UPDATE: April 26, 2016 at 10:05 a.m.
So, it turns out that our roundup of Prince's favorite foods may not have been exactly what the late musician liked to eat in a day, after all. It turns out that the article on which our story was largely based — Heavy Table's raid of Prince's fridge — may have been an April Fool's prank from a few years back. We are deeply sorry for the error. For what it's worth, Prince really did like eating his spaghetti with a glass of orange juice. And we really will be using only maple syrup on our waffles, just in case there was any validity to the original post.
ORIGINAL POST: April 21, 2016 at 6:35 p.m.
We're notorious for not taking ourselves too seriously here at Delish, but the unexpected, heartbreaking news of Prince's passing this morning made for an uncharacteristically somber mood at the office. The musician, 57, died at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota. While the cause of his death has yet to be confirmed, one thing that goes without saying is that the loss of the iconic writer and performer is one that will be felt far beyond the music industry. Here at Delish, we're honoring the "Purple Rain" singer the best way we know how: by celebrating a few of his favorite things—to eat.
1. Spaghetti, (as long as it's paired with orange juice).
Leave it to Prince to turn something as traditional and basic as spaghetti into a meal that seems completely original. According to an oral history of Purple Rain that appeared in SPIN back in 2009, the musician was a pretty big fan of his pasta, so long as it was paired with some good old O.J. "I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich," said the film's director, Albert Magnoli, of a meeting he had with Prince at a restaurant ("a Denny, or something like that"). "Prince ordered spaghetti and orange juice, which was one of his favorite meals."
2. Microgreens.
As a longtime vegan—the musician was actually voted the sexiest vegetarian in PETA's annual online poll back in 2006—Prince's affinity for veggies hardly comes as a surprise. According to a 2011 feature that appeared on Heavy Table, "What's in Prince's Fridge?," he was big on his microgreens (the shoots of greens like arugula and mustard), whether that meant munching on them solo or pairing them with "fig balsamic and a really good olive oil."
3. Dunkaroos.
Reason #1020848457983 to love Prince? He loved him some dunkaroos. In his feature with Heavy Table, the singer was totally unapologetic about his fondness for the kangaroo-shaped biscuits that were best enjoyed dipped in frosting. "Don't know what 2 say about Dunk-a-roos," he told the publication over email. "They're just good! Sometimes you want a food that is comfortable and takes you back. For me, it's those crazy little kangaroo crackers." (Commencing aww-ing).
4. Kimchi.
Even if you're not big on kimchi—people are pretty divided over the fermented veggie dish that hails from Korea—eating some to honor a legend seems like a reasonable exception. As far as Prince was concerned, who's been reported to have had about a gallon of it in his fridge at once, there was no question about how good the stuff is. "This stuff is AMAZING," he wrote to Heavy Table. All caps says it all.
5. Yak's milk.
Just because he was a vegan didn't mean that Prince steered clear of all dairy. His milk of choice? The milk that comes from yaks. "This stuff is TOO AMAZING," he wrote to Heavy Table. "It is given freely by the yak, so U can truly enjoy it. Great with Chex – Rice Chex, Wheat Chex, whatever!!!" Prince also noted that the milk was great for clarifying the skin and the mind.
6. Maple syrup, but only the real kind.
Maple syrup isn't exactly a rarity in terms of favorite foods, but Prince's love for the stuff came with one big condition: it had to be real. The musician insisted that, despite some people's assertions that there was really no flavor distinction between authentic maple syrup and the fake stuff, that there was definitely a difference. "It's a cut above," he wrote to Heavy Table. "It's about 100 cuts above. This is the only thing that touches my waffles." Needless to say, it will henceforth be the only thing that touches our waffles, too.
7. Mustard.
When we say that mustard was one of Prince's favorite foods, we mean that mustard was REALLY (using all caps for emphasis, a la Prince) one of his favorite foods. At the time of Heavy Table's raid of the musician's fridge, Prince reportedly had 18 different kinds of mustard hanging out in his fridge, from German to Texan brands. "I don't collect it, but LOL yeah there's a lot in there," he wrote. "U gotta love mustard. The raspberry kind is the best. You wouldn't expect it but that's how it goes." If you say that's how it goes, Prince, then that's how it goes.
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