50 Food & Cooking Quiz Questions and Answers
This page lists 50 real questions from the Quizlino Food & Cooking category, each with four options, the correct answer and, where available, a short explanation. They are arranged from easy to hard, so you can start at the level that suits you. The full category contains 260 questions spread across its levels, so what you see here is a sample to study from, not the whole quiz.
- Cover the answer line, read the question and decide on your option first.
- Check the answer, then read the explanation even if you were right.
- Make a note of the questions you missed and come back to them after a few days.
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Food & Cooking: Easy Questions
Warm-up questions that most players can answer.
Q1. Which grain is traditionally used to make Italian risotto?
Answer: B. Arborio Rice
Explanation: Arborio is a short-grain Italian rice whose high starch content gives risotto its creamy texture.
Q2. Which spice gives turmeric its bright yellow color?
Answer: A. Curcumin
Explanation: Curcumin is the natural pigment that gives turmeric its bright yellow colour.
Q3. Which cooking method uses steam to cook food without immersing it in water?
Answer: C. Steaming
Explanation: Steaming cooks food in the hot vapour rising from boiling water, which helps keep nutrients and colour.
Q4. Which cheese is traditionally used on a Margherita pizza?
Answer: B. Mozzarella
Explanation: A Margherita pizza is topped with tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil.
Q5. Which country is widely credited with inventing sushi?
Answer: B. Japan
Explanation: Sushi is a Japanese dish built around rice seasoned with vinegar.
Q6. Which kitchen tool is commonly used to zest lemons and oranges?
Answer: C. Zester
Explanation: A zester scrapes thin strips from the coloured outer skin of citrus fruit, where the flavourful oils are found.
Q7. Which herb is the main ingredient in traditional pesto sauce?
Answer: B. Basil
Explanation: Classic pesto from Genoa is made with fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, hard cheese and olive oil.
Q8. Which type of pasta is shaped like small rice grains?
Answer: B. Orzo
Explanation: Orzo is small pasta shaped like grains of rice. Its name means barley in Italian.
Q9. Which vitamin is especially abundant in citrus fruits?
Answer: B. Vitamin C
Explanation: Citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons are rich in vitamin C, which the body needs to prevent scurvy.
Q10. Which cooking technique means to cook food quickly over high heat while stirring continuously?
Answer: B. Stir-frying
Explanation: Stir-frying cooks small pieces of food quickly in a little oil over high heat, usually in a wok.
Q11. Which nut is traditionally used to make marzipan?
Answer: B. Almond
Explanation: Marzipan is a sweet paste made from ground almonds and sugar.
Q12. Which ingredient makes bread rise?
Answer: C. Yeast
Explanation: Yeast feeds on sugars in the dough and releases carbon dioxide gas, which makes bread rise.
Q13. Which country is famous for the noodle dish Pad Thai?
Answer: B. Thailand
Explanation: Pad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish and one of the national dishes of Thailand.
Q14. Which fruit is the main ingredient in guacamole?
Answer: B. Avocado
Explanation: Guacamole is a Mexican dip made mainly from mashed avocado, usually with lime, onion and coriander.
Q15. Which sauce is traditionally served with Eggs Benedict?
Answer: B. Hollandaise
Explanation: Eggs Benedict is a poached egg on an English muffin with ham or bacon, covered in hollandaise, a sauce of egg yolk, butter and lemon.
Q16. Which type of bean is commonly used in hummus?
Answer: B. Chickpeas
Explanation: Hummus is made from mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil.
Q17. Which cooking method involves slow cooking food in a small amount of liquid with a lid?
Answer: B. Braising
Explanation: Braising means browning food first and then cooking it slowly in a covered pot with a little liquid, which makes tough cuts tender.
Q18. Which dessert is traditionally made with layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone cheese?
Answer: B. Tiramisu
Explanation: Tiramisu is an Italian dessert whose name means pick me up, a reference to the coffee in it.
Q19. Which spice is obtained from the dried stigma of a flower?
Answer: B. Saffron
Explanation: Saffron comes from the stigmas of the saffron crocus. Each flower has only three, which is why it is the most expensive spice by weight.
Food & Cooking: Medium Questions
A step up in difficulty, for players who know the basics.
Q20. Which ingredient is the main base of traditional miso soup?
Answer: B. Miso Paste
Explanation: Miso is a paste of fermented soybeans. It is dissolved in dashi stock to make miso soup.
Q21. Which fruit is commonly used to make traditional cider?
Answer: A. Apple
Explanation: Cider is made by fermenting apple juice. A similar drink made from pears is called perry.
Q22. Which cooking method uses hot oil to fully immerse food during cooking?
Answer: B. Deep Frying
Explanation: In deep frying, food is completely covered by hot oil, which gives it a crisp outer layer.
Q23. Which country is famous for the dish moussaka?
Answer: A. Greece
Explanation: Moussaka is a baked Greek dish of layered aubergine and minced meat topped with a white sauce.
Q24. Which kitchen tool is primarily used to mash potatoes?
Answer: A. Potato Masher
Explanation: A potato masher has a flat, perforated head that is pressed down to crush cooked potatoes.
Q25. Which spice is commonly called the "King of Spices"?
Answer: A. Black Pepper
Explanation: Black pepper, native to the Malabar Coast of Kerala, is called the King of Spices and was once so valuable it was known as black gold.
Q26. Which grain is the main ingredient in traditional tortillas?
Answer: A. Corn
Explanation: Traditional Mexican tortillas are made from maize dough called masa. Wheat-flour tortillas are a later variation.
Q27. Which fruit is the primary ingredient in traditional lemon curd?
Answer: B. Lemon
Explanation: Lemon curd is a smooth spread made from lemon juice and zest, sugar, eggs and butter.
Q28. Which cooking term means to cut vegetables into long, thin strips?
Answer: B. Julienne
Explanation: Julienne is a French knife cut that produces thin, matchstick-like strips, often used for carrots.
Q29. Which country is the birthplace of kimchi?
Answer: C. South Korea
Explanation: Kimchi is the traditional fermented vegetable dish of Korea, most often made with napa cabbage and chilli.
Q30. Which herb is traditionally used to flavor tzatziki sauce?
Answer: A. Dill
Explanation: Tzatziki is a Greek sauce of yoghurt, cucumber and garlic, usually flavoured with dill and sometimes with mint.
Q31. Which cheese is traditionally used to make authentic Greek saganaki?
Answer: B. Kefalotyri
Explanation: Saganaki is fried cheese named after the small pan it is cooked in, and kefalotyri is a hard, salty cheese that fries well.
Q32. Which ingredient gives mustard its spicy flavor?
Answer: A. Mustard Seeds
Explanation: Mustard's heat comes from compounds in mustard seeds that are released when the seeds are crushed and mixed with liquid.
Q33. Which type of bean is commonly used to prepare baked beans?
Answer: B. Navy Beans
Explanation: Baked beans are usually made with navy beans, also called haricot beans, cooked in a tomato-based sauce.
Q34. Which cooking method involves exposing food to smoke for flavor?
Answer: A. Smoking
Explanation: Smoking flavours and preserves food by exposing it to the smoke of smouldering wood.
Q35. Which famous French soup is traditionally topped with toasted bread and melted cheese?
Answer: B. French Onion Soup
Explanation: French onion soup is made from slowly caramelised onions in stock, served with toasted bread and melted cheese on top.
Q36. Which fruit is commonly used to make traditional cranberry sauce?
Answer: B. Cranberry
Explanation: Cranberry sauce is made by cooking cranberries with sugar and is a traditional accompaniment to roast turkey.
Q37. Which Italian dessert is made by freezing sweetened cream?
Answer: B. Panna Cotta
Food & Cooking: Hard Questions
Challenging questions for confident players.
Q38. Which ingredient is traditionally used to make Japanese dashi stock?
Answer: A. Kombu Seaweed
Explanation: Dashi, the basic stock of Japanese cooking, is traditionally made from kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes.
Q39. Which country is famous for the dish bunny chow?
Answer: B. South Africa
Explanation: Bunny chow is a hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry, which originated in Durban, South Africa.
Q40. Which kitchen tool is used to separate egg yolks from egg whites?
Answer: A. Egg Separator
Explanation: An egg separator has a cup with slots that hold back the yolk while the white drains through.
Q41. Which seafood is traditionally used to make oysters Rockefeller?
Answer: B. Oysters
Explanation: Oysters Rockefeller is a dish of oysters baked with a rich green herb and butter topping, created in New Orleans in 1899.
Q42. Which cooking method uses infrared heat from above to brown food?
Answer: B. Broiling
Explanation: Broiling, called grilling in British English, cooks food with direct heat from an element above it.
Q43. Which spice is made from the dried aril of the nutmeg seed?
Answer: A. Mace
Explanation: Mace is the red, lacy covering around the nutmeg seed, so one fruit produces two different spices.
Q44. Which Italian dessert is made with sweetened ricotta cheese and a crispy pastry shell?
Answer: A. Cannoli
Explanation: Cannoli are Sicilian pastries made of fried tubes of dough filled with sweetened ricotta.
Q45. Which grain is the primary ingredient in Japanese soba noodles?
Answer: B. Buckwheat
Explanation: Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour. Despite its name, buckwheat is not a type of wheat.
Q46. Which fruit is the main ingredient in traditional lemon marmalade?
Answer: B. Lemon
Explanation: Lemon marmalade is a preserve made from the juice and peel of lemons boiled with sugar.
Q47. Which cooking term means to gently mix ingredients without removing air?
Answer: A. Fold
Explanation: Folding is a gentle over-and-under mixing motion used to combine whipped egg whites or cream without knocking out the air.
Q48. Which country is famous for the soup tom yum?
Answer: A. Thailand
Explanation: Tom yum is a hot and sour Thai soup flavoured with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and chilli.
Q49. Which herb is traditionally used in mojito cocktails?
Answer: B. Mint
Explanation: A mojito is a Cuban cocktail made with rum, lime, sugar, soda water and fresh mint leaves.
Q50. Which cheese is traditionally used to make Greek saganaki?
Answer: A. Kefalotyri
Explanation: Kefalotyri is a hard Greek cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk, and it holds its shape when fried for saganaki.
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