Food Trivia Quiz

1) Which state has the turkey as its state bird, and has the largest per acre population of wild turkeys?

2) In April, 2001, Italian astronaut Umberto Guidoni and Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield brought some luxury food items with them to the International Space Station. Can you name these luxury foods?

3) What is the largest aquaculture 'crop' in the U.S.?
a) Catfish
b) Crawfish
c) Salmon
d) Rainbow trout
e) Shrimp

4) One of the reasons the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, rather than sail further south to warmer climate was because their supplies were getting low. They specifically mention one item, can you guess what it was?

5) The name of this specialty of Naples, Italy, actually means 'trousers' in Italian. What is the name of this dish?

6) This product was invented around 1910 by Swiss chemist Jacques Brandenberger. It is derived from wood pulp, and various types are widely used for breads, meat, produce, etc. Name this product.

7) The gooseneck barnacle (a 'stalked' barnacle) has an edible foot, and is especially valued along the coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco. They are now being farm raised in several areas, including Washington State. What is the relationship between this barnacle and geese?

8) Why should you be very careful about drinking grapefruit juice when taking many prescription medications?

9) Sole and flounder are two types of 'flatfish.' Flatfish are born with eyes located as in other fish, but one eye migrates to the other side, so they end up with both eyes on the same side of their head. They swim with their body flat with the ocean floor, with both eyes 'on top. 'What is the largest flatfish and how big can they get?

10) Why does skim milk have more calcium than regular milk?

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Answers

1) Alabama.

2) Regiano Parmesan cheese and Canadian salmon.

3) a) Catfish is the largest 'crop', followed by crawfish and rainbow trout.

4) They recorded that their supplies were dwindling "especially our beere."

5) Calzone means 'trousers' in Italian, but in culinary parlance it refers to what is basically a 'pizza turnover', and is a specialty of Naples. Like pizza, a calzone can be made small, as for appetizers, or as large as meal for several people. The fillings are the same as used for pizzas

6) Cellophane.

7) During the Middle Ages, gooseneck barnacles were thought to be developing geese, and when they reached a certain size they would fall to the water and become full grown geese. Barnacle geese breed in the summer north of the Artic Circle, and spend their winters on the northern European coasts, seeming to appear from nowhere, hence the myth. Since these geese (the barnacle goose and brant goose) came from shellfish, they were considered to be fish and could be eaten on days that meat was forbidden. I wonder if this myth was really believed, or if it was just an excuse so people could sneak a bit of meat on fasting days?

8) Grapefruit juice can have a major effect on the potency of various medications, and can even cause an overdose when taking prescribed doses. Grapefruit juice decreases the production of a certain enzyme in the intestines that is involved in the metabolizing of about 1/3 of all drugs. Drinking grapefruit juice can increase the concentration of many drugs in the bloodstream to 3 or 4 times the normal concentration.

9) Halibut is a the largest flatfish, with large fish frequently over 200 pounds, and some even reaching in excess of 600 pounds and a length of 12 feet. They have a life span of 30 years or more. There are both Atlantic and Pacific species of halibut, with the Pacific species the smaller of the two. Halibut are lean, white, firm fleshed fish with a surprisingly delicate flavor.

10) Most of the calcium in milk is not bound up in the fat globules that are removed when 'skimming' the milk, but rather in the water content of the milk. Removing the part of the milk (the milk fat) with a lower percentage of calcium, increases the relative percentage of calcium in the remaining milk.

Source: FoodReference.com