A Comprehensive Compendium of Fictional Foods

[Askia]

This is a similar thread to Robot Partners and Sidekicks (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=191620&highlight=robot), only this is about foods and beverages found only in movies, TV, comics, novels, etc.

If you like, you can add some details about the food's unique properties and either authenticate or speculate on its taste.

In Alice In Wonderland, Alice drinks a bottle that says"Drink Me" and begins to shrink. The beverage tastes like "a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast." Alice also takes a bit of cake with a sign that says "Eat Me" which causes he to grow. No description of the cake's taste is available, but I've always imagined it to be a rich buttery poundcake.

An on TV, Scooby-Doo could always be counted on to do anything for Scooby Snacks. I've always thought they were, in fact, deep fried chicked livers. Mmmmm!

[Tusculan]

Dinosaur meat, anyone (for Asimov buffs)?


I'm refering to A Statue for Father, in in Buy Jupiter and Other Stories. Fun little story, and it did make me curious about the taste. I'm thinking an excellent kind of roast chicken

[shamrock227]

Soylent Green it's people! Probably tastes like chicken. Everything else seems to :)

[Fiver]

Lembas, way-bread of the elves in Lord of the Rings.

[Murcielago]

I've seen and heard promotion for the McGriddle (http://mcdonalds.com/countries/usa/whatsnew/mcgriddles/index.html), I choose to believe it is a work of fiction.

[Askia]

Tom Strong eats, smokes and intravenously takes a herb called golonka, that imparts him enhanced strength, centuries old longevity and retarded aging. It's taste is described as "bitter"

T'Challa the Black Panther's heart shaped herb gives him enhanced strength, superhuman senses, speed, agility. It can be simmered in a broth, eaten dried or raw.

Swamp Thing grows yam-like tubers that impart heightened altered consciousness and hallucenigenic properties. According to Abby Holland it 'tastes like lime.'

[Tuckerfan]

K'lah from Anne McCaffery's Dragonriders of Pern series. (Actually, pretty much all the dishes from the books sound tasty.)

[Chronos]

Quite an assortment of goodies from the Harry Potter books, including Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs. Sure, there are Muggle imitations being marketed now, but they aren't the real thing.

Numerous variations on yeast foodstuffs, supposedly eaten by future overpopulated societies. The only one which comes to mind by name is zymoveal, in Asimov's works. Generally tastes approximately like what it's supposed to be imitating, but not as good.

Samlon (yes, that's how it's spelled), a fishy critter from Niven's Legacy of Heorot. It's supposed to have a flavor like Earthly salmon, but a beefy texture.

Speckles, a spice from Niven's Destiny's Road which contains some essential minerals. The flavor is supposed to be metallic and a little salty.

Ambrosia, from the Greek myths. Never really described specifically, but really really good.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Ambrosia--the drink of the Gods of Olympus. Also, of the crew of the Battlestar:Galactica.

Quadrotriticalie--a.k.a Tribble chow.

And if you eat or drink anything given to you by the Elves or Fairies, you became their slave forever, until the Last Trumpet call.

[mobo85]

Schlopp, Schlopp, beautiful Schlopp (with a cherry on top) appears in Dr. Seuss's Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!

Futurama features Slurm cola (It's highly addictive!™), which has an ugly secret behind it. (No, it's not made of people. That's Soylent Cola-the taste varies from person to person.) Also, proving that in the future, men will be more like dogs, a favorite meal is Bachelor Chow ("Now with flavor!")

The Ren and Stimpy Show featured many phoney phoods. Powdered Toast was the most famous, but Sugar Frosted Lumps, Sugar Sod Pops, Cheesefist, and whatever Billy the Beef Tallow Boy advertised also appeared. Not to mention everyone's favorite toy, Log, which is "great for a snack and fits on your back."

Another popular Nickelodeon cartoon, Rugrats feature candy bars and cereal with that favorite dino, Reptar. The Dummi Bears, a popular cartoon, also have a cereal.

In the 30 Minutes to Tokyo episode of The Simpsons, boxes of Onions? (note the question mark), Cool Ranch Soda, and Skittlebrau appear. Among the other many Springfieldian foodstuffs are Nuts and Gum ("together at last!") Cheezus 'n Rice, and Homer's ambrosia, Duff beer. Not to mention Red Tick beer ("Suck one dry"), and Powersauce, the energy bar with apple(core)s and a "secret ingredient that unleashes the awesome power of apples" (in reality, old Chinese newspapers) that sponsored Homer's ascent up the Murderhorn.

[Baker]

From Babylon 5:

Breen- A Narn dish, G'kar was serving an imitation of it to a guest, since he couldn't get the real ingredients. He used an Earth recipe for Swedish meatballs, so it must have been a meat item.

Spoo-Not sure what it was supposed to be, it was a Centauri item. Possibly animal in origin, as "spoo ranches" were once mentioned. Served fresh or aged.

Fried tubeworms-Seen in the episode "TKO"

Also in "TKO" the rabbi ate some kind of alien fish, can't remember the name.

Jovian Sunspot- an alcoholic drink

Brivari- a Centauri alcoholic drink

There are more, but I'll have to look them up. This was off the top of my head.

[BrainGlutton]

Alice felt a curious prodding in the small of her back. "Eat me!" said a voice in Alice's ear . . .

[Horrifying Howler Monkey]

What's the name of that live worm dish that Klingons eat? It sounds like Garg, or Glack, or something totally different (terrible memory).

[Helena]

In the Redwall books they eat something called "meadow cream," whatever that is. (My husband says, "How do you milk a meadow?") :dubious:

[RealityChuck]

Ghaa (or however it's spelled) was the dish in ST:TNG. "You eat it live?"

The dish of the day from Hitchhiker's Guide

I assume several of the dishes in the banquet scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom are fictional.

Filboid Studge (http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/rgs/mosaic/sk-studge.html) -- still the best name ever for a fictional product.

[Little Nemo]

From the sublime to the ridiculous: The mind-altering Arrakeen spice Melange and Eric Cartman's favorite snack-food Cheezy Poofs.

[Ukulele Ike]

I've always wanted to score me a six-pack of Tree Frog Beer, ever since reading Gilbert Shelton's Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers underground comix back in the 1970s.

Speaking of Ren & Stimpy, I've always enjoyed that space-food tube of "Braised Giblets." While this is a real-life food item, it has an otherworldly feel to it, and I've used it often as a response to the kids' "Hey, Pop, what's for dinner?"

[The Mad Hermit]

Pattern, in Tales from a Parallel Universe (Lexx)

Don't forget that the Samlon from Legacy of Heorot will eventually eat you...

Babylon 5 also had Flarn, a Minbari food... Lennier spent 2 days preparing the meal for Delenn and Sheridan.

Spoo was the clue for G'Kar that a Narn was being held in the Centauri palace. Narn prefer spoo fresh, while the "more refined" Centauri prefer to age it, like cheese.

My favorite Trek drink is Tranya; offered by Balok (played by Clint Howard) in TOS The Corbomite Maneuver. I had some when I visited Quark's Bar in Vegas. Tasted like OJ, with something like grenadine added.

[Orual]

Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters

Like smacking yourself in the head with a lemon-wrapped gold brick. Mmmmm...

[MineFujiko]

Also from Isaac Asimov:

Pachinkas (The Robots of Dawn): A Solarian delicacy.
Basically a tiny stuffed "pancake." The cake shell is hard to the touch and resists gentle pressure, which means the person eating it must put some force into their bites. This makes for messy eating, which is part of the fun. "Ideally, you're supposed to eat it in the nude, then take a shower." Reminds me of Japanese dorayaki.

[Baker]

Originally posted by RealityChuck
Filboid Studge (http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/rgs/mosaic/sk-studge.html) -- still the best name ever for a fictional product.

Oh wonderful! Another Saki fan! There ought to be a thread about him! I named my cat Tobermory, for my favorite Saki story.

[Lissla Lissar]

I want to try the toffee fruits from The Magician's Nephew. I always thought they'd make lovely jam. I never want to try breadapple or gichy-michy from Le Guin's The Left Hand Of Darkness.

Add Discworld scumble, Wow-Wow Sauce, and (someone's) Old Peculiar and Very Odd ales to the list of things I never want to try.

[Theobroma]

How about the deep-fried giant slugs in "Love & Rockets"?

mmmmm...babosas!!

*gag*

[ElJeffe]

The dish of the day from Hitchhiker's Guide


Also from Hitchhiker's, there is a machine that reads your mind and analyzes your sense of taste to determine the one flavor that you would like over any other. It then dispenses a drink that tastes almost, but not exactly, entirely unlike tea. I've always wondered what the opposite of tea was.


Jeff

[BrainGlutton]

The Discworld's Curious Squid (from Jingo). A skilled chef can prepare a dish containing no trace whatever of the squid . . .

[Tuckerfan]

Originally posted by Little Nemo
Eric Cartman's favorite snack-food Cheezy Poofs. I've actually seen those for sale. MediaPlay used to carry them.

[RobuSensei]

I also saw Cheezy Poofs for sale once. I think the same company sold Scooby Snacks, too. (I thought they were a one-time joke product...) I bought a box of each at the local comic shop. They were generic cheese curls and generic (va)nilla wafers, respectively. (The Cheezy Poofs were disgustingly inedible. The Scooby Snacks were...addicting...)

I kept the (empty) box of Cheezy Poofs on my desk in the classroom for a few months. It was worth it for the double-takes I'd get.

How about the McDonald's meal that Woody Allen picks up in "Sleeper?" It consisted entirely of small, colored capsules, IIRC.

And then, there's "WeenieBurgers," from Tiny Toon Adventures. They even had a commercial:

{Animated meat(?) patties leap from buns and start singing}
"WeenieBurgers, they're so much fun to eat,
If you look real hard, you might even find the meat!
WeenieBurgers!"
{They leap back into the buns}
{Hands pick them up and offscreen}
{SFX: patties screaming}

[raygirvan]

Tree of Life: in the Larry Niven SF mythos, the tuberous plant that causes hominids to change to Protectors.

Chlora-Fillies: the green horsemeat sausage in Harry Harrison's Bill, the Galactic Hero ("the equine wurst of distinction" ... "sunshine in every link").

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

From Discworld we get Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler's Sausage Inna Bun.

Although, purists may not regard it as strictly food, it is intended to be eaten, even if it is not exactly edible.

Granny Clampett's White Lightning.

Is seem to recall Jeannie (from I Dream Of Jeannie) serving enchanted couscous. They transform you into a monkey.

[Miss Mapp]

From Deep Space 9.

Some popular Bajoran dishes:

Hasperat - A spicy-hot pastry.

Jumja - A sticky sweet product of tree-sap (rather like maple syrup?), served as "glop" on a stick.

Moba - Fruit that looks a lot like grapes.

Veklivar - No idea, but it was on the buffet table in "Rejoined."

Larish Pie - I think a fluffy dessert-type pie.

Tuwalli Pie - This sounds more like a hearty Cornish-pasty-type pie.

Retamba Stew.

All washed down with some Spring Wine!


Cardassian foods:

Taspar Egg - First seen on TNG. It looks like you break open the egg and eat the half-formed embryo raw.

Rokassa Juice - I suspect this is fish juice. When Garak drinks it in an early episode, Bashir says it smells rather strong. In a later show, someone says that Cardassians drink fish juice for breakfast; putting the two statements together, I wonder if this isn't the same thing.

Yamok Sauce - It seems like Cardassians pour this over everything.

Pipas claw.

Kanar - An alcoholic beverage. The stuff Dukat drinks is thick and syrypy like molasses and comes in tall, twisty bottles. The kanar Garak drinks is a clear, bright blue liquid.

Also:

Tulaberry wine - The Ferengi were trying to sell a lot of this to the Gamma Quadrant.

Slug-o-Cola - Another Ferengi drink. Makes your teeth green!

Raktajino - Klingon coffee.

Tarkelean tea.

[Dizzy Fingers]

Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs from "Calvin and Hobbes."

[HopeSL]

Turkish Delight from The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe

[Lumpy]

From Discworld we get Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler's Sausage Inna Bun.

Although, purists may not regard it as strictly food, it is intended to be eaten, even if it is not exactly edible.They recently put out a book of recipes collected by Nanna Ogg (not to be confused with The Joy of Snacks), which included the perfectly wholesome recipe that Dibbler claims is how he makes his Sausage Inna Bun. And of course there's always Dwarf Bread (you never run out of it!)

Lembas, way-bread of the elves in Lord of the Rings. Also, there's cram, the Middle Earth equivalent of C rations for travelers.

H.G. Wells had The Food of the Gods, a super-nutrient that caused anything that ate it to grow gigantic.

The Norm prefers Frosty the Oat Man cereal for breakfast.

[big alex]

Snozcumbers - the horrible uneatable cucumber things in "The BFG"

And also the drink that makes you whizzpop, Frabscuttle(?)

[Baker]

Originally posted by HopeSL
Turkish Delight from The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe

Actually, Turkish Delight is a real food/candy. I have several recipes for it in different cookbooks, and have made it myself.

[Askia]

I used to think Turkish Delight was fictional myself -- it's one of the reasons I started this thread. What does it taste like, Baker?

I don't believe anyone's mentioned Lucy Van Pelt's "Goop" or a Dagwood sandwich yet.

[Chronos]

Oh, and Dwarvish Rock Wine, from various D&D campaigns. It'll give a dwarf a minor buzz... Which means that it's prone to knock any other race unconscious just from opening the bottle.

[AndrewL]

Crunchy Frog.

[WonTon Sean]

An hour inside the Wonka factory with a dumptruck. That's all I ask.

In some of the Discworld novels, refrences are made to a wine which, due to the strange behavior of time in a magic infused disc shaped planet, was made the season before the grapes were planted. That sounds ... interesting.

[Engywook]

Also from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

The Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster (http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Galactic_Gargleblaster).

Think I'm gonna mosey on down to the pub and see what happens if I ask for one.

[Baker]

Originally posted by Askia
I used to think Turkish Delight was fictional myself -- it's one of the reasons I started this thread. What does it taste like, Baker?

It is a gelatin based candy with a Mid-East origin. Flavored with various fruit juices, or rosewater, and it often has finely chopped nuts in it.

This (http://allrecipes.com/encyc/terms/T/8985.asp) is a brief entry about it.

One recipe I have is a fairly simple one

1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup orange juice*
1/4 cup lemon juice*
Food coloring as desired
Confectioners sugar

*Using fresh squeezed juice is tastier, but bottled will do.

Cook 1/2 cup water and sugar to 255 degrees Farenheit, remove from heat. Soften gelatin in 1/4 cup water for 5 minutes. Add gelatin mixture to cooked syrup. Add juices and food coloring(if used). Stir and strain through a fine sieve. Pour into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Let stand until firm. Turn out, cut into squares, and dust with confectioners sugar.

Here (http://www.world-recipes.info/turkey-turkish/turkish_delight.html) is another recipe, and when you google there are others.

[Askia]

Aaargh!!! Baker... You're killing me! I'm just a single guy who doesn't cook anything unless its needs frying, microwaving or barbequing.

I was thinking about buying some online. (http://www.turkishgrocery.com/newdesign/catalog_type.asp?ProductID=TurkishDelight) Have you tried this? Maybe then I'll see what the big deal with Edmund scarfing that down that stuff from the White Witch.

[Hazel]

I, too, would like to try a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. Also, Romulan Ale.

But, I'm not sure about a meal at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, where one "meets the meat"...

[Baker]

Askia, if you enter Turkish Delight into a search on Google you will find not only recipes but lots of places to buy it. I've never bought it commercially though, so I can't vouch for any of them. Your site sounds good though, I think I may check it out!

[kawliga]

A diablo sandwich, from SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT.

[Lamia]

Originally posted by WonTon Sean

In some of the Discworld novels, refrences are made to a wine which, due to the strange behavior of time in a magic infused disc shaped planet, was made the season before the grapes were planted. That sounds ... interesting.

That's reannual wine. Very expensive, mostly because it's very rare, but perhaps also because you can drink as much as you like and not get hungover later. That's because you get hungover {i]before[/i] you drink it!

[DesertDog]

Originally posted by Miss Mapp
Yamok Sauce - It seems like Cardassians pour this over everything. When I was living in San Jose, another guy and I had the idea or relabeling bottles of Nuoc Mâm, Vietnamese fish sauce, as Yamok sauce, selling them at conventions. We got lazy and it stalled at the asking permisison of Paramount stage. Now it's too late. Ah well.

DD

[rjung]

Originally posted by Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor
Quadrotriticalie--a.k.a Tribble chow.
Isn't this supposed to be a real food? It's just a strain of Earth wheat, right?

And to continue the Discworld trend, I'll toss in Nanny Ogg's dishes: Banana Soup Surprise, Spotted Dick, and Maids of Honour.
Goatberger: "You wait till you get to Spotted Dick."
Cropper: "Well, my old granny used to make Spotted Dick--"
Goatberger: "Not to this recipe."
Granny Weatherwax: "What about this one? Maids of Honour?"
Nanny Ogg: "Weeelll, they starts out as Maids of Honour, but they ends up Tarts."

[Baker]

Maybe I'm telling you something you already know rjung, but Maids of Honour, and Spotted Dick, are real foods as well. I have recipes for them. MOH are small tarts, sorry to say.

[BrainGlutton]

Tom Smith's 307 Ale!

You can read about it here:
http://www.tomsmithonline.com/lyrics/307ale.htm

What was the name of that extra-hot, multi-colored chili pepper in that episode of The Simpsons? The one that Chief Wiggum used in his chili, and that gave Homer a bad trip/vision quest? Gottagemmesummadat!

Another very interesting fictional food is haggis. Brits insist it's a real food, but I'm convinced they just made it up to freak out the tourists and make themselves look macho enough to eat anything.

[rjung]

Originally posted by Baker
Maybe I'm telling you something you already know rjung, but Maids of Honour, and Spotted Dick, are real foods as well. I have recipes for them.
I daresay your recipies don't come out the way Nanny Ogg's do. ;)

[as_u_wish]

Do you think I could wangle Archie Goodwin into inviting me to a dinner cooked by Fritz Brenner at Nero Wolfe's residence? Anything on the menu would be fine, although I'd like to try Saussise Minuit or those blueberry-fed grouse. Or maybe he'd take me out to Rusterman's for steak and dancing at the Flamingo afterwards?

Please.

[Lumpy]

Rjung triticale (sp?) is a real grain, a hybrid of wheat and something else.

BrainGlutton, the chilis were described as "The merciless peppers of
Quetzlzacatenango! Grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum. " They were spotted like mushrooms and glowed fluorescent green. No such I'm afraid, although maybe they could genesplice a chili with the same genes they used to make the glow in the dark mice ;)

[Quantum Butterfly]

I found some Turkish Delight at a little British imports store, and having read my Narnia set until it's practically falling apart, I had to buy some and try it. The store only had the rose-flavored kind, so that's what I got. It was... interesting. Basically a strongly rose-flavored jelly candy covered in chocolate. Rather nice when nibbled slowly, but my sister took a big bite and just about choked :D

Proper spelling of the Klingon worm delicacy: gagh. Best when fresh and wiggly!

Somebody earlier in the thread asked about Redwall meadowcream. IIRC, one of the more recent books explained this. Apparently they make a 'milk' from some sort of tuber, sort of like soy milk.

If I could drink alcohol (I have med issues), I'd want to try Recluce green brandy. Mmm, mmm!

[digs]

The kids and I brewed a batch of Butterbeer (beverage of choice in the tavern at Hogsmeade -- H. Potter books).

Our recipe included lots of vanilla, butter, caramel, butterscotch and a secret ingredient (okay, it was a Butter Rum LifeSaver).

Simmered most of a snowy afternoon and served warm in pewter flagons.

Mmm...

[MrDibble]

Originally posted by Quantum Butterfly
I found some Turkish Delight at a little British imports store, and having read my Narnia set until it's practically falling apart, I had to buy some and try it. The store only had the rose-flavored kind, so that's what I got. It was... interesting. Basically a strongly rose-flavored jelly candy covered in chocolate. Rather nice when nibbled slowly, but my sister took a big bite and just about choked :D


Wrong - that's just so wrong! - that's the nestle or rowntree or somesuch candified version - real Delight isn't chocolate-covered. You're better off finding the nearest Greek delicatessen, and buying it there - it goes by the name of loucoms or somesuch, though (don't call it Turkish delight in a Greek deli), and it should just be covered in cornstarch and sugar. Bergamot and lemon are my favourites.

[BrainGlutton]

Posted by Reality Chuck:

I assume several of the dishes in the banquet scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom are fictional.



Such as? I think Cecil did a column once on whether Southeast Asians really eat monkey brains . . . but I forget what conclusion he reached.

[Askia]

MMM-mmm. (http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010309.html) Monkey brains.

[eburacum45]

triticale is real;
quadrotriticale is not.
Yet.

__________________
SF worldbuilding at
http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html

[BrainGlutton]

So, according to The Cecil, eating monkey brains is now illegal but "the Chinese still eat them whenever they can get away with it." So it's not implausible, really, that they might have been served at an Indian' rajah's banquet in the 1930s, when IJ&TDOT was set.

[Tuckerfan]

Originally posted by BrainGlutton
So, according to The Cecil, eating monkey brains is now illegal but "the Chinese still eat them whenever they can get away with it." So it's not implausible, really, that they might have been served at an Indian' rajah's banquet in the 1930s, when IJ&TDOT was set. Frankly, I don't care when they're served, I ain't eatin' 'em.


I really do not want to know how you got your Dopername.

[eburacum45]

Some more Larry Niven ones;
Dole yeast for the casualties of interstellar economics
weenie plant sausages on a bush
minch Ringworld condiment
shreem Kzin soup, indistinguishable from blood.
__________________
SF worldbuilding at
http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html

[audit1]

GINGOLD, the fabulous drink that gives Ralph Dibney the power to stretch and so he becomes The ELONGATED MAN. DC Comics

[Morgainelf]

Then there's the Stuff, from the movie of the same name. It is a naturally mined product that tastes great, and is less filling. It's a wee bit addictive but you sure won't gain any weight. Until it eats you from the inside out. (Oh, and it bears a striking resemblance to Marshmallow Fluff.)

What about the Spice from the Dune series? Not sure if that counts as a food.

[GrandfatherTrout]

The late, still-lamented Farscape put weirdzo foods on the table all the time: Crispy Grolak, Hynerian Marjules, Cholian Curd Salad, Terleum Molluscs...Crackers...

The Scarrans' taste for Chrystherium flowers was their Achilles' heel, of course, though we never found out why. They looked suspiciously like bird-of-paradise.

And if you couldn't get any of these, you had to eat Food Cubes.

[zev_steinhardt]

In the Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (an excellent children's book, btw), there is a dish called Subtraction Stew, served in the city of Digitopolis. In short, one eats it when one is full and one gets hungrier the more he eats. When you're famished you finish eating and wait to get full again.

Likewise, in Dictionopolis, people generally eat their words, literally.


Zev Steinhardt

[Peter Morris]

See you at the Korova bar for a milkplus.

[Scumpup]

Weenie-tots! A great favorite of Al Bundy's. Kelly was the spokesmodel for a while.

[Kamino Neko]

In the Redwall books they eat something called "meadow cream," whatever that is.

Don't forget the cheeses. (Made from plants. Somehow.)

From D&D:

Rothe: A kind of oxen-like beast, used for meat.

Feywine: An elven wine.

Fermented mushroom wine: The Drow equivelant.

Dwarven Gutbuster: (Actually, I don't know if that's canon, or an invention of one of the DMs I've played under. It's made it into my campaign.) Alcoholic beverage. Potent. That's about the best you can say about it.

[well he's back]

How about the Shmoos (spelling may vary) from Al Capp's Lil Abner comic strip. The Schmoos (sp?) were wonderful creatures who were completely edible, delicious and happy to die for your dinner. Naturally, their availability would have solved world hunger - but ruined capitalism. So the goverment tried to kill them off. What a great comic strip.

[Colibri]

How about the Shmoos (spelling may vary) from Al Capp's Lil Abner comic strip. The Schmoos (sp?) were wonderful creatures who were completely edible, delicious and happy to die for your dinner. Naturally, their availability would have solved world hunger - but ruined capitalism. So the goverment tried to kill them off. What a great comic strip.

Exactly what I had been thinking of when I saw this thread:

Shmoon (http://www.lil-abner.com/shmoo.html) (plural of Shmoo):

According to Shmoo legend, the lovable creature laid eggs, gave milk and died of sheer esctasy when looked at with hunger. The Shmoo loved to be eaten and tasted like any food desired. Anything that delighted people delighted a Shmoo. Fry a Shmoo and it came out chicken. Broil it and it came out steak.

[NicePete]

I'm not feeling morose enough, so I'd like to try some Achewater (http://www.achewood.com/about.php).

[wheelie]

Don't forget those culinary delights from Saturday Night Live:
Okra Cola
Quarry cereal "Tastes better 'cause it's mined!"
Colon Blow cereal

Speaking of cereal,
from Animaniacs:
Branimaniacs cereal
"Eat Branimaniacs
nutritionally it lacks
but this cereal attacks
all of your digestive tracks..."
(i forget the rest)

More from Futurama:
Popplers "They're like sex, except that I'm having them!" :p

[Spoke]

What? Two pages and no mention of green eggs and ham?

Or roast beast?

(Or did someone mention them and I missed it?)

[Quercus]

Lissla -- Old Peculiar is a real, live, actual beer (English of course, but I had it in the states) And if I remember right, not too bad, though it may not be your, uh, cup of tea.

[BrotherCadfael]

Crottled Greeps -- from one of Larry Niven's stories, a sort of small, wriggling crustacian that is eaten live with a "special sauce". A winner for the name alone!

and three from The Masters:

Prime -- from Isaac Asimov's A Matter of Taste.

Ambrosia Plus -- From Arthur Clarke's Food of the Gods

Dinner Tree -- From Robert Heinlein's Methuselah's Children

[Shodan]

Orsh, from "Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula LeGuin.

Fayelin, a "stimulating but non-intoxicating beverage" from the Lensman series.

And Star Tears, the description of whose collection is too nasty to post.

Regards,
Shodan

[LavenderBlue]

The snozzberries taste like snozzberries. -- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

That line has been buzzing around my brain for years.

[tracer]

In real life, on store shelves today, you can get reduced sugar varieties of Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops. The problem is, they taste like they need to have some sugar added to them.

I think they're going the wrong route. They should instead introduce pre-sweetened breakfast cereals that use artificial sweeteners instead. Like: Kellogg's Aspartame Frosted Flakes (they're Gr-r-r-r-rphenylketonuric!)
Kellogg's Sorbitol Loops
Post Super Splenda Crisp
Post Cyclamate Pebbles
Sacchariney Charms (they're magically rodent-carcinogenic!)
Xylitol Puffs (I'm Cuckoo for Xylitol Puffs!)

[Hometownboy]

How about a brand that existed only in a series of commercials. Back in the late 1970s for several years...

Popular commercials for Portland's Blitz-Weinhard beer featured an Oregon Border Patrol officer who repeatedly stops a California brewery from trucking its Schludwiller beer into the state. "Well, now," the patrolman would ask, "where you going with all that beer?" before sending the Schludwiller truck back over the state line.

It doesn't take long to figure that "Schludwiller" is a coy amalgamation of SCHLitz, bUDWeiser and mILLER. One of my treasured possessions for a number of years was a Schludwiller t-shirt.

[Max Carnage]

Don't forget those culinary delights from Saturday Night Live:
Okra Cola
Quarry cereal "Tastes better 'cause it's mined!"
Colon Blow cereal



Actually Okra Cola was from The New Show, but I'm just picky.

From the Simpsons' freezer:
Much Ado About Stuffing
Tubbb!

from Ghostbusters: Sta-Puft Marshmallows

from Pulp Fiction: Big Kahuna Burgers

[Knowed Out]

Another very interesting fictional food is haggis. Brits insist it's a real food, but I'm convinced they just made it up to freak out the tourists and make themselves look macho enough to eat anything.

Haggis actually exists in Scotland. They have the Ceremony of the Haggis, complete with singing, dancing and bagpipes. You're right, it is a horror story to freak out the tourists, and they imply that it's something like ground up sheep guts. It's actually lamb ground with oatmeal, onions, and spices. I've had some, and it's not bad. It tastes like taco meat.

[Mangetout]

Larry Niven invented a number of fictional food and drink items (plus some non-food intoxicants like sparkers in one or other of his short stories about an alien bar) - Louis Wu can often be found tucking into some local delicacy.

On the Turkish Delight thing; some people don't like it because it is too sweet. I've seen it made without the gelatin at all - just rosewater, lemon, sugar and cornflour (in fact I think this may be the traditional recipe, although I'm not sure what would have been used before cornflour came on the scene).
The best way to enjoy the stuff is alongside a cup of Turkish coffee - this stuff is served in tiny little cups like espresso, but is very much stronger (it isn't filtered at all - you just stop drinking when the cup is about a quarter full) - the overpowering sweetness and fragrance of the Turkish delight sets off the intense aroma and bitterness of the coffee just perfectly.

[Indygrrl]

An hour inside the Wonka factory with a dumptruck. That's all I ask.



Yes!! I always fantasized about that fruity wallpaper, and that chocolate river, and the little land of candy. Mmm, Everlasting Gobstoppers and that gum that tastes like a whole meal!! I want to go to the Wonka Factory!!!!

[Mangetout]

Yes!! I always fantasized about that fruity wallpaper, and that chocolate river, and the little land of candy. Mmm, Everlasting Gobstoppers and that gum that tastes like a whole meal!! I want to go to the Wonka Factory!!!!The chocolate river is (in my opinion) the weakest element in the movie (I realise you may have been talking about the book) - it just looks like dirty water - maybe someone should digitally remaster it - I'm sure that could be done with today's technology.

[Indygrrl]

The chocolate river is (in my opinion) the weakest element in the movie (I realise you may have been talking about the book) - it just looks like dirty water - maybe someone should digitally remaster it - I'm sure that could be done with today's technology.

Heh, I thought it looked like it might taste like Chocola. I love Chocola!!

[dotchan]

In Journey to the West, Son Wukon, while slacking on the job as some minor official of the Celestial Court (he'd been given the job as appeasement), crashes a party and promptly eats all of the Celestial Peaches, drinks all the Celestial Wine, and prescibes himself the entire stash of the Celestial Pills.

(Well, okay, I fudged a bit on the translation, but you get the idea. :D)

[cher3]

Lissla -- Old Peculiar is a real, live, actual beer (English of course, but I had it in the states) And if I remember right, not too bad, though it may not be your, uh, cup of tea.


Pratchett's beer is Turbot's Really Odd, which plays off the "old peculiar" theme. There's also a beer from XXXX called Funnelweb, I believe.

[Rex Fenestrarum]

I want to try the toffee fruits from The Magician's Nephew. I always thought they'd make lovely jam. I never want to try breadapple or gichy-michy from Le Guin's The Left Hand Of Darkness.

Add Discworld scumble, Wow-Wow Sauce, and (someone's) Old Peculiar and Very Odd ales to the list of things I never want to try.

Yeah, Old Peculier (http://www.bottledbeer.co.uk/index.html?beerid=294) is pretty good, but I like Bishop's Finger (http://www.bottledbeer.co.uk/index.html?beerid=17) better! :p

[BoringDad]

Haggis actually exists in Scotland. They have the Ceremony of the Haggis, complete with singing, dancing and bagpipes. You're right, it is a horror story to freak out the tourists, and they imply that it's something like ground up sheep guts. It's actually lamb ground with oatmeal, onions, and spices. I've had some, and it's not bad. It tastes like taco meat.

While Scots eat more lamb and mutton than we do in the US (fond memories of 20 years ago eating ground mutton pies topped with baked beans), haggis is NOT made of ground lamb.

2 lb. dry oatmeal
1 lb. chopped mutton suet
1 lb. lamb or venison liver, boiled and minced
sheep heart, boiled and minced
plus spices and onions, all stuffed into a lamb's stomach to cook.

You may have been told it was just lamb to get you to eat it. And really, liver and heart minced up is perfectly edible and many people actually like it.

Now for fictional food, nothing can beat the cans of "Food" from Repo Man. Best consumed with cans of "Drink".

[Balance]

I'll submit Pervish food from Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures series--no specific dishes are ever named or shown, but we can draw certain conclusions from the context.

Aahz: "I tell you, kid, the main problem with Pervish food is keeping the goo from crawling out of the bowl while you're trying to eat it."

Then there's the fact that the Bazaar at Deva had an ordinance requiring any place serving the stuff to move constantly from place to place to keep the smell from causing the collapse of the local economy. When Skeeve got lost he tried to track the place by smell, and wound up finding a big pile of dragon(?) dung instead.

Also, here's some more on spoo (http://freespace.virgin.net/e.buchanan/b5.htm#spoo) from the Babylon 5 Encyclopedia--possibly the most amusing description of a food source I've ever read, notably the comment:
"Spoo are the only creatures of which the Interstellar Animal Rights Protection League says, simply, 'Kill 'em.'"

[Big G]

Another one from the Simpsons: Tomacco, the tomato / tobacco hybrid

[quiltguy154]

Razzleberry dressing from "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol."

Saurian brandy from "Star Trek."

Manna from you-know-where.

[davidm]

Another one from The Simpsons, Wadded Beef.
And from Futurama; Admiral Crunch and Archduke Chocula.
Ukulele Ike, I'm pretty sure that Tree Frog Beer was a real beer back in the seventies. That's probably where the comic got it from.

[Tenar]

The Schmoos (sp?) were wonderful creatures who were completely edible, delicious and happy to die for your dinner.

I believe the plural of schmoo is "schmoon."

[Electronic Chaos]

Who can forget lovely Aunt Beru's blue milk from Star Wars?

You can actually make it if you're a chef in Star Wars Galaxies.

[Mangetout]

Oooh! I got one!

Blue string pudding.

[dwyr]

Personally, I'd like to try a good old-fashioned porcuswine burger like they make at McSwiney's.

[Suburban Plankton]

Don't forget New Shimmer. It's a floor wax and a dessert topping!

[mbh]

In2001: A Space Odessy (Arthur C. Clarke's book, not Kubrick's movie), when the astronaut first arrives on the alien world, he is fed a mysterious blue substance which has a completely neutral flavor, and sort of takes on whatever flavor you happen to be thinking about at the moment.

In several different incarnations of Star Trek, a Regular Cast Member offers the Guest Star a bottle of a mysterious beverage.
Guest: "What is it?"
Regular: "It's green!"

In the Disney movie of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Captain Nemo offers his guests some oddities. I can't remember most of them, but "flesh of unborn octopus" seems to stick in my memory.

[mbh]

In Norse mythology, the goddess Idunn had an apple tree whose fruit bestowed eternal youth.

In Chinese mythology, there was a goddess who grew peaches that bestowed immortality.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Dracula was quite fond of the blood of the living.

In Fairy lore, you must never eat or drink anything in Fairyland, or you will become the Fairies' slave, & be forced to stay there forever.

[rowrrbazzle]

Ambrosia--the drink of the Gods of Olympus. Also, of the crew of the Battlestar:Galactica.According to www.m-w.com, ambrosia was 1 a : the food of the Greek and Roman gods b : the ointment or perfume of the godsNectar was their drink.