Why being a foodie could help you win the spelling bee

Lindsay Deutsch | USA TODAY Network

They may be young, precocious and smart -- but have they read a menu?

Exotic foods were front and center during the preliminary rounds of the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee, often coming up and tricking prospective spelling champions with their weird wording and obscure origins.

Clearly, being a gastronome (an enthusiast over and expert judge of excellence in food and drink, spelled correctly by Gavin Buehler in the third round), is a huge asset in this competition.

Do you know these words? Here they all are:

Round 2 (25 food words out of 285 total):

Marzipan (spelled correctly by Nicholas Lee): A confection of crushed almonds or almond paste, sugar, and whites or eggs that is often shaped into various forms (as animals or fruits).

Pumpernickel (spelled correctly by Colleen Ung): A sourdough bread made out of rye and wheat flours.

Sevruga (spelled correctly by Meera Suresh): A light to dark gray caviar from the sturgeon of a genus found in the Caspian Sea that has very small roe.

Empanada (spelled correctly by Thomas Duck): A turnover filled with meat.

Sukiyaki (spelled correctly by Justine Calayo): Meat, soybean curd, onions, bamboo shoots and other vegetables cooked in soy sauce, sugar and sake.

Paprika (spelled correctly by Joseph Batis): A condiment consisting of the dried finely ground pods of various cultivated sweet peppers.

Saffron (spelled correctly by Olivia Hajicek): A deep orange-colored substance consisting of the aromatic pungent dried stigmas of a widely cultivated crocus and used to color and flavor foods.

Pistachio (spelled correctly by Vanya Shivashankar): The edible green seed of a small tree of southern Europe and Asia Minor.

Fennel (spelled correctly by Rosie Schultz): A perennial European herb not native to North America and cultivated for the aromatic flavor of its seeds.

Kishke (spelled correctly by Selomi Dayaprema): Beef or fowl casing stuffed with a savory filling and roasted.

Oolong (spelled correctly by Maxwell Meyer): A tea that is partially fermented before drying and combines the characteristics of black and green teas.

Clementine (spelled correctly by Daniel Taylor): A small usually seedless citrus fruit that has a thin loose orange skin and slightly acid pink-tinged flesh and is probably a hybrid between a tangerine and a sour orange.

Persimmon (spelled correctly by Sahil Sangwan): An orange and several-seeded berry that is edible when fully ripe and astringent when unripe.

Cruller (spelled correctly by Sydney DeLapp): A small sweet cake made of a rich egg batter formed into twisted strips and fried brown in deep fat.

Kasha (spelled correctly by Rohan Sachdev): A mush made from coarse cracked buckwheat, barley, millet or wheat.

Praline (spelled correctly by Emily Garcia): A round patty of creamed brown sugar containing pecan meats.

Tortoni (spelled correctly by Lipika Narisetti): An ice cream made of heavy cream, sometimes with minced almonds, chopped maraschino cherries, or other flavorings.

Oregano (spelled correctly by Aakash Narayan): Any of the various aromatic herbs that are used as seasonings in cookery.

Knish (spelled correctly by Bill Jerdan): A round or square of rich baking powder dough folded over a savory meat or cheese filling and baked or fried.

Strudel (spelled correctly by Audrey Frische): A sheet of paper-thin dough rolled up with any various fillings and baked.

Mahimahi (spelled correctly by Tristan Salinas): A spiny-finned fish which is widely distributed in tropical or temperate seas and is esteemed as food.

Antipasto (spelled correctly by Kasey Torres): Any various savory foods usually served as appetizers.

Mayonnaise (spelled correctly be Edwin Estep): A semisolid dressing made of emulsified egg yolk and oil, among other ingredients.

Parfait (spelled correctly by Varun Kukkillaya): A cold dessert with alternating layers of fruit, syrup, ice cream, or whipped cream served in a small narrow glass with a short stem.

Miso (spelled correctly by Sravanth Malla): A paste used in preparing soups and other foods that is made by grinding a mixture of steamed rice, cooked soybeans, and salt and fermenting it in a brine.

Round 3 (30 food words out of 285 total):

Rutabaga (spelled incorrectly by Bethany Doudna): A turnip commonly with a very large yellowish root that is used as food both for stock and for human beings.

Wensleydale (spelled correctly by Charles Hamilton Jr.): A white cheese eaten fresh before curing.

Frijolillo (spelled correctly by Labiba Sardar): Any of several leguminous herbs or trees.

Buisson (spelled correctly by Nicholas Lee): A fruit tree with a very short stem and a closely pruned head.

Nockerl (spelled correctly by Cooper Komatsu): A rich, light dumpling.

Pirarucu (spelled correctly by Snehaa Ganesh Kumar): A very large edible bony fish of the rivers of the northern South America that is of great importance to the diet of the natives in the area.

Xiphias (spelled correctly by Oona Flood): A very large highly valued oceanic fish that has the bones of the upper jaw consolidated into a long rigid swordlike beak, the dorsal fin high and without distinct spines.

Dragée (spelled correctly by Ella Rosenkranz): A sweetmeat in the form of a sugar-coated nut.

Yosenabe (spelled correctly by Andrew Lazenby): A soup consisted especially of seafood and vegetables cooked in a broth.

Kokopu (spelled correctly by Raffae Chowdhury): Any of the various New Zealand fishes that resemble the trout.

Ohelo (spelled correctly by Gia Lauren Bautista): An endemic Hawaiian blueberry with a shining fleshy red or yellow berry.

Pappardelle (spelled incorrectly by Craig Storm): Wide ribbon-like pasta.

Sopapilla (spelled correctly by Cade Klimek): A square of deep fried dough often sweetened and eaten as dessert.

Courgette (spelled correctly by Briana Joseph): A slender summer squash with very black or dark green skin and wish a green or creamy white flesh; zucchini

Colocynth (spelled incorrectly by Ammy Lin): A spongy fruit which is related to the watermelon.

Avgolemono (spelled incorrectly by Kassie McKnight): A soup or sauce made of chicken stock, egg yolks and lemon juice.

Marscapone (spelled correctly by Brooke Biby): An Italian cream cheese.

Frumentaceious (spelled correctly by Michael Sobol): Made of or resembling wheat or another grain.

Gastronome (spelled correctly by Gavin Buehler): An enthusiast over and expert judge of excellence in food and drink.

Zabaglione (spelled incorrectly by Shashwat Patel): A mixture of eggs, sugar and wine or fruit juice beaten over hot water until thick and light and served in a glass.

Leberwurst (spelled correctly by Andrew France): A sausage consisting of cooked ground liver and lean pork trimmings seasoned with condiments and herbs and stuffed into casings then boiled or smoked.

Oleiculture (spelled correctly by Aidan Graham): The production, processing and marketing of olives.

Béchamel (spelled correctly by Caitlyn Marentette): A white sauce sometimes enriched with cream.

Oenomel (spelled correctly by Jack Miller): An ancient Greek beverage of wine and honey.

Caryopsis (spelled correctly by Olivia Chen): A simple, one-seeded fruit like wheat, barley and corn.

Demiglace (spelled correctly by Jessie Ditton): A foundation of a stock thickened with flour browned in fat then simmered down, degreased, and usually seasoned with dry wine.

Etouffée (spelled incorrectly by Kyoko Leaman): A Cajun stew of chicken of seafood served over rice.

Bialy (spelled incorrectly by Carson Brown): A flat roll that has a depressed center and is usually covered in onion flakes.

Damson (spelled incorrectly by Julia McCoy): The fruit of a small compact plum that has small dark purple fruits and is native to Asia minor.

Pâtissier (spelled incorrectly by Allyson Scribner): A pastry chef.

Follow @lindsdee on Twitter.