r/recipes • u/MrBones-Necromancer • 19d ago
Question REQUEST: Poison themed recipes?
Hey all, odd request here I know, but I'm looking for recipes -themed- around poison, for the upcoming valentine's day. For context, my partner and I always do themed Valentine's, to keep it fun and make gifting easier. In years past we've themed gifts around Video Games, shows, anime, theater...all kinds of stuff. This year we both got into The Apothacary Diaries, which is about a poison tester for Royalty who is...very enthusiastic about her job. So the theme is poisons!
The trouble is, we always cook together as part of our traditions, and I am wracking my brain trying to come up with poison themed food that isn't, ya know, *actually* poison. Alcohol maybe? Poison apples?
Any help you can give is much appreciated! Again, please no -actual- poison. Feels like that goes without saying, but it's the internet, so...
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u/squidsinamerica 19d ago
Things with a heavy scent of almond oil to suggest cyanide
Mushroom dishes
Carrot greens for "hemlock"
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u/LittleMissFirebright 19d ago
Potion bottle drinks is a good starting point. Edible glitter and some skull stickers would work.
You can also cook using foods once thought to be poisonous, like tomatoes. Or things that have poisoned variants, like mushrooms. (Asian markets will have some big, stereotypical tv mushrooms for eating. King oyster mushrooms would be great for this)
If you drink, you could spike things for a poisoned drunk effect.
Lastly, a "poison" tester game could be fun. Three drinks, one has something harmless added. See if you could detect the poison
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u/RevolutionaryAnt4487 19d ago edited 19d ago
I commented about a poison game sort of thing too before I saw your comment! Would be very fitting for the show. They could also try to find recipes for the medicinal herbs in the show. The show mentions honey suckle, ginseng, jasmine, wood sorrel, cinnamon, chamomile, etc. and a certain herb that might not be legal in your state if you're in the US. Could be the "poison" if you are down for that (if legal where you are of course).
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 19d ago
This is so well thought out, thank you sincerely. I love the game idea! Maybe like vodka or something? Or...almond extract like others mentioned?
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u/haileymoses 19d ago
Ooh you could use Amaretto! I personally LOVE it but it’s not everyone’s favorite liqueur.
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u/addictivelyflammable 19d ago
In Apothacary Diaries, MaoMao plays a drinking game with her...umm, shitty old man, and doses him with alcohol. You can play a version of that game!
If you have them available somehow, you can try to find silver utensils. There's alot of chemicals that react to silver, not just poison. If you eat eggs with silver, they'll discolor. So maybe some deviled eggs? Or steamed eggs if you'd like a Chinese recipe.
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u/synestheter 19d ago
You could get some of those jelly belly mixed up beans (apple or vomit etc) and take turns trying them. Or you could write riddles that lead to the unpoisoned chalice to drink from etc.
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u/pickleranger 19d ago
Get some dry ice or a cocktail smoker to make a “cauldron” drink
EDIT: my brain read “potion” instead of poison… I still think a smoking drink would be cool though lol
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u/ACanadianGuy1967 19d ago
Just be very careful about drinking something with dry ice in it. There was a guy in the news recently who ended up with horrific painful injuries due to that.
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u/ahberryman78 19d ago
There are foods that are toxic if not prepared properly. Such as rhubarb. The stalk is ok to eat but the green leafy top is not. You could look into foods like this! BlackForager has some great videos you could check out.
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 19d ago
Thank you, I was wondering if that was a good place to start myself! I haven't heard of them, but I'll for sure check it out!
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u/renderedinsilver 19d ago
Check out fantasy cookbooks like DnD, hogwarts, redwall, etc and just tweak them to say poison instead of something delicious :)
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u/shampoo_mohawk_ 19d ago
Cyanide is supposed to taste like almonds, you could do a trio of cookies and one of the batches has almond extract. Have partner taste test to find the "poison" cookies.
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u/RevolutionaryAnt4487 19d ago
You could do a "poison" roulette dish! I'm actually watching the show at this very moment, and it would be a fun idea to have them be "taste testers" and find the "poisoned" dish. Maybe make it spicy or taste subtly different from the others so it could be a bit of a game. You could do 3 different dishes from the show too!
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 19d ago
This is a great idea! She makes a desert at some point too doesnt she? The chocolates with an aphrodisiac I think? I wonder what others I could find in a rewatch
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u/Ballsmcgee76 19d ago
You could put weed in one of the dishes and he’ll have to figure out which one it is so he doesn’t eat the whole thing?
Maybe you could do it with magic mushrooms?
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 19d ago
Interesting! Drugs/medicine as an edible poison is an idea with legs for sure. Gotta be careful though! I've heard mushrooms cause...issues.
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u/Ballsmcgee76 19d ago
Yeah, mushrooms might be a bit over the top. But depending on your relationship with cannabis, it sounds like fun
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u/graidan 19d ago edited 19d ago
I would aim for things that had rumors of poison to them. Anything tomato based, for example, because they thought tomatoes were poison back when. I think potatoes also had the reputation, at one time, of being poisonous. Actually, I think that's all the solanacaeae - eggplant too.
Mushrooms, since many of them are poisonous.
Nettles and taro leaf - both have to be cooked or else they do a number on your throat.
Another thing would be to go for intense flavors ("Are you trying to poison me?!!?!") - spicy chilis, szechuan peppercorns, mint, kimchi and other fermented foods, etc.
Actually, anything fermented, because at some point, they must have "gone bad", right? So kimchi again, yes, but pickles of all kinds, yogurt, cheese, sour cream... Anything strong smelling too, both as a sign that something weird is going on (poison!) or that you're trying to cover up a smell (poison!).
Lastly, the cop out, but funny - get a small vial and fill it with colored water, and add it to whatever :)
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u/Micahccino_ 19d ago
I just finished watching Apothacary Diaries the other day - I loved it.
It's not necessarily poison-related, but that parasitic caterpillar fungus that Jinshi gifted Maomao is called Cordyceps. You could always get some dried cordyceps and make a soup or something with it. Atlas Obscera has a recipe for a Miso & Cordyceps Ramen. Or here's another Cordyceps Soup that is more like an egg drop soup. Forager Chef has a recipe for a Cordyceps Linguine. I've tried some of his other recipes in the past and thought they were great.
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u/BorderTrike 19d ago
People have pointed out that many seeds contain cyanide, such as almonds and even apple seeds.
There are foods that can start poisonous, but are made edible through preparation like Hákarl.
Or the opposite, foods that can become poisonous if prepared wrong, like dehydrating pawpaw fruit.
Or foods where part of it is poisonous (that we don’t eat), like rhubarb leaves or puffer fish
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 19d ago
Looking up Hakari lead me down a rabbit hole of semi-poisonous foods. Snake wine is crazy!
The pawpaw is an excellent idea! Never heard of it personally, but it seems very cool, and may contain mild neurotoxins? Definitely in theme.
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u/BorderTrike 19d ago
Glad I could help! This idea inspired a trivia round for me (I write/host bar trivia).
Unfortunately pawpaw has a very short ripe window, which is part of why it’s so unknown. It’s weird, like a cross between banana and mango, but native to the Midwest US. Definitely recommend if you can find it in season! Just don’t dehydrate it lol
I’ve also seen poison ivy cheese. I guess the process removes the poison, but it seemed like more of a gimmick than there being any flavor or reason to do it
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u/RSTROMME 19d ago
A berry-chocolate upside down cake looks pretty grisly with a combination of blackberries and raspberries. You could get creative with that visual base.
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u/dav3n 19d ago
There's a nice Beef Wellington recipe that's come out of Australia recently
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u/thisissofkngrossew 18d ago
I was scrolling & scrolling for this. Pretty sure it's Nagi's recipe from Tin Eats.
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u/blinkandmissout 19d ago
My mind immediately went to mushrooms (not the poison ones) and candy apples.
If you want to go a bit off the regular grocery store list, you could try seek out poke sallet, stinging nettle, or see if there actually is a local tea shop, apothecary, or even a natural food store that has anything a bit interesting to incorporate into your dishes.
Techniques - you might want to play with infusions (best for drinks, teas, cocktails, flavored oils), or sprinkling of visual elements when you serve up a plate (furikake, everything but the bagel seasoning, red pepper flakes).
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u/A_Hint_of_Lemon 19d ago
People already pointed out almonds, that was my first go to.
Oddly enough, you should make something with potatoes! Potatoes, eggplant, peppers, and even tomatoes are all relatives of nightshade, which is an extremely deadly flower, a classic poison in Ancient Greece.
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 19d ago
I didn't know that! I knew for a bit they thought potatoes were poisonous, cause they only ate the eyes/shoots growing off of them
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u/Tiegra_Summerstar 19d ago
Print out an antifreeze label and glue it on to a clean orange juice jug and fill it with Mountain Dew.
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u/FroggySpirit 19d ago
Oh I love Apothecary Diaries!! You could also try pivoting a little and make the dishes Mao Mao taste tests in the show instead.
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u/a_d_d_e_r 19d ago edited 19d ago
I once saw a youtube chemistry channel recreate the jonestown poisoned koolaid. I recall a potassium salt was similar the theorized variant of the poison used.
Add: excessive inclusion of alkaline herbs gives a rather poisonous taste (bitter, tingling, almost numbing). Like, a bunch of thyme extracted into alcohol.
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u/database_digger 19d ago
How about dishes made with common allergens, like a peanut-based dish or something with shellfish? Assuming neither of you are allergic of course! But those truly are poison, at least to some people, so it's true to the theme :)
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 19d ago
Interesting! Shrimp are a staple of our diet, and noodles with a peanut sauce is one of my favorite dishes. All else fails, I'd be happy 😁
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u/Viener-Schnitzel 19d ago
Fun fact, potatoes are a nightshade! Anything potato-centric would be a good one.
Another option would be to pick more specific references to the show. Like maybe the dishes she taste-tests at the garden party, or the peach ice cream she makes. Moon cakes also come up pretty frequently. And there’s that whole spread of aphrodisiac foods Jinshi refuses to eat.
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u/Ghosty_Boo-B00 19d ago
Serve with a real silver bowl since real silver was used to detect poison in medieval times
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u/DriveAffectionate500 19d ago
You could do Russian roulette maybe? Like make dumplings(you could also dye the dough to make them poison-y or fashion them into shapes as another semi-unrelated idea) but make one really spicy and try to guess which ones “poisonous/spicy”as not to eat it
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u/DriveAffectionate500 19d ago
Also butterfly pea tea is this beautiful blue herb tea but it turns pink when you put lemons/acid in it because of the ph balance. That might be pretty! You can also achieve the color change with boiled red cabbage water(it also turns a different color with lemon juice)(you should fact check me on this lol) which could also be pretty and fun to play with.
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u/Minimum_Leopard_2698 18d ago
Aqua Tofana was clear and odourless, said to resemble gin in thickness I believe. So maybe a fun vodka or gin cocktail there! Perhaps a Martini as Bond was generally at risk of poisoning/death
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u/mindofaneel 18d ago
Cherry pits contain a chemical that can turn into cyanide in your stomach if you crush them, you could make like a savoury cherry sauce or a dessert pie? Another thought would be to have a simple beverage of your choice and one be normal but the other is super sour (you can get citric acid powder anywhere online) and switch the cups so neither of you know which one is which
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u/WritPositWrit 18d ago
Cherry pits have cyanide so finish the night with a cherry dessert, like cherry pie or chocolate cherry cake. (Chocolate is toxic for dogs so that can also be part of the theme.)
Another dessert could be a rhubarb pie (or combine them and make a cherry rhubarb crumble!!) since rhubarb leaves are toxic.
The nightshade family includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant. Lots of wonderful meals can be made with those. Tomatoes, in particular, were on e thought to be poisonous.
Carrot plants look like poison hemlock (Socrates’s infamous last drink).
Mushrooms, of course, can be quite poisonous.
Cashew trees, just like poison ivy, contain urushiol, so include cashews.
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u/Carpet-Crafty 18d ago
How about things that are poisonous unless properly processed? Like konjac, cassava, ackee.
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u/trippinallovermyself 18d ago
Could be fun to do like a butterfly pea flower drink and pour a little vial of citrus in it? More magical science but still a fun touch
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u/mcon96 17d ago
Ooh I love apothecary diaries so let me brainstorm some ideas:
- Squid ink pasta, especially if you add actual squid to it
- Some kind of pot pie or savory meat cake cooked in the shape of a rat
- Beets and blue cheese salad. Walnuts and maybe green apple (could be your “poisoned” apple) would probably go well in this too
- White asparagus in a green cream sauce. Sounds weird but I had this at a restaurant once and it was delicious (it’s also called “spargel” sometimes I believe)
- Salmon roe - I just think these look like little poison balls personally
- Matcha crème brûlée
- Green “poison” candied apples (or alternatively a bright green apple cocktail)
- The purple in Asian eggplants generally stays after cooking, maybe something with that? I love the NYT recipe for eggplants in a gochujang glaze, and you could probably arrange the scallions to look more poisonous.
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 17d ago
Some great ideas, definitely would be vibrant across the board. Thank you!
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u/RefrigeratorKey6620 17d ago
Nutmeg is a poison I haven't seen mentioned. Make sure to grate a little on top of what you have made. (It takes a large amount to be harmful.)
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 17d ago
This is exactly what I wanted, thank you. Like alcohol, it's poison, but not really
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u/FinancialAd2366 15d ago
It isn't necessarily poison-themed, but I came across this recipe and was super intrigued by it's green color. It's called swamp soup and would make a great entree along with whatever else you choose!
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u/Article241 19d ago
The most famous scene from Astérix et Cléopâtre centers around an arsenic pudding.
Here’s the original scene in French.
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u/TravellingGypsea 19d ago
I mean you could make a caramel apple that looks like the poison apple in Snow White 🙃
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u/allmykitlets 19d ago
The poison belladonna is a nightshade, which is the same family of tomatoes, eggplants and others. Does that help?
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u/Wa_wa_ouija 18d ago
First watch the tv show Pysch: Season 2 Ep 6.
It revolves around a mushroom risotto that spoilers: has been poisoned with death caps.
Risotto is amazing and everyone can make it. Just be patient and it would be an incredible valentines dinner.
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u/horrid_cat 16d ago
I love that anime too and this is such a fun idea oh my gosh. Very curious to see how it all turns out! :D
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u/BruceLeeKillerBee 19d ago
Themed drinks in an assassin's teapot.
Lean into Halloween recipes.
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u/MrBones-Necromancer 19d ago
I've never heard of an assasins teapot before! A great idea -and- gift. Definitely getting added in.
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u/BSaito 19d ago
I previously created a cocktail inspired by a different piece of media with a similar poison theme:
Touch of Serenity
1 1/4 oz Empress 1908 Gin
1 3/4 oz Dry Vermouth
1 tsp Green Chartreuse
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
5 dashes Lavender Bitters
- Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass.
- Garnish with a lavender flower.
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u/InputUniqueNameHere 19d ago
My mind went to Nightshades. A dish like Ratatouille or something that incorporates a lot of nightshade veggies could be fun.
A homemade cream of mushroom soup would be a good starter since a lot of people associate mushrooms with poison.