World Cuisine Quiz
From pad thai to injera, 15 questions on the dishes and spices the world cooks with.
Which country is considered the birthplace of pad thai?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Thailand
Pad thai was promoted by Thailand's government in the late 1930s and 1940s under Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram as a national dish to build Thai identity.
Rice noodles were pushed partly to stretch rice supplies, since a plate of noodles uses less rice than a bowl of the steamed grain.
What is the main ingredient in the Middle Eastern dip hummus?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Chickpeas
Hummus takes its name from the Arabic word for chickpeas, which are blended with tahini, lemon juice and garlic to make the dip.
The largest plate of hummus on record was made in Lebanon in 2010 and weighed more than 10 tons.
Saffron, the world's most expensive spice by weight, is derived from which flower?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Crocus
Saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, and it takes around 150,000 flowers, all picked by hand, to produce a single kilogram.
Iran grows roughly 90 percent of the world's saffron, though Spain's La Mancha and Kashmir are prized for quality.
Which Japanese dish consists of battered and deep-fried vegetables or seafood?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Tempura
Tempura is seafood or vegetables dipped in a light batter and deep-fried, a technique Portuguese missionaries introduced to Nagasaki in the 16th century.
The name likely comes from the Latin 'tempora', the Ember Days when Catholics ate fish instead of meat.
In which country did the croissant, as we know it today, originate?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
France
The layered, buttery croissant was developed by French bakers in the early 20th century, refining the plainer Austrian kipferl into a puff-pastry classic.
The first published French recipes for a croissant made with yeasted puff pastry date from 1905 to 1906.
What type of pastry is a traditional Greek spanakopita wrapped in?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Filo (phyllo) pastry
Spanakopita layers spinach and feta between paper-thin sheets of filo brushed with oil or butter, giving the pie its shattering crust.
Filo means 'leaf' in Greek, and skilled bakers still stretch it by hand until it is thin enough to read a newspaper through.
Which Indian bread is traditionally cooked in a tandoor oven?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Naan
Naan is slapped onto the clay wall of a tandoor, where temperatures near 900°F puff the leavened dough in under a minute.
Chapati, paratha and puri are unleavened and cooked on a flat tawa or in hot oil, which is why they stay thin or fry up crisp.
Which saffron-tinted rice dish from Valencia is Spain's most famous culinary export?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Paella
Paella comes from the rice fields around Valencia, where it is cooked in a wide, shallow pan, and the original recipe uses chicken, rabbit and green beans.
The word paella refers to the pan itself, from the Latin patella, and the crispy layer at the bottom is called socarrat.
Which country is the world's largest producer of olive oil?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Spain
Spain produces roughly 40 to 50 percent of the world's olive oil in a typical year, most of it from the groves of Andalusia around Jaén.
Spain has roughly 340 million olive trees, and the single province of Jaén grows more than 60 million of them.
Kimchi, a staple of Korean cuisine, is primarily made from which fermented vegetable?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Napa cabbage
Baechu kimchi, made from salted napa cabbage rubbed with chili, garlic and fish sauce, is the standard variety, though Korea recognizes more than 200 kinds.
Kimjang, the communal autumn kimchi-making tradition, was added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2013.
Which Latin American dish consists of raw fish cured in citrus juices?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Ceviche
Ceviche cures raw fish in lime or bitter orange juice, whose acid denatures the proteins and turns the flesh opaque without any heat.
Peru celebrates a national Ceviche Day on June 28, and UNESCO added Peruvian ceviche to its heritage list in 2023.
What is the Italian term for pasta cooked so it is still firm when bitten?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Al dente
Al dente means 'to the tooth' in Italian, describing pasta cooked until tender outside but still firm at the center.
Firmer pasta has a lower glycemic index than soft pasta, because the tighter starch takes longer to digest.
Which North African spice blend typically includes cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and chili peppers?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Ras el hanout
Ras el hanout means 'head of the shop' in Arabic, a Moroccan grocer's finest blend of up to 30 spices including cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chili.
Berbere is Ethiopia's fiery blend and za'atar a Levantine herb mix, while garam masala belongs to Indian cooking.
What is the primary grain used to make traditional Ethiopian injera bread?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Teff
Injera is made from fermented teff flour, the world's smallest grain, which gives the spongy flatbread its tangy taste and bubbly surface.
Teff is naturally gluten-free and so tiny that about 150 grains weigh the same as a single grain of wheat.
Which country's cuisine features the dish pho, a fragrant noodle soup?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Vietnam
Pho originated in northern Vietnam around Hanoi in the early 20th century, combining rice noodles, fresh herbs and a long-simmered beef bone broth.
The name may derive from the French 'pot-au-feu', a legacy of colonial-era beef eating in Hanoi.
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All Food and Drink quizzes →About the World Cuisine Quiz
Every great dish carries a passport. Saffron costs more than its weight in silver because each flower yields just three threads, all harvested by hand. Kimchi is so central to Korean life that Seoul has a museum devoted to it, and the country even sent a batch into space in 2008. Italy has more than 300 named pasta shapes, each matched to its own sauce. Food is the story of trade routes, migrations and happy accidents, and the best way to learn it is one plate at a time.
These 15 questions travel through Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Latin America, asking about signature dishes, key ingredients, spice blends and cooking terms. It suits seasoned travelers, home cooks and anyone who watches more food television than they would care to admit. Get one wrong and you still leave with a fact worth repeating at dinner.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
Which cuisines does the World Cuisine Quiz cover?
Thai, Middle Eastern, Japanese, French, Greek, Indian, Spanish, Korean, Peruvian, Italian, Moroccan, Ethiopian and Vietnamese food all make an appearance.
How difficult is the World Cuisine Quiz?
Medium. Anyone who eats out regularly will get the famous dishes, but questions on spice blends, grains and production figures separate the foodies from the rest.
Are the food facts up to date?
Yes. Production figures and origins were checked in September 2026 against sources such as the International Olive Council and national food histories.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Which country is considered the birthplace of pad thai?
Thailand Pad thai was promoted by Thailand's government in the late 1930s and 1940s under Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram as a national dish to build Thai identity. Rice noodles were pushed partly to stretch rice supplies, since a plate of noodles uses less rice than a bowl of the steamed grain. - What is the main ingredient in the Middle Eastern dip hummus?
Chickpeas Hummus takes its name from the Arabic word for chickpeas, which are blended with tahini, lemon juice and garlic to make the dip. The largest plate of hummus on record was made in Lebanon in 2010 and weighed more than 10 tons. - Saffron, the world's most expensive spice by weight, is derived from which flower?
Crocus Saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, and it takes around 150,000 flowers, all picked by hand, to produce a single kilogram. Iran grows roughly 90 percent of the world's saffron, though Spain's La Mancha and Kashmir are prized for quality. - Which Japanese dish consists of battered and deep-fried vegetables or seafood?
Tempura Tempura is seafood or vegetables dipped in a light batter and deep-fried, a technique Portuguese missionaries introduced to Nagasaki in the 16th century. The name likely comes from the Latin 'tempora', the Ember Days when Catholics ate fish instead of meat. - In which country did the croissant, as we know it today, originate?
France The layered, buttery croissant was developed by French bakers in the early 20th century, refining the plainer Austrian kipferl into a puff-pastry classic. The first published French recipes for a croissant made with yeasted puff pastry date from 1905 to 1906. - What type of pastry is a traditional Greek spanakopita wrapped in?
Filo (phyllo) pastry Spanakopita layers spinach and feta between paper-thin sheets of filo brushed with oil or butter, giving the pie its shattering crust. Filo means 'leaf' in Greek, and skilled bakers still stretch it by hand until it is thin enough to read a newspaper through. - Which Indian bread is traditionally cooked in a tandoor oven?
Naan Naan is slapped onto the clay wall of a tandoor, where temperatures near 900°F puff the leavened dough in under a minute. Chapati, paratha and puri are unleavened and cooked on a flat tawa or in hot oil, which is why they stay thin or fry up crisp. - Which saffron-tinted rice dish from Valencia is Spain's most famous culinary export?
Paella Paella comes from the rice fields around Valencia, where it is cooked in a wide, shallow pan, and the original recipe uses chicken, rabbit and green beans. The word paella refers to the pan itself, from the Latin patella, and the crispy layer at the bottom is called socarrat. - Which country is the world's largest producer of olive oil?
Spain Spain produces roughly 40 to 50 percent of the world's olive oil in a typical year, most of it from the groves of Andalusia around Jaén. Spain has roughly 340 million olive trees, and the single province of Jaén grows more than 60 million of them. - Kimchi, a staple of Korean cuisine, is primarily made from which fermented vegetable?
Napa cabbage Baechu kimchi, made from salted napa cabbage rubbed with chili, garlic and fish sauce, is the standard variety, though Korea recognizes more than 200 kinds. Kimjang, the communal autumn kimchi-making tradition, was added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2013. - Which Latin American dish consists of raw fish cured in citrus juices?
Ceviche Ceviche cures raw fish in lime or bitter orange juice, whose acid denatures the proteins and turns the flesh opaque without any heat. Peru celebrates a national Ceviche Day on June 28, and UNESCO added Peruvian ceviche to its heritage list in 2023. - What is the Italian term for pasta cooked so it is still firm when bitten?
Al dente Al dente means 'to the tooth' in Italian, describing pasta cooked until tender outside but still firm at the center. Firmer pasta has a lower glycemic index than soft pasta, because the tighter starch takes longer to digest. - Which North African spice blend typically includes cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and chili peppers?
Ras el hanout Ras el hanout means 'head of the shop' in Arabic, a Moroccan grocer's finest blend of up to 30 spices including cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chili. Berbere is Ethiopia's fiery blend and za'atar a Levantine herb mix, while garam masala belongs to Indian cooking. - What is the primary grain used to make traditional Ethiopian injera bread?
Teff Injera is made from fermented teff flour, the world's smallest grain, which gives the spongy flatbread its tangy taste and bubbly surface. Teff is naturally gluten-free and so tiny that about 150 grains weigh the same as a single grain of wheat. - Which country's cuisine features the dish pho, a fragrant noodle soup?
Vietnam Pho originated in northern Vietnam around Hanoi in the early 20th century, combining rice noodles, fresh herbs and a long-simmered beef bone broth. The name may derive from the French 'pot-au-feu', a legacy of colonial-era beef eating in Hanoi.
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