The Misplaced Menu Trivia Quiz

Answer: Salt cod

Cod fishery formed the basis of the province's economy for many years, almost since Newfoundland's discovery by Europeans in 1497, up to the latter part of the twentieth century. Before the days of refrigeration, a salt cure was the best way of preserving the catch for export to other countries. Along the way, many Newfoundlanders developed a taste for the salt cod that was being sold. Most often it is served with some form of potatoes, nowadays.

Salt cod is also produced in Norway, Iceland, and other places with coasts on the North Atlantic.

Question submitted by elmo7.

Answer: Possum

The native Kiore (rat), and Kuri (dog) were both popular foods, as was Kaanga pirau, also know as rotten corn or stinking corn. The kernels were placed in a bag in clean, running water and allowed to ferment for up to six weeks.

Both rats and dogs are eaten in many societies but in most westernised countries both have become taboo.

Question submitted by Waitakere.

Answer: The root

When I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, we used to call them Pomfret cakes, but they are also widely known simply as Pontefract cakes. Each one should be embossed with a stamp depicting Pontefract castle prior to Cromwell reducing it to ruins.

Local legend has it that Pomfret cakes were the first sweet confections which contained liquorice in the world, but I very much doubt that can be proved! Ponte people are still very proud of their liquorice roots (pun intended) and hold an action-packed annual liquorice festival to celebrate the plant. One of the town's pubs is called The Liquorice Bush where one can sometimes enjoy the local specialty of liquorice beer.

Question submitted by thula2.

Answer: Mini cylindrical goat cheese

The Bouchon Lyonnais is a hard mini goat cheese shaped like a cork wine stopper produced in Lyon, the third largest city in France, considered by many to be the gastronomic heart of the country. Two other regions of France, Sancerre and Poitou-Charentes produce a similar bouchon.

The other three choices are also typical dishes for which Lyon is known. Boudins are traditional blood sausages, quenelles are light, fluffy fish balls or dumplings served in a sauce, and bugnes are delicate fried doughnuts often associated with Mardi Gras celebrations.

The word ˈbouchonˈ is also used for a typical small, convivial Lyonnais restaurant which has only two narrow rows of tables with a small aisle between, as well as for the traffic jams for which Lyon is notorious.

Question submitted by pitegny

Answer: Salt pork

Puritan New England forbade cooking on the Sabbath - sundown Saturday through sundown Sunday. This Saturday-night staple could be put in the brick oven to bake on Saturday morning, be ready to eat on Saturday night, and would still be warm after church on Sunday. Baked beans are still eaten today, although they are much more popular in the UK and Australia than they are in the US!

Question submitted by Fifiscot.

Answer: Witchetty Grub

Witchetty grubs are large moth larvae that live in tunnels about 60 cms (24 inches) underground, feeding off the sap and roots of the Witchetty and Acacia species of bush, in central Australia. Aboriginal women and children dig the grubs up.

The grubs can be eaten raw or cooked in hot ashes. They are said to taste like scrambled egg when raw and like chicken when cooked. They are very high in protein. The moniker "Witchetty grub" is from an indigenous Australian language, Adnyamathanha. These grubs can grow as big as 12 cms (4.7 inches) long. The moths themselves can have a wingspan of up to 16 cms (6 inches).

Question provided by wenray.

Answer: Cream

Clam chowder recipes use a variety of ingredients including clams, clam broth, potatoes and celery but to be New England style it must be made with cream. Purists will allow for half and half but to some it's unthinkable to use just milk.

New York or Manhattan clam chowder is made with diced tomatoes and carrots. Rhode Island style is made with chicken broth.

The only use for rum in clam chowder would be to sip on it while making any of these styles.

Question submitted by dekeaunt.

Answer: Shape resembling a barber's razor

Pacific razor clams, also known as straight razor clams and jackknife clams, can be found along the coast from Alaska to central California.

They are elongated in shape and have a long foot which helps them dig deep and fast into the sand, making them difficult to harvest. When their shell is closed and their long foot is extended, the clams do indeed resemble an old-fashioned barber's razor. The clams range in size from 3 inches (8 cm) in warmer water up to 11 inches (28 cm) in the cold waters off Alaska.

Razor clams, one of the meatiest clams, are much sought-after in the Pacific Northwest. Pan-fried, they are very sweet and tender. Before harvesting razor clams yourself, be sure to check with local authorities. Razor clams tend to accumulate domoic acid, which is produced by certain types of algae. At times this concentration can reach toxic levels high enough to cause amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) in humans.

Question submitted by pitegny

Answer: Liverpool

The name Scouse probably came from the meal known as lobscouse made by sailors by boiling salted meat, onions, with pepper and ship's biscuit to thicken it. The exact origins of the meal are lost in time but it may come from the Baltic area of Europe, Germany, or Norway.

Modern recipes and there are more than one, dispense with the ship's biscuit. Here are the ingredients for one version of scouse: carrots, onions, potatoes, lamb, black pepper, Worcester sauce and a stock cube (Oxo is fine). Eat until you can't move.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie

Answer: Crabs

The name "moeche" is Venetian dialect. It's believed that it comes from the Italian "molle" meaning soft. Indeed, "moeche" are very soft. Basically, they are green crabs which are in the process of molting and have lost their old exoskeleton but haven't yet full-grown their new one. This only happens at certain times of the year so they are quite a rare delicacy. Prior to being cooked they are put in a bowl of whisked eggs which they gobble up and eventually choke in. They are then deep-fried whole.

Neither tuna nor whales can be found in the Venetian lagoon, and if they could I doubt they'd be fried whole. Although seagulls are abundant, they aren't used as food. Many Venetian residents would probably like to fry them whole, but not to eat them.

Question submitted by thula2.