Potlucks are a part of both religious and work culture in the United States. It's unclear where thd term came from originally with some sources pointing to 16th century England and others attributing it to the potlatches of the Indigenous peoples of the Northwestern region of North America.
Whatever the term's origin, the tradition first gained popularity in the United States among Scandinavian settlers in Minnesota in the 1860s at Lutheran church gatherings.
The church potlucks are still going strong in 2024, but the events are now also routinely held in offices and other workplaces where participants bring an often homemade dish to be shared from crockpots and casserole dishes.
Some really exceptional dishes can be found at a potluck.
And then, there's...
Reddit user wantedtobebatgirl asked:
"What's the worst food you have seen at a potluck?"
Pulled Chicken
"A woman brought something that was supposed to be like pulled chicken—like pulled pork. You cook chicken and debone it, then put the shreds of meat on a bun. Easy."
"Instead she got a cooked chicken and put the whole thing in a blender bones and all."
"Then brought that to a family reunion."
~ Impossible_Mode_3614
Potato Salad
"6 people brought tubs of the same Walmart potato salad."
~ Ajj360
Kentucky Fried Lasagna
"Not the worst, but certainly the most mislabeled: A bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken with a sign in front of it saying 'Lasagna'. Everyone at the party deliberately called it lasagna all evening."
"What happened was, the couple had committed to bringing lasagna to the party. On the way out the door, the person carrying the literal lasagna slipped on the ice. The lasagna hit the pavement destroying itself and the casserole dish it was in."
"Since they were already running late, and didn't want to show up empty handed, they visited a KFC on the way over."
~ QuixoticJames
Pumpkin pie
"Pumpkin pie, but it was gray and had liquid on top."
"It was at a big family gathering. I was sitting next to my grandma and she forced us to eat a piece so we wouldn't hurt my cousin's feelings."
"It was gross. It tasted worse than it looked."
~ franklinskramercurls
German Potato Salad
"'German' potato salad for an ethnic themed potluck at work. Note that this was a group of grad school TAs with limited kitchen space and with limited experience between us."
"She misread the recipe and added 4 CUPS of vinegar instead of 1/4 of a cup. Then she added a little 'extra' mustard because she likes the taste of mustard."
"She mixed it all, sealed it in an air tight container, and then let it sit. The next day she was excited to share and raced to the room we were eating in."
"She opened the container and was overpowered by the stench. She dropped the container and a nasty yellow ooze covered the table and dripped onto the floor."
"Before she could warn anyone that she had created a toxin similar to mustard gas, two more people had gone into the room. Both promptly threw up."
"By the time it was all over, the university had to close that section of the floor for deep cleaning for 48 hours. Fortunately, it was our prep week and there weren't any students present."
"I swear we could still smell it a year later when they finally ripped up the carpet."
~ Elephantgifs
Indian Condiment
"One guy from India brought in a $2 jar of Indian pickled something or other from an Indian grocery store. No one touched it."
"I asked him why, and he told me that he knew no one would touch it so he could take it home, it was 'ethnic' enough where it would look like he put in some effort to represent his homeland which no one would argue against, and no one would know how little it costs because it was too exotic."
~ SomeGuyInSanJoseCa
Squirrel With Swamp Cabbage
"Squirrel and swamp cabbage—made from Florida cabbage palms."
"Made by a guy who is coincidentally the only guy I’ve ever met that THOROUGHLY enjoyed going to fight in Vietnam."
~ Virtual_Eye_4109
Pizza
"Frozen pizza with the cardboard cooked to the bottom."
~ StrummerCash3402
Stew
"A meat and vegetable stew that had so much long, thick, black hair in it that if you'd told me some lady had emptied her hairbrush into the pot I've been like, yeah, sounds about right."
"I'll go to my friends' houses for parties, but I'll never brave a potluck again."
~ FourCatsAndCounting
Fried Chicken
"Burned fried chicken that was still raw inside."
~ nlsjnl
Dessert Pizza
"A coworker brought a homemade pizza, but with yogurt and fruit on it instead, like a dessert pizza. This woman was perpetually sick, always coughing and sneezing."
"She said her kids helped make it, she had 2 toddlers. Looked like little fingers spread out the yogurt."
"I love kids, but this grossed me out more than anything else. It was the only thing there that nobody touched and she was so upset."
~ monkey_bean
Yellow Stuff
"Once a girl brought some unidentifiable yellow stuff."
"We asked her what it was and she didn't know."
"We just put it aside."
~ SuLiaodai
Creamed Corn
"I went to a potluck once. Somebody walked in and put an unopened can of creamed corn on the table and walked away."
"I was like, WTF? Did you bring a bowl or a spoon or even a can opener‽‽"
~ flying__fishes
Boiled Potatoes
"A bowl of unseasoned, plain boiled potatoes."
"It looked like someone just gave up halfway through making mashed potatoes."
~ ConferenceNo6640
Tuna Noodle Surprise
"Went to one a few months ago and this dude was so proud of his creation."
"It was tuna noodle casserole, but he ran out of milk so he used marshmallow fluff instead."
"Can't believe I even tried it."
~ LilButThicc
What's the worst thing you've seen at a potluck?
@GavinNewsom/X