See-food Trivia Quiz

Answer: United States

It is said that Nero's chef Gaius may have, inadvertently, created the first sausage. There is some dispute about whether the frankfurter originally came from Germany or Vienna, Austria. But when it comes to having popularized the good old American hot dog, it was a Jewish immigrant from Poland named Nathan Handwerker who worked in Coney Island in 1915.

He put the sausage in a bun, charged five cents and Nathan's Famous was born!

Answer: United Kingdom

Toad in the hole is a British classic consisting of sausages (again) in a batter, similar to Yorkshire pudding. It is often served with onion gravy and vegetable, and sometimes referred to as 'sausage toad'. It has been suggested that the name of the dish comes from its resemblance to a toad (or a frog) sticking its head out of a hole which, really, does not sound very appetizing.

Answer: Jamaica

The Caribbean islands, and specifically Jamaica, are credited with jerk pork. The term 'jerk' comes from the Spanish word 'charqui' or dried meat. The food dates back to the Maroons, Jamaican slaves who escaped the British in 1655. The slow-smoked method of curing meat is an age old Caribbean practice. By marinating or rubbing meats, seafood or vegetables with seasonings and then slow grilling them over wood (my mouth is now watering), jerked foods take on "a spicy-sweet flavor and tender texture".

Answer: China

Bok choy or 'brassica rapta chienensis' is a type of Chinese cabbage. The leaf vegetable is a subspecies of the turnip, and belongs to the same genus as the Western vegetables broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Bok choy originated in 14th century China, and was grown mainly in the Yangtze River Delta region. It became popular due to its medicinal qualities.

Answer: France

The word ratatouille comes from the French term "touiller" which means to 'toss or stir or mix' the food. Dating back to 18th century France, it originated in the area around present day Provence and Nice. Ratatouille is a vegetable dish made with eggplant (aubergine), tomatoes, onions, zucchini (corgettes), garlic, bell peppers and herbs.

It was originally a peasant dish made by poor farmers and prepared in the summer (either hot or cold), with fresh vegetables.

Answer: Greece

Feta is an aged brined curd cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk, and usually formed into a square shaped block. Despite the objection of the Danes, the cheese has been closely associated with Crete, in present day Greece. The word 'feta' means slice, and first appeared in the Greek language in the 17th century, i.e., the process of 'cutting the cheese' (stop it!) into thin slices. According to myth, the Cyclops, Polyphemos (remember him from the "Odyssey"?) was the first to have prepared it.

In fact, in the museum of Delphi there are 6th century BC artifacts which refer to the art of making feta cheese.

Answer: India

The Indian dish, sambar, is a lentil curry used with rice or idli (a savory breakfast cake) or vadai (a fritter-type snack). It originated in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and has become a symbol of Tamil cuisine. Sambar is a relatively new dish, i.e., just a few hundred years old, and the story of its origin maintains that it was "created out of a mistake".

As the account goes: one day the Indian warrior king Shivadji's son, Sambaji, returned home to find both his wife and daughter were away. Since he was very hungry, he decided to make rice and dal (lentils) but he also added tamarind to it... and that's how sambar was born.

Answer: Italy

Cacciatore comes from the Italian word for 'hunter'. It is a dish (often chicken, sometime rabbit) served with tomatoes, onions, herbs and wine, i.e., red wine in southern Italy and white wine in northern Italy. However, more complex cacciatore can be made using using 'non-fundamental' ingredients like garlic, mushrooms, peppers, olives, bacon or pancetta, anchovies, carrots, celery and capers.

The degree of 'fancy' is up to the preparer.

Answer: Japan

While sushi and sashimi are both Japanese raw fish dishes, Sushi consists of slices of raw fish mixed with special sushi rice (with vinegar); on the other hand, sashimi, meaning 'pierced body', is simply the raw fish, sliced very thinly. The Chinese custom of eating raw fish evolved into Sashimi, a Japanese delicacy which is often the first course of a Japanese meal, served with separate bowls of rice and miso soup.

The dish can be served with soy sauce, wasabi paste and ginger. Environmentally, the downside of the use of bluefin tuna in sashimi is bringing this popular species to the verge of extinction.

Answer: Lebanon

Tabbouleh or tabouli or tabooli is a Levantine vegetarian salad of fine-ground grains of bulgur, parsley, tomatoes, green onions, mint, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. The dish originated in the mountains of Lebanon in the mid-19th century. There are variations of the dish which add lettuce or garlic, and use couscous instead of bulgur.

As for the origin of the word tabbouleh, it was derived from the Arabic word tabil ('to spice').

Answer: Mexico

A quesadilla is a Mexican dish made by filling a tortilla (of corn or flour) with cheese, folding it in half and toasting until the grated cheese, e.g., Monterey Jack, Cheddar cheese or Colby Jack, is melted. Other ingredients like chicken (pollo), beef (carne) or vegetables can be added, and it is often served with salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream. Appearing around the mid-20th century, quesadilla is a diminutive of quesada 'type of cheesecake', from queso 'cheese', derived from the Latin 'caeseus'.

Answer: Russia

The reddish-purple soup called borscht or borshch or borsch originated as a part of the Russian and Ukranian culinary traditions around the 15th century. There are several different explanations for how the term 'borscht' came about. The simplest one is that the Old Slavonic word "brshch" (can we buy a vowel?) means beet, and borscht is basically beet soup garnished with dill and a dollop of 'smetana' (sour cream).

However, there is no consistent recipe for borscht (just as there seems to be little consistency in the spelling), and each Russian family has its own special recipe.

Answer: Spain

Paella is a famous rice dish (arroces) which originally comes from the Spanish region of Valencia in the mid-19th century. There are now hundreds of different versions, but a true Paella Valenciana (made from 'arroz de calasparra') contains no seafood; it is a mixture of chicken, rabbit and snails with green and white beans (and a nice sangria?). Paella's back story is that servants took the leftovers from the Moorish banquets and cooked them over open fires.

The word paella may come from the Arab word 'baqiyah' meaning leftovers, or it may be derived from the Latin word 'patella' for flat plate or pan in which the dish is served.

Answer: Thailand

Thailand is a country on Southeast Asia's Indochina peninsula. Thai dishes and Thai restaurants heave become increasingly popular in the Western world.
Chim chum is a food served in an earthenware pot, and consists of meat, vegetables, mushrooms and noodles, cooked in a clear herb broth containing lemongrass, galangal (in the ginger family) and kaffir lime leaves. The broth can also contain herbs such as kaphrao (basil), spices like chillies or use pork as one of the ingredients. It is served with one or more dipping sauces, e.g., nam chim.

Answer: Turkey

Imam bayildi literally means "the Imam fainted", presumably because this dish was so delicious? Originating in Turkey, it is an example of Ottoman cuisine consisting of whole eggplant (aubergine) stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes, and simmered in olive oil.

There's a story that goes with the dish: A long time ago a Turkish Imam who loved food married the daughter of a wealthy olive oil merchant who gave them olive oil as a dowry. She turned out to be a great cook and, one day, served him eggplant with olive oil.

It became his favorite and he asked for it every night. On the 13th night, the meal was missing. When questioned, she told him the oil had run out, and he fainted!