Sarsaparilla is a plant that is one of the most favorite foods of the Smurfs, besides smurfberries. It can be either eaten raw or made into other types of delicacies or ingested in liquid form. Both Gargamel and Hogatha are shown to hate the taste of sarsaparilla as they ate of the plant when they were changed into Smurfs, and in "The Jewel Smurfer" one of the humans in the story got sick from eating a sarsaparilla leaf. In two separate stories, "Smurf Soup" and "Salad Smurfs", sarsaparilla was used as an antidote for magical transformations.
Empath: The Luckiest Smurf stories[]
Sarsaparilla appears in the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series as a common form of food that's second only to smurfberries. Mostly it is served in liquid form as sarsaparilla ale that's brewed by Tapper Smurf, or as sarsaparilla soup that's made by Greedy Smurf and then later by Clockwork Smurf when he was resurrected in his new form with the liquid-dispensing hat nozzle. Nabby tends to be the only Smurf who constantly eats raw sarsaparilla leaves. While Empath himself finds sarsaparilla leaves edible, he prefers it mostly in liquid form.
Hero: The Guardian Smurf stories[]
Sarsaparilla is also used to make sarsaparilla ale in the HERO: The Guardian Smurf story series.
Notes[]
- Peyo usually drew sarsaparilla differently from its real-life counterpart due to its berries being poisonous to humans, discouraging children from actually eating them.