Prairie oyster
{{Short description|Drink with a raw egg and sauce}}
{{about||the music group|Prairie Oyster|the food euphemism|Rocky Mountain oysters}}
{{Multiple issues|{{more citations needed|date=December 2016}}{{In popular culture|date=February 2023}}}}File:Prairie_Oyster_.jpgA prairie oyster (sometimes also prairie cocktail) is a traditional beverage consisting of a raw egg (often yolk alone), Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and/or hot sauce, table salt, and ground black pepper. A small amount of tomato juice is sometimes added, reminiscent of a Bloody Mary. Occasionally a spirit such as brandy, vodka, or gin is also included, transforming the drink into a hair of the dog. The egg is broken into a glass so as not to break the yolk. The mixture is quickly swallowed. The unbroken yolk causes the drink to bear a texture similar to that of an oyster. The concoction has been referred to as a traditional cure for hangovers, and has appeared in media for decades.
Supposed hangover remedy properties
{{See also|Hair of the dog}}
Though considered a traditional hangover remedy, the prairie oyster has not been scientifically proven to treat hangover symptoms. Headache experts say that a prairie oyster will not work as a remedy for a hangover.{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/TreatingPain/called-hangover-cures-helps-hurts/story?id=9457713#.UOHt-m97vg8 |website=ABC News |last=Cox |first=Lauren |title=Hangover 'Cures': What Helps and What Hurts |date= December 31, 2009 |accessdate=May 26, 2020}}
It has been suggested that the raw egg in a prairie oyster may alleviate the symptoms of a hangover since eggs contain cysteine, an amino acid which helps the body break down acetaldehyde, a by-product of processing alcohol.{{cite web |url=https://www.eater.com/drinks/2016/3/7/11169320/prairie-oyster-cocktail-television-media-film |website=Eater |title=The Prairie Oyster: A Survey of 100 Years in Pop Culture |last=Stevens |first=Ashlie |date=March 7, 2016 |accessdate=May 26, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://nowtoronto.com/news/hangover-cure-4-the-prairie-oyster/ |website=Now Toronto |title=Hangover cure #4: The Prairie Oyster |date=November 17, 2012 |accessdate=May 26, 2020}} However, there is no reliable evidence showing that consuming foods with this amino acid relieves hangover symptoms.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181224-no-you-cant-eat-your-way-out-of-a-hangover |website=BBC Future |publisher=BBC |last=Greenwood |first=Veronique |title=No, you can't eat your way out of a hangover |date= December 31, 2018 |accessdate=May 26, 2020}}
It has also been suggested that a prairie oyster may seem to relieve hangover symptoms by acting as a distraction and a placebo.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151215-whats-the-secret-to-avoiding-hangovers |website=BBC Future |publisher=BBC |title=What's the secret to dodging hangovers? |last=Robson |first=David |date=December 15, 2015 |accessdate=May 26, 2020}}
In popular culture
The prairie oyster has appeared in popular media since the early 20th century. Its most notable appearance is in P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels. It first appeared in the 1916 short story "Jeeves Takes Charge", where Jeeves cures Bertie Wooster's hangover with his version of a prairie oyster.{{cite book|last=Cawthorne |first=Nigel |authorlink=Nigel Cawthorne |title=A Brief Guide to Jeeves and Wooster |location=London |publisher=Constable & Robinson |date=2013 |page=47| isbn=978-1-78033-824-8}} The drink is not named in the story but it fits the description of a prairie oyster. As Jeeves says, "It is a little preparation of my own invention. It is the Worcester Sauce that gives it its colour. The raw egg makes it nutritious. The red pepper gives it its bite."{{cite book|last=Wodehouse|first=P. G.|title=Come On, Jeeves|page=13|chapter=Jeeves Takes Charge|publisher=Arrow Books|isbn=9780099513698|year=2008|orig-year=1925|edition=Reprinted}} Jeeves also serves this hangover cure in other stories. It is very effective, and Bertie suspects that there is more to the drink than the ingredients mentioned by Jeeves.{{cite book|last=Wodehouse|first=P. G.|title=Right Ho, Jeeves|page=48|chapter=Chapter 5|publisher=Arrow Books|orig-year=1934|year=2008|isbn=9780099513742|edition=Reprinted}} Bertie narrates: "I have had occasion, I fancy, to speak before now of these pick-me-ups of Jeeves's [...] What they consist of, I couldn't tell you. He says some kind of sauce, the yolk of a raw egg and a dash of red pepper, but nothing will convince me that the thing doesn't go much deeper than that." also in Cowboy Bebop the main character Spike Spiegel drinks one
See also
- Amber Moon, a similar drink containing alcohol
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prairie Oyster (Cocktail)}}
Category:Alternative detoxification