158 Fun Facts About Food

Which spice is the hand-picked, dried stigma of a crocus?

Saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus; each flower yields only three threads, all picked by hand, which makes it the priciest spice by weight.

Which blue-veined Italian cheese is named after a town near Milan?

Gorgonzola takes its name from the Lombard town of Gorgonzola, east of Milan; the blue-green veins come from Penicillium moulds introduced into the cow's-milk curd.

Which kitchen verb means simmering a sauce, stock or wine so water evaporates and the flavour thickens and intensifies?

Reduce a liquid and you are just boiling off water; stocks, wine, vinegar and juices are all reduced until the concentration a recipe wants is reached.

Which fruit is botanically classified as a berry, despite its common culinary perception?

Botanically, a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary, containing many seeds. Bananas fit this definition, unlike apples (pomes) or strawberries (aggregate accessory fruits).

Which saffron-tinted Valencian rice dish takes its name from the wide, shallow pan it is cooked in over an open fire?

Paella simply means frying pan in Catalan and Valencian, so the dish is named for its cookware; the pan itself is also called a paellera.

What is the main ingredient in hummus?

Chickpeas are the base of hummus; the Arabic word hummus itself means chickpea, and the full name hummus bi tahina adds the sesame paste it is blended with.

Which East Asian mushroom is named in Japanese for the tree whose dead logs it grows on?

Shiitake combines shii, the chinquapin tree Castanopsis cuspidata, with take, mushroom; it was traditionally cultivated on felled shii logs.

Ghee, a clarified butter, is commonly used in which cuisine?

Indian cooks have used ghee since ancient times, and because the water and milk solids are removed it keeps for months without refrigeration and smokes far less than butter.

Hand-pressed nigiri sushi took off as street food in 1820s Edo; what has that city been called since 1868?

Tokyo was Edo until 1868, when the Meiji government renamed it 'eastern capital'; nigiri was the fast food of Edo's merchant class, and 'Edomae' names that Edo-style sushi.

What grain is couscous traditionally made from?

Couscous consists of small steamed balls of crushed durum wheat semolina, a type of wheat, and is a staple food in North African cuisine.

What is the primary ingredient in tofu?

Soybeans are tofu's main ingredient: soy milk is curdled with nigari or gypsum and pressed into grades from silken to extra firm; its making was first recorded in Han-dynasty China.

Which thorny Southeast Asian fruit is nicknamed the 'king of fruits'?

The durian is a tropical fruit known for its large size, thorny exterior, and potent, often polarizing aroma, which earns it the title 'king of fruits'.

What cooking method submerges food in hot oil at about 350-375°F?

Deep-frying differs from pan-frying by depth: the food is under the fat entirely, originally lard and today most commonly oil, so it cooks from every side at once.

In Japanese cuisine, what is mirin?

Mirin is a sweet rice wine of roughly 14% alcohol and high sugar; it glazes grilled dishes and balances salty soy sauce in teriyaki.

What traditional French pastry is made from choux dough and often filled with cream?

Éclair is French for 'flash of lightning'; the oblong choux-pastry shell is filled with crème pâtissière and topped with chocolate or coffee icing.

What is the primary ingredient in guacamole?

Avocado, mashed, is the base of guacamole; the name comes from Nahuatl ahuacamolli, 'avocado sauce', and the dish dates from Aztec-era Mexico.

What chemical compound is primarily responsible for the sensation of heat in chili peppers?

Capsaicin triggers the TRPV1 heat receptor in mammals, causing the burn; birds lack that sensitivity, so they eat the peppers and spread the seeds.

Which nut is primarily used to make marzipan?

Almonds, ground and blended with sugar, make marzipan; it is moulded into fruits and animals and wraps Battenberg cake and Christmas stollen.

Fresh Italian pasta is usually made from flour and which ingredient, unlike dried pasta?

Dried pasta is typically durum semolina and water; the fresh kind uses all-purpose or low-gluten '00' flour with eggs.

What is a roux typically made of?

Flour and fat, usually butter, cooked together make a roux; the longer it cooks the darker and nuttier it gets, which is why a Cajun gumbo roux can be the colour of chocolate.

What type of fish is most commonly used for traditional British fish and chips?

Cod is the classic fish-and-chips fish across most of England; haddock is the usual alternative in Scotland and the north-east, and both are battered and deep-fried.

What is kombucha primarily made from?

Fermented sweetened tea is all kombucha is: the culture, nicknamed the tea mushroom, eats the sugar and leaves a sour, lightly fizzy drink thought to have originated in China.

What is the traditional Japanese fermented soybean paste often used in soup?

It is high in protein and played an important nutritional role in feudal Japan.

Which vegetable is known as aubergine in some parts of the world?

Eggplant is the North American name for aubergine, the nightshade Solanum melongena; the name comes from early cultivars with small white egg-shaped fruit.

Sauerkraut's sourness comes from which acid, made by bacteria already living on raw cabbage leaves as they ferment it?

Lactic acid bacteria are naturally present on cabbage, so sauerkraut needs no added culture, only salt; the same family of microbes sours yogurt.

What is the main ingredient in polenta?

Cornmeal simmered in water or stock makes polenta, a northern Italian staple; once cooled and set into a loaf it can be sliced and baked, fried or grilled.

What is the outer layer of citrus fruit, rich in aromatic oils, called when used for flavor?

Zest is the coloured outer peel of citrus, packed with aromatic oils; massaging it into sugar draws them out into what bakers call an oleo saccharum.

What is the primary ingredient in pesto sauce?

Basil is the heart of pesto alla genovese, pounded with pine nuts, garlic, cheese and olive oil; the name comes from the Genoese verb for pounding in a mortar.

Which US city is so tied to sourdough that a sourdough bacterium was named after it?

San Francisco lent its name to Lactobacillus (now Fructilactobacillus) sanfranciscensis, the bacterium behind its tangy gold-rush-era sourdough; the 49ers' mascot is even called Sourdough Sam.

What is tahini primarily made from?

Sesame seeds, hulled and ground, make tahini; the paste is used from the Balkans to South Asia and is the base of halva.

Traditional baked beans are usually made from which small white variety, also called haricot?

Navy beans, the small white haricot, are the classic baked bean; they are parboiled and then baked slowly at low heat, while canned versions are usually stewed rather than baked.

Which aromatic compound makes up most of clove oil?

Eugenol makes up roughly 80–90% of clove essential oil, giving cloves their warm, numbing aroma; dentists long used it in zinc oxide eugenol filling cement.

Granita, a semi-frozen dessert of sugar, water and flavourings, originated on which Italian island?

Sicily is granita's home; the ice is scraped to a coarse texture, chunkiest in Palermo and nearly as smooth as sorbet in the east, and eaten with brioche for breakfast.

What is the main ingredient in balsamic vinegar?

Grapes are the base: traditional balsamic is cooked grape must aged for years in wooden casks in Modena and Reggio Emilia, and it was once taken as a medicine for sore throats.

Botanically, which of these fruits is a drupe?

A cherry is a drupe, as are olives, mangoes and even coffee 'beans', which are really the stones of a small red fruit.

Tempeh, a compact cake of fermented soybeans, is a traditional food of which country?

Indonesia, especially Java, is tempeh's home; Rhizopus mould binds whole soybeans into a firm cake, so it keeps more protein and fibre than tofu.

Which small fish is a key fermented ingredient in Worcestershire sauce?

Anchovies, fermented in vinegar with tamarind, molasses and spices, give Worcestershire sauce its savoury depth; Lea & Perrins put the sauce on sale in 1837.

Which cooking method browns meat at high heat, then simmers it slowly in a covered pot of liquid, as in pot roast?

Braising uses both dry and wet heat, so the sear builds flavour and the long simmer makes tough cuts tender; Chinese and Vietnamese cooks often add soy sauce to the liquid.

What is tapioca made from?

Cassava root, also called manioc, is grated and washed to extract tapioca starch; the plant copes with poor soils better than most food crops.

Egyptian falafel, known locally as ta'ameya, is traditionally made from which legume?

Broad beans (fava) are soaked, skinned and ground for Egyptian ta'ameya, giving a greener, softer fritter; Levantine falafel is usually made with chickpeas instead.

What is the term for small dishes served before the main course in Spanish cuisine?

Tapas are Spain's small plates, from olives to patatas bravas; one legend credits King Alfonso X, who ordered taverns to serve wine only with a small snack.

Miso soup is made by dissolving fermented paste into which Japanese stock?

Dashi, a stock of kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes, is the base of miso soup and most Japanese soups; ponzu, tsuyu and shoyu are sauces, not stocks.

Ugali, the stiff porridge eaten across East and Southern Africa, is usually made from which grain?

Maize meal stirred into boiling water makes ugali; it goes by names such as nsima, sadza and pap, and is eaten with sukuma wiki greens in Kenya.

What is the common name for dried plums?

Prunes are dried plums, mostly of the d'Agen variety in California; in 2001 US growers won FDA permission to market them as 'dried plums' to shed the name's image.

Kimchi is most often made from which salted and fermented vegetable?

Napa cabbage and Korean radish are the two classic bases, seasoned with gochugaru chili powder, garlic, ginger and salted seafood before fermenting.

Which preservation process uses salt, often with sugar and nitrates, to draw moisture from meat?

Curing draws moisture out with salt, often helped by sugar and nitrates; it was the main way of preserving meat and fish until refrigeration arrived in the late 19th century.

In Argentina and Uruguay, gnocchi are traditionally eaten on which day of each month?

The 29th is 'día de ñoquis', a cheap meal before month's-end payday; diners tuck money under the plate for luck, and 'ñoqui' became slang for a bogus employee who shows up only for payday.

Which fruit is known for its high vitamin C content and is often used in marmalade?

Oranges, specifically bitter Seville oranges, are the classic marmalade fruit; their peel and pips are rich in pectin, which sets the preserve thick.

Hollandaise is an emulsion of egg yolk, lemon juice and which melted fat?

Butter, melted and whisked into warm egg yolks with lemon juice, makes hollandaise; the name means 'Dutch sauce', and it is one of Escoffier's five mother sauces.

The Maillard reaction that browns a bread crust happens when sugars combine at high heat with what?

Amino acids from proteins react with reducing sugars in the Maillard reaction, producing brown melanoidins and hundreds of flavour compounds; the flavour industry uses it to make artificial flavours.

Japanese chefs train for years to serve fugu pufferfish because it carries which lethal poison, with no known antidote?

Tetrodotoxin paralyses the muscles while the victim stays fully conscious, and the only treatment is keeping them breathing until it wears off.

Iceland's fermented dish hákarl is made from which shark, poisonous when fresh?

Greenland shark flesh is toxic fresh because of its high urea and trimethylamine oxide content, so it is fermented in a pit and hung to dry for four to five months.

Kopi luwak coffee is made from cherries that have passed through which animal's digestive tract?

Asian palm civets eat ripe coffee cherries and pass the beans, whose proteins are partly broken down by digestive enzymes; 'luwak' is the Indonesian word for the civet.

Casu martzu, a Sardinian sheep-milk cheese, is notorious for containing what?

Live fly maggots, larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei, digest the cheese's fats into a soft, pungent paste; a liquid nicknamed 'teardrop' may seep out.

Which Swedish fermented Baltic herring, sold in bulging tins, is said to smell even stronger than Iceland's hákarl when opened?

Surströmming gets just enough salt to stop the raw herring rotting while it ferments for at least six months, which is why the tins bulge and most people open them outdoors.

Mace, the spice, is the lacy red aril around the seed of which other spice?

Nutmeg and mace come from the same fruit of Myristica fragrans: nutmeg is the seed kernel and mace the crimson aril wrapped around it; both are grated for béchamel and baking.

Despite its name, Bombay duck is what kind of animal?

Bombay duck is a lizardfish, Harpadon nehereus, also called bummalo; it is usually eaten dried and salted, or fried fresh along India's west coast.

The Scoville scale for chilli heat is named after an American who worked in which profession?

Wilbur Scoville was a pharmacist at Parke-Davis in Detroit; his 1912 organoleptic test had tasters dilute pepper extract in sugar water until no heat could be detected.

Nixtamalization, soaking maize in alkali, helps prevent which deficiency disease?

Pellagra, the niacin-deficiency disease, is prevented because the alkali frees niacin that is chemically bound in raw maize; Mesoamerican cooks used lime or wood ash for this long before the chemistry was understood.

The French dessert omelette norvégienne is known in English by what name?

Baked Alaska is the English name for omelette norvégienne: ice cream on sponge, sealed in meringue and browned briefly, the egg-white foam insulating the ice cream from the heat.

Which Japanese chemist identified umami in 1908 and co-founded the company that first sold MSG?

Kikunae Ikeda isolated glutamate from kombu in 1908 and patented MSG; with Saburosuke Suzuki he launched it in 1909 under the brand name Ajinomoto.

Roquefort cheese, ripened in the caves of Mont Combalou, is made from what kind of milk?

Sheep's milk, from the Lacaune breed, is required for Roquefort; ripened with Penicillium roqueforti in the Combalou caves, it became France's first AOC cheese in 1925.

In 1971 the United States barred traditional haggis because of a ban on which ingredient?

Sheep lung has been off the US menu since a 1971 USDA rule banning livestock lungs as food, and lung is a core part of the traditional haggis recipe.

Until the late 18th century, which island group was the world's only source of nutmeg?

The Banda Islands, part of Indonesia's Maluku, were the sole home of Myristica fragrans until Pierre Poivre smuggled seedlings to Mauritius in 1770; the Dutch VOC had monopolised the trade from 1621.

Tabasco pepper mash is aged up to three years in white oak barrels previously used for what?

Whiskey barrels, mainly ex-Jack Daniel's white oak, are de-charred and cleaned before the mash is sealed in; pickers judge pepper ripeness against a little red stick, le petit bâton rouge.

Legend says the pizza created by Raffaele Esposito in 1889 honoured a visiting whom?

Queen Margherita of Savoy, visiting Naples with King Umberto I, is said to have favoured Esposito's tomato, mozzarella and basil pizza, whose colours echoed the Italian flag.

Caesar salad was created on July 4, 1924, in which city?

Tijuana, Mexico, is where Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini ran a restaurant popular with Americans escaping Prohibition, and where he reputedly improvised the salad when short on ingredients.

What did John Montagu, an 18th-century earl, reportedly order during long card games?

Roast beef between two pieces of toast is the 4th Earl of Sandwich's reputed order, eaten so he need not leave the gaming table; the story comes from French traveller Pierre-Jean Grosley in the 1770s.

The croissant was inspired by the shape of which Austrian pastry?

The kipferl dates back at least to the 13th century in Austria.

Bagels were first mentioned in 1610 in community ordinances of which Polish city?

Kraków's Jewish community regulations of 1610 are the first written mention, listing bagels as a gift for women in childbirth; the rings are briefly boiled, then baked.

A popular story credits the pretzel to an Italian monk in which year?

610 AD is the date in the popular tale: an Italian monk folded dough to look like arms crossed in prayer and gave the 'pretiola', little rewards, to children who learned their prayers.

Frankfurter sausages were historically handed out to the people at what kind of event?

Coronations of Holy Roman Emperors in Frankfurt, from Maximilian II in 1562, saw the city's thin pork sausages handed out to the crowds; they had been made there since the 13th century.

Which US president served 'potatoes in the French manner' at a White House dinner in 1802?

Thomas Jefferson, whose French chef Honoré Julien ran the White House kitchen, served 'potatoes in the French manner' in 1802; whether fries began in France or Belgium is disputed.

Pad thai was promoted by Plaek Phibunsongkhram's government to reduce consumption of what?

Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram pushed noodles during a wartime rice shortage.

Ramen's origins can be traced to the Chinatown of which Japanese city?

Yokohama's Chinatown, where Chinese immigrants sold wheat noodles in broth in the late 19th century, is the usual starting point of ramen's story; Tokyo's Rairaiken popularised it from 1910.

Residents of which Vietnamese city are credited with first creating pho?

Nam Định, south-east of Hanoi, is credited with pho's birth around 1900, reputedly in Vân Cù village; beef came via French demand, and the name may derive from the French pot-au-feu.

Korean bibimbap, meaning 'mixed rice', is topped with namul vegetables and which fermented red chili paste?

Gochujang gives bibimbap its red heat and is stirred through just before eating; doenjang is the soybean paste, and ssamjang the blend of the two used for lettuce wraps.

Tacos al pastor derive from lamb shawarma brought to Puebla by immigrants from where?

The dish originated in the central Mexican state of Puebla.

Ceviche is recognized by UNESCO as an expression of which country's traditional cuisine?

Peru's ceviche, raw fish cured in lime juice with onion and ají chili, was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2023; many Pacific-coast countries have their own versions.

Poutine emerged in the late 1950s in which region of Quebec?

Centre-du-Québec is poutine's home: Warwick's Fernand Lachance is credited with the fries-and-curds combination in 1957, and Drummondville's Le Roy Jucep added the gravy in 1964.

Who wrote the 1330 imperial kitchen manual that mentions an ancestor of Peking duck?

Hu Sihui, a Yuan-dynasty court dietitian, compiled the Yinshan Zhengyao (Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages) in 1330; it lists 'shao yazi', roast duck, an ancestor of Peking duck.

Which UK foreign secretary called chicken tikka masala 'a true British national dish'?

Robin Cook said it in a 2001 speech on British multiculturalism; the dish is thought to have been created in Glasgow, possibly by Ali Ahmed Aslam of the Shish Mahal.

Goulash, seasoned with paprika, originated in which country?

Hungary's herdsmen gave goulash its name: gulyás means cattle herder in Hungarian, and paprika became the stew's defining spice in the 19th century.

Borscht derives from an ancient soup made from which pickled plant?

Common hogweed, Heracleum sphondylium, was fermented into a sour soup in medieval Slavic lands; 'borshch' was the plant's name, and beetroot replaced it only centuries later.

The modern Greek moussaka was created in the 1920s by which chef?

Nikolaos Tselementes, whose 1920 cookbook shaped modern Greek cooking, added the French-style béchamel top layer that defines Greek moussaka.

Shakshouka, eggs poached in tomato sauce, is a dish from which region?

The Maghreb, especially Tunisia and Algeria, is shakshouka's home; the word means 'mixture' in Maghrebi Arabic, and Tunisian Jewish emigrants carried the dish to Israel.

Jollof rice originated in which West African country?

Senegal is the usual answer: jollof is named for the Wolof (Jolof) Empire, and Senegalese thieboudienne is its ancestor; Nigeria and Ghana wage a friendly 'Jollof wars' rivalry.

Ethiopian injera flatbread is traditionally made from which grain?

Teff, a tiny Ethiopian grain, is ground and fermented for injera, giving the spongy sour flatbread that doubles as plate and utensil.

Unlike jerky, which is heated to at least 71 °C, biltong is prepared how?

Air-dried is the biltong method: strips of beef or game are cured in vinegar, salt and coriander, then hung to dry for days without heat, a technique from Southern Africa's Dutch settlers.

Cheddar cheese takes its name from a village in which English county?

Somerset's village of Cheddar, beside the Cheddar Gorge caves once used for maturing the cheese, gave it its name; 'cheddaring' describes the stacking of curd slabs.

Parmigiano Reggiano must be aged for at least how long?

12 months is the minimum under the PDO rules, after which each wheel is tapped and inspected; most are sold at 24 months or older. It is named after Parma and Reggio Emilia.

Which two towns lend their names to the only officially certified French bries?

Meaux and Melun are the two AOC/PDO bries: Brie de Meaux is a raw-milk wheel about 36 cm across, while Brie de Melun is smaller, saltier and more pungent.

In which year did feta win its definitive EU protected designation of origin?

2002 is when the European Commission definitively registered feta as a PDO, after a 1996 registration was annulled in 1999; the cheese is sheep's milk, or sheep with up to 30% goat, aged in brine.

Tandoor walls used for baking naan can reach roughly what temperature?

480 °C (900 °F) is the typical peak inside a charcoal or wood tandoor, which is why naan slapped onto the clay wall blisters and cooks in about a minute; it can also be cooked on a tawa.

Tiramisu, meaning 'pick me up', seems to have been invented in which decade?

It comes from northeastern Italy; no cookbook mentions it before the 1960s.

Pavlova, claimed by both Australia and New Zealand, is named after a Russian what?

Ballerina Anna Pavlova toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926, and the meringue cake with crisp crust and soft interior was named in her honour.

The earliest known crème brûlée recipe appears in a 1691 cookbook by whom?

François Massialot's Le Cuisinier roïal et bourgeois of 1691 holds the earliest known recipe; the dessert is also called burnt cream or Trinity cream after Trinity College, Cambridge.

Macaron shells are made from ground almonds, sugar and what?

Egg whites whipped with sugar and folded into ground almonds make the macaron shell; a frilly 'foot' forms at the base as the piped discs bake.

Ottoman sultans presented trays of baklava to which soldiers on the 15th of Ramadan?

The Janissaries, the sultan's elite infantry, carried trays of baklava from the Topkapı palace kitchens to their barracks in the Baklava Alayı, the baklava procession, every 15th of Ramadan.

Which rice is steamed and pounded with wooden mallets at Japanese New Year celebrations?

Mochigome, a glutinous short-grain rice, is steamed and pounded in a mortar at mochitsuki ceremonies until it becomes the smooth, stretchy paste called mochi.

Gulab jamun is made mainly from which ingredient?

Khoya, milk reduced to solids, is kneaded with a little flour, shaped into balls, deep-fried and soaked in rose-scented sugar syrup; 'gulab' means rose.

Quinoa is a pseudocereal botanically related to which two plants?

Spinach and amaranth share quinoa's family, Amaranthaceae; the seeds are coated in bitter saponins that must be rinsed off, and the crop originated in the Andes.

Which vegetable's name is the Italian plural for 'little sprouts'?

Broccoli is the Italian plural of broccolo, the flowering top of a cabbage, from brocco, a shoot or sprout; the vegetable was bred from wild cabbage in Italy.

Genetic studies trace the cultivated potato to a single origin in which region?

Southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia, around Lake Titicaca, is where DNA studies located the cultivated potato's single origin, domesticated 7,000–10,000 years ago.

Cacao was first used as a food at least 5,300 years ago in what is now which country?

Ecuador's Santa Ana-La Florida site in the upper Amazon yielded cacao residues about 5,300 years old, earlier than any Mesoamerican evidence; cocoa beans are the seeds of Theobroma cacao.

'True cinnamon', Cinnamomum verum, is native to which country?

Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is the home of Cinnamomum verum, once classified as C. zeylanicum; most supermarket cinnamon is actually cassia, from related species.

Who discovered in 1841 that vanilla orchids could be hand-pollinated?

Edmond Albius, an enslaved 12-year-old on Réunion, worked out in 1841 how to hand-pollinate vanilla with a sliver of bamboo, freeing growers from the orchid's Mexican pollinator bees.

Wasabi belongs to which plant family, along with horseradish and mustard?

Brassicaceae, the mustard family, includes wasabi (Eutrema japonicum), horseradish and mustard; their shared heat comes from isothiocyanates released when the tissue is grated.

The black Périgord truffle is a fungus of which genus?

Tuber melanosporum is the black Périgord truffle, second in value only to the white Alba truffle Tuber magnatum; it grows on oak and hazel roots and is hunted with dogs or pigs.

Under French law, foie gras must be the liver of a duck or goose fattened by what method?

Gavage, force-feeding with a tube, is written into France's rural code: foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose specially fattened by gavage; the name means 'fat liver'.

Traditional caviar comes from wild sturgeon in the Black Sea and which other sea?

The Caspian Sea, bordered by Russia and Iran, is caviar's heartland; beluga, ossetra and sevruga are the classic sturgeon types, and after wild stocks collapsed most caviar became farmed.

Louis Pasteur's 1860s research on heat treatment focused on preserving which product?

Wine was Pasteur's subject: in 1864 he showed that heating it briefly to about 55 °C killed the microbes that turned it sour; milk pasteurisation followed decades later.

Which nation's navy is credited as the first to tin food, carrying salmon in 1772?

The Dutch navy is credited with carrying salmon preserved in tinned containers in 1772; France later offered 12,000 francs for a preservation method, won by Nicolas Appert in 1810.

Where did Clarence Birdseye observe Inuit quick-freezing methods between 1912 and 1915?

Labrador, where Birdseye worked as a fur trader, showed him fish freezing instantly in -40° air and tasting fresh when thawed; he commercialised quick-freezing in the 1920s.

Percy Spencer's first commercial microwave oven, sold in 1947, was called what?

The Radarange, Raytheon's 1947 commercial oven, stood nearly 1.8 m tall and weighed about 340 kg; Tappan later licensed the technology for the first home model.

Sous vide cooking was adopted in 1974 by Georges Pralus at which famous French kitchen?

Troisgros in Roanne, the three-star restaurant of Jean and Pierre Troisgros, is where Georges Pralus found in 1974 that foie gras cooked in vacuum bags kept its shape and lost less fat.

Ferran Adrià's restaurant elBulli was located in which Spanish town?

Roses, on the Costa Brava, is the town whose Cala Montjoi cove housed elBulli until it closed in 2011; Adrià joined its kitchen in 1984 at age 22.

The Michelin Guide was first published in 1900 by which company?

France then had fewer than 3,000 cars on its roads.

Traditional Mexican cuisine joined UNESCO's intangible heritage list in which year?

2010 saw traditional Mexican cuisine, with its maize, beans and chili base, inscribed alongside the French gastronomic meal and the Mediterranean diet; Korea's kimjang followed in 2013.

Why did Henry Heinz choose 57 for his slogan?

The company already made more than 60 products in 1896.

Kellogg's was headquartered in which Michigan city?

Its brands included Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Eggo.

Nutella's maker Ferrero began as a bakery in which Italian town known for hazelnuts?

Alba, in Piedmont's hazelnut-growing Langhe, is where Pietro Ferrero's bakery sold the first Pasta Giandujot in 1946, a sliceable hazelnut-cocoa loaf that evolved into Nutella in 1964.

Spam was introduced by Hormel on July 5 of which year?

1937 is Spam's birth year; Hormel's spiced ham loaf became a wartime staple, and a 1970 Monty Python sketch chanting its name later lent it to unsolicited email.

Oreo cookies were an imitation of which earlier cream-centred cookie from 1908?

Hydrox, launched by Loose-Wiles (later Sunshine Biscuits) in 1908, was the original chocolate sandwich cookie; Oreo copied it in 1912 at Nabisco's Chelsea, New York factory and outsold it.

Pringles chips were shaped by chemist Fredric Baur into what form?

A saddle shape, a hyperbolic paraboloid, lets the chips stack without breaking; Baur also designed the tubular can, and Pringles launched in 1968.

Most theories place the origin of mayonnaise in Mahón, on which island?

Menorca's port of Mahón, taken by the Duke of Richelieu in 1756 during the Seven Years' War, is the origin claimed by most theories; his chef supposedly brought 'mahonnaise' back to Paris.

Sriracha sauce was first produced in 1932 by a native of Si Racha in which country?

Thailand's seaside town Si Racha, in Chonburi province, gave the sauce its name; La-Orr Suwanprasop is said to have sold her chili sauce in Bangkok in 1932.

Tabasco sauce was first made in 1868 at which Louisiana location?

Avery Island, a salt dome near New Iberia, is where Edmund McIlhenny first bottled Tabasco in 1868; seed stock is selected on the island, with most peppers grown in Latin America.

Soy sauce in its current form dates from about 2,200 years ago in which Chinese dynasty?

The Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE) produced soy sauce in its modern form about 2,200 years ago, fermenting soybeans with salt and Aspergillus moulds; the salty liquid is almost indefinitely shelf-stable.

Which country produced more olive oil than any other in 2022?

Spain, led by Andalusia's Jaén province, tops world olive oil production, typically around 40% of global output; extra virgin oil must have no more than 0.8% free acidity.

Quebec alone accounts for roughly what share of global maple syrup output?

72% is the commonly cited Quebec share of world maple syrup, with the province's producer federation holding a strategic reserve; sugar, black and red maples are the main species tapped.

Who obtained the first patent for making peanut butter, in 1884?

Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Montreal patented a process for milling roasted peanuts into a paste in 1884; John Harvey Kellogg patented his own version in 1895, and Aztecs had ground peanuts centuries earlier.

A popping kernel expands to roughly what multiple of its original size?

20 to 50 times is the typical expansion: water inside the kernel turns to steam, pressure builds to about 135 psi, and the hull ruptures, puffing the starch into foam.

Dutch settlers brought which fried-dough treat, an ancestor of the doughnut, to New Amsterdam?

Olykoek, 'oil cake', was the Dutch fried dough that Washington Irving described in 1809 as 'balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat'; ring-shaped fried dough appears in a 13th-century Arabic cookbook.

Fortune cookies most likely originated from cookies made by immigrants from which country?

Japan's tsujiura senbei, crackers folded around paper fortunes and sold near Kyoto temples in the 19th century, are the likely ancestor; Japanese immigrants in California made them before Chinese restaurants adopted them.

General Tso's chicken is named after a Qing general from which Chinese province?

Hunan was the home province of Zuo Zongtang (1812–1885), the Qing statesman who never tasted the dish; chef Peng Chang-kuei created it in Taiwan in the 1950s.

Chop suey is traced to tsap seui, 'miscellaneous leftovers', from which Guangdong region?

Taishan, in Guangdong's Pearl River Delta, was the home county of most 19th-century Chinese immigrants to the US, who cooked tsap seui, 'mixed bits', from whatever was on hand.

Which chef is credited with inventing nigiri-zushi, the most recognized style of sushi?

Hanaya Yohei is credited with nigiri around 1824 at his Edo stall in Ryōgoku, pressing fresh fish onto vinegared rice as fast food; Jiro Ono, Nobu and Morimoto are modern chefs.

Cheesecake was reputedly served to athletes at the first Olympic Games in which year?

776 BC, the traditional date of the first Olympics, is when Greek athletes were reputedly fed cheesecake for energy; the dish evolved toward its modern form in the 18th century.

Serving apple pie with sharp cheddar began in which country in the 17th century?

England in the 17th century first paired apple pie with cheese; the custom crossed to New England and the Midwest, and Yorkshire says 'an apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze'.

Bouillabaisse was originally made by fishermen of which port city?

Marseille fishermen invented bouillabaisse to use the bony rockfish that restaurants and markets would not buy, which is why a poor man's pot became a pricey classic.

Ratatouille is particularly associated with which French city?

Nice is ratatouille's home, a Provençal stew of tomato, courgette, aubergine and peppers; the name comes from Occitan ratatolha and the verb touiller, 'to stir'.

Baguette-making culture was added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list in which year?

2022 is when UNESCO inscribed the 'artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread'; an August 1920 Seine regulation had already defined a baguette as at least 80 g and at most 40 cm long.

Kiwifruit is native to which country?

China is kiwifruit's home, where Actinidia chinensis grew wild as mihoutao; seeds reached New Zealand in 1904 and the fruit was renamed kiwifruit for export in 1959.

The modern watermelon originated in which country?

Kordofan melons from Sudan are its closest relatives.

The wild pineapple originates from the drainages of which two South American rivers?

Paraná and Paraguay river drainages, between southern Brazil and Paraguay, are the wild pineapple's home; Hawaii banned hummingbird imports so the flowers would not be pollinated, keeping the fruit seedless.

Which country is the world's largest producer of cassava?

Nigeria grows roughly a fifth of the world's cassava, around 60 million tonnes a year, mostly for domestic garri and fufu; Thailand is the leading exporter of cassava starch.

Which tree yields both a nut and an 'apple' whose juice can be fermented into liquor?

Cashew trees bear the nut below a swollen 'apple', whose juice is fermented and distilled into feni in Goa; the raw shell contains caustic urushiol, so the nut is roasted or steamed first.

Which three countries dominate world pistachio production?

United States, Iran and Turkey grow the overwhelming majority of the world's pistachios; California's Central Valley accounts for almost all US output, and Iran's Kerman province is its heartland.

Fish-and-chip shops first appeared in Britain in which decade?

The 1860s saw the first shops: Joseph Malin in London's East End around 1860 and John Lees in Mossley, Lancashire, in 1863 both claim to be the earliest.

Tempura's batter-frying technique reached Japan in the 16th century from which country?

Portugal's Jesuit missionaries and Nanban traders brought batter-fried 'peixinhos da horta' to Nagasaki in the 16th century; the name may come from Latin tempora, the fasting days when fish replaced meat.

Kobe beef comes from Tajima-strain cattle raised in which Japanese prefecture?

Hyōgo prefecture, whose capital is Kobe, is where Tajima-strain Japanese Black cattle must be born, raised and slaughtered to qualify; it is served as steak, sukiyaki, shabu-shabu or sashimi.

Yorkshire pudding served as a first course is traditionally accompanied by what?

Onion gravy is the traditional partner when Yorkshire pudding is served alone as a starter, a custom meant to fill diners before the costly meat; the batter is eggs, flour and milk.

Nachos were created in 1943 by restaurateur Ignacio Anaya in which Mexican border city?

Piedras Negras, across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas, is where Ignacio 'Nacho' Anaya improvised fried tortillas with cheese and jalapeños for US Army wives at the Victory Club in 1943.

The Cobb salad is said to have been invented in 1937 at which Hollywood restaurant?

The Brown Derby's owner Robert Howard Cobb reportedly threw together leftovers near midnight in 1937, and the neat rows of chicken, bacon, egg, avocado and Roquefort became the Hollywood restaurant's signature.

By one popular claim, Buffalo wings were first prepared in 1964 by Teressa Bellissimo at which bar?

Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, is where Teressa Bellissimo reputedly deep-fried leftover wings and tossed them in hot sauce in 1964; the name is the city's, not the animal's.

Which Philadelphia brothers are usually credited with inventing the cheesesteak in the early 1930s?

Pat and Harry Olivieri, hot-dog vendors in South Philadelphia, grilled chopped beef on an Italian roll around 1930; Pat's King of Steaks grew from it, and cheese was added later.

A 1927 handbook shows which organisation's members preparing 'Some Mores' with the modern s'more recipe?

The Girl Scouts' 1927 handbook Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts printed 'Some More', toasted marshmallow and chocolate pressed between graham crackers; the contraction s'more was in use by the 1930s.