Spices: The Flavors of the World!

#69 Week 15

Author

Sigrun Sørumgård
April 07, 2025

How well do you know the spices that transform dishes from bland to bold? Test your spice knowledge!

  1. Which spice is known as the world's most expensive per kilo?

  2. Which spice is the main ingredient in Tabasco sauce?

  3. Which spice can help calm the stomach and is often used in tea?

  4. Which spice is known for its strong liquorice flavour and is used in pastries and liqueurs, among other things?

  5. Which spice is known for its sweet and nutty flavour and is often used in eggnog?

  6. What spice gives Earl Grey tea its characteristic flavour?

  7. Americans often call it cilantro, and Mexicans like to use it for flavour and fresh green colour in their salsa. What is this spice called in British English?

  8. Which country consumes the most spices on a daily basis?

  9. Which spice is considered the main spice in aquavit?

  10. Often used in festive drinks and desserts, usually comes in two forms: sticks and malt. What is the spice?

The Wonder Wall

  • All three types of pepper come from only one plant! Whether the peppercorns are white, green or black depend on what time they are harvested and which part of the plant is used. Green peppercorns are harvested when they're immature and are processed to retain their colour. They have a lighter, fresher flavour than black peppercorns. Black peppercorns are harvested when they are nearly ripe and are then dried in the sun, which turns them black. White pepper, on the other hand, is the inner seed of the peppercorn. To release the seeds, the peppercorns are soaked in water for a few days. The black shell can then be peeled off.

  • Sumac is one of the lesser-known spices, yet this wine-coloured powder has a wide range of applications. The coarse powder is made from the sumac bush's dark red berries, which are endemic to the Middle East. In countries like Iran and Turkey people add Sumac to their dishes like Kebab as they believe it helps digestion.

  • Rosemary is a herb that has been shown to help prevent blood vessel damage and improve cardiovascular health.

Friday´s Questions & Answers

  1. Which lake is known for being the world's highest navigable lake?

    Lake Titicaca is often called "the highest navigable lake in the world", and this refers to commercial shipping. 3,812 m above sea level.

  2. Which lake is located on the border between Israel and Jordan and is one of the world's most saline?

    The Dead Sea is a lake at the mouth of the Jordan River that lies in about equal parts in Jordan, the West Bank and Israel. The Dead Sea is known for its salty water, about 34%, and as the lowest point on the planet. The high salt content means that there is almost no life in the Dead Sea.

  3. Which lake is the largest in Scandinavia?

    Vänern. Vänern is not only Sweden and Scandinavia's largest lake, but also the fourth largest in Europe (the three larger ones are in Russia).

  4. What is the largest lake in the world by area?

    The largest lake in the world by area is the Caspian Sea. It has an area of ​​371,000 km².

  5. What is the largest lake in Africa?

    Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake, the largest source of the Nile River, and the second largest freshwater lake on Earth.

  6. Which lake is the deepest in the world?

    Lake Baikal is a lake in Russia, in southeastern Siberia. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in Eurasia and the deepest lake in the world. Its greatest measured depth is 1,680 meters. The lake is estimated to contain 1/5 of the world's fresh water supply.

  7. Which lake borders both the United States and Canada and is the largest in North America?

    Lake Superior. Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, located on the border between Canada and the United States. It borders Ontario in Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan in the United States.

  8. Which large lake in Central Asia is drying up due to water withdrawals from the rivers that flow into it?

    The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth largest lake, with an area of ​​68,000 km². However, since the 1960s, it has been shrinking steadily after the lake's two tributaries, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, were diverted for Soviet irrigation projects. The drying up of the Aral Sea, which has been ongoing since about 1960, is one of the largest man-made environmental disasters ever. It has now been reduced to three separate lakes: the North Aral Sea and the eastern and western basins of the South Aral Sea.

  9. Which country has the most lakes in the world?

    Canada. A 2016 study published in the journal Nature attempted to count them, and found that Canada had 879,800 lakes, more than four times as many as Russia, the next country on the list.

  10. Which lake in Bolivia was known for being almost completely dry during the dry season and flooded during the rainy season? Unfortunately, in 2015, the lake was declared completely evaporated due to climate change (including the melting of glaciers in the Andes) and the accumulation of sediments caused by the local mining industry?

    Lake Poopó. With an area of ​​2,800 km2, Lake Poopó was the country’s second largest lake, but its maximum depth was only three meters.