[For Seniors] Fun Food Trivia Quizzes You'll Want to Share

What kind of sweets did the Jomon people make with pottery?

The Jomon period began roughly 12,000 years ago.

We humans lived far more primitive lives than we do today, with acorns as a staple food.

Did you know there was a kind of confectionery made during the Jomon period? In fact, it’s a sweet that’s still widely known today: cookies.

People back then are said to have kneaded dough made from nuts, eggs, and salt.

Incidentally, although there are various theories, it’s also said they used a similar method to knead hamburger patties.

Makes you wonder what they tasted like, doesn’t it?

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yamamoto

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Caterpillars eat cabbage, but they don’t eat lettuce.

When the topic turns to vegetables, the inevitable debate is “Team cabbage or team lettuce?” Which do you prefer? People who cook often tend to favor cabbage, since it’s handy whether you stir-fry it or simmer it.

But that fresh, crisp crunch of lettuce is irresistible too.

By the way, did you know that green caterpillars eat only cabbage and not lettuce? That’s because cabbage contains a lot of sinigrin, one of their favorite compounds.

Sinigrin is very bitter… There really are some peculiar insects out there, aren’t there?

What is the origin of the crescent shape of gyoza?

Dumplings are made by wrapping filling in a round piece of dough and shaping it into a crescent.

Where does that shape come from? The answer is: from the shape of Chinese currency.

In China, people eat dumplings around the time of Spring Festival, the Lunar New Year, and at celebratory occasions.

One reason is that their shape resembles the yuanbao—also known as sycee or “horse-hoof silver,” a type of currency used up through the Qing dynasty—so they carry the wish, “May we be blessed with wealth.” If eating lots of delicious dumplings also boosts your good fortune, that’s the best of both worlds!

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hiyori

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What kind of meat is “momiji”?

The simplest and clearest way is to state plainly what kind of meat it is, but calling meat by another name can also be interesting—it reflects the history of food culture.

If you hear “momiji” (maple), you might strongly associate it with autumn as a plant, but it’s also an animal you see outside of autumn.

The answer is “deer.” It’s said to come from the October hanafuda card that depicts maple leaves and a deer together.

There are other cases where meats are called by plant names, too, so it could be fun to learn those terms and their origins as well.

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kappamaki

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In “cream puff,” the word choux comes from French and means a vegetable. Which vegetable is it?

A sweet and delicious cream puff filled with plenty of cream.

The “chou” in chou cream (cream puff) actually comes from the French word for a vegetable.

Hints for the vegetable: it’s a round, hefty leafy vegetable; you put it in yakisoba; and there’s a dish called “cabbage rolls.” The answer is, of course, cabbage! It’s said that the resemblance between the round shape of a cream puff and a cabbage is also related.

Incidentally, in French a cream puff is called “chou à la crème.”

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SAKI

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