2005 USE YOUR NOODLE Pasta Trivia A Pasta Party for the Radio North Dakota produces two-thirds of the nation s durum wheat and that makes lotsa pasta! So it couldn t be more appropriate that North Dakotans join in the fun of celebrating National Pasta Month in October, Pasta Lovers Week in North Dakota on October 23-29, and World Pasta Day on October 25. By participating in this Pasta Party on the Radio, we ll find out how much your listeners know about the pasta in their pantry! Your callers can compete for fabulous prize packages including a "Pasta LaVista" t-shirt provided by the North Dakota Wheat Commission and pasta from Dakota Growers Pasta Company of Carrington. The following pages are stuffed as tight as cannelloni with facts and numbers in the form of 54 trivia questions in 5 fun categories. This feast for the mind includes: Pasta Around the World Pasta-Tistics Pasta Records Pasta Nutrition Let's Make a Meal Alert your listeners to the question ahead of time or let the lucky caller select their own category of expertise. Award prizes to the first caller, the seventh, or you pick the number. Convert questions into fact or fiction, higher or lower, or open-ended formats if you'd prefer. Post the results on your web site. The pastabilities are endless!
PASTA AROUND THE WORLD Good news travels fast, and the person who first tasted pasta spread the word to people all around the world. Pasta has traveled through time and history, gathering new shapes and designs, and being cooked into many new dishes. Today pasta is truly a universal food, bridging age and cultural boundaries on every continent as it is eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Join in celebrating World Pasta Day on October 25. 1. Which of the following countries was not among the top 10 export destinations for U.S. durum wheat in the 2004-05 marketing year? a) Algeria (1 st - 10.3 million bushels) b) Nigeria (4 th - 1.5 million bushels) c) Cuba (8 th - 600,000 bushels) d) Canada (our chief competitor of global durum sales) 2. The third World Pasta Congress is being held Oct. 23 to 26 in Barcelona, Spain. Which of the following countries was not host to either the first or second World Pasta Congress? a) Italy b) Australia c) Venezuela 3. Place the following countries in the correct order in terms of per capita pasta consumption: Tunisia, Greece, Italy, and Venezuela. 1) Italy (1 st - 62 pounds) 2) Venezuela (2 nd - 28 pounds) 3) Tunisia (3 rd - 26 pounds 4) Greece (6 th - 19 pounds) Source: Business Trends Analysts U.S. Pasta Market Report, 2002 4. What people are on record as making pasta as early as 3,000 B.C.? a) Greeks b) Romans c) Chinese 5. What staple dish eaten in North Africa is made from semolina milled from durum wheat? a) Couscous (pronounced (Kooskoos) b) Bulgur c) Taboule d) Farina 6. What world traveler is rumored in myth to have brought pasta to Europe after visiting the Orient in the 14 th Century? a) Columbus b) Marco Polo c) The Pope 7. What share of the world's durum wheat supply does the United States typically produce? a) 7 percent b) 12 percent (Canada) c) 25 percent (European Union) 8. Greeks called pasta "marcus" which means "divine food" because they believed? a) Pasta should be eaten only during church services b) You should kneel while eating pasta c) Pasta is a gift from the gods 9. What pasta shape is named to honor the conquest of a city? a) Ditalini b) Tortellini c) Tripolini (little bows, named to honor the Italian conquest of Tripoli in Libya)
PASTA-TISTICS 1. According to a poll conducted by the SWG research firm in Italy, what share of Italians, both male and female, ranked pasta as the main pleasure in life? a) 33% b) 25% c) 10% Note: Pasta ranked first over travel (27%), sex (21%), reading (14%), and wine (4%). 2. Based on a five-year average, North Dakota grows what share of the nation's durum wheat crop? a) one-fourth b) one-half c) two-thirds 3. According to a 2004 survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Barilla Pasta, what percentage of Americans make the common error of rinsing pasta after cooking, a mistake when serving warm because it washes away natural starches that allow sauces to adhere to pasta. a) 35 percent b) 51 percent c) 76 percent 4. According to a 2004 survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Barilla Pasta, what percentage of U.S. adults cook pasta? a) 44 percent b) 51 percent c) 88 percent 5. According to a 2004 survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Barilla Pasta, what percentage of U.S. adults cook pasta at least once a week? a) 35 percent b) 51 percent c) 88 percent 7. In 2005, it's estimated that North Dakota farmers will harvest 68.3 million bushels of durum wheat, which is enough to make approximately how many pounds of pasta for each North Dakota resident? a) 1,500 pounds b) 3,000 pounds c) 4,500 pounds 8. North Dakota's five pasta companies annually produce about 600 million pounds of pasta, which is enough for about how many pounds for each of the state's residents per year? a) 127 pounds b) 782 pounds c) 946 pounds 9. Approximately how much money does the North Dakota farmer receive for the durum used to make a pound of pasta? a) about 8 cents b) about 15 cents c) about 25 cents 10. Since 1990, average durum yields in North Dakota have increased by what percent? a) 2 percent b) 10 percent c) 18 percent 11. According to the Centers for Disease Control, since the U.S. government began in 1998 mandating fortification of enriched grain foods like traditional pasta, cereals and white bread, birth defects have decreased by what percentage? a) 10 percent b) 15 percent c) 23 percent 6. How many pounds of traditional pasta can be made from a bushel of durum wheat? a) 15 pounds b) 25 pounds c) 42 pounds
PASTA RECORDS 1. Mama mia! In 2002, Nintendo announced the release of a new Super Mario game starring legendary Italian plumber and video game character Mario by breaking the previous record for the World's Largest Bowl of Pasta? How much did the Nintendo bowl of spaghetti weigh? a) 1/2 ton b) 1 ton c) more than 1.5 tons ( 3,265 pounds) Note: The bowl was 3 feet high and 10 feet wide. Six fans dressed as Mario dove into the spaghetti for prizes. 2. Runners carbo-loading before the big race will be interested in this "pastatistic." On Valentine's Day in 2004, the Keeler Show, a television program, made the world's largest bowl of pasta at a mall in Hartford, N.Y. How much did it weigh? a) 2 tons b) 3 tons c) more than 3.5 tons (7,355 pounds) 3. According to the Guinness Book of World Records little book of "The Best Gross World Records," a man from New Mexico holds the record for shooting a strand of spaghetti from his nose for what distance? a) 19 centimeters (7.5 inches) b) 30 centimeters c) 41 centimeters 4. The largest durum crop ever harvested in North Dakota was produced in what year? a) 1981 (127 million bushels) b) 1990 (103 million bushels) c) 2003 (58 million bushels) 5. The largest statewide average durum yield was achieved in North Dakota in what year? a) 1985 (35 bushels per acre) b) 1992 (38 bushels per acre) c) 2003 (30 bushels per acre) 6. What is the record year for the largest number of acres ever planted to durum in North Dakota? a) 1976 (3.7 million acres) b) 1981 (4.5 million acres) c) 1999 (3.5 million acres) 7. In what marketing year was U.S. usage of durum wheat at its highest? a) 1960-61 (26 million bushels) b) 1997-98 (96 million bushels) c) 1998-99 (101 million bushels) 8. What was the record amount of U.S. durum exported to Italy in the 2001-02 marketing year? a) 5 million bushels b) 10 million bushels c) 25 million bushels
PASTA NUTRITION 1. Whole wheat pasta contains about 3 times more what than traditional pasta? a) Calories b) Carbohydrates c) Fiber 2. As compared to whole wheat pasta, traditional pasta (made with enriched semolina milled from durum wheat) contains more of what B-vitamin that helps prevent birth defects? a) Thiamin b) Folic acid (or folate) c) Niacin 3. To be considered whole grain, a pasta product must contain all three parts of a wheat kernel. Name these three parts. a) Roots, stems and leaves b) Chaff, hull and straw c) Bran, germ and endosperm 4. Traditional pasta is made with semolina milled from what part of the durum wheat kernel? a) Bran b) Germ c) Endosperm 5. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that what share of our daily grain food servings be whole grain? a) One-fourth b) One-third c) One-half (at least 3 ounces) 6. What food group makes up the largest share of the MyPyramid Food Guidance System released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April? a) Vegetables b) Grains c) Meats d) Milk 7. How many ounces of grains should the average American adult eat per day? a) 2 to 3 ounces b) 4 to 5 ounces c) 6 to 8 ounces 8. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a 1-ounce serving of cooked pasta is about how much (depending upon shape)? a) 1/2 cup b) 1 cup c) 2 cups 9. Two ounces of dry pasta, or about 1 cup cooked, contains what share of the recommended daily intake of folic acid? a) 5 percent b) 10 percent c) 25 percent 10. Pasta is a source of folic acid. Research shows beyond preventing neural tube birth defects, potential benefits of folic acid include all but which of the following? a) Preventing heart disease b) Preventing certain types of cancer c) Helping to improve memory d) Helping to lubricate joints 11. Research shows whole-grain foods are associated with all but what? a) Lower rates of heart disease b) Lower rates of diabetes c) Lower rates of chicken pox d) Lower rates of certain types of cancers e) Weight control 12. What will make people fat? a) Eating carbohydrates, such as pasta b) Consistently overeating calories whether from carbohydrates, fat or protein c) Drinking too much water
LET'S MAKE A MEAL 1. What pasta sauce features olives as a key ingredient? a) Alfredo b) Primavera c) Puttanesca 2. A nest of folded angel hair pasta, such as that made at La Rinascente Pasta in Hope, N.D., is known as what? a) A fideo (fe-day-oh) b) A casserole c) Ramen noodles 3. Which of the following is a pasta sauce or dish made with vegetables? a) Pesto b) Primavera c) Marinara 4. Which of the following can be added to the water for boiling pasta? a) Salt b) Eggs c) Wine 5. Which of the following is a pasta sauce made with olive oil, fresh basil and garlic a) Marsala b) Alfredo c) Pesto 6. What do noodles contain that most other pasta shapes do not? a) Semolina b) Egg c) Water 7. A cream-based pasta sauce with bacon is called what? a) Carbonara b) Arrabbiata (spicy sauce) c) Marinara 8. What name is given to pasta dishes containing spinach? a) Pesto b) Primavera c) Florentine 9. What name is given to pasta marinara, or tomato-based sauces, containing meat? a) Primavera b) Bolognese c) Anti-pasto 10. Which of the following is a small cupshaped pasta with hollows for holding sauce? a) Manicotti b) Orecchiette c) Zita 11. What N.D. pasta company makes filled pastas like ravioli and tortellini? a) Dakota Growers Pasta Co. b) Noodles by Leonardo c) Golden Plains Frozen Food 12. Dreamfields is among the brands made by which North Dakota pasta manufacturer? a) Dakota Growers Pasta Co. b) Noodles by Leonardo c) Conte Luna Foods 13. Which of the following is a tube-shaped pasta? a) Fettucine b) Penne (pronounced PEN-nay) c) Rotini 14. What are the Italian words describing how pasta should be cooked, tender yet still firm to the bite? a) Al dente (ahl DEN-tay) b) All mushy c) Al ditalini