Every Adult Should Pass This Basic Cooking Quiz

If you’re an adult who is in charge of producing the meals every day in your household, then this quiz should more or less be a breeze for you. This quiz ranges from topics of uncommon fruits and vegetables, or ones that have somehow made their way into the most recent social media posts and has teens running to the stores to buy them. There are trivia terms found in here, including some of the basic things that most people would know like mincing means. Tiana from Princess and the Frog is probably responsible for teaching so many people how to mince mushrooms like pro. But, what about those things that sort of fly over our heads when it comes to cooking? Such as the temperature at which water actually boils. I mean, who has that knowledge stored in their brain? Or even the proper names for the most basic kitchen utensils and gadgets that most of us use on a daily basis. Additionally, conversion questions might pop up here and there, so hopefully you can remember what a teaspoon is and how many of them make up one tablespoon! Feeling confident? Test your basic cooking knowledge by taking this quiz.

Question 1

At what temperature does water boil?

Boiling water is probably one of the easiest things to do when it comes to cooking. I mean, how hard is it to turn a knob? For most households, you just fill the pot or kettle with water, stick it on the stove with high heat and wait until you either hear the whistle or can see the bubbles forming at the bottom. Yes, it is fairly easy and doesn’t take much brain power. But, do you know at what temperature the water actually starts to boil at?

Question 2

Name this vegetable:

This vegetable is highly known for being the vegetable that no child wants to eat in the sitcom shows and shamefully pouts when their parent tries to make them eat just one. While they hold a poor reputation in young children, they’re actually quite tasty if cooked properly. They belong to the cabbage family, and are leafy and small in size. Some of the most common methods of cooking these vegetables are boiling, frying or roasting. The reason these vegetables are widely disliked because overcooking them can create a very foul taste.

Question 3

What is the term used to describe pasta that is “firm to the bite?”

Pasta is one of the easiest things to make if you’re new to cooking. For one, the cooking instructions are more than likely printed on the package for you to make it nice and easy, but also there isn’t much to it. You simply wait for your water to boil and dump the pasta noodles in and wait. Simple as that. But, there are some variables that come into play such as the size of the noodles and also the firmness of the noodles that you desire.

Question 4

What is the term for putting dry ingredients through a strainer to prevent lumps?

For most people, baking consists of following the directions on the pre-mixed cake box you bought on whim at the grocery store. Whether it’s one of those “just add water” or there is a handful of different ingredients needed, it never really does come out the way you want it. That’s because for most average bakers, you forget one of the most important steps when it comes to preparing cake-like dessert. Passing the dry ingredients through a strainer to break up any lumps is actually more important than you’d think, and is often overlooked.

Question 5

Name this fruit:

This fruit has gained wide popularity recently for its desire to be in smoothies to add a zing of flavor. While delicious in taste, most people have trouble properly cutting them because of the shape and the “seed” in the middle of the fruit. As a result, a handy kitchen gadget was produced that skins the fruit and pits it all in one go. Apart from its desire to be in fruit smoothies, this particular fruit is popular on social media sites because of how “visually appealing” cutting them into little squares with the skin still attached.

Question 6

In baking recipes, what is usually the first step?

If your first instinct is to say follow the instructions or the recipe, you’re sadly mistaken. While it’s true, we all have our own methods and steps we follow when we are preparing to make something, this first step is necessary or else it will mess with your timeline. And if you think skipping it and coming back to it is easier, you’ll be kicking yourself when the time comes to put your masterpiece in the oven. Don’t over think: the answer is simpler than you think.

Question 7

Name this kitchen utsentsil:

Most households have this kitchen utensil for it’s very common and is sold almost anywhere that kitchen appliances or utensils are found. If you are also one of those families that has a designated drawer filled with different utensils, this one is probably the one that is constantly getting stuck and you have to pry the drawer free to be able to get to anything. Like most common utensils, this one comes in many different shapes and styles, including the material they’re made out of – plastic, wood or even metal if you’re feeling fancy.

Question 8

For a perfect hardboiled egg, how long would you keep the eggs in the pot for?

Boiling eggs is one of the easier tasks, but is also strangely enough the easiest to mess up. Mostly because there are so many different recipes and chefs who have declared the right amount of time it takes to get the perfect hardboiled egg. But, if we’re all being honest with ourselves, there are many different factors that go into boiling an egg. Is there more than one? How big is the pot? How thick is the pot? Did you start the time the minute the eggs went into the pot or when the water started boiling?

Question 9

What is the term for embellishing a plate with something decorative to enhance the presentation?

At one time or another, I’m sure most of us have dreamed of becoming professional chefs because the idea of cooking delicious food for a living is somewhat appealing. And while that dream remains a dream, incorporating some of the elements that we see on cooking shows into our home cooking is rather fun. Such as decorating a plate to enhance the wow factor. While some decorations are non-edible and are simply added for presentation purposes, adding a little sprinkle of cheese or herbs to your plate at the end can make you feel like you know what you’re doing.

Question 10

What are the two most common items placed in water to make it “refreshing?”

Who doesn’t want to sit by the pool on a hot summer day drinking fancy, refreshing water? The only issue is finding that right combination of ingredients to actually make your drink refreshing and not taste like something that has been sitting out in the sun for days. Again, the “refreshing” factor is not necessarily set in stone and there is personal preference to take into consideration. However, these two key items are seen most going into drinks to give it a little something extra.

Question 11

What is this kitchen gadget used for?

As it was said before, there is kitchen gadget designed for almost anything. What ever happened to use a good old fashioned paring knife to get the job done? Nowadays there are infomercials for some of the wackiest inventions out there. Devices that separate your egg yolk from the whites, garlic presses, and even tea infusers. Regardless of how ridiculous this gadget might seem, they’re actually quite handy in design. Unlike most you see on the shelves, this one is a three-in-one function.

Question 12

What is the term for adding salt and spices to a food?

Experimenting is always fun when it comes to cooking. Taking a detour from the bland recipes we’ve found online, and mixing together a bunch of spices from the rack you barely use to create a signature meal you can call your own. Knowing your spices is the most important thing to research before you start making spice blends. For example, certain spices complement each other while others can bring out the worst flavors. If you aren’t sure which ones to use, there’s nothing wrong with sticking to the basics.

Question 13

Name this vegetable:

This vegetable is most popular in the summer time months because grilling them on the barbecue can be very tasty. Cooking them on the stove top and oven is equally as efficient, but there’s something about the grill marks and smoky flavor that is appealing about this vegetable. They’re also paired well with red meat such as a steak. The one important thing to remember when cooking this particular vegetable is to be sure to trim the ends before cooking them.

Question 14

What does it mean when you “julienne” something?

There are so many different cooking terms that are floating out in the world it’s nearly impossible to keep track of them. For most household chefs, just describing what you’re doing is the better option than trying to figure out the proper terminology. Plus, the only time you’ll likely even hear the proper word for cutting, chopping, dicing, cubing, slicing or whatever is if you’re at home binge watching all your favorite cooking shows and they say it on air.

Question 15

What ingredient is usually added to bread to make it rise?

Bread is one of those things that we eat every day but have no clue how to actually make it. Sure, if you’re one of those people who like to have every kitchen appliance out there in the world, then you probably have a bread maker. But all that consists of is dumping a collection of ingredients in and pressing start. Bread is considered to be one of the most basic things a person can bake, and yet there’s something so daunting about actually doing it.

Question 16

Name this kitchen untensil:

Again, much like the ladle this kitchen utensil can be found in also any household kitchen. They’re one of those things that can be used for almost any meal. Cooking eggs, fish, tossing French fries or chicken nuggets in the oven, even flipping burgers on the barbecue. They’re also probably the kitchen utensil that is replaced the most often if you have just a plain plastic one lying around. Despite the fact that this utensil is used daily in your house, strangely enough not many people know what they’re actually called.

Question 17

How many teaspoons make one tablespoon?

Conversions are probably one of the most complicated things when it comes to cooking. While there is a “basic” conversion chart for teaspoons, cups, ounces, etc – depending on where you live there are potentially different sizes to take into consideration. Not only that, but who actually knows how to half a measurement other than professional chefs? For example, perhaps you aren’t interested in making a meal that serves eight people and you want to cut the recipe in half, figuring out the new measurements can be stressful.

Question 18

What does it mean when you “mince” something?

Again, here we go with the terminology of things that not many people can name off the top of their head. This word often comes up in most recipes, and if you’re new to cooking or are following along with a tutorial you can kind of panic and wonder what exactly you’re supposed to be doing with the mushrooms in front of you. You frantically begin cutting, hoping you’re doing what you are supposed to and hope it doesn’t ruin your meal.

Question 19

Name this kitchen utensil:

This kitchen utensil can be considered one of the more uncommon ones. This one will only be found in the houses of people who just like to collect every utensil out there, or they use them enough to actually want to own one. This utensil, unlike many of the others we’ve seen in this quiz are not essential or necessary when it comes to cooking or baking, but do add presentation points. This is mostly used when cutting fruit into perfect spheres for the visual appeal.

Question 20

What do you do to onions to make them taste sweeter?

Onions are those ingredients that are home how almost in every ingredient out there – other than salt and pepper of course. To be honest, onions can be rather bland if you’re not entirely sure how to cook them, and the texture of half-cooked onions can even ruin a plate entirely. They’re also extremely potent if you’re using just regular white onions, which is why tears are inevitable if you’re cutting them for longer than 30 seconds. Making onions “sweeter” can really help with the flavour of a meal.

Question 21

How many ounces are in one (US) cup?

Again with the conversions! This one is different in terms of the teaspoon versus tablespoon because ounces and cups are basically two separate measurements. In some parts of the world, most recipes or instructions have cups listed as their primary measurement: which includes 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, 2/3 cup etc. However, ounces are another measurement that can also be found, and unless you carry around a conversion chart in your back pocket, it can be different to figure out how many ounces equals one cup.

Question 22

Name this vegetable:

This vegetable is what I consider to be the one that is not bought on a regular basis. Sure, you walk by it probably every week when you’re doing your big grocery haul, but it’s not one that has people lined up to grab a handful. However, this vegetable is very popular in the winter months for it is a hardy vegetable found in most stews and soups. It is most similar to an onion plant, where it has both a bulb and long stems that grow tall.

Question 23

What does the term “baste” mean?

If you’re just a regular home cook who is more or less a beginning but does also take on big cooking challenges, then you’ve probably seen this word coming up in recipes around the holidays. If you celebrate thanksgiving or Christmas, this term is often associated with the cooking of the turkey, which is a daunting task all on its own. However like many of the cooking terms out there, it’s one of those you recognize but aren’t really sure of the definition.

Question 24

What is gluten?

What even is gluten? In the past couple of years, this strange ingredient has been making its way into many different news headlines and the words “gluten free” have been printed on many different things in the grocery store. There are many celebrities who claim to stick to a gluten free diet, despite the fact that they might not even be gluten intolerant. If you are one of those people who are in fact allergic or sensitive to gluten, having alternative options can either be easy to find or difficult depending on where you live.

Question 25

Name this kitchen gadget:

Kitchen gadgets can make any meal fun. Once you’ve mastered the basics of cooking, incorporating those fun trinkets you see when walking down the baking appliance and utensil aisles at the store is the next step. This gadget in particular can be fun to use if you want to spice up a boring meal by making fun shapes out of your food. It’s also useful creating vegetable alternatives in your meals. For example, zucchini noodles can be made out of this gadget so you can cut out pasta.

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