46 questions with answers · tap one to see its answer
Food Trivia Questions
These 46 food trivia questions travel the world's kitchens: where famous dishes come from, what goes into them, the fruit and vegetables behind everyday foods, cooking terms and the history of what we eat and drink. They make a good round for a dinner party, and most of them leave you hungry.
Every answer was checked against two independent sources on November 9, 2026.
Which sweet pastry is made of thin layers of filo dough, chopped nuts and syrup or honey?
Answer: Baklava
In 2013, Gaziantep baklava became the first Turkish product to receive protected status from the European Union.
Checked against Wikipedia and hurriyetdailynews.com
Which vegetable stew from Provence is made with eggplant, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes?
Answer: Ratatouille
Its name comes from the French verb touiller, meaning to stir.
Checked against Wikipedia, American Heritage Dictionary and The Guardian
Which Italian dry-cured ham is famously produced in the hills around Parma?
Answer: Prosciutto (Prosciutto di Parma)
Prosciutto di Parma is cured with sea salt alone, with no chemical preservatives allowed.
Checked against prosciuttodiparma.com, prosciuttodiparma.com and Wikipedia
Which Turkish dish is meat roasted on a vertical rotating spit and shaved off in thin slices?
Answer: Döner kebab
The word döner comes from the Turkish verb for turning, after the spinning spit.
Checked against Wikipedia and Dictionary.com
Which sweet, sticky fruit grows in heavy clusters on palm trees in desert oases?
Answer: Dates
Date palms have been grown in the Middle East for thousands of years.
Checked against Wikipedia and iranicaonline.org
Which fruit, native to the region around Iran, is packed with hundreds of juicy red seeds?
Answer: The pomegranate
Its name comes from Latin words meaning apple with many seeds.
Checked against Wikipedia and American Heritage Dictionary
Which tangy pie, made with condensed milk and small limes, is the official pie of Florida?
Answer: Key lime pie
It is named after the small, sharp-tasting Key limes once widely grown in the Florida Keys.
Checked against Wikipedia, leg.state.fl.us and hort.purdue.edu
Which sandwich of thinly sliced beef and melted cheese in a long roll is the signature food of Philadelphia?
Answer: The cheesesteak
Philadelphia hot dog vendor Pat Olivieri is often credited with inventing the steak sandwich around 1930.
Checked against Wikipedia and visitphilly.com
Which campfire treat sandwiches a toasted marshmallow and chocolate between two graham crackers?
Answer: S'mores
Their name is a contraction of some more.
Checked against Wikipedia, American Heritage Dictionary and Dictionary.com
Which Australian cake is a square of sponge dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut?
Answer: The lamington
It is thought to be named after Lord Lamington, governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, or his wife, Lady Lamington.
Checked against Wikipedia and The Guardian
What are the small Cantonese dishes, such as dumplings and buns, traditionally served with tea, called?
Answer: Dim sum
Dim sum is traditionally enjoyed at yum cha, which means drink tea in Cantonese.
Checked against Wikipedia, time.com and asiasociety.org
Which thin, crispy South Indian pancake is made from a fermented batter of rice and lentils?
Answer: Dosa
A masala dosa is rolled around a spiced potato filling.
Checked against Wikipedia and saveur.com
Which triangular fried pastry, stuffed with spiced potatoes and peas, is a popular snack in India?
Answer: The samosa
Samosas are often dipped in chutney, such as a sour tamarind chutney.
Checked against Wikipedia and hindustantimes.com
What dried, cured meat snack, seasoned with vinegar and spices, is a favorite in South Africa?
Answer: Biltong
Its name comes from the Afrikaans words bil, meaning rump, and tong, meaning tongue.
Checked against Wikipedia and American Heritage Dictionary
What are the Chinese steamed dumplings with hot broth sealed inside them called?
Answer: Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings)
They come from the Shanghai area, and their name refers to the small bamboo baskets they are steamed in.
Checked against Wikipedia, scmp.com and english.shanghai.gov.cn
What is it called when you boil vegetables very briefly and then plunge them into ice water?
Answer: Blanching
Blanching helps vegetables keep their bright color and is often done before freezing them.
Checked against Wikipedia and hgic.clemson.edu
Which tortilla-wrapped dish has a Spanish name meaning little donkey?
Answer: Burrito
Burritos are usually made with large flour tortillas, which are especially common in northern Mexico.
Checked against Wikipedia, vox.com and American Heritage Dictionary
Which spicy noodle soup, often made with rich coconut milk, is a classic of Malaysian cooking?
Answer: Laksa
Penang's version, asam laksa, uses a sour tamarind and fish broth instead of coconut milk.
Checked against Wikipedia and sbs.com.au
Which Italian pasta dish is made with eggs, hard cheese, black pepper and cured pork cheek?
Answer: Carbonara
Most Italian recipes get the creamy sauce from eggs and cheese alone, with no cream.
Checked against Wikipedia and lacucinaitaliana.com
Which savory French tart of eggs, cream and bacon is named after a region in northeastern France?
Answer: Quiche Lorraine
The word quiche is thought to come from the German word Kuchen, meaning cake.
Checked against Wikipedia and American Heritage Dictionary
Which fish, dried and salted, is called bacalhau in Portuguese cooking?
Answer: Cod (salt cod)
Portugal is said to have more than a thousand recipes for it.
Checked against Wikipedia and sbs.com.au
Which Spanish sheep's milk cheese, often marked with a zigzag pattern on its rind, comes from La Mancha?
Answer: Manchego
The zigzag pattern traditionally came from the woven grass molds used to shape the cheese.
Checked against Wikipedia, quesomanchego.es and dle.rae.es
Which West and Central African staple is a stretchy dough made by pounding boiled cassava, yams or plantains?
Answer: Fufu
It is usually eaten by hand, pinching off a small ball and dipping it into soup or stew.
Checked against Wikipedia, BBC and finedininglovers.com
Which thick, stuffed corn tortilla is the national dish of El Salvador?
Answer: The pupusa
El Salvador celebrates National Pupusa Day on the second Sunday of November.
Checked against Wikipedia, elsalvador.com and nbcwashington.com
Which Brazilian party treat is a ball of condensed milk, cocoa and butter rolled in chocolate sprinkles?
Answer: Brigadeiro
It is said to be named after Brigadier Eduardo Gomes, an air force officer who ran for president of Brazil in 1945.
Checked against Wikipedia, atlasobscura.com and revistagalileu.globo.com
Which small purple palm berry from the Amazon is often blended into a thick frozen bowl topped with fruit?
Answer: Açaí
In the Amazon delta it has been a staple food for centuries.
Checked against Wikipedia, newyorker.com and afar.com
Which no-bake Canadian dessert bar, with a custard-flavored middle layer, is named after a city in British Columbia?
Answer: The Nanaimo bar
Its three layers are a crumb base, a custard-flavored buttercream and a chocolate top.
Checked against Wikipedia and nanaimo.ca
At which Massachusetts inn did Ruth Wakefield create her famous chocolate chip cookie recipe in the 1930s?
Answer: The Toll House Inn
She later let Nestlé print her recipe on its chocolate bar packaging.
Checked against newyorker.com, lemelson.mit.edu and Wikipedia
Which sports drink was created in 1965 for the University of Florida's football team?
Answer: Gatorade
It was named after the team, the Florida Gators.
Checked against Wikipedia, lemelson.mit.edu and abcnews.go.com
According to the famous story, which kitchen appliance did engineer Percy Spencer invent after radar equipment melted a candy bar in his pocket?
Answer: The microwave oven
The first commercial microwave oven, sold in 1947, stood almost as tall as a person.
Checked against Wikipedia, lemelson.mit.edu and aps.org
Which rich, round nut with a very hard shell is native to the rainforests of eastern Australia?
Answer: The macadamia
Hawaii became a major grower after macadamia seeds were brought there from Australia in the late 1800s.
Checked against Wikipedia and atlasobscura.com
What are Japanese rice balls, often wrapped in seaweed and filled with pickled plum or salmon, called?
Answer: Onigiri
They are usually shaped into triangles before being wrapped in seaweed.
Checked against Wikipedia and Dictionary.com
Which French cooking term names cooking food sealed in a bag in a precisely heated water bath?
Answer: Sous vide
The name means under vacuum, because the food is usually vacuum-sealed before cooking.
Checked against Wikipedia, American Heritage Dictionary and npr.org
Which slow-cooked French casserole of white beans, sausage and duck comes from the Languedoc region?
Answer: Cassoulet
It is named after the cassole, the deep earthenware pot it is traditionally cooked in.
Checked against Wikipedia, dictionnaire-academie.fr and American Heritage Dictionary
Which Middle Eastern dessert layers shredded pastry over melted sweet cheese and soaks it in syrup?
Answer: Knafeh (kunafa)
The city of Nablus is especially famous for its version, made with a firm, white, salty local cheese.
Checked against Wikipedia and The Guardian
Which South African baked dish is spiced minced meat topped with a layer of egg custard?
Answer: Bobotie
Its curry spices reflect the cooking of South Africa's Cape Malay community.
Checked against Wikipedia and thejakartapost.com
Which spicy grilled meat skewer, coated in a peanut and chili spice mix, is a popular street food in Nigeria?
Answer: Suya
It is eaten all over Nigeria, from the mainly Muslim north to the largely Christian south.
Checked against Wikipedia and annarbor.com