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About This Quiz
Can you tell a kiwi from a durian? How about a T-bone from a porterhouse steak? The world of food is filled with bites great and small, tart and tangy, sweet and ridiculously, tongue-meltingly spicy. How many of them can you identify? This quiz will put your foodie brain to the test!
One place where knowing the subtle difference between similar foods is significant is in the produce department, especially if you're buying peppers. Confusing a bell pepper with a poblano will get you a slightly spicier result than you'd planned, but it's nothing too horrible. However, confuse a cherry pepper with a Scotch bonnet, or a jalapeno with a habanero, and you're really in for trouble! Your guests will be reminding themselves to never trust your cooking again while they're trying to eat or drink anything that will quench the fires in their throats.
You'll want to be on your toes when it comes to pasta, too. If you buy ziti when you need cavatelli, your dish won't come out the way you planned. Try to make macaroni and cheese with vermicelli, and you'll have a mess on your hands!
So grab a snack, pour your favorite beverage, and tune up your foodie brain for our delicious quiz!
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Do you know the name of this garden vegetable?
Green beans
Did you know that green beans are actually an unripe fruit? Whether you are steaming them or baking them in your next casserole, green beans are full of nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin K and vitamin B-6.
Pumpkin
Bell pepper
Jalapeño
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Can you identify this edible nut or seed?
Acacia
Oats
Squash seeds
Sunflower seeds
Sunflower seeds come from the dried heads of sunflowers. In the United States, they are popular for eating at sporting events, especially baseball games. You can also make a butter out of the blended seeds due to their high oil content.
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Can you name this delicious drink?
Whiskey sour
The whiskey sour is a mixed drink containing whiskey or bourbon, lemon juice, sugar and sometimes a dash of egg white. With the egg white, it is usually called a Boston sour. For those who do not like (or cannot have) egg white, pineapple juice is used as a substitute.
Three wise men
Witch's brew
Black Russian
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Can you identify this dairy delight?
Lake's edge
Cheddar
A giant wheel of cheddar was given to Queen Victoria as a wedding gift. It weighed over 1,000 pounds, massively bigger than a normal Cheddar wheel, which weighs between 60-75 pounds. Cheshire cheese is the oldest cheddar-type cheese and the oldest named cheese in Britain.
Roncal
Gruyère
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Know what this vegetable is called?
Broccoli
Parsley
Parsnip
Artichoke
The edible portions of this plant are the flower buds. Artichokes are packed with good nutrients like vitamin C, potassium and lots of dietary fiber.
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Do you know the name of this garden vegetable?
Summer squash
Summer squash is actually just an immature squash harvested early. They still have a lot of vitamin C and vitamin B-6 and are much more tender than their full-grown brethren.
Spinach
Tomatoes
Carrots
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Do you know the name of this garden vegetable?
Zucchini
Beets
Did you know that beets are an anti-inflammatory? The chemical in that makes them so good for you is betalain. They are also high in fiber and can be used in a number of different types of edible preparations.
Carrots
Kale
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Know the name of this edible nut?
Acorn
What type of tree produces acorns? The oak tree! Not only are acorns an important food source for animals like squirrels, but they also were an important ingredient in early human diets around the world and indigenous diets in California (where oak trees are plentiful.)
Macadamia nut
Peanut
Pine Nut
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Can you name this French food?
Shiokara
Milt
Escargots
Escargots à la bourguignonne, a popular gourmet dish in France, is made of snails cooked in white wine, garlic, butter and parsley. They are served in their own shells. When cooked, they have a similar consistency to mussels or clams, with a pretty chewy texture.
Fugu
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Can you choose the name of this cheese?
Stichelton
Mahon
Swiss
In 2002, the USDA decided to reduce the size for the holes in Swiss cheese by 50% because modern slicing machines had problems slicing the Swiss with bigger holes. During the manufacturing process, a particular bacteria that produces the flavor and texture of Swiss also produces carbon dioxide gas as its byproduct, which produces the holes.
Époisses
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Can you choose the name of this fermented dairy product?
Saint-André
Pepper Jack
Pepper Jack is a derivative of Monterey Jack, the original “American” cheese. As its name suggests, the cheese is flavored with different spices, like sweet peppers, rosemary, habañero chilies, garlic and spicy jalapeños, all of which are added for an extra kick. For a snack, this cheese goes well with jalapeño peppers, melons, grapes, pickled vegetables and olives.
Ragusano
Danbo
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What is the name of this delicious cocktail?
Caribbean martini
Affair
Vodka martini
The vodka martini might just be the most classic drink out there. Almost every cocktail has a murky past, and this one is no different. Some say it was invented in a bar in Martinez, California. Others think its name can be traced to the Italian vermouth brand. And others claim it was bartenders in New York or San Francisco. In any case, the 19th of June is National Martini Day, so make sure you celebrate.
Sazerac cocktail
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Do you know what type of perennial flowering vegetable this is?
Tomato
Asparagus
Asparagus is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin B-1, and vitamin C. Did you know that it can change the smell of your urine?
Beet
Corn
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Can you name this mild cheese?
Bosworth
Mozzarella
The mozzarella most people know and love in America isn't considered authentic by Italian standards. Even so, it is the most popular cheese in the United States. The USDA estimates that per-capita, mozzarella consumption comes to 11.5 pounds a year. As one of the freshest cheeses in the world, it should be eaten as soon as possible after it's made.
Marble cheddar
Mycella
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Know the name of this nut?
Squash seeds
Barley
Candle nut
Black walnut
What's the difference between the black walnut and the English walnut? The English walnut's shell is easier to break, and it has a milder flavor than the black walnut.
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Any idea what this spread is known as?
Marmite
Marmite is made from yeast extract, is very high in B-vitamins and looks like a sticky, brown paste. It's an extremely salty spread that’s usually used on toast or eaten with cheese. It's one of those "love it or hate it" products not everyone can appreciate.
Jing leed
Wasp crackers
Fried spider
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Know what this strange food is called?
Spam
Meet the famous American mystery meat. Spam is mostly made from chopped pork shoulder, ham, salt, potato starch and sugar and is shelf-stable. It gained popularity worldwide dues to its role in the diet of soldiers during WWII. It was a viable source of protein and was therefore included in soldier's rations (and made its way into local economies during military occupations.)
Steak tartare
Cherry blossom meat
Frogs legs
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Can you name this versatile vegetable?
Cucumber
Zucchini
Turnips
Sweet potato
Did you know the sweet potato is a root vegetable? With oodles of potassium, dietary fiber and vitamin B-6, the sweet potato is one of the world’s super foods.
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Can you name this versatile food?
Jalapeño
Chard
Tomatoes
Did you know that tomatoes are actually a fruit? Called "love apples" in French before they switched to the word "tomate," tomatoes are a healthy fruit to eat and are packed with vitamin C. You can even make them into a sweet jam, although it's not currently a popular spread.
Spinach
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Can you name this colorful veggie?
Carrots
Radishes
Did you know radishes are a root vegetable? Eaten mostly raw as an addition to a salad, the radish is full of riboflavin, B-6 and potassium.
Green beans
Lettuce
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Can you name this crunchy veggie that works well in pies?
Broccoli
Garlic
Onion
Rhubarb
Rhubarb makes for a great pie, tart, or as an additive to sauces due to its tart taste. It is a perennial vegetable that grows well in most of the United States. However, you can only eat the stalks of rhubarb; the leaves are toxic.
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Can you identify this unusual dish?
Southern fried rattlesnake
Casu marzu
This traditional Sardinian dish is just sheep’s milk cheese, but it contains live insect larvae. In theory, these little maggots are supposed to enhance the flavor, but they start to jump when they panic and if you consume them, sometimes they survive in the stomach and burrow into your intestines.
Guinea pig
Crocodile
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What is the name of this simple cocktail?
Black Russian
Red-Headed Slut
24k nightmare
Moscow Mule
While there are various stories of the invention of the drink, here's a recent one from the Wall Street Journal: A bar owner found himself unable to sell either the cases of Smirnoff Vodka he had purchased or the bottles of ginger beer he was trying to clear out of his basement. A drink was born! It's also important to note that it's not safe to drink this out of an unlined copper mug; you risk copper poisoning if you use straight copper. We know that, at least, is 100% true.
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Know what this unorthodox food is called?
Whale
Pork brain tacos
Tacos with pork brains, sesame, soy sauce and green onions have an incredibly bad reputation now. Not long ago, ABC News told told a story of one Arizona woman who had to undergo six hours of surgery to remove a worm that had lodged in her brain. Her doctors are pretty sure that the parasite got into her system after she ate a pork brain taco.
Dog
Snake wine
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Do you know the name of this green nut?
Almond
Peanut
Walnut
Pistachio
Pistachios are actually part of the cashew family! Pistachio trees also can live a very long time; up to 300 years. When improperly stored, pistachios are also prone to spontaneous combustion.
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Can you name this cheese?
Caciotta
Colby-Jack
Colby is a Wisconsin original cheese, first crafted in the central Wisconsin town of Colby back in 1885 by Joseph F. Steinwand. Wisconsin is home to 38 manufacturers of Colby cheese and 40 different types and styles. Colby-Jack is a combo of Colby and Monterey Jack.
Pule
Etorki
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Select the correct name for this strongly-flavored cheese.
Blue
The first American blue cheese plant was founded by Felix Frederickson in 1936 in Faribault, Minnesota. Roquefort cheese is a specific type of bleu cheese that is made in the south of France. Other bleu/blue cheeses are Stilton (England), Gorgonzola (Italy), Danablu (Denmark) and Maytag Blue Cheese (US.)
Camembert
Gouda
Leonora
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Pick the correct name for this alcoholic beverage.
Liquid cocaine
Margarita
The origins of the Margarita are unknown. The most widely spread rumor is that an American socialite named Margarita Sames created the drink for her friends in 1948. One of her party guests was Tommy Hilton, who added the drink to the bar menu at his hotels. Twenty-six-year-old Mariano Martinez invented the frozen Margarita machine in the early '70s, in Dallas, Texas.
Malibu bay breeze
Bay breeze
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Can you identify this full-fat dairy delight?
Mozzarella
Provolone
Cotija
Brie
Cheese lovers will tell you to never, ever use plastic wrap, but a little plastic is key to protecting Brie’s creamy interior. Wrap the cut side in plastic and then put it in a box to preserve the rind. Brie is a textbook bloomy cheese, and you can eat the rind. There are three main types of rinds: bloomy, washed and natural.
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Know the name of this edible nut?
Brazil nut
The tree that this nut comes from is very valuable to the Amazon rainforest. The Brazil nut tree grows along the Amazon River and is harvested for its nuts and oil.
Pea
Pearl millet
Soybean
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Name this off-beat dish.
Pickled egg
Rocky Mountain oysters
Popular in the United States, Rocky Mountain oysters are not actually oysters despite their name. What you see are bull testicles deep fried in a batter of flour, pepper and salt. This dish, which can be also made of pig or sheep testicles, is well-known as a true Western delicacy.
Bird’s nest soup
Fugu
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Can you name this cruciferous veggie?
Carrots
Bush beans
Broccoli
Did you know broccoli is part of the cabbage family, also known as brassicas? It's also filled with fiber and antioxidants which can help fight inflammation.
Sweet potato
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Can you name this citrus-infused drink?
110 in the shade
Mojito
The history of the Mojito is a mystery, although almost everyone agrees that it originated in Cuba. Many historians think it was concocted in the 1500s, making it one of the oldest mixed drinks still consumed today. It might have African roots instead, coming from the slaves who worked in sugar cane fields in Cuba. The drink consists of rum, sugar, lime juice, mint leaves and soda water.
Bloody Mary
Sex on the beach
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Match this cocktail to its correct name.
Bloody Mary
The Bloody Mary has many variations, but they all include vodka, tomato juice and a selection of spices for flavor. It's also usually served with a stalk of celery and sometimes, other vegetables. The drink is often used as a hangover cure, although there's no real medical evidence that it works any better than hydrating with something without alcohol.
Margarita
Tequila sunrise
Gilligan's island
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Can you name this food that's uncommon in the United States?
Rocky Mountain oysters
Spam
Hákarl
Blood sausage
Yes, blood sausage is actually made of blood cooked up with various natural flavorings, oats, barley or breadcrumbs. It's all stuffed into a sausage skin and is eaten around the world. It might be an acquired taste, but blood sausage (or black pudding) is a popular dish in many places.
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Pick the correct name for this cocktail.
Pina colada
The pina colada is a sweet, rum-based cocktail made with rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice, usually served either blended or shaken with ice. It may be garnished with a pineapple wedge, a maraschino cherry, or both. The drink was supposedly created in 1954 at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, by Ramón “Monchito” Marrero. It has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico since 1978.
Malibu seven
Well-greased dwarf
Sunsplash
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Which popular cheese is shown in this image?
White cheddar
White cheddar is actually just regular cheddar. The thing that makes cheddar orange or yellow is food coloring (like annatto or paprika.)
Brie de Melun
Roquefort
Paneer
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Can you identify this thirst-quenching cocktail?
Old fashioned
The first recorded use of the name "old fashioned" for a Bourbon whiskey cocktail (as opposed to a Scotch whiskey cocktail) was at a gentleman's club (Pendennis Club) founded in 1881 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Tom Collins
Mojito
Sazerac
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What is the name for this nut with diverse uses?
Paradise nut
Beech
Walnut
Almond
Although they taste quite different, almonds, peaches and apricots are in the same family. Like its fruit cousins, the almond also has a fuzzy outer shell. Almonds can be eaten raw, roasted, used as a nut butter, as flour and as milk.
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Can you identify this multi-alcohol cocktail?
Long Island iced tea
A recipe for Long Island iced tea is first mentioned in print in "Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book" in 1961, and then again in the "American Home All-Purpose Cookbook" by Virginia T. Habeeb in 1966. However, Robert "Rosebud" Butt firmly believes he invented the Long Island iced tea during a cocktail-creating contest in 1972. See? It's never clear where these drinks originated from!
Seven & seven
Skittle vodka
Brain hemmorage
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Can you identify this delicious grain?
Wild rice
Wild rice comes from four different varieties of grasses, and is not directly related to Asian rice. The stems of wild rice are eaten as a vegetable in parts of Asia, as well.
Quinoa
Amaranth
Farro
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Name this off-beat dish.
Century eggs
Yin Yang fish
Yin Yang fish is a brutal, but popular dish in Chinese cuisine and consists of deep-fried carp or other fish that remains alive even after cooking. After the fish's whole body is rapidly deep-fried, it's served immediately and supposed to be eaten while its head is still fresh and moving.
Fugu
Escamoles
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Can you name this versatile food?
Chickpea
Another commonly used name for the chickpea is the garbanzo bean. It's most well-known as the main ingredient in hummus. Chickpeas are high in fiber and protein, and they have a mild flavor which makes them a good addition to a wide variety of vegetarian food.
Pea
Oats
Brown rice
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Can you identify this edible nut or seed?
Peanut
Brazil nut
Pine nut
Pine nuts come from pine cones. They tend to be expensive, as they're labor intensive to harvest. They make up the traditional base of pesto, along with garlic, basil and sometimes parmesan cheese.
Cashew
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Select the correct name for this creamy, mild cheese.
Mascarpone
Mascarpone is a type of cheese that is similar to cream cheese in terms of taste and texture. This cheese is often used in traditional Italian desserts, such as tiramisu, because it's creamy and has a mild taste. The primary vitamin present in more than just a trace amount in mascarpone is vitamin A, which keeps your eyes healthy and helps you see in low light.
Smoked Gouda
Jarlsberg
Parmesan
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What's the name of this seed?
Sesame
Sesame seeds have a distinct, nutty taste and are very small in size. They are used both as an ingredient whole and to make oil. They're very likely the oldest oilseed crop cultivated by humans. An oilseed is any type of seed that's grown to produce oil; in this case, sesame oil.
Chia
Almond
Pecan
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Match this cocktail to its correct name.
Planter's punch
Planter's punch is an old rum drink. The most common recipe is 1/3 rum, 1/3 orange juice, 1/3 pineapple Juice and a dash of grenadine. Punch is the term for a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from India to the United Kingdom in the early seventeenth century.
Vodka tonic
Tom Collins
Cosmopolitan
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Which butterfat filled cheese is shown in this image?
Triple cream brie
Both double and triple-cream cheeses have extra cream added before the curd is formed. According to French law, a double-crème cheese has between 60-75% butterfat. Double and triple-cream cheeses are usually young, with high levels of moisture. French triple-crème cheeses showed up about 75 years after petit Suisse was introduced. These uber-creamy cheeses also found their origins in Normandy.
Feta
Havarti
Gruyere
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Any idea what this specialty food is called?
Tuna eyeballs
Shirako
Cherry blossom meat
Sakura-niku, literally translated as 'cherry blossom meat,' is quite different than it sounds. In fact, it's raw horse meat served sashimi or sushi style. It's named after cherry blossoms (sakura) because of it's pink and white color.
Balut
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Any idea what this strong-smelling food is called?
Surstromming
Just enough salt is used to prevent the raw Baltic Sea herring from rotting while it ferments, so when the package is opened, it releases such a pungent aroma that it usually needs to be eaten outside. The fermented Baltic Sea herring is known as one of the smelliest foods in the world.
Turtle soup
Oil-cured eel
Rocky mountain oysters
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