Food & Drink · 2

According to food historians, which European nation's traders are credited with introducing chili peppers to Korea in the 16th century, eventually turning kimchi into a spicy dish?

Answer

Portugal

Portuguese traders are credited with spreading New World chili peppers across Asia in the 16th century, and this route eventually brought them to Korea, where they were later incorporated into kimchi.

💡 Did you know?

Kimchi was historically made without chili peppers until the 16th century, when Portuguese traders introduced them to Korea via Japan.

Other options people guess

  • Spain
  • Netherlands
  • England

Topics

  • kimchi
  • korea
  • food-history
  • spices

Know your food & drink trivia?

Play a free Food & Drink quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.

More Food & Drink facts

Food & Drink

Which spice, derived from the seed of Myristica fragrans, was used as medicine by medieval physicians despite its known psychoactive and toxic properties in large doses?

Nutmeg can cause hallucinations and serious toxicity in large doses. Medieval physicians prescribed it as a medicine despite its psychoactive dangers.

Food & Drink

Which country is the world's largest producer of vanilla, accounting for the majority of global supply?

Vanilla orchids must be hand-pollinated in Madagascar because the native Mexican bee that naturally pollinates them doesn't exist there — every bean represents a worker touching each flower by hand.

Food & Drink

Which region is credited with creating the fermented fish sauce that eventually evolved into modern ketchup?

Ketchup was originally a Chinese fermented fish sauce called ke-tsiap. British traders imported it, sweetened it, and created the condiment we know today.

Food & Drink

What was the name of the diluted sour wine ration that Roman soldiers drank daily for hydration and energy?

Ancient Roman soldiers received a daily ration of sour wine mixed with water called posca—essentially fermented grape waste—as their standard beverage and energy source.

Food & Drink

Which now-iconic street food dish did Thailand's government actively promote in the 1930s and 1940s as part of a nationalist campaign to unify the country?

Bangkok's pad Thai wasn't a traditional dish until the 1930s–40s, invented by Thai government as nationalist propaganda to unify the country.

Food & Drink

In what year is Alabama pitmaster Bob Gibson credited with creating the state's iconic mayonnaise-based white barbecue sauce?

Alabama's white BBQ sauce—mayo, vinegar, and spices—was invented by Bob Gibson in 1925 as an accidental byproduct of his chicken marinade experiments.