The Granola Challenge Trivia Quiz

Answer: barley

Like all true cereal grains, barley is a grass. It is one of the oldest cultivated grains, grown as far back as 13,000 years ago. Though it prefers temperate climates, it also grows in cooler regions such as the British Isles or Tibet (where it is a staple food). Beer made from fermented barley was probably one of the earliest alcoholic drinks, very popular in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Barley is also used to make whisky, and - for those who prefer non-alcoholic beverages - a refreshing drink called barley water, and a coffee substitute (caffè d'orzo) that is widely enjoyed in Italy. Barley flour can be used in baking, and the whole grains are often put in soups and stews, such as cholent, the traditional Jewish Sabbath meal. Of course, you can also find barley (often in form of flakes) as part of healthy breakfast cereal mixes.

Answer: quinoa

Quinoa are the seeds of a plant related to spinach and beetroot, which has been cultivated in the Andes region for thousands of years. After having been processed to remove their bitter saponin coating, the seeds can be cooked (either in water or broth) and used like other grains - added to soups or salads, used as a stuffing for vegetables, or as a side dish.

In recent times, quinoa has become very popular as a superfood for its high mineral and vitamin content, and as part of gluten-free diets. Cooked quinoa, mixed with fruits and nuts, can be eaten as breakfast porridge, and many healthy cereal mixes contain quinoa flakes.

Answer: corn

With its striking, readily recognizable appearance, corn (also known as maize) is native to the Americas, where it features prominently in the cuisines of most countries. After the discovery of the New World, the cultivation of corn spread all over Europe, where it became an important staple of the diet of the continent's population.

A wide range of foods are made from corn, including polenta (northern Italian cornmeal porridge), breakfast cereal (corn flakes), tortillas, tamales, cornbread, and the ever-popular popcorn. Cooked corn kernels are often added to soups, stews or salads, and grilled corn on the cob is a popular summer treat.

Answer: oats

As oats have a higher tolerance for rain and less need for hot summers than other grains, they are grown in areas such as the British Isles, northwestern Europe, Russia and parts of Canada. Besides its uses as a breakfast food (porridge, muesli, granola), oatmeal is used for baking and brewing (oatmeal stout). Oat bread is commonly eaten in Scandinavian countries, and rolled oats are one of the main ingredients of ANZAC biscuits, popular in Australia and New Zealand. Oatmeal is also one of the main ingredients of haggis, the notorious Scottish dish of minced sheep's innards stuffed into the animal's stomach. Oats are popular as a health food because of their high nutrient content and cholesterol-lowering properties.

However, most of the oats grown all over the world are used as feed for cattle or horses.

Answer: durum wheat

"Durum" means "hard" in Latin, and this grain is indeed the hardest variety of wheat to grind. This means durum wheat is mostly ground into semolina, which is coarser than ordinary flour (for which common bread wheat is used). Durum wheat semolina is the foremost ingredient of dry Italian-style pasta, while fresh pasta may be made with a combination of hard and soft wheats. Staples of Middle Eastern and North African cuisines such as bulgur and couscous are made from coarsely ground durum wheat. Though slower in releasing its gluten content than bread flour, durum wheat flour is occasionally used in breadmaking, especially in southern Italy.

Answer: teff

Compared to other grains, teff may be an unknown quantity to many people. However, aficionados of Ethiopian cuisine will be familiar with it as the main ingredient of injera, the spongy, sourdough-risen flatbread that accompanies all Ethiopian meals. Teff (meaning "lost", because of its small size) is the seed of an annual grass native to Ethiopia and Eritrea, where the first plants and animals were domesticated for food between 8000 and 5000 BC. Rich in nutrients and naturally gluten-free, whole grain teff cooks quickly because of its tiny size.

It can be made into hot breakfast cereal or polenta, or added to soups, stews and baked goods.

Answer: rye

Rye, a grass closely related to wheat and barley, is associated with the distinctive-tasting breads eaten in Central, Eastern and Northern Europe, such as pumpernickel, Scandinavian flatbreads and the seeded rye bread used in Jewish-American cuisine (think corned beef sandwiches!). It is also used to make beer and whiskey, or - more rarely - the berries are boiled and eaten whole. Like most other cereal, it can also be found in multigrain breakfast mixes. Often grown in climates where other grains would not survive, rye can be affacted by the ergot fungus, which thrives in damp surroundings, and whose ingestion causes a medical condition called ergotism. This affliction, leading to gangrene or convulsions, was common in the Middle Ages. It is likely that the symptoms of ergot poisoning were the root of many witch hunts, such as the Salem witch trials.

Answer: millet

Though mainly grown for bird seed or cattle fodder in developed countries, millet is an important food crop in semiarid areas of Asia and Africa, such as India, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, since it can withstand droughts better than other cereal crops. With its delicate flavour and soft, often creamy texture, millet is ideal for making porridge - eaten either sweet with sugar or honey (as in Germany) or savoury, with beans or vegetables (as in China).

In India millet flour is often use to make flatbread (roti), and is increasingly used in the West to replace wheat flour in gluten-free diets. Millet beer is brewed in parts of Asia and Africa, and the Nepalese liquor called rakshi is also distilled from millet.

Answer: buckwheat

In spite of its name, buckwheat (a pseudocereal like quinoa) is not related to wheat, but rather to plants like sorrel and rhubarb. First cultivated in inland Southeast Asia about 6,000 years ago, these days buckwheat is mainly grown in Russia and China.

In Eastern Europe, buckwheat groats (kasha) are made into a porridge eaten for breakfast or as a side dish, or used as a filling for cabbage rolls. Buckwheat flour is often used to make pancakes, such as yeast-raised blinis or Brittany's galettes, or noodles, such as soba or pizzoccheri (a specialty of Valtellina, a region of Lombardy). Tea, beer and a Japanese distilled beverage called shōchū are also made from buckwheat; a strong, dark-coloured honey is produced from the buckwheat plant.

Answer: rice

Though rice is most commonly associated with Asian cuisines, it is grown and eaten in many other countries - such as Italy, where it is used to make one of Italian cuisine's most famous dishes, risotto. Rice is an extremely versatile food, and can be used for a seemingly unlimited variety of dishes - including delicious desserts such as rice pudding or rice ice cream.

Its delicate taste and soft texture when cooked make it an ideal foil for fiery curries and other spicy dishes. Rice flour can replace wheat flour in baking (ideal for people who try to avoid gluten), and in Asia it is used to make various kinds of noodles.

While Western breakfast fans will obviously familiar with puffed rice cereal, a rice porridge called congee is a popular breakfast dish in China and Southeast Asia. Like other grains, rice can be fermented to make alcoholic drinks, the best-known of which is Japanese sake.