer: whisky/whiskey

Grains such as corn, wheat, barley and rye contain sugars which, when fermented, produce alcohol. The result is whiskey (in Ireland and the US) or whisky (in the UK and Commonwealth). The character of the result depends upon the grain, the manner of distillation, and the casks (and duration) of its aging. Whisky made in Scotland is Scotch. Irish whiskey is made in Ireland. American whiskeys include bourbon (made in Kentucky), Tennessee whiskey, corn whiskey and rye. Canadian whisky is commonly made of rye or a rye blend. If it is made with potatoes, it is vodka; if it is made with grapes, it is brandy.

Answer: wild leek

Wild leeks (Allium tricoccum) are very trendy in European and North American high-end cooking. The wild leek (also known as ramp, ramson, wood leek and wild garlic) has been valued and eaten in North America since colonial times. It is comparable to bear ramps (Allium ursinum) which grow wild in Europe and Asia. Ramps have a strong garlic odour and a strong garlic taste. Throughout Appalachia, they are used like onions and garlic to flavour other foods.

There are annual ramp and/or ramson festivals in West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Answer: wild thyme

Much like common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) to which it is related in the mint family (Lamiaceae), wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum) is an herb useful in seasoning meats, sauces, salads, barbecue, fish and gravy. It is flavourful cooked or raw. Different varieties have different flavour notes such as lemon. Both the leaves and the flowers are used culinarily. In addition to its use in cooking, wild thyme is sometimes planted between stepping-stones so that light pedestrian traffic releases its scent in the garden.

Answer: wintergreen

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) is a native shrub in North America which is useful for its minty flavour. The flavour is the result of an aromatic compound called methyl salicylate which is found in some other plants (e.g. birch trees), as well. Wintergreen berries have long been a part of Native American medicine.

They metabolize to acetylsalicylic acid, which is aspirin. The berries may be dried and used in tea, eaten raw or baked into pies and jams. They are also a common flavouring in chewing tobacco, mouthwash, and Life Savers candy. Wintergreen oil is a (perhaps surprising) ingredient in root beer.

Answer: Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce is a generic name but the best-selling version of it has been produced by the English firm of Lea & Perrins since the early 19th century. It is a combination of barley malt vinegar, molasses, soy sauce, anchovies, tamarind, shallots, garlic, and a mixture of secret spices and flavourings.

The Lea & Perrins brand has been sold since 1837. It was purchased in 1930 by HP Foods which was purchased by the Imperial Tobacco Company in 1967 and then sold to Damone in 1988, then sold to Heinz in 2005, which firm merged with Kraft in 2015 to produce Kraft-Heinz.

The pungent salty sauce is essential to Caesar salad, Oysters Kirkpatrick and the Bloody Mary cocktail. (Chef's tip: a mixture of unsalted butter and Worcestershire sauce can be used to finish hamburgers cooked in a frying pan with salutary effect.)