Summary
- Star Trek explores a wide range of alien races and their unique food and drink offerings, from Tribbles that were initially meant to be a food source to Denobulan sausages enjoyed by Doctor Phlox.
- Plomeek soup, a plant-based dish native to Vulcan, has appeared in various Star Trek shows and was altered by Neelix to add more flavor, much to the chagrin of Voyager's resident Vulcan, Tuvok.
- Klingon coffee, known as Raktajino, is a strong beverage of choice on Deep Space Nine, while Slug-O-Cola, a slimy Ferengi soda, and wriggling Klingon worms called Gagh offer a taste of the less appetizing aspects of Klingon cuisine.
Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek has introduced viewers to many iconic alien races, from the logical Vulcans to the (sometimes) honorable Klingons. Fans have seen humanity, as part of the United Federation of Planets, travel out at warp speed to explore the cosmos.
Boldly going where no one has gone before doesn't just mean meeting alien races (and sometimes hooking up with them), but also sampling the weird and wonderful food and drink produced around the galaxy. From bland soups to illegal ales, the Star Trek universe offers something for even the most discerning set of taste buds.
8 Tribbles
Tucking into Tribble fillet sounds like a good way to cough up a hairball, but the rodents were originally intended to serve as a food source. The Short Treks episode "The Trouble with Edward" shows the titular scientist genetically engineering the species aboard the USS Cabot, against the orders of the starship's captain. Edward goes so far as to incorporate his own DNA into the Tribbles.
His efforts result in the Cabot's destruction when the Tribble population rapidly grows, stressing the starship's hull. Ironically, these voracious creatures would gain a reputation as consumers of food, rather than providers—hence the Klingon dislike for the Tribbles.
7 Denobulan Sausage
Denobulan sausage is, thankfully, not made from one of humanity's first friends in the Alpha Quadrant. Instead, it hails from the same planet, Denobula, and is considered a delicacy by the world's twelve billion inhabitants.
Doctor Phlox, a Denobulan who serves aboard the Enterprise NX-01, enjoys the pinkish sausage when it is served to him in the episode "The Seventh." The sausage, garnished with vegetables, is specially prepared by the starship's chef and appears to be consumed like Earth-based charcuterie. Phlox's dining partners stick to food from Earth, however, perhaps suggesting that Denobulan sausage is not to everyone's taste.
6 Plomeek Soup
Although it has not yet appeared on-screen, plomeek is a plant native to Vulcan that serves as an ingredient in many Vulcan recipes. Both plomeek soup and plomeek tea have appeared or been referenced in different Star Trek shows, with the former being a popular breakfast choice aboard the Enterprise NX-01. It can be assumed that plomeek soup is entirely plant-based, as Vulcans do not eat meat.
Plomeek soup was considered overly bland by Neelix, who worked as the USS Voyager's chef when the ship was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. To remedy this, Neelix chose to make the recipe more zesty, resulting in plomeek soup a la Neelix. Voyager's resident Vulcan, Tukov, was unimpressed by the alteration.
5 Jumja Stick
The mostly static location of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine facilitated a deep dive into Bajoran culture. Fans learned about the lives of Bajorans under the brutal Cardassian Occupation, as well as the religion that gave them the strength to persevere. With such a troubled past, it's unsurprising that some Bajorans might choose to indulge in a sweet treat.
The Jumja stick is a lollypop-like confection produced from the sap of a native plant. This sap gives the candy a sugary taste. While the flavor is unpalatable to some, Jumja sticks are popular with a number of other species, including Ferengi and Romulans, and many different variants are sold at a stall on Deep Space Nine's Promenade.
4 Raktajino
There are many differences between our time and Roddenberry's utopian vision of the future. One thing that remains true, however, is that coffee remains vital for keeping people productive. Captain Janeway credits the beverage for helping her to outwit the Borg, and even the Earl Grey-loving Captain Picard frequently takes coffee with his morning croissant.
Klingon coffee, or Raktajino, is the beverage of choice aboard Deep Space Nine. The drink, which can be served either warm or iced, is stronger than coffee from Earth. Jadzia Dax, DS9's science officer, complains that drinking too much keeps her up at night; a non-caffeinated variety is pioneered by Quark, although the resulting concoction is dismissed as being undrinkable.
3 Slug-O-Cola
The avaricious Ferengi Alliance is no stranger to unusual culinary customs, as it is typical for the female to chew up her mate's food for him. However, even among a mostly bug-based diet, Slug-o-Cola (allegedly the galaxy's slimiest drink) stands out.
This algae-based beverage may offer zero nutritional value, but it remains the most popular Ferengi soda and even made a recent cameo in Star Trek: Picard. Slug-o-Cola even becomes the focus of an alien power struggle, with a pre-women's rights faction of Ferengi arguing that marketing the drink to females will give the drink the edge over its competitor, Eelwasser.
2 Gakh
The Klingons are dedicated to a grungy aesthetic, from their grimy bridges to their warrior code. Klingon cuisine is no exception to this pattern, featuring a wide range of disgusting-sounding foods. Targ heart, bregit lung, Rokeg blood pie—small wonder that Commander Riker initially struggles when assigned to a Klingon vessel in the episode "A Matter of Honor."
Riker's greatest challenge is the still wriggling Klingon worms, Gagh. Although Riker eventually became acclimatized to the bizarre foodstuff, it is rarely eaten in non-Klingon diets. Even the well-traveled Ezri Dax states that it is better to flush Gagh out of an airlock than to eat it, suggesting that the worm-based meal is a truly acquired taste.
1 Romulan Ale
The blue Romulan ale is a beverage so highly prized that even Starfleet's finest are willing to bend the law to obtain it. When Doctor McCoy visits Admiral Kirk to celebrate the latter's birthday in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the medical officer brings a bottle of Romulan ale as a gift. He explains that he is able to smuggle the interdicted alcohol across the Neutral Zone because of its medicinal uses.
The Federation embargo on Romulan ale is later lifted due to the anti-Dominion alliance between the two powers. However, it may have been banned for reasons other than politics, as even Klingons like Worf find the drink highly intoxicating. The post-war legality of Romulan ale remains unclear, but one thing is certain: no matter the law, characters will always find a way to get hold of a glass.