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Quiz about A Brief History Of Greek Cuisine

A Brief History Of Greek Cuisine Quiz

Ask any visitor to Greece what parts of their journey they most enjoyed and "the food" will be near the top of the list. Here are a few questions about how our delicious Greek cuisine became what it is today.

A multiple-choice quiz by wilbill. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
wilbill

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
384,744

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
194

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: postcards2go (7/10), DeepHistory (8/10), paper_aero (6/10).

One at a Time - Single Page

Question 1 of 10

1. In 320 B.C. the poet Archestratos made an important contribution to the development of Greek cuisine. What was it? Hint

Wrote the first cookbook

Made the first feta cheese

Invented the olive press

Opened Athens' first souvlaki stand

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Question 2 of 10

2. Ancient Greeks ate a fairly simple diet based on the "Mediterranean Triad". What foodstuffs made up this threesome? Hint

olive oil, wine and moussaka

wheat, olive oil and wine

cheese, goat meat and olives

olive oil, wine and octopus

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Question 3 of 10

3. Ancient Greek families considered meals to be an occasion for the family to be together, sharing their food.

True

False

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Question 4 of 10

4. What is one of our best sources of knowledge about the dietary habits of the ancient Greeks? Hint

Recipes from ancient cookbooks

Linear B tablets from Mycenae

Preserved contents of privies at archaeological sites

Artwork, decorations on plates, bowls, cups and other utensils

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which Greek city-state's diet largely consisted of "black soup" made with pork shanks, salt, vinegar and blood? Hint

Athens

Sparta

Corinth

Thebes

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Question 6 of 10

6. What was the primary source of protein in the ancient Greeks' diet? Hint

Pork

Fish

Beef

Soy Beans

7. Greece produces dozens of fine cheeses. Many of them are made in small batches and distributed locally. Which brined white cheese made from sheep and goat milk is the best known Greek cheese worldwide?

Answer: (Four Letters, starts with F)

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Question 8 of 10

8. When did the delicious drink called "Greek Coffee" become part of the national cuisine? Hint

The 6th century B.C. from Ethiopia

The 16th century from Brazil

1974

Following Independence in 1832

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Question 9 of 10

9. The ancient Greeks were a social people, much like their modern descendants. What was the name for a traditional gathering of men to eat, debate, party and drink? Hint

Colloquium

Smorgasbord

Banquet

Symposion

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Question 10 of 10

10. What is added to wine to make the traditional Greek beverage Retsina? Hint

Pine Resin

Fish Oil

Cloves and Fennel

Ground Olive Pits

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 320 B.C. the poet Archestratos made an important contribution to the development of Greek cuisine. What was it?

Answer: Wrote the first cookbook

Archestratos lived in Syracuse, a Greek colony on Sicily. In addition to the cookbook, he is remembered for his humorous poem "Life of Luxury" suggesting where to find the tastiest food. Several philosophers of the time considered "Life of Luxury" a corrupting influence on readers.

2. Ancient Greeks ate a fairly simple diet based on the "Mediterranean Triad". What foodstuffs made up this threesome?

Answer: wheat, olive oil and wine

Arable land is at a premium on the mountainous Greek peninsula and there's little rain during the growing season. Olives, grapes and wheat can all be cultivated in these soil and weather conditions which are not suitable for many other crops. Olive oil and wine allow those fruits to be preserved for later use and to serve as trade goods.

3. Ancient Greek families considered meals to be an occasion for the family to be together, sharing their food.

Answer: False

In wealthier homes, men and women ate in separate rooms. In smaller homes, men ate first, then women. Meals were served by slaves except among the poor who had no slaves. In those households it was common for women and children to serve the men of the family.

4. What is one of our best sources of knowledge about the dietary habits of the ancient Greeks?

Answer: Artwork, decorations on plates, bowls, cups and other utensils

Serving plates, bowls and other dinnerware were frequently decorated with drawings of the food items served on them. Pottery often shows meals and banquets being served. Early terra cotta figures show women baking and preparing other food items. Some of Aristophanes' comedies which survive in fragments contain descriptions of meals.

5. Which Greek city-state's diet largely consisted of "black soup" made with pork shanks, salt, vinegar and blood?

Answer: Sparta

Writing in the first century A.D. Plutarch called the concoction "so much valued that the elderly men fed only upon that, leaving what flesh there was to the younger". Another writer speculated that the soup was what made the Spartans such brave warriors since they would rather "die ten thousand times" than have to eat any more of it.

6. What was the primary source of protein in the ancient Greeks' diet?

Answer: Fish

Since no point in Greece is much more than 60 miles from the sea, fish and other sea food was reasonably available to all. Pork, beef and other animal protein was expensive and only eaten by the common people during festivals after it had been sacrificed to the gods, cooked and given to the populace. Meat was commonly preserved as sausage.

Answer: Feta

Feta is produced in blocks and aged until it's somewhat crumbly. It can be served as a table cheese, in a traditional Greek salad or cooked in dishes such as spanakopita (spinach pie) and tyropita (cheese pie).

8. When did the delicious drink called "Greek Coffee" become part of the national cuisine?

Answer: 1974

Prior to 1974, Greek Coffee was called Turkish Coffee as it still is in most of the world. When Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, nothing Turkish was acceptable in Greece any longer. The finely ground, pressed and boiled coffee popular throughout the middle east became known as Greek Coffee and has kept the name.

9. The ancient Greeks were a social people, much like their modern descendants. What was the name for a traditional gathering of men to eat, debate, party and drink?

Answer: Symposion

Symposia were held for many reasons. Men might gather to celebrate political or athletic victories, to honor a young man's passage into the aristocracy, or simply to party and drink.

Plato and Xenophon both wrote works titled "Symposion" (often referred to by the Latinized "Symposium", which is also the more frequent spelling today) in which the philosophical text took the form of the conversation among guests at a symposion dinner.

10. What is added to wine to make the traditional Greek beverage Retsina?

Answer: Pine Resin

The world's oldest known grape wine remnants were discovered in Greece. The culture and worship of Dionysus, God of Wine, spread from Greece throughout the Mediterranean in the years from 1600 B.C. until the Christian era. Pine resin in the shipping casks and amphora kept the wine from oxidizing quickly, allowing longer storage and shipping. With the advent of glass storage, modern retsina contains much less resin from the Aleppo Pine than was used in ancient times.

Source: Author wilbill

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
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