Foods Beginning with R, Part 2 Quiz

Answer: radicchio

Cultivated for over 2000 years, radicchio (sometimes called Italian chicory) is a leafy vegetable eaten either raw in salads or cooked by grilling or roasting. Cooking tames the bitter taste. It has been cultivated since (at least) the time of Ancient Rome.

There are as many varieties of radicchio as there are regions in Italy where it is grown. It adds colour when added to risotto or pasta. It is a surprising addition to dressing for poultry. Remarkably, its roots may be dried, roasted and ground into a palatable substitute for coffee.

Answer: rainbow trout

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and its larger relative the steelhead swims in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean and the streams on North America. The fish are so popular, both with sportsmen and diners, that they have been wild-caught, hatchery-raised and released in all manner of environments in which they are not native (e.g. the Great Lakes). Rainbow trout and steelhead are excellent to eat, mildly flavoured, hold together better when cooked on the skin, and pair nicely with heavier white wines.

Answer: ras el hanout

The Arabic phrase "ras el hanout" means head of the shop; it shows that there is no one recipe for this Middle Eastern spice blend but rather it is a compound of the best spices that the vendor has on offer. It is used in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco as a rub for roasted meats and as a flavouring to starches such as couscous and rice.

A typical recipe for ras el hanout includes allspice, cardamom, chili peppers, cinnamon, clove, coriander seed, cumin, fennel seed, fenugreek, galangal, ginger, grains of paradise, long pepper, mace, nutmeg, paprika, peppercorn, rosebud, turmeric.

These (and others) are toasted together and then ground.

Answer: red mulberry

The red mulberry tree (Morus rubra) grows natively in central and eastern North America. There are a few cultivated orchards in Washington State and British Columbia. The fruit, which resembles a blackberry, is dark red or purple when ripe. They may be eaten raw out of the hand, cooked into syrups or fillings for baked goods, or pressed and turned into tasty wine.

Answer: rémoulade

Sauce Rémoulade is different depending upon where one eats it. The original is French, something like tartar sauce, and was used with meats but is more popularly used with fish. It may contain chopped pickles, capers, chopped shallots, or piccalilli and it may be flavoured with curry powder, mustard, fresh herbs, or horseradish.

The American version is a Louisiana Cajun-Creole sauce descended from the French recipe. Diners in New Orleans put it on hot dogs and dunk their French fries in it. Shrimp Rémoulade is a classic New Orleans dish made with cold cooked shrimp, hard-boiled eggs and sauce rémoulade. Crawfish Rémoulade is even better.

Answer: ribs

To many Americans, the term "ribs" is synonymous with pork ribs. The muscles surrounding the rib cage of many other animals are also properly called ribs, e.g. beef, lamb, mutton, goat, venison, and buffalo. There are many methods for cooking ribs; the definitive American recipe is smoked over a slow fire.

They may also be over-roasted, fried and braised. When cooked together (rather than being cut into chops), they are called collectively a "rack."

Answer: rock cod

Rock cod (Lotella rhacina) are called "cod" despite not being related to true cod (genus Gadus). They are prolific in Australia where they are known was beardies. They are also caught off the Pacific Coast of America. Rock cod may be pan fried, baked, deep-fried, grilled, poached or steamed.

Answer: root beer

European settlers brewed root beer from sassafras tree root from earliest colonial times. Before them, Native Americans used sassafras for medicinal purposes. In 1960, the US FDA banned the use of safrole -- the aromatic oil in sassafras -- because of a determined cancer risk. Non-alcoholic, sweet, foamy, caffeine-free, carbonated root beer is now made with artificial flavouring.

Answer: rosemary

The English name for rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) derives from the Latin "ros marinus" meaning dew of the sea. This is especially appropriate to rosemary in that it grows natively around the Mediterranean Sea. The woody shrub has highly-fragrant needles and white, pink, purple or blue tiny flowers.

The needles/leaves are used, fresh or dried, to flavour roasted meats and stuffings. [Chef's secret: once the needles have been stripped from a branch of rosemary, the remaining woody twig may be added directly to the coals under a charcoal barbecue grill such that the rosemary smoke further flavours the roasting meat.]

Answer: runner bean

Runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) are also called butter beans. They can look a bit like Lima beans but are of a different sort. The runner bean originated in Central America and is now grown around the world. In Greece, they are called fasolia gigantes.

The scarlet runner bean is grown and dried for its ornamental qualities. In Spain, they are slow-cooked with pig's ears, trotters and chorizo.