Cooking Trivia: 30 Questions (And Answers) For Aspiring Chefs

Food, who doesn't love it?

The culinary world has many interesting terms to describe the intricate art of cooking and there are so many types of dishes, techniques and cuisines, each with their own unique style. Read on to test yourself on how much you know about the wonderful world of cooking, with these great trivia questions about food.

Our time usually passes by figuring out what to eat every day, and it is hard to meet anyone who is not interested in talking about food! This universal appeal of food is what makes a cookery quiz such a great idea for a fun night in. So why not test your family's knowledge of food with this cooking quiz?

There are so many interesting facts and trivia out there to discover about cooking, and it is almost impossible to include all of that in a small quiz like this. For example, did you know a bain-marie is a cooking technique where you heat materials gently over a long period in a heated bath of water? People use this technique to make melted chocolate, cheesecakes, baked custard desserts and more, cool right?

Whatever your favorite food and favorite cooking technique, we hope you enjoy this list full of trivia about cooking. If you do  like this list of culinary trivia, make sure to check out our animal trivia and science trivia for more great trivia questions.

Food is one of the most important aspects of anyone's life, we live to eat and we eat to live. Did you know that jam sets at around 105.5 degrees Fahrenheit? Well, here's your chance to find out even more! Here is a cooking quiz based on fun food trivia about the variety of foods that exist and are used for various functions around the world.

1. Question: What type of beans are used to make baked beans?

Answer: Haricot beans.

2. Question: According to the American Heart Association, how many egg whites should you eat in a day?

Answer: Two egg whites and one full egg is the recommended egg intake advised by the American Heart Association.

3. Question: What is a bobotie?

Answer: The national dish of South Africa, a bobotie is made of curried meat and fruit with a golden upper layer.

4. Question: What is a nigiri?

Answer: Nigiri is a type of sushi. It is rice topped with seafood, usually fish.

5. Question: What do you use to flavor a Whitby bun?

Answer: Lemon.

6. Question: What is the secret behind Sriracha popularity?

Answer: Sriracha contains chile peppers which are known to release endorphins.

7. Question: What kind of oil does South Indian cooking mainly feature?

Answer: South Indians, especially Malayali cuisine, almost always uses coconut oil.

8. Question: What kind of nutrients do strawberries have?

Answer: Few people know that strawberries are rich in Vitamin B6, K, E and C, iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, folate B9 and potassium. Wow, that is a lot of nutrients!

9. Question: What ingredient does Cuba predominantly export?

Answer: Sugar, earning it the name, Sugar Bowl of the World.

10. Question: Which country is the largest exporter of mangoes?

Answer: India, India actually exports around 42.2% of the world's total production of mangoes.

Baking is one of the most dynamic techniques of cooking that has been around for centuries. There are so many different ingredients and techniques used to make various baked dishes, like cakes, loaves of bread and desserts. When we decided to make a list of food trivia for kids, we realized we must include some cooking trivia about baking too! So get your bain-marie ready to melt those sweet chocolates and answer these ten questions for a super sweet culinary quiz night!

11. Question: What kind of custard do you fill an eclair with?

Answer: Creme patisserie.

12. Question: What are the two main ingredients when you are making a meringue?

Answer: Egg whites and sugar.

13. Question: Who invented the meringue?

Answer: A pastry cook from Switzerland called Gasparini came up with the meringue in 1720.

14. Question: What type of food is a fougasse?

Answer: Fougasse is a type of French bread. It is made in the shape of lattice, similar to Italy's focaccia bread.

15. Question: What kind of grain is gluten-free naturally and is used for gluten-free products?

Answer: Buckwheat is completely devoid of gluten.

16. Question: When you bake a crust without a filling, what is it called?

Answer: This baking technique is called blind baking.

17. Question: What is Pane Toscano?

Answer: Pane Toscano (or Tuscan bread) originates from Tuscany. It is a large springy bread, very similar to a white loaf.

18. Question: What are the main ingredients you need when you make brioche dough?

Answer: If you are making brioche dough, the main ingredient you will need to use is butter, along with eggs, sugar, salt, yeast and milk.

19. Question: Where should you always store whole wheat flour?

Answer: Whole wheat flour is high in fat content, so to prevent rancidity, you should store it in a refrigerator.

20. Question: What is Prinsesstarta?

Answer: Prinsesstarta is a layered cake from Sweden. It is covered with bright green marzipan and is filled with custard, whipped cream, jam and sugar. Yum!

Are you enjoying this list of questions on cooking so far? Let us step up the bar with these questions that the average person might not know the answer to. Epicures and chefs worldwide learn all about food throughout their life, which is why being involved in the field of cooking involves a never-ending process of learning. There is so much to try and taste out there, and the process of making all these dishes can be complex and hard to master. If you know all the answers to this quiz, you can call yourself a qualified food expert.

21. Question: Which was the first food that was eaten in outer space?

Answer: The first food that was eaten in space was applesauce.

22. Question: What surprising ingredient does the Food and Dietary Association allow to be included in some food items?

Answer: Few people know that the Food and Dietary Association allows merchants to include trace amounts of bug parts in products.

23. Question: What is the most expensive spice on earth?

Answer: The most expensive spice on earth by weight is saffron. It is so expensive that if you buy a pound of it, it will make a dent in your pocket worth $5000. This high price is due to the fact that it is very complicated to grow and harvest, and involves picking up and separating individual flowers.

24. Question: What does the word burrito actually mean?

Answer: Burrito means "little donkey", it is derived from the Spanish word 'burro' which means "donkey". It refers to how, just like donkeys, burritos can carry a lot of ingredients inside.

25. Question: What food is stolen the most in all of history?

Answer: Cheese, particularly in Europe.

26. Question: What do you use to make gelatin?

Answer: Gelatin is made of the skin and bones of chickens, cows, pigs and other animals.

27. Question: Eggs contain all vitamins and minerals except for one. Which one is it?

Answer: Eggs are extremely nutritious and have trace amounts of all vitamins and minerals, except for Vitamin C. Eggs even have calcium, iron and zinc, cool right?

28. Question: How many years do you have to train for to be called a legitimate sushi chef?

Answer: To be a proper sushi chef, you need to undergo five years of training, to get the process of making the sticky rice down. You will eventually get the title of Itamae, which means chef in Japanese.

29. Question: What kind of meat is called Bombay Duck?

Answer: Dried salted fish is referred to as Bombay Duck, after the Bombay Dak, the train used to transport the fish at that time.

30. Question: Who invented frozen food?

Answer: Clarence Birdseye is credited for developing the quick-freeze technique popularly used these days to freeze and store meat, vegetables and more.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly trivia questions for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 30 cooking trivia questions (and answers) for aspiring chefs, then why not take a look at our New Years trivia, or American trivia for more fun quiz questions?