Midwestern 'Glorified Rice' Is Glitching TikTok

In the American Midwest, a potluck is an especially important tradition. In fact, Vocabulary reveals that it's a North American custom dating back to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The word initially referred to "the luck of the pot, or food for an unexpected or uninvited guest." No matter how many of these gatherings you've attended, you might still have some difficulty choosing potluck recipes that will impress everyone. 

Most people would agree that the best dishes to bring to a potluck include salads, casseroles, quiche, or chocolate chip cookies — basically, anything that's already presented in single-serving pieces or is easy to divide and share with a crowd. Some communal meals just taste better, like a lasagna when it's passed around a table for everyone to take a big slice. If you're somewhere between Kansas and Minnesota, however, you're likely to dine on one of many signature Midwestern foods. One particular potluck staple was brought to the area by Scandinavian immigrants making the dish under the influence of local Ojibwe people. 

The dish is called glorified rice, and it's something between a side dish and a dessert. Atlas Obscura reports that it's a "variation on rice pudding" with added pineapple chunks, Cool Whip or whipped cream, and marshmallows. Though it's centuries old, this Midwestern dish is currently surprising people all over the world via TikTok.

TikTok user @bdylanhollis caught the attention of 5.7 million viewers when he shared a video of himself skeptically making glorified rice. Following a recipe from 1909, he cooked and cooled some white rice and added canned pineapple chunks and cherries to the mix. After hilariously questioning how to "quarter the cherries in half" and "gently" whip heavy cream and powdered sugar, he folded the fluffy mixture into the rice, chilled it, and went in for a taste of the glory. Judging by the look on his face, we can safely conclude that glorified rice isn't for everyone. "I find that remarkably uncomfortable," Hollis concluded.

Feedback in the comments section suggests that glorified rice is a beloved dish from decades past, and there it will stay. One person shared, "My grandma made this. Even the dog refused it when I tried to get rid of it," while another user from the Midwest explained, "If this is brought to the potluck it is either made by an elderly lady who means well or simply is deemed an act of war." Other locals are completely unfamiliar: "As a Midwesterner my entire 30+ years of life, never have I ever seen this dish," one chimed in. Unsurprisingly, glorified rice faded in popularity by the 1950s, per Kitchenography, and this TikTok video probably won't create new fans of the unusual Midwestern dish.