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This food and drink trivia quiz serves 160 free questions with answers from every corner of the kitchen and the bar: where dishes really come from, what goes into famous drinks, the science of why bread rises and honey never spoils, the brands and inventions behind everyday groceries, and the strange food laws and records that make good pub-quiz arguments. It starts with easy questions anyone who eats can answer and works up to ones for people who read the back of the packet. Use it as a food and beverage round for trivia night, a warm-up for a cooking class, or a quick game at the dinner table. Every answer has been checked against a reliable source such as a reference encyclopaedia or an official producer's site, and each question shows its explanation and citation once you have answered.
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Q 01What Japanese word refers to thinly sliced raw fish served on its own?
Sashimi
Nigiri, by contrast, is a slice of raw fish placed atop a small mound of vinegared grain.
Q 02Which spice gives curry powder its distinctive yellow color?
Turmeric
Turmeric contains curcumin, a compound that gives it a bright yellow color. This is the primary ingredient responsible for curry powder's characteristic golden hue.
Q 03What type of pasta is shaped like small ear-shaped discs?
Orecchiette
Orecchiette literally means 'little ears' in Italian. This pasta shape originates from the Puglia region of southern Italy and is traditionally served with broccoli rabe.
Q 04Which country is the world's largest producer of coffee beans?
Brazil
Brazil has been the world's largest coffee producer for over 150 years, responsible for roughly one-third of all coffee produced globally.
Q 05What is the main ingredient in traditional Japanese miso soup?
Fermented soybean paste
The soup is a kelp-and-bonito stock with the paste whisked in; the paste itself is fermented from soybeans, salt and a mould called koji.
Q 06Which French cooking term means to cook food slowly in its own fat?
Confit
Confit is a French cooking technique where food, traditionally duck or goose, is cooked slowly in its own fat at a low temperature. The word comes from the French verb confire, meaning to preserve.
Q 07What grain is used to make traditional Italian risotto?
Arborio rice
The short-grain variety is named after a town in the Po Valley; its high starch content gives the dish its characteristic creaminess.
Q 08Which nut is the primary ingredient in marzipan?
Almond
Ground almonds and sugar are the base of the confection, which has been a staple of European pastry-making for centuries, particularly in Germany and Iberia.
Q 09What is the name of the Korean side dish of fermented vegetables, most commonly napa cabbage?
Kimchi
Kimchi is Korea's most famous fermented dish, made with napa cabbage, chili pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce. It is served as a side dish with nearly every Korean meal.
Q 10Which cheese is traditionally used in a classic Greek salad?
Feta
The brined white cheese is the hallmark of the horiatiki salad and has been made in Greece from ewe's and goat's milk for thousands of years.
Q 11Champagne belongs to which broad category of drink?
Sparkling
It comes only from the region of the same name and is made by the méthode champenoise, where a second fermentation in the bottle creates the fizz.
Q 12Which herb is the key ingredient in traditional pesto alla Genovese?
Basil
Genoa's version pounds Genovese basil with pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan or Grana Padano, pecorino sardo and olive oil.
Q 13What does the Italian term 'al dente' mean when cooking pasta?
Firm to the bite
Al dente literally translates to 'to the tooth' in Italian. It describes pasta that is cooked so it is still firm when bitten, rather than soft all the way through.
Q 21Which animal is milked to make Italy's mozzarella di bufala?
Water buffalo
Mozzarella di bufala is made from the milk of the Italian Mediterranean water buffalo. It has a tangier, more complex flavor and softer texture than regular cow's milk mozzarella.
Q 22Which spice is derived from the stigma of a crocus flower and is one of the most expensive by weight?
Saffron
Saffron comes from the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus. Each flower produces only three stigmas, and it takes roughly 75,000 flowers to yield one pound of saffron, making it the world's most expensive spice by weight.
Q 23What is the name of the traditional Indian clay oven used for baking naan bread?
Tandoor
Q 14Which spirit is the base of a classic Margarita cocktail?
Tequila
A classic Margarita is made with tequila, lime juice, and orange liqueur (typically Cointreau or triple sec). It is one of the most popular tequila-based cocktails worldwide.
Q 15What is the primary ingredient in hummus?
Chickpeas
The Arabic word hummus simply means 'chickpeas'; the full name of the dip, hummus bi tahina, means 'chickpeas with sesame paste'.
Q 16Which country is credited with inventing croissants as we know them today?
France
While the crescent-shaped pastry was inspired by the Austrian kipferl, the modern laminated butter croissant was perfected by French bakers in the early 20th century, making France the home of the croissant as we know it.
Q 17What is the name of the thick Japanese stock made from kelp and dried bonito flakes?
Dashi
Dashi is the foundational stock of Japanese cuisine, typically made by simmering kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes). It forms the base of miso soup, ramen broth, and many sauces.
Q 18Which vegetable is the main ingredient in traditional borscht?
Beetroot
Borscht is a sour soup common in Eastern European cuisines, with beetroot as its defining ingredient. The beet gives the soup its characteristic deep red-purple color.
Q 19What does 'umami' translate to in English?
Savory taste
Umami, identified by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908, translates roughly to 'pleasant savory taste.' It is now recognized as the fifth basic taste alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.
Q 20Paella is the traditional dish of which region on the Mediterranean coast?
Valencia
The name is simply the local word for frying pan; the original recipe used rabbit, chicken, duck and snails rather than seafood, and was a lunch for farm labourers.
A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven heated with charcoal or wood, capable of reaching extremely high temperatures. It is essential in Indian and Central Asian cooking for breads like naan and dishes like tandoori chicken.
Q 24Which fruit is used to make traditional guacamole?
Avocado
The name comes from the Classical Nahuatl word āhuacamōlli, which literally means 'avocado sauce'.
Q 25Sake, the traditional Japanese beverage, is brewed from which grain?
Rice
Sake is brewed from polished rice. Unlike beer, where starch is turned to sugar and then sugar to alcohol in two separate steps, in sake both conversions happen at the same time in one vat.
Q 26Which cooking method involves submerging food in hot fat or oil?
Deep frying
Deep frying involves fully submerging food in hot oil, typically between 325-375°F (160-190°C). This method cooks food quickly and creates a crispy exterior through the Maillard reaction.
Q 27Which spongy Ethiopian flatbread, made from teff, doubles as plate and utensil?
Injera
Teff is native to Ethiopia; the sour, spongy pancake is the platter, and diners tear off pieces to scoop up the food.
Q 28Which Italian city is considered the birthplace of pizza?
Naples
Naples (Napoli) is widely considered the birthplace of modern pizza. The classic Pizza Margherita was created there, reportedly in 1889 to honor Queen Margherita of Italy.
Q 29What is the name of the Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla wrapped around a filling?
Burrito
The flour tortilla is wrapped into a sealed cylinder around meat, beans and other fillings; the name means 'little donkey' in Spanish.
Q 30Which country made about a quarter of the world's olive oil in 2022?
Spain
Spain made about a quarter of the world's olive oil in 2022. Three-quarters of that comes from Andalusia, with Jaén province alone producing most of it.