Foods of Israel Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Falafels are nothing more than deep fried ground chickpeas with spices blended in. That said it's an understatement as to what these little beauties taste like. If you never had them be sure to settle for nothing less than freshly made ones to capture the fullness of their taste.

Answer: Hummus

This is a staple food throughout the Middle East. Here in Israel children take sandwiches to school with just this on pita. But what is it you may ask? Well the main ingredient is ground chickpeas and from there the sky is the limit. People add different spices and olive oil and everyone seems to have their own family secret recipe that they will not divulge on pain of death.

Answer: True

An insight into ordering shawarma is to ask what it is made of. Similar to BBQ in America you can have different meat types e.g. pork, beef, etc. the same holds true for shawarma. Generally the meat offered is turkey and at nicer stands lamb is offered too, but not pork! Shawarma is found quite often at street vendor stands that offer falafel.

Answer: Bamba

Bamba has to be one of the strangest things going and they are so good. They're actually healthy for you and children begin eating them as one of their first foods here in Israel. Bamba comes in a bag much like potato chips do and they are puffed U-shaped peanut butter snacks. Those familiar with Cheese Doodles can appreciate the shape and texture beyond that I can only refer you to their web site:http://www.osem.co.il/Eng/_Articles/Article.asp?CategoryID=42&ArticleID=38

Answer: False

"Auf shtucha" literarily translated means 'flat chicken'and while that may perhaps be what it looks like it goes by the name nationally as 'schnitzel'. The dish consists of chicken breasts that are pounded to make tender and then dredged through flour. Next they are submerged in beaten eggs to wet them and finally rolled in bread crumbs. Now they are ready to cook in hot oil but it is possible to bake them as well.

In Italian cuisine you can cover these in red sauce and then smother it in cheese and bake it on top of a bed of pasta which is heavenly.

The Israeli way however is not locked into any particular serving style.

Answer: Barakas

Something to learn about word introduction from one culture to another can be seen in this staple food. In Hebrew we do not use 's' to pluralize a noun rather the ending "im" or "ot" is used depending on the gender of the noun. In this case however 's' is used and there is no singular form so whether you have one or a hundred they are all deemed Barakas.

Answer: Minced meat stuffed inside of fried bulgur wheat

Kibbeh can be found all throughout the Middle East and North Africa and it's even the national dish of Lebanon. Having the shape of a miniature American football they're easy to spot. They're absolutely wonderful and if you live near a Lebanese restaurant have them make some for you to enjoy- you won't regret it.

Answer: True

Challah is a traditional braided bread that is glazed with egg while it's baking. Generally two loaves at a minimum are served on the night of Shabbat (Friday eve) at the evening meal. The reason for this is that these loaves represent the show bread that was displayed in the Temple in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.

Answer: Wines

It's only fitting that Israel should have good wine but do you know the history? In ancient times Israel exported mass amounts of wine and olive oil to far away places in Egypt and further in land to Asia Minor but the trade was lost until one man resurrected it. That man was none other than the French wine mogul Baron Rothschild. If ever a single name stood for excellence in wine it was he. Anyway, the Baron who was an observant Jew started vineyards here in Israel to create work for Jews who had emigrated here in the late 1800's.

The industry caught on and now there are several large producers and at least 100 small cottage farm vineyards throughout the Land.

Answer: Maccabee- Gold Star

Maccabee and Gold Star are two beers in their own rights both being produced by Tempo Beer Industries in Tel Aviv. The advertising is sometimes confusing and leads one to believe they are one and the same so I combined the two names to take mercy on you.