CULINARY TRIVIA QUIZ 424
1) This small annual herb, a member of the carrot family, is second in popularity only to black pepper throughout the world. It has dark green leaves and tiny white or pink flowers. The fruit, when green, has an unpleasant taste, but when ripe is aromatic and is used as a spice.
The plant is native to the Mediterranean area, and was used by ancient Persians, Egyptians, Hebrews, and Romans both medicinally and as a condiment. It is referred to several times in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. (i.e. Isaiah xxvii, 25 and 27, and Matthew xxiii, 23) and in the works of Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Horace and Pliny. It was a common ingredient in many recipes of the Middle Ages. It was a symbol of greed to the ancient Greeks, and in Europe it was said to inspire faithfulness in men.
It is used today in India, North Africa, the Middle East, Mexico, America, central and eastern Europe. It is an essential ingredient in mixtures such as garam masala and panch phoron, and is used in pickles, relishes, sausages, stews, baking cheeses, liqueurs and salads.
Can you name this fruit used as a spice?
• a) cloves
• b) sesame
• c) cumin
• d) poppy
• e) garlic
2) Myrrhis odorata is an herb of the parsley family also known as garden myrrh. The leaves have a sweet anise taste, and some even describe the leaves as tasting like they have been sprinkled with powdered sugar! This plant is not much used as a pot herb anymore, but the seeds are still used in the liqueur Chartreuse. The leaves are good in salads, dressings, stews, and in desserts, especially those that contain tart fruits. The cooked root is sliced and served cold in salads or by itself with oil & vinegar.
Can you name this herb?
• a) Chamomile
• b) Sweet Cicely
• c) Coriander
• d) Borage
• e) Mint Cress
3) Charles Goodnight devised this contraption from an Army wagon sometime in the mid 1800s. It was fitted with various shelves and compartments, had room for medical supplies (although very limited), scissors and a shovel. His duties as a 'coosie' included acting as doctor, barber and burying the dead. He was paid twice as much as most of his fellow workers.
What was this contraption that Mr. Goodnight invented and what was his job?
4) Cheese has been colored with various plant substances for hundreds of years. Yellow/orange coloring may have originally been added to cheese made with winter milk from cows eating hay to match the orange hue (from vitamin A) of cheeses made with milk from cows fed on green plants.
Can you name 3 plant substances which have been used to color cheese yellow/orange?
5) The first large electric advertising sign was erected in New York by the H.J. Heinz Company in 1900.
What did it advertise?
• a) pickles
• b) catsup
• c) Heinz 57 Sauce
• d) Pork & Beans
• e) Mustard
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