Q 01/05

Salsa sales in the United States passed those of which rival condiment in dollar value in 1992?

A) Mustard

B) Ketchup

C) Mayonnaise

D) Barbecue sauce

Answer · why

B) Ketchup

Ketchup was out-earned after tomato-based Mexican-style salsas boomed through the 1980s, helped by Mexican restaurants that had popularised salsa as a...

Q 02/05

The chopped fresh salsa pico de gallo has a Spanish name that literally translates as what?

A) Farmer's knife

B) Scorpion's tail

C) Rooster's beak

D) Devil's tongue

Answer · why

C) Rooster's beak

Rooster's beak is the literal meaning, and nobody is sure why. One theory says diners once pinched up pieces between thumb and forefinger, the way a b...

Q 03/05

Which chili, named after the Mexican city of Xalapa, flew on the Space Shuttle as early as 1982?

A) Jalapeño

B) Habanero

C) Chiltepin

D) Serrano

Answer · why

A) Jalapeño

Jalapeño heat can be read on the skin: the small brown scars known as corking tend to appear on the hotter peppers.

Q 04/05

A variant of the smell gene OR6A2 makes cilantro, a salsa staple, taste like what to some people?

A) Rust

B) Chalk

C) Mint

D) Soap

Answer · why

D) Soap

Soap is what the herb's aldehydes suggest to people with the variant. Identical twins agree on cilantro about 80% of the time, which pointed researche...

Q 05/05

Which cold drink does a better job than water of washing chili burn from a salsa-scorched mouth?

A) Milk

B) Beer

C) Lemonade

D) Iced tea

Answer · why

A) Milk

Milk can calm the fire because its casein proteins help carry the heat compound away, while plain water is largely ineffective.