Kiwi Kai Trivia Quiz

Answer: Green

A salad green with a slightly bitter taste, usually boiled. The leaves look similar to dandelion leaves and have a texture like lettuce. Puha grows wild in some places.

Answer: A grub

The huhu-grub lives in rotting wood and is a fat off-white worm-like grub. Can be eaten cooked or whilst still wriggling, and reputedly tastes like peanut butter, although I have not so far been game enough to try one!

Answer: Seafood

"Kai" means "food" and "moana" is the sea. Seafood has always been a big part of the Maori diet.

Answer: In a pit

Kumara are very temperamental and need the perfect conditions to grow. These "sweet potatoes" are grown in pits. New Zealand has the perfect climate for kumara, which have always been grown by the Maori people.

Answer: In a hole in the ground

Mutton birds are seabirds that live in holes they make in the ground. They can only be caught by Maori with permits and are found only on small islands off the coast of the South Island. They are extremely salty and greasy. Muttonbirds can be cooked in a variety of ways, particularly fried or boiled.

Answer: Eel

Tuna is the Maori word for eel, which are traditionally trapped in flax traps. They are usually dried or smoked. Tuna has always been a part of the Maori diet, traditionally villages were either near the sea or a river so that tuna could be caught easily.

Answer: In a river

Inanga are whitebait, a tiny newly-hatched fish which has not yet eaten, meaning it is clear, turning white when cooked. Whitebait are usually caught near river mouths and are most often mixed with egg, milk and flour and fried to make the famous "whitebait pattie."

Answer: A large shellfish

Sometimes called "abalone", the paua is a large, tough shellfish in a grey/white shell which is shiny and rainbow coloured, almost metallic looking on the inside. Paua is usually sliced and fried or ground(minced) and made into paua patties.

Answer: A method of cooking

Large stones are thrown against one another to make sure they are durable and will not shatter. They are then heated in a fire until very hot. Usually the stones and fire are together in a pit, but occasionally the hot stones are added to a pit once hot enough. Food is then added to the pit in baskets, and well wrapped, usually in damp mutton-cloth. Dirt is then put on top until the pit is filled in.

The hangi is left for some hours before being dug up and eaten. Popular hangi foods include shellfish, pork, kumara, potato, cabbage and all manner of other meat, poultry and vegetables.

Answer: No

"Koura" is crayfish (like lobster) which is caught in the water around the rocky coastline. Freshwater crayfish are similar but a lot smaller and found in rivers. Both freshwater (crawlies) and regular koura are boiled before being eaten either hot or cold.