New Menu: Dinner is Serval Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Undeniably, the hunting of big game is known for being a hot button issue on the African continent, but it is still something that occurs. While other animals in Africa are much more preferable and palatable, lions (and the rest of the Big Five) are typically the hardest to hunt; most menus won't serve lion meat.

All of this being said, the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania do hunt lions. Living off the land, lions provide a number of useful items for use in clothing and ornamentation. Lion hunting is a rite of passage; lion eating typically is not.

All of this being said, lion meat has been sold in markets internationally; it's an exotic meat at a high premium and it's often cut with other filler meats.

Answer: Pork

Maybe a reason not to try this one out, cougar meat shares a lot of similarities with pork despite the fact that the animals behind them are vastly different. Trichinosis is probably good to know of for meat in general; it's a disease you can get from roundworms. This means that meat must be fully cooked (at a high enough temperature) to kill the bacteria inside. Freezing it does not work. In fact, outbreaks of this sort often occur when preparers attempt to make jerky, and if you're a hunter, jerky's a good way of keeping meat for longer.

Cook. Your. Food.

Answer: Beef

This one is a weird one. One would have to assume that when you eat literal tiger meat (likely something that would only typically happen in Asia if at all, which is doubtful considering the illegality), it gets cooked. The American 'tiger meat' is a recipe that involves the preparation of raw beef, usually as a snack served on crackers (treated like a spread).

The history of this dish becomes more apparent when you regard it by its other name: South Dakota Steak Tartare.

Answer: Brining

Bobcat is another feline game meat which tends to cook like pork. Due to a rather active, carnivorous lifestyle, bobcats tend to get very muscly, so game hunters who catch them need to take extra steps to prepare the dish when cooking the meat. Brining is a smart option regardless of tough meat source as it allows meat to take in liquids and salt that it can hold during cooking. The other benefit is that brining helps remove blood from meat, leeching it out of the tinier capillaries to provide a cleaner flank.

But bobcat also isn't a typical meat choice in its native land of North America. It's more valuable for its hide.

Answer: Australia

Though domestic cats are frequently found as pets in a large component of Australia, the nation hasn't denied a problem with feral cats across most of the country's dry landscape. Though it's obviously a point of contention, rural natives have been known to catch and cook feral cats partly because it assists in the protection of other species and partly because the severe overabundance of feral cats (potentially six million!) means that the option is plentiful.

Indigenous people have been known to cook said animals over a fire, roasting to prepare, though stewing (like rabbit) is also a common preparation.

Answer: Fricassee

This is a bit of a weird one and the question is not meant to put the microscope to Peru or South American eating habits. La Quebrada is one of many Peruvian towns that have performed the act of cooking cats (and other local animals), but Peruvian colonizers did much of the same upon touching down there. Peru banned the El Festival Gastronomico del Gato in the 2010s in an effort to curb animal cruelty, but outright banning of preparing cat dishes did not occur. Fricassee is a method of preparing meat that involves cutting up the contents and braising them in a sauce or wine and it finds its roots in French and Spanish cuisine. Someone julienning typically works with vegetables; it's a manner of chopping. Nappage involves glazing fruit while Tandoor is a meat preparation common in Central Asia (and involves a clay baking oven).

Answer: Cajun

Although some wonder about the safety of eating catfish because of their tendency to be bottom-feeders, there's little harm to cooking one up. In fact, catfish is a tasty and healthy dish that takes on accompaniment quite nicely. Typically regarded as mild in flavour, it's the type of fish that gets prepared in soups or plates that get packed with flavour. If you look at a Creole or Cajun preparation from the Southern States, you're looking at a fish fried up with heavy sides.

It's a fairly popular dish in states like Louisiana due to its population; catfish can be found in freshwater and saltwater, and the Deep South has those in spades.

Answer: Relaxing

Catnip is a plant found in the mint family and mint teas typically have the capability to make the drinker more relaxed. Of course, this quality flips on its head for cats themselves; a majority of cats are biologically inclined to become hyperactive when placed into contact with the plant (though many are not!).

The truth is that catnip has been used in cooking for a quite a long time. Besides steeping (not boiling) catmint tea, it's also added to soups and salads for flavour.

Answer: Poi

Actual Hawaiian poi is made from crushed taro root and is a staple in classic Hawaiian/Polynesian cuisine. The fact that Hawaiians attributed the word to their dogs is indicative of how instrumental it was in feeding its indigenous people for as long as it did. Today, however, the poi dog is extinct. Though the eating of dog meat (like cat meat) became taboo, this shift in thought came too late for the poi, also considered for a long time to be a spiritual creature. Like cat, there are many countries in the world that consider it illegal to hunt and kill for consumption, though this is not the case for the majority.

Answer: False

How about no? Weird thing to talk about, but catsup was never made with cats (though some have used it as a meat condiment). Catsup is, instead, a variation on the name used in parts of North America; the formula is the exact same. The main ingredients in ketchup/catsup include tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and other seasonings.

In the twentieth century it took over as one of the most-used condiments in the world. It was first 'discovered' by colonists in Southeast Asia and, even then, it was regarded by the name 'ketchup'.