I think it’s easy to claim that food is a near-universal topic. We all eat to live, and our sense of taste is impacted by so many things. Health, nutrition, taste, smell, culture, location, and more. And I think that some video games feature really appealing foods.
And I have seen my fair share of delicious looking video-game food items. But before I count down my picks, let’s set some ground rules:
First, only one food item per game franchise, this way the list isn’t overrun by one or two games. Two, for the sake of this list, I am talking about foods that solely originate from video games themselves, so no tie-in products or merchandise like the now popular G-Fuel, or the Pokémon themed pasta cans of the 90s. However, I have not experienced every game, so some strong contenders may be out of the running as I’m simply unaware of their existence.
When listing these foods I want to talk about why they seem appealing to me personally, how to get these foods in-game, and if these items have been (or even can be) replicated in real-life by creative culinary practitioners.
5: Sweet Rolls, As Seen In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls series is no stranger to exotic and good looking foods, but of these, one stands out to me. That being, the simple dessert item of the Sweet Roll.
In-game, one can find Sweet Rolls in various buildings or as buyable items in various inns and shops.
And there are even recipes to create your own Sweet Rolls in real life, which have been tested and shown off by various people on social media platforms, YouTube and more.
But what I find humorous about this item is that it doesn’t only appear in Skyrim. While Skyrim’s depiction of the dessert is the most iconic, Sweet Rolls have shown up in many Bethesda games.
From past entries like Oblivion, to spin-offs like The Elder Scrolls Online, Legends, and Blades, Sweet Rolls have made many appearances. There are even variants that show up in the Fallout series that may look different but still keep what makes a Sweet Roll a Sweet Roll.
4: Chorus Fruit, As Seen In Minecraft
In Minecraft, these fruit can be found in the End Dimension by breaking Chorus Blocks. They are a hard to reach endgame item, which is demonstrated in the video below.
This is probably my strangest pick on the list. Of all the foods I could have picked, why the weird purple fruit found in The End dimension? When one does eat a Chorus Fruit, they are teleported to a semi-random location.
The main limitation is that it can only teleport you a short distance. It sounds useless or even dangerous, but imagine you find yourself locked out of your house and have lost your keys. Just eat a Chorus Fruit and there’s a good chance you’ll teleport inside your home and solve the problem.
So when I say I want to try the foods, that doesn’t mean I have to like the taste. I have no clue what a Chorus Fruit would even taste like judging by its strange look, color, and home dimension. The strange power of the fruit is more than enough reason to try it at least once.
I think this goes without saying, but I doubt we’ll see a genuine Chorus Fruit in real life anytime soon. Edible teleportation devices aren’t exactly something we’ve achieved in reality just yet.
3: Bear Stew, As Seen In Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 has been a stunning game in areas such as worldbuilding, realism and more. But one thing that I found interesting were some of the food options. Some of which seemed exotic and quite interesting.
As someone who hasn’t played the game all that much I was surprised to discover an exotic and interesting seeming food that came from the game. That being a variant of stew had at the camps that you can establish in-game.
The main reason I wanted to include this particular item though was because of a very cool recipe and video I saw on YouTube about it.
The ‘Binging With Babish’ YouTube series is one that I don’t actively keep up with, but watch from time to time. His recipe for Bear Stew as seen in-game really caught my eye. Below is the embedded video should you want to see it for yourself.
If I’m being honest, this is one of my favorite cooking videos on all of YouTube. And this is a food that could be very interesting to try one day with the mix of interesting gamey meats, and nutritious vegetables culminating in one huge and hearty meal.
2: Life Fruit As Seen In Terraria
Life Fruit are a curious addition to my list. Like the aforementioned Chorus Fruit, this fruit also has strange powers and properties. Except in Terraria, dimension-hopping isn’t required to get your hands on this food.
Instead you’ll have to burrow into hell to slay a Wall of Flesh. And then slay the three Mechanical Bosses, to lastly venture into a deadly jungle’s underground caverns. All of this leading into or within the game’s Hardmode section. And the final step of actually finding the fruit is showcased below.
So with all of this challenge, why would one want to find Life Fruit? Well, because of its properties when eaten of course! When you eat a Life Fruit you gain additional health, which is essential for the game’s more challenging bosses. And even if it offered no powers, a fruit shaped like a heart is too cute to pass up trying!
And while there are no Life Fruit in reality, the devs of Terraria have partnered with Madrinas to make a Life-Fruit inspired Mango Limeade drink. It’s not the same as a real fruit, but might scratch that same itch for some curious players.
1: Stardrops, As Seen In Stardew Valley
And lastly, we have Stardrops from Stardew Valley. This game is a prime example of the rise in “comfy games” and other great casual titles over the past few years. Among them, Stardew Valley is my favorite.
Stardrops are among some of the rarest foods in the game, with only seven being found in each save file. They are gained in special and difficult ways, such as dungeon diving, befriending townsfolk, and more.
But the kicker, like Life Fruit and Chrous Fruit, are their special effects. They give you a noticeable, permanent boost in your energy stat. Which is great for many of Stardew Valley‘s activities like farming and combat!
But there’s also a sentimental value to Stardrops. When consumed, a textbox appears and it says that the Stardrop reminds the player character of their favorite thing, which could be anything you the player, set it to. Such a special experience would be amazing to have by consuming this strange food.
But alas, there were a ton of delicious items that didn’t quite make the cut here. Ranging from fresh fruit grown by yourself, delicious dinners bought from the town’s saloon, and more, there are a ton of potential options. But Stardrops stood out to me because of their rarity and effects (both physical and emotional) on the player character.
Honorable Mention Lightning-Round
And just before I wrap up here, I wanted to list off some neat items that would be interesting, or games that had foods with lots of potential, but didn’t make the list.
One franchise that was this close to being was The Legend Of Zelda. When I play Breath Of The Wild or Tears Of The Kingdom I’d enjoy being able to cook up delicious foods and rancid concoctions alike. It was a small but meaningful element in this iteration of the franchise. And I think it’s fitting that I bring up the franchise. Especially with the infamous CDI entry basically immortalized with old memes, such as the King of Hyrule being humorously preoccupied with what’s for dinner.
I also think that any of the more appetizing foods from Tomodachi Life on the 3DS may have fit in, but none of them made it because there was nothing too interesting or awe-inspiring that really set them apart to be honest.
Next up, the oft-forgotten DS series, Fossil Fighters has its fair share of strange foods. From whatever “Dino-cakes” are supposed to be, to a hot spring filled to the brim with grape-jelly, there were humorous food items in these underrated games.
Then we have Pokémon, where there’s a ton of food items that look great. My favorites would be the curries in the Sword and Shield games, or the casteliacone from the Black and White games.
And lastly, while this isn’t a food I was considering throwing Fallout‘s Nuka Cola into the list. But that was somewhat dashed by the Quantum flavor’s inclusion of literal radioactive material. Yikes.
I’m sure that I missed tons of delicious or interesting food items here, but regardless, I hope this list helped satisfy cravings for a food and gaming coverage crossover.
