What is Slop on Big Brother? Details explored

Big Brother, an American reality TV game show, is running 26 seasons as of now. CBS aired the show on July 5, 2000; since then, it has been hosted by Julie Chen Moonves. The show revolves around houseguests who compete with each other in weekly tasks to secure their place in the house and get exemptions from elimination.

Each season comes up with a different theme and a new twist. This season's theme is AI; therefore, all the tasks related to HoH, elimination round, and veto power are designed around it. The show also features unique forms of punishment in case of rule violations. One such punishment is "Slop."

It is a type of food punishment where tasteless and textureless food is given to the one being punished for losing a task or violating a rule. In the recent episode of Big Brother season 26, Angela was punished with eating Slop as she lost the Veto competition.

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What is the concept of Slop punishment in the Big Brother house?

Big Brother is a reality TV game show that introduces the audience to a new world framed by cameras and microphones. The audience gets to witness a bunch of houseguests living together without any outside contact, surviving with strangers through different challenges.

Slop is one such challenge that was introduced in Big Brother USA and Canada. This punishment was introduced in season 7 of Big Brother for the first time as punishment for losing the food challenge. Slop essentially resembles oatmeal but with a worse texture and taste.

From season 11, Slop has been tied with Have-nots, the concept where the losing team or a member faces disadvantages compared to other houseguests. As mentioned, its tasteless and unpleasant nature often provokes emotional meltdowns in the contestants, often leading them to break the punishment and have normal food.

However, host Julie Chen Moonves, in an interview on May 25, 2018, with the GOLDDERBY, claimed it to be not so bad.

"It’s like very dry oatmeal. It doesn’t have a lot of flavor. It can be a little bit gummy. I guess it depends on how much water you add to it.”

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What is the recipe for Slop?

Slop, which might look similar to the paler version of oatmeal, is a very healthy dish. But since it is a part of the punishment, the food is deliberately made bland and repulsive. Houseguests are not prohibited from offering a few condiments like pepper, herbs, and salt. Big Brother revealed the recipe for Slop in 2019, and the ingredients are:

• 3 1/2 cups steel-cut oats
• Bring 12 cups of water to a boil
• Add oats to water, then reduce heat to medium-low
• Simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Add 1 cup of unflavored whey protein isolate
• Add 1/2 cup unflavored soy protein
• Add 4 tsp vitamin and mineral powder

However, all the healthy ingredients cannot take away the fact that many contestants have refused to continue the punishment of eating Slop and have given up the task. The contestants also have the option to avoid eating Slop, which is known as 'slop pass.' The pass is rewarded occasionally to some contestants in case they might have performed well in any task. The contestants can also be lured to eat Slop for the rest of the season or a specific time in return for immunity. The barter seems risky but comes with a heavy reward.

Slop has been a part of Big Brother since season 7 and has returned for season 26 as well. Last week, Angela Murray was punished with Slop, which led to a meltdown, as her fellow mate Brooklyn cashed this opportunity to take away Angela's HoH food.

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Season 26 of Big Brother airs on CBS and Paramount+ on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.