Five free practice questions on vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices: block C of the Red Seal 415A Cook exam, about 12 of its 150 questions. They are in the exam's format: four options, one correct answer. Answer each one before opening the explanation. No account, no email.
01The questions
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A school cafeteria needs 12 kg of peeled, trimmed carrots (EP). The carrots yield 80 %. How much should be ordered as purchased (AP)?
- 15.0 kg
- 9.6 kg
- 12.0 kg
- 14.4 kg
Show the answer
A. Correct. AP = EP ÷ yield % = 12 kg ÷ 0.80 = 15 kg. Check: 15 kg × 0.80 = 12 kg usable. Clean trim from washed carrots can go to vegetable stock or purée to cut waste.
Why not the others
B. This multiplies the EP by the yield (12 × 0.80), which gives what 12 kg AP would yield, not what must be bought. To go from EP back to AP, divide by the yield.
C. Ordering the EP weight ignores the 20 % lost to peel and trim; 12 kg AP would give only 9.6 kg usable. Divide by the yield: 12 ÷ 0.80 = 15 kg.
D. This adds 20 % to the EP (12 × 1.20), which is close but short: 14.4 kg × 0.80 = 11.5 kg usable. The correct method is EP ÷ yield % = 15 kg.
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How does a cook cut orange supremes for a composed salad?
- Zest the orange, then cut it into wedges through the membrane
- Peel by hand, pull apart the segments and trim the ends
- Cut off the peel and pith, then cut each segment free of membrane
- Cut the orange crosswise into thin wheels with the peel on
Show the answer
C. Correct. Trim the top and bottom, cut away peel and white pith following the curve of the fruit, then slice along each membrane to release membrane-free segments. Squeeze the leftover membranes to juice for dressing, which uses the trim.
Why not the others
A. Zesting first uses the peel well, but wedges cut through the membranes keep pith and membrane on every piece. Supremes are cut free of the membranes.
B. Hand-pulled segments keep their tough membrane and pith, so they are orange segments, not supremes. A supreme is flesh only.
D. Crosswise wheels with the peel on are slices for a garnish, not supremes. Supremes are membrane-free segments with no peel or pith.
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A long-term care recipe calls for 15 mL of chopped fresh thyme, but only dried thyme is on hand. How much dried thyme should replace it?
- 5 mL
- 45 mL
- 15 mL
- 2.5 mL
Show the answer
A. Correct. Dried herbs are roughly three times as concentrated as fresh, so use about one-third the volume: 15 mL ÷ 3 = 5 mL. Add dried herbs early so they have time to rehydrate and release flavour, then taste and adjust.
Why not the others
B. This triples the amount, which is the ratio applied backwards. Dried herbs are stronger than fresh, so the dried quantity is smaller: 15 mL ÷ 3 = 5 mL.
C. A one-for-one swap ignores that drying removes the water and concentrates the flavour; 15 mL of dried thyme would be about three times too strong. Use about one-third: 5 mL.
D. This assumes dried herbs are about six times stronger (15 mL ÷ 6 = 2.5 mL). The working kitchen ratio is about 1 part dried to 3 parts fresh, so 15 mL fresh becomes about 5 mL dried.
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A banquet kitchen blanches 5 kg of green beans to plate later. Which method best keeps them bright green and tender-crisp?
- Boiling water with a pinch of baking soda, then drain and cool
- Boil until soft, then cool on a sheet pan at room temperature
- Small batches, lots of boiling salted water, uncovered, then iced
- One large batch in a covered pot so the water reboils fast
Show the answer
C. Correct. Plenty of water returns to the boil quickly, so the beans cook fast; an open pot lets the vegetable's volatile acids escape instead of dulling the chlorophyll. Cook to tender-crisp, plunge into ice water to stop the cooking, and drain as soon as cold.
Why not the others
A. Baking soda (an alkali) keeps chlorophyll bright but turns the beans mushy and destroys vitamins such as thiamine and vitamin C. Colour comes from speed, an open pot and shocking.
B. Soft is overcooked, and cooling in the open lets carry-over heat keep cooking the beans and dull their colour. Stop at tender-crisp and shock in ice water.
D. A big batch drops the water temperature and lengthens cooking, and a lid traps the acids released from the beans, turning them olive drab. Green vegetables are cooked uncovered in small batches.
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A barbecue station at a catering event plans a grilled fruit dessert. Which fruit is best suited to direct grilling?
- Thick pineapple wedges
- Very ripe, soft pears
- Orange supremes
- Fresh raspberries
Show the answer
A. Correct. Firm, sugary fruit cut into large pieces holds together over direct heat and caramelizes well: pineapple, firm-ripe peaches or halved bananas. Use a clean, oiled grill and high heat, and grill briefly to mark and warm, not to soften.
Why not the others
B. Very ripe pears turn to mush and stick on a grill. Firm-ripe fruit that holds its shape is chosen for grilling.
C. Supremes have no membrane holding them together and fall apart on a grill. Citrus is better grilled as thick halves or wheels, if at all.
D. Raspberries are small and fragile; they fall through the grate and collapse over direct heat. Use berries in a sauce or garnish instead.
02Answer key
| Question | Answer | Sub-task |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | A | Processes vegetables |
| Q2 | C | Processes fruit |
| Q3 | A | Processes herbs and spices |
| Q4 | C | Cooks vegetables |
| Q5 | A | Cooks fruit |
03What block C covers
This block covers herbs, spices, vegetables and fruit from receiving to the plate. It includes freshness checks, washing herbs, leeks and melons, storage and ethylene, dried versus fresh herbs, toasting spices, classic knife cuts and yields, blanching and shocking, how cooking changes vegetable colour, glazing vegetables, poaching and grilling fruit, coulis and fruit glazes.
The Red Seal Occupational Standard names this block “Produce”. It carries 8% of the exam, about 12 of the 150 questions, split across three tasks. The share column is each task's weight within the block, as the standard publishes it.
| Task and its sub-tasks | Share of block |
|---|---|
| Prepares herbs and spices Selects herbs and spices; Cleans herbs; Processes herbs and spices | 25% |
| Prepares vegetables Selects vegetables; Cleans vegetables; Processes vegetables; Cooks vegetables; Finishes vegetables | 42% |
| Prepares fruit Selects fruit; Cleans fruit; Processes fruit; Cooks fruit; Finishes fruit | 33% |
04What the questions turn on
Keeping green vegetables green
Cook green vegetables uncovered in plenty of boiling salted water so volatile acids escape, then shock them in ice water. Holding them hot and covered turns the chlorophyll olive drab, so cook in small batches through service.
Pigments react to acid
Red cabbage and other anthocyanin vegetables turn blue or blue-green in alkaline water, and a little acid in the cooking liquid keeps red cabbage red. Acid also slows the enzymatic browning of cut apples, pears and potatoes.
Fresh versus dried herbs
Dried herbs are about three times as strong as fresh, so use one-third the volume and add them early. Hardy herbs such as rosemary go in at the start of a braise; soft herbs such as basil go in at the end.
Ethylene and storage
Apples, bananas, tomatoes and avocados give off ethylene, which causes russet spotting on lettuce, so store greens away from them. Basil is the exception among soft herbs: hold it with stems in water at cool room temperature.
05The other blocks
The 415A exam has 13 blocks. Each has its own page of free questions:
The 415A Cook practice exam page describes the full question bank. How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.