Care for a Christmas Cuppa? Quiz (to be read out by host, Quiz leader) Cuppa questions 1 Christmas Tea is a loose-leaf black tea which is combination of seasonal spices and citrus flavours often associated with sweet Christmas puddings. Can you fill in the missing letters of this ingredient that makes the tea Christmassy? _ R_ N _E P_ _ L (2 words) 2 A 382g (primo) take-away gingerbread latte from Costa has quite a lot of calories, so we won’t talk about that! However, it does offer some protein too! How many grams of protein do you think it contains? (to the nearest gram). a) 3g b) 5g c) 7g d) 10g 3 Eggnog is a sweet creamy drink which originated in the US and was favoured by the first American president, George Washington. What is the key ingredient? 4 Mulled wine is now a Christmas staple for many of us. However, historical evidence tells us it is not a modern phenomenon. Which group came up with the idea of heating red wine and throwing in sugars and spices? a) Ancient Greeks b) Ancient Romans c) Europeans living in the Middle Ages d) Victorians in 19th Century England 5 In which South American country is hot chocolate traditionally served at breakfast on Christmas Day? a) Ecuador b) Colombia c) Peru d) Argentina 1 6 Have a cuppa cola! Coca-Cola was created in 1886 and its brand and advertising campaigns are often credited with inventing the image of Santa Claus as an old man dressed in a red and white suit. Although this is not true, in which decade did Coca-Cola start to use Santa Claus in their advertising? a) 1920 b) 1930 c) 1940 d) 1950 Christmas cake and bake questions 7 Which supermarket’s Christmas Cake was judged the winner by both BBC Food and Good Housekeeping in 2018? a) Tesco b) Lidl c) Waitrose d) Morrisons e) M&S 8 Tradition holds that good luck will follow if you eat a mince pie every day, from Christmas Day to the Twelfth Night. This could be why Premier Foods, who own the brand Mr Kipling, sold a record number of mince pies in 2017. How many did they sell? a) 75 million b) 89 million c) 147 million d) 220 million e) 306 million 9 Gingerbread houses originated in Germany and are commonly associated with Christmas. Their popularity soared when a particular fairy tale was published. Which one was it? a) Little Red Riding Hood b) Hansel and Gretel c) Sleeping Beauty d) Cinderella 10 Look at your answer sheets to match the traditional Christmas sweet concoction to its country of origin. (Then allocate a certain amount of time for your guests to complete the answers e.g. 5 minutes). 2 Answers (for host or Quiz leader to read out) You can ask guests to mark and score their own answer sheets or get them to mark and score each other’s, which might make things a bit more fun! There are 19 points in total. The first nine questions have one point each. Then there are ten parts to question 10 with each part having a point. 1 It’s ‘orange peel’. So, O, A, G for the first word and E, E for the second word. Grated zest from the peel is used to help give Christmas Tea its distinct flavour. 2 10g (and just for information, it contains 273 calories!) 3 Eggs of course! Although some may argue it’s the dash of bourbon or rum that you can add as well! 4 Ancient Greeks. It is claimed that heat and spices were used to salvage old wine once the summer’s harvest went bad. The recipe was then adopted by the Romans who thought it would stave off sickness as did those living in the Middle Ages where its popularity grew. There are now different versions throughout the world. 5 Peru – known as ‘chocolatada’ it is served with panettone (an Italian dessert) even though the weather there at that time of year is hot and sunny. 6 In 1933 Coca-Cola commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus showing Santa himself, not a man dressed up pretending to be Santa. 7 Morrisons. It was a Poinsettia Fully Iced Christmas Cake (a fruit cake covered in marzipan icing with poinsettia shaped flower decorations). 8 It was 220 million. According to statistics, 340 million mince pies are sold a year in total and, on average, we eat each 27 mince pies during the festive period. 9 Hansel and Gretel which is a well-known known German fairy tale published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm. The story is about a brother and sister who are kidnapped by a witch who takes them to a house constructed of gingerbread cake and candy. 3 10 a) Vaniljekranse Denmark The translation is Vanilla Wreaths or Danish butter cookies. b) Szaloncukor Hungary Chocolate flavoured candy with vanilla, strawberry or coconut centres. c) Lebkuchen Germany German gingerbread. d) Bibingka The Philippines Made of rice and coconut and cooked in clay pots with leaves. Usually served hot at breakfast on Christmas day. e) Turrón Spain A sponge cake with toasted almonds, it dates back to 16th century and possibly originates from a Muslim recipe. It is also made in Latin America. f) Buche de Noël The Lebanon The translation from French is Yule Log. This sponge and rich buttercream cake is a leftover from when Lebanon used to be a French colony after the First World War. g) Fruit Pavlova Australia Named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who visited both Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s, there is a long running argument between the two countries as to who invented it. The Pavlova consists of meringue, whipped cream and fruit and is served after being refrigerated due to Christmas being celebrated during their summer. h) Black Cake Caribbean So-called because of the burnt sugar used which gives it a rich, dark colour. i) Kerstkrans The Netherlands A puff pastry ring filled with almond paste. j) Ischoklad Sweden Made from chocolate and coconut oil, these are like mini cup-cakes. They are not frozen although it may sound it. Also popular in Germany. 4.