I *do* distinctly remember food from the fantasy stories--and science fantasy (remember that term? it was used for books like A Wrinkle in Time) stories--from childhood. I can *very* much remember the food from the Narnia books: Turkish delight in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, apples and bear meat in Prince Caspian, precious water when they were becalmed in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the terrifying cookery book in in The Sliver Chair and the residents of Bism talking about drinking freshly squeeze ruby and diamond juice--and then the bacon when they finally break free back to the surface again. Hmm, not coming up with much from The Horse and His Boy, though I remember how excited Shasta was with all the food the Narnians fed him when they thought he was Prince Corin. In The Magician's Nephew there were the toffees that grew into a toffee tree--and of course the healing apple. Nothing from The Last Battle, but that's the one I reread the least.
I think kids' books were better about food. Who can forget the fake turkey dinner in Wrinkle in time--or the delicious-sounding turkish delight of the Narnia books? (And I remember someone bringing Turkish Delight to a Mythie meeting in the late sixties, and how disappointing it was to discover it was just marzipan. Glarg!)
I think you must have gotten a different sort of Turkish delight from the stuff we got in England--there it was chewy and rose flavored and dusted with confectioners sugar and quite nice! (Well, if you like rose flavoring)
I found out later that there are apparently many different flavors. I just remember at that time thinking that the imagined stuff was much preferable to the real thing!
I was in Istanbul on holiday years ago, and Real Turkish Delight was a revelation. Especially the pistachio and hazelnut flavours, with nuts embedded. Yum. Nothing to do with marzipan at all, though real marzipan is also very nice.
Maybe kids' books are better about food?
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment