Science Fiction Food

Guess what? My brother and I are off to Comic Con NYC for the weekend! Once there we’ll feast our eyes on the latest sci-fi, fantasy, and adventure happenings in the world. He’s attended the convention before, but this is my first year and I couldn’t be more excited. I even heard Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) will be there. Considering I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan since I was a youngin’, I’m pretty darn excited. Is it weird I want her to call me a nerf herder? No, no it’s not.

Anyway! In honor of the convention, I thought it would be fun to list 10 sci-fi/fantasy foods that have always fascinated me. The following list contains a few beverages and some munchies that would probably wreak havoc on a normal human’s digestive system. Enjoy!

1.       Slurm from Futurama

Oh Futurama. This wacky animated TV show explores a bunch of alien future foods, but I’ve always been interested in Slurm….which is basically excrement sold as a hip beverage. I know, it sounds insane. A queen “slug” squirts out ooze, bottles it, and sells the deliciously addictive substance to an unsuspecting universe, making millions. Fry loves it and he makes me laugh.

2.       Lembas from Lord of the Rings

When I was in first grade, my mom gave me the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yup, you read that correctly – first grade. I guess I’ve always been a bit of a geek. Anyway, lembas bread (also known as waybread) is made by elves. It’s slightly brown on the outside with a creamy colored inside. Lembas is usually brought on long journeys because it’s incredibly filling and nutritious. It is often wrapped in mallorn leaves and contains honey. Consider it a flavorful version of hardtack.

3.       Turkish Delight from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Now this dish exists in real life – Turkish delight. It is soft and gelatinous, dusted with powdered sugar, and often pale pink/orange. In the novel, Edmund annoyingly sells out his siblings to the White Queen because she offers him these treats. Um…didn’t anyone ever tell him to not accept candy from strangers? My mom introduced my brother and me to these books at a really young age and they became our favorite novels for many many years.

4.       Chu Jelly from The Legend of Zelda

My brother and I also love Zelda video games. He’s better at them than I’ll ever be, but I always thought Link had cool food. One such “meal” is Chu jelly, which is an edible bottled item that can either be blue, green, red, or yellow. To get some jelly, all you have to do is defeat the Chus or ChuChus then pick up the bottles. The jelly restores Link’s magic, health, and can be used as lantern oil.

5.       Bantha Milk (Blue Milk) from Stars Wars: A New Hope

One of my first memories in life is watching Star Wars, and I’ve been a fan ever since my first glimpse of a Star Destroyer. The Star Wars universe is breathtaking, but with a noticeable lack of food. However, in A New Hope, Aunt Beru serves bantha milk to Uncle Owen and Luke Skywalker. This blue liquid is produced from a bantha’s mammary glands and is supposed to be incredibly nutritious…and who doesn’t love blue food?!

6.       Chocolate Frogs from the Harry Potter series

In fifth or sixth grade my mom brought home Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone…and I seriously couldn’t put it down. It’s a magical world packed with amazing treats that make you salivate on every page. One of my favorites is the chocolate frogs…which are enchanted to hop around. How cool is that? Talk about playing with your food.

7.       Fish Biscuits from LOST

When I first heard of LOST, I thought it sounded stupid. Polar bears on an island? Wtf. Well, a long time ago my brother got the season 1 DVDs for Christmas, and subsequently forced me to watch every episode. I was hooked. These biscuits showed up when Sawyer and Kate were locked up by the Others in their polar bear cage. When the bears solved a puzzle, the biscuits were their reward. It took Sawyer a while to complete the puzzle, but he was eventually able to munch on a biscuit.

8.       Mushrooms from Mario

No list could be complete without a mention of the mushrooms from the classic video game, Mario. There are many different versions of Mario, but there are mushrooms in every one. These fungi make him grow, get extra lives, and become temporarily invincible (among other things). It seems like the ultimate food…and probably one of the first fantasy foods I can remember.

9.       Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

This book is so weird, but in the best way. After hearing about it for years, I finally read it this year to see what all the fuss was about. Oh man, the author is nuts! It’s really entertaining. Anyway, this drink will make you feel like your brains got “smashed out with a slice of lemon, wrapped around a large gold brick” (sounds like life in college haha). It was created by the President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox, who is pretty wacky.

10.   Romulan Ale from Star Trek

Another blue liquid…this time from the Star Trek universe. This beverage is alcoholic, with the shade of blue deepening as the vintage gets older. It’s called kali-fal in Romulan and was illegal in the Federation from the 2280s to 2370s (even though most Starfleet officers have tasted it). This ale is so strong that it renders the drinker instantly drunk.

So that’s my list! What mythical, sci-fi food have you always wanted to try?

**all these pictures were found on the internet (except for the intro pic…I made that. Oh yeahhhh). If you are the owner of any of these photos, please let me know and I can remove them immediately**