Zoochberry

This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 

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For other uses, see zoochberry.

"Zoochberries used to be a pretty popular ingredient, grown on a number of worlds and used in countless recipes. But over the years, this former staple lost some of its luster as hyperspace tradin' routes made hundreds of varieties of rare and exotic berries avaliable to planets across the Outer Rim. Suddenly, the ol' zoochberry didn't seem so special anymore, and folks stopped growin' and harvestin' 'em. The result was a steep hike in price for what was once one of the cheapest berries on the market."
―Strono Tuggs, The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook[2]

Zoochberries were a type of berry that was at one point a cheap and popular staple ingredient grown on many worlds and used in many recipes. During the High Republic Era, the Gloovan Camille used them to make zoochberry cream while working on the moon Jedha.

In 9 BBY, the Latero Greez Dritus made a zoochberry pie for the human Kata Akuna, who found it delicious. As hyperspace trading made other berries more available, the popularity and production of zoochberries decreased, causing their price to increase. Because of this, the chef Strono Tuggs served those who craved zoochberries a Zoochberry Surprise, a dish containing no zoochberries.

Description

"You remember that zoochberry pie I made you?"
"Yeah?"
"Well that was her recipe! Lovingly recreated by yours truly. You liked it right?"
"Yeah, it was delicious!"
"Oh, she'd have loved to know that! Food was her thing – she taught me everything I know!"
―Greez Dritus and Kata Akuna — 20?cb=20250116042720 ▶️ (file info)[3]

Zoochberries were a type of berry[2] that could be consumed by humans, Latero,[3] and Villarandi.[1]

History

Tasty pies and juicy scams

"You know what they say about something that sounds too good to be true."
"Ah, we have a skeptic! Perhaps you need the solution of Loth-Cat dexterity? How about the booster of wampa strength?"
"I've seen scams like this before. Let me guess, it's just zoochberry juice and some coloring in the vial."
"Would you keep it down?"
―Kay Vess and the merchant — 20?cb=20250116042720 ▶️ (file info)[4]
A worn poster shows a bespectacled elderly Latero in a brown robe and tan shirt against a blue and white background.

The Latero Pyloon knew the recipe for zoochberry pie.

Zoochberries were at one point a popular staple ingredient and one of the cheapest berries available, being grown on many worlds and used in many recipes.[2] One such recipe was zoochberry cream, which the Gloovan Camille made during the High Republic Era. Her employer, the Villarandi[1] Kradon Minst,[5] considered the cream delicious and offered it to the Evereni Yana Ro when Ro visited Minst's bar, Enlightenment, in Jedha City on the moon Jedha[1] in 382 BBY,[6] Another zoochberry recipe was zoochberry pie, which the Latero Pyloon taught her great-grandson, Greez Dritus, how to make.[3] In 9 BBY,[7] Dritus lovingly recreated Pyloon's pie recipe and served it to the human Kata Akuna, who found it delicious.[3]

This section of the article assumes 100% game completion. Any alternate stories may be noted in the "Behind the scenes" section. The events in this section may or may not have been confirmed as canon.

In 3 ABY,[8] the thief Kay Vess encountered a merchant in the Wonto District market in the city of Mos Eisley on the planet Tatooine who claimed to sell serums, tonics, and miracle cures. When she questioned the authenticity of the goods, the merchant offered to sell her a solution of Loth-Cat dexterity or a booster of wampa strength, both of which were in actuallity simply vials of bacta. Vess then asked if the scam was that the solutions were just vials of zoochberry juice with added coloring, causing the merchant to ask for her to keep her voice down and then giving her one of the products for free.[4]

Assumption ends here.

Strono's Surprise

"Nowadays, when somebody with a fondness for zoochberries wants to take their taste buds on a walk down memory lane, I serve 'em this creamy confection. It's sweet, juicy, and burstin' with so much flavor that most folks never even realize that there ain't a single zoochberry in it. Surprise!"
―Strono Tuggs on his Zoochberry Surprise dish, The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook[2]
A square slice of a layered dessert with a brown dough base, a creamy white middle and a pink topping sits on a silver metallic disc on a table. A garnish of two different metallic-purple colored berries tops the dish.

Strono Tuggs served those who craved zoochberries his Zoochberry Surprise, which did not contain zoochberries.

By 34 ABY,[9] zoochberries had lost some of their popularity as hyperspace trading made rare and exotic varieties of berry available throughout the Outer Rim Territories. With zoochberries no longer seen as special, many stopped growing and harvesting the berries, causing a steep increase in their price.[2]

Because of this, the Artiodac chef Strono Tuggs began serving those who craved the taste of zoochberries his Zoochberry Surprise, a sweet, creamy, and juicy dessert dish that did not actually contain any zoochberries. He included the recipe for the dish and wrote about the history of zoochberries in his first cookbook, The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, which was published[2] in 34 ABY.[9] In the book, Tuggs claimed that Zoochberry Surprise was so flavorsome that few realised that the surprise was that there was no zoochberries used in the dish.[2]

Behind the scenes

Zoochberries were first mentioned in the current Star Wars canon in the 2019 recipe book Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, which was authored by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Marc Sumerak.[2] The berries originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where they first mentioned as part of the dish zoochberry cream in The Glove of Darth Vader, a 1992 novel in the Jedi Prince series written by Paul and Hollace Davids.[10] The berries were then mentioned as an independent subject for the first time in Queen of the Empire, a 1993 junior novel in the same series with the same authors.[11]

Appearances

This article has an associated index page with page numbers and/or timestamps.

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The High Republic: Path of Vengeance
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars Outlaws
  5. ↑ Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
  6. ↑ Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia dates the events of The High Republic: Path of Vengeance to 382 BBY.
  7. ↑ StarWars.com Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on StarWars.com (backup link) dates Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which equates to 9 BBY per Star Wars: Timelines.
  8. ↑ Premium-Era-real Visit a Galaxy Far, Far Away with our Star Wars liveblog direct from San Diego Comic-Con 2024! on Popverse: "We're beginning our journey three years after the Battle of Yavin" (backup link archived on January 22, 2025) dates the events of Star Wars Outlaws to 3 ABY.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook establishes that the in-universe book was published at the same time as when the First Order was searching for the Resistance base on Batuu, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 34 ABY.
  10. ↑ The Glove of Darth Vader
  11. ↑ Queen of the Empire