Imaginary feasts
January 13, 2023 4:45 PM Subscribe
Elegant and Imaginative Photographs of Meals from Famous Literature versus The Top Ten Most Disappointing Edibles and Potables of Children’s Literature. On the one hand, the roasted eggs and potatoes from The Secret Garden. On the other hand, egg creams. A meal from Heidi appears on both lists. Controversy!
I am so happy the food I immediately thought would take first place was indeed in first place!
posted by lothar at 5:01 PM on January 13, 2023 [12 favorites]
If your tomatoes are crappy, of course your tomato sandwiches are going to be crappy. And I think people would like egg creams more if they had a more accurate name.
On the other hand, I tried some fancy expensive Turkish Delight this holiday season to see if it was any better...nope. The pistachios embedded in it were quite nice, but sugar-powdered gelatin is sugar-powdered gelatin. Edmund should've died for his bad taste alone.
posted by praemunire at 5:01 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
On the other hand, I tried some fancy expensive Turkish Delight this holiday season to see if it was any better...nope. The pistachios embedded in it were quite nice, but sugar-powdered gelatin is sugar-powdered gelatin. Edmund should've died for his bad taste alone.
posted by praemunire at 5:01 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
When I read the title, I thought "Turkish delight". Was it because the book takes place during the war and sweets were rare?
posted by Toddles at 5:08 PM on January 13, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by Toddles at 5:08 PM on January 13, 2023 [15 favorites]
Yeah, I think the only explanation for the Turkish delight thing is that if you offer unlimited sugar to a ten-year-old who probably barely remembers a time before rationing, they're not going to be that picky about what form it comes in!
Turkish delight is a bit of a Marmite situation, I think, you have to have been raised on it. My mum was born in Turkey and grew up in Jordan, and she likes it. I've tried, and I just can't. It's like eating one of those air-freshener gel blocks.
posted by BlueNorther at 5:21 PM on January 13, 2023 [12 favorites]
Turkish delight is a bit of a Marmite situation, I think, you have to have been raised on it. My mum was born in Turkey and grew up in Jordan, and she likes it. I've tried, and I just can't. It's like eating one of those air-freshener gel blocks.
posted by BlueNorther at 5:21 PM on January 13, 2023 [12 favorites]
“I would not, could not, in the rain. Not in the dark. Not on a train. Not in a car. Not in a tree. I do not like them, Sam, you see.”
posted by clavdivs at 5:35 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 5:35 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
I'm amused that Only Murders in the Building brought back the liverwurst sandwich thing.
I will say that Kinsey Millhone's peanut butter and pickle sandwiches sounded terrible until I went to a Sue Grafton book signing (she was nice) and tried some. It is actually a fairly tasty thing you can eat if you use bread-and-butter pickles and not the sad slice of dill all the sandwich shops give you that nobody ever wants to eat.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:36 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
I will say that Kinsey Millhone's peanut butter and pickle sandwiches sounded terrible until I went to a Sue Grafton book signing (she was nice) and tried some. It is actually a fairly tasty thing you can eat if you use bread-and-butter pickles and not the sad slice of dill all the sandwich shops give you that nobody ever wants to eat.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:36 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
Saturday Night Live: Marzipan
I maintain that marzipan and marmalade are exactly as good as described.
posted by BungaDunga at 5:38 PM on January 13, 2023 [11 favorites]
I maintain that marzipan and marmalade are exactly as good as described.
posted by BungaDunga at 5:38 PM on January 13, 2023 [11 favorites]
This is great. And in a similar vein, Valerie Stivers writes a periodic column called Eat Your Words, where she recreates dishes from literature, with accompanying alcohol.
posted by maupuia at 5:39 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by maupuia at 5:39 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
It's funny because I grew up eating rosewater treats (and similar things) so I don't register the soapy taste, but I'm just hugely indifferent to gummies and jellies. And I'm kind of anti powdered sugar coatings, too. Also...it's such a high bar! Betray-your-family good! It was bound to disappoint.
posted by grandiloquiet at 5:40 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by grandiloquiet at 5:40 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Looks like many of us instantly had our thoughts turn to Turkish Delight. I wonder what old C.S. would think of how people came to view his confectionery evangelism only a couple of generations later.
As well, I read Harriet the Spy as a kid, and I have to say my first egg cream was a pretty underwhelming experience.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:41 PM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
As well, I read Harriet the Spy as a kid, and I have to say my first egg cream was a pretty underwhelming experience.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:41 PM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
It is actually a fairly tasty thing you can eat if you use bread-and-butter pickles and not the sad slice of dill all the sandwich shops give you that nobody ever wants to eat.
That is so funny; everyone in my family loves to eat the sad deli dill pickle and we all despise sweet pickles.
posted by grandiloquiet at 5:41 PM on January 13, 2023 [15 favorites]
That is so funny; everyone in my family loves to eat the sad deli dill pickle and we all despise sweet pickles.
posted by grandiloquiet at 5:41 PM on January 13, 2023 [15 favorites]
I love the variety of meals offered up in the first link. I only wish the photographic artist had tackled one of the iconic feasts from the Redwall series.
posted by merriment at 5:45 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by merriment at 5:45 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
I don't mind the kind of Turkish delight that comes in the Cadbury favourites box, which I acknowledge isn't really traditional Turkish delight.
Tomatoes taste so much better fresh from the garden and not refrigerated.
The meal that comes to mind isn't the liverwurst from A Wrinkle in Time but the meal on Camazotz that looks amazing, smells great, but tastes like sand.
posted by freethefeet at 5:46 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Tomatoes taste so much better fresh from the garden and not refrigerated.
The meal that comes to mind isn't the liverwurst from A Wrinkle in Time but the meal on Camazotz that looks amazing, smells great, but tastes like sand.
posted by freethefeet at 5:46 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have heard that Washington state delicacy Applets and Cotlets are like Turkish Delight. Not having tried Turkish Delight, I cannot compare, but Applets and Cotlets are delicious.
jenfullmoon and grandiloquiet, my mother taught me to eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, but they were always, always dill pickles. Sweet pickles are a waste of good cucumbers. And I have never actually met a sad dill pickle spear; if someone doesn't want their, I'll happily take it.
On preview: freethefeet, I agree, the meal on Camazotz was memorable, the cream cheese and liverwurst was just something someone else liked that I didn't.
posted by lhauser at 5:50 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
jenfullmoon and grandiloquiet, my mother taught me to eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, but they were always, always dill pickles. Sweet pickles are a waste of good cucumbers. And I have never actually met a sad dill pickle spear; if someone doesn't want their, I'll happily take it.
On preview: freethefeet, I agree, the meal on Camazotz was memorable, the cream cheese and liverwurst was just something someone else liked that I didn't.
posted by lhauser at 5:50 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
As a child I tried to make the recipe for Monsieur Bon-Bon's Secret 'Fooj', found at the end of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
I either did something wrong, or it was a prank. Yuk.
I'm trying to remember what book included the scene of the townspeople having a grand night ice skating on the frozen river by torchlight.
A local man was selling baked potatoes to the chilled skaters - he'd poke a thumb in the small end of the hot potato, fill the hole with butter, and you'd hold it to warm your hands until the butter melted, then take bites out of it like an apple.
Have done this (using a raw carrot in place of thumb) and can recommend.
posted by bartleby at 6:03 PM on January 13, 2023 [14 favorites]
I either did something wrong, or it was a prank. Yuk.
I'm trying to remember what book included the scene of the townspeople having a grand night ice skating on the frozen river by torchlight.
A local man was selling baked potatoes to the chilled skaters - he'd poke a thumb in the small end of the hot potato, fill the hole with butter, and you'd hold it to warm your hands until the butter melted, then take bites out of it like an apple.
Have done this (using a raw carrot in place of thumb) and can recommend.
posted by bartleby at 6:03 PM on January 13, 2023 [14 favorites]
bit of a Marmite situation
A small amount of Marmite or Vegemite, stirred into your hearty stew, will significantly increase the tastiness without anyone knowing why or wherefore.
...it's literally worth buying just for that -- "richer" result than straight MSG, but essentially the same chemistry otherwise.
posted by aramaic at 6:09 PM on January 13, 2023 [10 favorites]
A small amount of Marmite or Vegemite, stirred into your hearty stew, will significantly increase the tastiness without anyone knowing why or wherefore.
...it's literally worth buying just for that -- "richer" result than straight MSG, but essentially the same chemistry otherwise.
posted by aramaic at 6:09 PM on January 13, 2023 [10 favorites]
I love Turkish delight but I'm Armenian and was raised on homemade lokhoum and Aplets & Cotlets, and love rosewater in anything, so that's no surprise. My mom begged her mother to get her goat's milk because of Heidi and it was one of the gravest disappointments of her childhood.
posted by potrzebie at 6:11 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 6:11 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
I thought the Turkish Delight was supposed to be awful because Edmund was awful, and he was the one who was eating it.
But liverwurst sandwiches are wonderful and my mouth started watering at the mention.
posted by Peach at 6:12 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
But liverwurst sandwiches are wonderful and my mouth started watering at the mention.
posted by Peach at 6:12 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
I always wanted to have a meal like Sam Gribley in My Side of the Mountain. Venison, cattails, some wild rice and maybe some acorn pancakes served up in a turtle shell bowl. Best served with sassafras tea.
posted by bondcliff at 6:13 PM on January 13, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 6:13 PM on January 13, 2023 [14 favorites]
As well, I read Harriet the Spy as a kid, and I have to say my first egg cream was a pretty underwhelming experience.
Me three. I got to go to NYC as a kid and I really looked forward to ordering one, but it just tasted like sugar water, which somehow isn't very nice at all, and I had to be polite and drink it with my food anyway. I don't know why I liked Yoo Hoo so much as a kid when it's basically the same thing without bubbles.
I am fond of Turkish Delight. I actually tried to make some once and ended up with a barely edible gum that I couldn't manage to get out of the pan, let alone powder. It went in the trash, eventually. Took a lot of scraping.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:34 PM on January 13, 2023
Me three. I got to go to NYC as a kid and I really looked forward to ordering one, but it just tasted like sugar water, which somehow isn't very nice at all, and I had to be polite and drink it with my food anyway. I don't know why I liked Yoo Hoo so much as a kid when it's basically the same thing without bubbles.
I am fond of Turkish Delight. I actually tried to make some once and ended up with a barely edible gum that I couldn't manage to get out of the pan, let alone powder. It went in the trash, eventually. Took a lot of scraping.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:34 PM on January 13, 2023
Turkish delight is delicious as long as it's not rose flavored. Born in the Midwest, didn't have it until I was in my 30s.
posted by goatdog at 6:34 PM on January 13, 2023
posted by goatdog at 6:34 PM on January 13, 2023
Came to check if #1 was Turkish Delight, was not disappointed. However, as an adult I do actually like the real thing.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:36 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:36 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Previously: If I have to sacrifice my family it must be better than a Klondike bar: Atlas Obscura asks Americans what they thought Turkish Delight was when they first read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:41 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:41 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yeah, Turkish Delight is gross. I think the whole point is that Edmund is so weak that he sells out for everyone's most hated "sweet."
posted by basalganglia at 6:42 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by basalganglia at 6:42 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
A local man was selling baked potatoes to the chilled skaters - he'd poke a thumb in the small end of the hot potato, fill the hole with butter, and you'd hold it to warm your hands until the butter melted, then take bites out of it like an apple.
Have done this (using a raw carrot in place of thumb) and can recommend.
I'm thinking his well-used thumb provides an important flavor contribution that a carrot cannot.
I felt very betrayed the first time I tasted a mincemeat pie. I had always imagined it as a savory, meat-based dish, not a weirdly sweet dessert item.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:45 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Have done this (using a raw carrot in place of thumb) and can recommend.
I'm thinking his well-used thumb provides an important flavor contribution that a carrot cannot.
I felt very betrayed the first time I tasted a mincemeat pie. I had always imagined it as a savory, meat-based dish, not a weirdly sweet dessert item.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:45 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Egg creams are one of those things that are difficult to make well but really easy to make "meh." I've had awful egg creams from places that supposedly are masters of the craft. To be on the safe side, get some seltzer, milk, and U-Bet syrup and experiment until you find the ideal ratio for your taste.
posted by PlusDistance at 6:57 PM on January 13, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by PlusDistance at 6:57 PM on January 13, 2023 [7 favorites]
I like liverwurst and pretty much an almond-involving dessert (including marzipan). Egg creams can be absolutely delicious, but inconsistent, depending on where you're getting one.
posted by thivaia at 7:26 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by thivaia at 7:26 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well I love Turkish delight. I'm definitely a sucker for the jellies texture but it's usually delightful and just a small bit of sweet with a beautiful texture. Often you can find ones with nuts in and those are awesome too. They seem a few varieties at some of our local stores and I try and pick some up from time to time.
posted by Carillon at 7:26 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Carillon at 7:26 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
There was a Turkish restaurant with good confectionery in the Pike Place Market, maybe still is. North end. Cousins of Aplets and Cotlets, yes - no gelatin, just cooked down fruit, so I suppose lots of pectin.
One of the disappointments in the end of the article was bread and butter, and another was honey, and I am a little mystified. I kind of want a "unlike X which really is good" addendum to each.
posted by clew at 7:26 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
One of the disappointments in the end of the article was bread and butter, and another was honey, and I am a little mystified. I kind of want a "unlike X which really is good" addendum to each.
posted by clew at 7:26 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Ha! A&C company says yes, they’re basically lakoum, plus also they make a Turkish Delight assortment. (I don’t even know if these have any audience outside Washington state.)
posted by clew at 7:30 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by clew at 7:30 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
On the flipside, Detective Mole by the (sadly, late) Robert Quackenbush, ended with a recipe for Detective Mole's favorite snack, which was absolutely delicious: cream cheese on graham crackers with sliced bananas on top. Not only was Detective Mole an excellent sleuth, he had impeccable snacking taste.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:39 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Ghidorah at 7:39 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
Well, Turkish Delight is a traditional food to mark the end of Ramadan, and The Chronicles of Narnia are a work of Christian apologetics, after all …
posted by jamjam at 7:43 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jamjam at 7:43 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Tangential: I feel like the biggest failure of the Hunger Games adaptation was not finding a way to make the food more illustrious. I found the descriptions of food and the longing for it in that book to be such a key aspect of Katniss's characterization.
posted by es_de_bah at 7:49 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by es_de_bah at 7:49 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Me three. I got to go to NYC as a kid and I really looked forward to ordering one, but it just tasted like sugar water, which somehow isn't very nice at all,
My impression was that it was a decent simulation of what it would be like if you dumped a Sprite into a milkshake.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:59 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
My impression was that it was a decent simulation of what it would be like if you dumped a Sprite into a milkshake.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:59 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Everybody talks about George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and its obsession with food but to be honest Frey Pie was not as good as it sounded in the books.. [jk, of course..]
posted by Nerd of the North at 7:59 PM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Nerd of the North at 7:59 PM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Is that what everyone calls chocolate covered gummy bears? Chocolate babies? Today I learned....
Also today I learned people don't like what makes marmalade good. The contrast between the sweet jamminess and the slightly bitter chewiness is excellent imo.
I wish the honorable mentions had not included poi. It's perhaps not the most accessible staple starch but the descriptions veer way too close to "yucking someone else's yum/core dietary staple". My suggestions as a former resident of Honolulu who did go to a lot of potlucks featuring poi, remember it is fermented, definitely eat it with raw onions and salt, and try pai‘ai instead of poi for a more beginner friendly texture.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:18 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
Also today I learned people don't like what makes marmalade good. The contrast between the sweet jamminess and the slightly bitter chewiness is excellent imo.
I wish the honorable mentions had not included poi. It's perhaps not the most accessible staple starch but the descriptions veer way too close to "yucking someone else's yum/core dietary staple". My suggestions as a former resident of Honolulu who did go to a lot of potlucks featuring poi, remember it is fermented, definitely eat it with raw onions and salt, and try pai‘ai instead of poi for a more beginner friendly texture.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:18 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
As a child I tried to make the recipe for Monsieur Bon-Bon's Secret 'Fooj', found at the end of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
I either did something wrong, or it was a prank. Yuk.
It looks like a fairly normal (if vague) fudge recipe, so I’m guessing something went a little askew. Fudge can be tricky sometimes.
posted by zamboni at 8:30 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
I either did something wrong, or it was a prank. Yuk.
It looks like a fairly normal (if vague) fudge recipe, so I’m guessing something went a little askew. Fudge can be tricky sometimes.
posted by zamboni at 8:30 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Chocolate babies are different from chocolate-covered gummy bears—they’re basically Tootsie Rolls shaped like dolls. Much tastier to seven-year-old fans of the All-of-a-Kind Family series than they are to most adults.
I desperately want the lunches mentioned in Bread and Jam for Frances, complete with a tiny vase of violets.
posted by corey flood at 8:32 PM on January 13, 2023 [10 favorites]
I desperately want the lunches mentioned in Bread and Jam for Frances, complete with a tiny vase of violets.
posted by corey flood at 8:32 PM on January 13, 2023 [10 favorites]
Egg creams are one of those things that are difficult to make well but really easy to make "meh."
This.
A great egg cream requires the milk and seltzer to be ice cold, and the syrup needs to be warm (well, room temp), so that it dissolves.
I stole this trick from an East Village deli that I used to frequent back in the day: they had a refrigerator (or maybe a broken freezer!) that kept cartons of milk right at the edge of freezing, so there was the layer of ice crystals on top.
You can do this at home by putting the milk in the freezer ahead of time. It also helps to put the glass in there too.
If you're brave, you could put the seltzer in there with them, at the very least don't use pre-opened seltzer bottles, the carbonation will be shot. I use those little 8oz Polar seltzer cans.
The ratio of the three ingredients is important, but also the way you stir it! Milk & syrup go first, then the spoon for a vigorous stir till mixed, and then add the seltzer and stir gently (keeping the spoon at the bottom and trying not to "break" the carbonation too much).
In the end, egg creams need to be drank quickly, the optimum taste experience deteriorates fast.
posted by jeremias at 8:39 PM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
This.
A great egg cream requires the milk and seltzer to be ice cold, and the syrup needs to be warm (well, room temp), so that it dissolves.
I stole this trick from an East Village deli that I used to frequent back in the day: they had a refrigerator (or maybe a broken freezer!) that kept cartons of milk right at the edge of freezing, so there was the layer of ice crystals on top.
You can do this at home by putting the milk in the freezer ahead of time. It also helps to put the glass in there too.
If you're brave, you could put the seltzer in there with them, at the very least don't use pre-opened seltzer bottles, the carbonation will be shot. I use those little 8oz Polar seltzer cans.
The ratio of the three ingredients is important, but also the way you stir it! Milk & syrup go first, then the spoon for a vigorous stir till mixed, and then add the seltzer and stir gently (keeping the spoon at the bottom and trying not to "break" the carbonation too much).
In the end, egg creams need to be drank quickly, the optimum taste experience deteriorates fast.
posted by jeremias at 8:39 PM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
cream cheese on graham crackers with sliced bananas on top
Ok this sounds like a great way to make a super quick “cheesecake” for my kid’s lunchbox, I’m pinching that…
posted by Jon Mitchell at 8:44 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Ok this sounds like a great way to make a super quick “cheesecake” for my kid’s lunchbox, I’m pinching that…
posted by Jon Mitchell at 8:44 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
bread and butter, and another was honey, and I am a little mystified. I kind of want a "unlike X which really is good" addendum to each.
Case in point- The Hobbit’s bread, butter, honey and clotted cream is delicious.
posted by zamboni at 8:45 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
Case in point- The Hobbit’s bread, butter, honey and clotted cream is delicious.
posted by zamboni at 8:45 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
What's the ideas egg cream experience? It's taste and texture I mean, is it chocolate bubble milk?
posted by Carillon at 9:02 PM on January 13, 2023
posted by Carillon at 9:02 PM on January 13, 2023
When I was in New York (in 1999) I took the chance to order an egg cream, because of it being mentioned in Elizabeth Enright's The Saturdays.
But the waiter didn't understand my accent, was quite abrupt about it. I was so mortified I gave up and I still don't know what they're like.
I always assumed that the White Witch's Turkish Delight wasn't delicious because of it being Turkish Delight, but because she enchanted it?
posted by Zumbador at 9:50 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
But the waiter didn't understand my accent, was quite abrupt about it. I was so mortified I gave up and I still don't know what they're like.
I always assumed that the White Witch's Turkish Delight wasn't delicious because of it being Turkish Delight, but because she enchanted it?
posted by Zumbador at 9:50 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
I thought the Turkish Delight was supposed to be awful because Edmund was awful, and he was the one who was eating it.
Ah! Never thought of it that way. Makes sense.
First I felt the "worst" list was a little meh, but then I realized I don't really have a worst list. I don't have strong feelings about bad food in books, because I just assume those people/beers/rabbits/hobbits etc. in the books are different from me. And also my taste has always been more towards the savory stuff, so I don't remember a time where I didn't love liverwurst and goat cheese. Perhaps Pooh and Paddington made me a little more interested in honey and marmalade than I would have been otherwise.
The photography projects are delightful, though. Both the one in the OP, and the one linked by maupuia. There seems to be a whole genre of detective and spy novels with food in them. I've forgotten most, but the Maigret books and the Nero Wolfe books have a lot of meals, and maybe recipes, as far as I recall. And The Monte Christo Cover-up definitely has recipes.
posted by mumimor at 9:50 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ah! Never thought of it that way. Makes sense.
First I felt the "worst" list was a little meh, but then I realized I don't really have a worst list. I don't have strong feelings about bad food in books, because I just assume those people/beers/rabbits/hobbits etc. in the books are different from me. And also my taste has always been more towards the savory stuff, so I don't remember a time where I didn't love liverwurst and goat cheese. Perhaps Pooh and Paddington made me a little more interested in honey and marmalade than I would have been otherwise.
The photography projects are delightful, though. Both the one in the OP, and the one linked by maupuia. There seems to be a whole genre of detective and spy novels with food in them. I've forgotten most, but the Maigret books and the Nero Wolfe books have a lot of meals, and maybe recipes, as far as I recall. And The Monte Christo Cover-up definitely has recipes.
posted by mumimor at 9:50 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Turkish Delight was a massive disappointment to me when I first had it as a University student in a study abroad trip to London. Expected it to be #1, and it was.
The other literary food that stuck in my brain was the meat pie from Danny the Champion of the World:
I began to unwrap the waxed paper from around the doctor’s present, and when I had finished, I saw before me the most enormous and beautiful pie in the world. It was covered all over, top, sides, and bottom, with rich golden pastry. I took a knife from beside the sink and cut out a wedge. I started to eat it in my fingers, standing up. It was a cold meat pie. The meat was pink and tender with no fat or gristle in it, and there were hard-boiled eggs buried like treasures in several different places. The taste was absolutely fabulous. When I had finished the first slide I cut another and ate that, too. God bless Doctor Spencer, I thought.”
Turns out I’m not the only one!
posted by web-goddess at 10:20 PM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
The other literary food that stuck in my brain was the meat pie from Danny the Champion of the World:
I began to unwrap the waxed paper from around the doctor’s present, and when I had finished, I saw before me the most enormous and beautiful pie in the world. It was covered all over, top, sides, and bottom, with rich golden pastry. I took a knife from beside the sink and cut out a wedge. I started to eat it in my fingers, standing up. It was a cold meat pie. The meat was pink and tender with no fat or gristle in it, and there were hard-boiled eggs buried like treasures in several different places. The taste was absolutely fabulous. When I had finished the first slide I cut another and ate that, too. God bless Doctor Spencer, I thought.”
Turns out I’m not the only one!
posted by web-goddess at 10:20 PM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
Bless your hearts, marzipan haters; more for me.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:13 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:13 PM on January 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
There’s a raised pie full of macaroni in The Leopard that sticks with me. Possibly macaroni and cheese baked so perfectly that it makes its own crust but also turns out of the pan?
And lots of things in MFK Fisher of course. An orange, a radiator, a lover, a war.
posted by clew at 11:18 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
And lots of things in MFK Fisher of course. An orange, a radiator, a lover, a war.
posted by clew at 11:18 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
I used to go to the Turkish restaurant in the Pike Place Market. Some wonderful food there!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:19 PM on January 13, 2023
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:19 PM on January 13, 2023
I don’t know how the dinner James Joyce described in ‘The Dead’ gets left out. My mother duplicated that dinner one year when my family was living in Mexico.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:21 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:21 PM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Hell YES to the lunch at the end of Bread & Jam for Frances with the little vase of violets. Such a special little meal for a special little...hedgehog or whatever the hell Frances was. Badger?
posted by potrzebie at 11:22 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 11:22 PM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
I thought the Turkish Delight was supposed to be awful because Edmund was awful, and he was the one who was eating it.
The turkish delight at our local Mediterranean grocery store is amazing, kind of like variations on fudge in the number of flavors available. No idea if it's the traditional recipe or not, but then lots of the products are from that area of the world, so maybe?. Before I had it, I'd always heard online that it sucks. It does not.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:26 PM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
The turkish delight at our local Mediterranean grocery store is amazing, kind of like variations on fudge in the number of flavors available. No idea if it's the traditional recipe or not, but then lots of the products are from that area of the world, so maybe?. Before I had it, I'd always heard online that it sucks. It does not.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:26 PM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
In the before times there was a middle eastern sweet stand in king's cross station with lots of different flavors of Turkish delight. It was gone last June.
Louise Fitzhugh was born in TN....I think Harriet's parents were able to afford hothouse tomatoes.
I hated liver until my early 20s, when I began to crave it.
posted by brujita at 11:54 PM on January 13, 2023
Louise Fitzhugh was born in TN....I think Harriet's parents were able to afford hothouse tomatoes.
I hated liver until my early 20s, when I began to crave it.
posted by brujita at 11:54 PM on January 13, 2023
YES the meat pie from Danny, Champion of the World. Absolutely, web-goddess!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:44 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:44 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yum:
Came for the tureen of macaroni is Lampedusa's The Leopard:
«L’aspetto di quei monumentali pasticci era ben degno di evocare fremiti di ammirazione. L’oro brunito dell’involucro, la fragranza di zucchero e di cannella, non erano che il preludio della sensazione di delizia che sprigionava dall’interno quando il coltello squarciava la crosta: ne erompeva dapprima un fumo carico di aromi e si scorgevano poi i fegatini di pollo, le ovette dure, le sfilettature di prosciutto, di pollo e di tartufi nella massa untuosa, caldissima dei maccheroni corti, cui l’estratto di carne conferiva un prezioso color camoscio.»
"The aspect of those monumental dishes of macaroni was worthy of the quivers of admiration they evoked. The burnished gold of the crusts, the fragrance of the sugar and cinnamon they exuded, were but preludes to the delights released from the interior when the knife broke the crust; first came a spice-laden haze, then chicken livers, hard boiled eggs, sliced ham, chicken and truffles in masses of piping hot, glistening macaroni to which the meat juice gave an exquisite hue of suede."
. . . was disappointed.
Yark:
Came for sardine sandwiches [satisfyingly umami, but people will leave the disconcertingly crunchy backbone in] in every one of Blyton's Famous Five books.
. . . was disappointed.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:19 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Came for the tureen of macaroni is Lampedusa's The Leopard:
«L’aspetto di quei monumentali pasticci era ben degno di evocare fremiti di ammirazione. L’oro brunito dell’involucro, la fragranza di zucchero e di cannella, non erano che il preludio della sensazione di delizia che sprigionava dall’interno quando il coltello squarciava la crosta: ne erompeva dapprima un fumo carico di aromi e si scorgevano poi i fegatini di pollo, le ovette dure, le sfilettature di prosciutto, di pollo e di tartufi nella massa untuosa, caldissima dei maccheroni corti, cui l’estratto di carne conferiva un prezioso color camoscio.»
"The aspect of those monumental dishes of macaroni was worthy of the quivers of admiration they evoked. The burnished gold of the crusts, the fragrance of the sugar and cinnamon they exuded, were but preludes to the delights released from the interior when the knife broke the crust; first came a spice-laden haze, then chicken livers, hard boiled eggs, sliced ham, chicken and truffles in masses of piping hot, glistening macaroni to which the meat juice gave an exquisite hue of suede."
. . . was disappointed.
Yark:
Came for sardine sandwiches [satisfyingly umami, but people will leave the disconcertingly crunchy backbone in] in every one of Blyton's Famous Five books.
. . . was disappointed.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:19 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Turkish delights > marshemellows
To each their own sugar gum thing
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 1:31 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
To each their own sugar gum thing
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 1:31 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
BobTheScientist, I had completely forgotten about that dinner. It sounds exactly like something my great aunt would have served for a a big family dinner.
Despite having never had it, I know exactly the type of taste and texture. A bit much.
How was it disappointing to you?
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 1:41 AM on January 14, 2023
Despite having never had it, I know exactly the type of taste and texture. A bit much.
How was it disappointing to you?
posted by thegirlwiththehat at 1:41 AM on January 14, 2023
As a child I tried to make the recipe for Monsieur Bon-Bon's Secret 'Fooj', found at the end of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I either did something wrong, or it was a prank. Yuk.
My mom and I made it and I remember it turning out well, so I think you just had bad luck.
PS: I hadn't thought about making 'fooj' with my mom for literally decades, so thank you for reviving a happy childhood memory!
posted by yankeefog at 2:01 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
My mom and I made it and I remember it turning out well, so I think you just had bad luck.
PS: I hadn't thought about making 'fooj' with my mom for literally decades, so thank you for reviving a happy childhood memory!
posted by yankeefog at 2:01 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Every Meal Almanzo Eats in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy
posted by Sweetie Darling at 2:59 AM on January 14, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 2:59 AM on January 14, 2023 [11 favorites]
Yark:
Came for sardine sandwiches [satisfyingly umami, but people will leave the disconcertingly crunchy backbone in] in every one of Blyton's Famous Five books.
. . . was disappointed.
I firmly believe it's a rite of passage for every anglophone southeast asian child who read Blyton to be ??? when they discover that British/western sardines are also simply tinned in oil instead of tomato broth. (Two of the ??? comes from the internal processing error imagining having to eat them cold and raw per the midnight boarding school adventures)
posted by cendawanita at 3:07 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Came for sardine sandwiches [satisfyingly umami, but people will leave the disconcertingly crunchy backbone in] in every one of Blyton's Famous Five books.
. . . was disappointed.
I firmly believe it's a rite of passage for every anglophone southeast asian child who read Blyton to be ??? when they discover that British/western sardines are also simply tinned in oil instead of tomato broth. (Two of the ??? comes from the internal processing error imagining having to eat them cold and raw per the midnight boarding school adventures)
posted by cendawanita at 3:07 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Previously: Fictitious Feasts by Charles Roux.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:33 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:33 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
What's the ideas egg cream experience? It's taste and texture I mean, is it chocolate bubble milk?
Chocolate fizzy milk pretty much defines the texture. As to the taste, because it's the syrup that carries the flavor, there's a reason that Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup is the traditional choice: it's been around for a 100+ years and uses a high percentage of real cocoa so the flavor profile is different than the standard Hershey's "chocolate flavored" syrup.
At some point in the last 20 years, U-Bet switched the formula to corn syrup and temporarily reverted the formula to sugar for Passover in order to make it kosher. The legions of egg cream purists were upset about the new corn syrup standard but that seems to be a thing of the past now. The latest product page references this sweet controversy and it appears they use sugar 365 days a year now.
posted by jeremias at 4:10 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Chocolate fizzy milk pretty much defines the texture. As to the taste, because it's the syrup that carries the flavor, there's a reason that Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup is the traditional choice: it's been around for a 100+ years and uses a high percentage of real cocoa so the flavor profile is different than the standard Hershey's "chocolate flavored" syrup.
At some point in the last 20 years, U-Bet switched the formula to corn syrup and temporarily reverted the formula to sugar for Passover in order to make it kosher. The legions of egg cream purists were upset about the new corn syrup standard but that seems to be a thing of the past now. The latest product page references this sweet controversy and it appears they use sugar 365 days a year now.
posted by jeremias at 4:10 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
thegirlwiththehat sez: How was it disappointing to you?
Only in the sense that the Lit.photographer left The Leopard's Macaroni off the list.
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:29 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Only in the sense that the Lit.photographer left The Leopard's Macaroni off the list.
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:29 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Possibly macaroni and cheese baked so perfectly that it makes its own crust
No, it’s a full pastry pie - Timbalo del gattopardo If you fancy it open-topped, maybe try Capello da Gendarme.
posted by Phanx at 5:04 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
No, it’s a full pastry pie - Timbalo del gattopardo If you fancy it open-topped, maybe try Capello da Gendarme.
posted by Phanx at 5:04 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
potrzebie : Hell YES to the lunch at the end of Bread & Jam for Frances with the little vase of violets. Such a special little meal for a special little...hedgehog or whatever the hell Frances was. Badger?
I thought otter since Russell & Lillian Hoban had a credit on “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas”
posted by dr_dank at 5:12 AM on January 14, 2023
I thought otter since Russell & Lillian Hoban had a credit on “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas”
posted by dr_dank at 5:12 AM on January 14, 2023
Coming in to bat for marmalade. Delicious!
I wonder if this is mostly childhood exposure though. I never really connected to smores, which are a bit of a campfire treat for some USians. Perhaps its positive associations.
posted by eyeofthetiger at 5:14 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I wonder if this is mostly childhood exposure though. I never really connected to smores, which are a bit of a campfire treat for some USians. Perhaps its positive associations.
posted by eyeofthetiger at 5:14 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm a little surprised there's no mention of the best meal in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lucy's tea with Mr Tumnus. Hard-boiled eggs, sardines on toast, toast with butter, toast with honey, and cake.
Just typing that out makes me want toast.
posted by betweenthebars at 5:22 AM on January 14, 2023 [6 favorites]
Just typing that out makes me want toast.
posted by betweenthebars at 5:22 AM on January 14, 2023 [6 favorites]
(Psst. Put some sriracha and soy sauce on your peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.)
posted by thecaddy at 5:34 AM on January 14, 2023
posted by thecaddy at 5:34 AM on January 14, 2023
If y'all liked this, you may LOVE The Little Library Cafe. It's the same principle as Andrew Rea's Binging With Babish youtube channel, only with books; the author comes up with recipes inspired by books, old and new. She also writes about her own background a lot (she was born in Australia but moved to the UK, and discusses that a lot). The blog itself seems like it's kinda done, but is still up and you can read the archives. (The books she draws from are listed here.)
I have actually tried the Spiced Beetroot Soup she claims was inspired by Alice In Wonderland, and it's quite nice. And while I didn't try the clam chowder recipe inspired by Moby Dick (I have devised my own recipe), this New Englander gives it a stamp of approval.
And she has three books based on the blog now. BRB going to get a copy of one as a treat for myself.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:57 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have actually tried the Spiced Beetroot Soup she claims was inspired by Alice In Wonderland, and it's quite nice. And while I didn't try the clam chowder recipe inspired by Moby Dick (I have devised my own recipe), this New Englander gives it a stamp of approval.
And she has three books based on the blog now. BRB going to get a copy of one as a treat for myself.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:57 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
Hahaha, I'm so glad I share the Turkish Delight disappointment with so many.
On the other hand, I love marzipan and the marzipan hate is inspiring me to go buy a marzipan pig right now. Mmmmm.
posted by TwoStride at 5:58 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
On the other hand, I love marzipan and the marzipan hate is inspiring me to go buy a marzipan pig right now. Mmmmm.
posted by TwoStride at 5:58 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
That's very orange Swiss cheese in that photo of Holden's Swiss cheese sandwich.
posted by emelenjr at 6:19 AM on January 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 6:19 AM on January 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
I think people sometimes underestimate the impact of food rationing on British children's fiction from the mid-twentieth century. Food rationing lasted from 1939 to 1954 (the cost of WW2 was enormous and rationing got more severe after the war ended).
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was published in 1950. After a decade of rationing, you bet that people wanted to actually eat Turkish Delight. It was not at all an ironic choice.
Most of the Famous Five books were also written and published under rationing. The lavish meals like dinners with two desserts and breakfasts with unlimited bacon were a loving fantasy. There's only an occasional touch of reality: a character at one point says something like "the good thing about living on a farm is that there's always enough to eat". The corollary is that if you don't live on a farm, sometimes there isn't.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:26 AM on January 14, 2023 [15 favorites]
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was published in 1950. After a decade of rationing, you bet that people wanted to actually eat Turkish Delight. It was not at all an ironic choice.
Most of the Famous Five books were also written and published under rationing. The lavish meals like dinners with two desserts and breakfasts with unlimited bacon were a loving fantasy. There's only an occasional touch of reality: a character at one point says something like "the good thing about living on a farm is that there's always enough to eat". The corollary is that if you don't live on a farm, sometimes there isn't.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:26 AM on January 14, 2023 [15 favorites]
Thanks for that meat pie link, web-goddess; it's a terrific blog. I have not read Danny, Champion of the World, and will rectify that asap.
I still miss novelist Laurie Colwin who wrote about delicious foods and family meals in her novels, went on to write for Gourmet; those columns are collected as Home Cooking and More Home Cooking, and are well worth your time.
posted by theora55 at 6:34 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I still miss novelist Laurie Colwin who wrote about delicious foods and family meals in her novels, went on to write for Gourmet; those columns are collected as Home Cooking and More Home Cooking, and are well worth your time.
posted by theora55 at 6:34 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I am amazed nobody has mentioned bread and dripping yet. I read about it in several old-timey children's books - the Milly-Molly-Mandy books come instantly to mind - and I thought it sounded delicious, but I was very disapointed to find that it was basically bread and lard. Yech.
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 6:53 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 6:53 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Hell YES to the lunch at the end of Bread & Jam for Frances with the little vase of violets. Such a special little meal for a special little...hedgehog or whatever the hell Frances was. Badger?
I thought otter since Russell & Lillian Hoban had a credit on “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas”
Looks like Frances is a badger.
posted by corey flood at 6:57 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I thought otter since Russell & Lillian Hoban had a credit on “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas”
Looks like Frances is a badger.
posted by corey flood at 6:57 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I continue to maintain that while Turkish delight is pretty good itself, to a kid like Edmund who's grown up during the Great Depression and then immediately into wartime rationing, any bit of soft, chewy confection (especially one whose name evokes a place that's basically the opposite of dreary, damp, cold of England) would be heavenly.
posted by Jon_Evil at 7:03 AM on January 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Jon_Evil at 7:03 AM on January 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
I could absolutely believe that the Turkish delight in the story was in fact a totally different beast taste-wise compared to my only experiences with the product which were produced by like Hershey's or something, and which were fine except for the weird parfum it was bathed in prior to wrapping for some reason. Like I wonder what they tasted like if they weren't stored in aunt Ida's underwear drawer for the last several years.
I think now of the time I found a cookie under the couch as a small child... who knows how long it had languished there, forgotten. We hadn't had any guests over in weeks, and the only time cookies made an appearance was for company. Anyhow, hardly believing my good luck, I promptly ate the cookie. I remember it tasted pretty good: pretty much like you would expect a cookie to taste, but it also had this other sort of parfumey /dusty note that permiated every bite. My first time tasting that first Turkish delight from the 7-11 instantly brought me back to the couch cookie experience.
Bread and butter, bread and pan drippings - absolutely still holds up if you can get your hands on hand made fresh baked bread. Try it with store bought bread instead and it's likely to disappoint.
posted by some loser at 7:27 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
I think now of the time I found a cookie under the couch as a small child... who knows how long it had languished there, forgotten. We hadn't had any guests over in weeks, and the only time cookies made an appearance was for company. Anyhow, hardly believing my good luck, I promptly ate the cookie. I remember it tasted pretty good: pretty much like you would expect a cookie to taste, but it also had this other sort of parfumey /dusty note that permiated every bite. My first time tasting that first Turkish delight from the 7-11 instantly brought me back to the couch cookie experience.
Bread and butter, bread and pan drippings - absolutely still holds up if you can get your hands on hand made fresh baked bread. Try it with store bought bread instead and it's likely to disappoint.
posted by some loser at 7:27 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
I loved liverwurst growing up and I don't turn my nose up at it now, and I don't care who knows it.
posted by jscalzi at 7:31 AM on January 14, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by jscalzi at 7:31 AM on January 14, 2023 [6 favorites]
Doesn't include Mrs. Quoad's Disgusting English Candy Drill and I wonder, does the Dinah Fried book really include Pirate Prentice's banana breakfast?
posted by chavenet at 7:32 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 7:32 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think people sometimes underestimate the impact of food rationing on British children's fiction from the mid-twentieth century. Food rationing lasted from 1939 to 1954 (the cost of WW2 was enormous and rationing got more severe after the war ended).
Interestingly, the food-focused scenes of that era became part of what readers expect and later writers copied, along with copying the dragons and elves and boarding schools and so on. Game of Thrones is full of the same kind of food descriptions and endless breakfast serving platters of bacon and fried fish. (The fantasy for readers being not just the plethora of dishes, but having the cooking and cleaning all provided by servants, or by walking into an inn and paying some copper pennies for bowls of mutton stew with bread.)
posted by Dip Flash at 8:01 AM on January 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
Interestingly, the food-focused scenes of that era became part of what readers expect and later writers copied, along with copying the dragons and elves and boarding schools and so on. Game of Thrones is full of the same kind of food descriptions and endless breakfast serving platters of bacon and fried fish. (The fantasy for readers being not just the plethora of dishes, but having the cooking and cleaning all provided by servants, or by walking into an inn and paying some copper pennies for bowls of mutton stew with bread.)
posted by Dip Flash at 8:01 AM on January 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
The only Turkish Delight I had access to as a child was Fry's Turkish Delight, which is a thin chocolate-coated slab of floral-flavoured goo. I would not have betrayed anyone for a bar of that.
Turns out I like real Turkish Delight a good deal. I actively like the texture, plus there's something quite special about the way it's packaged, in a wooden box, dredged in icing sugar, perhaps with a little wooden skewer or fork to keep your fingers from getting sticky. I'd choose lemon or mint flavour over rose, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at any of them.
What stuck with me from Heidi was the soft white rolls. Good freshly-baked bread and salted butter is fantastic anyway, of course, but there was a chain restaurant we used to go to that served still-warm soft white rolls before your meal, with little pats of butter, and I considered them a real treat.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:10 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
Turns out I like real Turkish Delight a good deal. I actively like the texture, plus there's something quite special about the way it's packaged, in a wooden box, dredged in icing sugar, perhaps with a little wooden skewer or fork to keep your fingers from getting sticky. I'd choose lemon or mint flavour over rose, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at any of them.
What stuck with me from Heidi was the soft white rolls. Good freshly-baked bread and salted butter is fantastic anyway, of course, but there was a chain restaurant we used to go to that served still-warm soft white rolls before your meal, with little pats of butter, and I considered them a real treat.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:10 AM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I read Heidi for a college children's lit class, and what stuck with me most was, yes, the food, because eating bread and cheese is something I have been willing to do for any given meal all my life. (Calling it "pizza" is just dressing it up.)
Coincidentally, that class was at lunchtime, and I had read something -- not in a diet book, even -- that suggested to me that a reasonable lunch was a piece of cheese and an apple. So I would carry my cute little lunchbox with a slice of American cheese (or vegan deli "meat") and munch the apple, performing collegiate girlness, while ignoring the audible growls of my stomach as we talked about Heidi.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:28 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Coincidentally, that class was at lunchtime, and I had read something -- not in a diet book, even -- that suggested to me that a reasonable lunch was a piece of cheese and an apple. So I would carry my cute little lunchbox with a slice of American cheese (or vegan deli "meat") and munch the apple, performing collegiate girlness, while ignoring the audible growls of my stomach as we talked about Heidi.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:28 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
I was reading this and starting to get actually angry that Turkish delight wasn’t being mentioned, but thankfully they were saving it for number one.
posted by corb at 8:56 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by corb at 8:56 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
So glad they included the roasted potatoes from The Secret Garden and the toasted cheese from Heidi. By some cosmic coincidence my mother was cooking potatoes in the next room when I first read that scene in The Secret Garden, and it always stuck with me.
And just yesterday I was talking about how they were always eating in the Perry Mason novels and TV series. The first time I made potatoes Lyonnaise it was because Perry and Della seemed to enjoy them so much. Justice will not be served on an empty stomach!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:13 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
And just yesterday I was talking about how they were always eating in the Perry Mason novels and TV series. The first time I made potatoes Lyonnaise it was because Perry and Della seemed to enjoy them so much. Justice will not be served on an empty stomach!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:13 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
How far short of an ideal father Evelyn himself fell might be gauged by an episode Auberon recalled in his autobiography. Bananas were a great rarity in England during the Second World War. Auberon and his siblings had never tasted one. At the war’s end, the British government, which maintained banana rationing through 1954, issued coupons so that every child in the land could have one banana. But the Waugh children never got theirs—Evelyn took all three of their bananas and devoured them himself. “It would be absurd to say that I never forgave him,” Auberon wrote, “but he was permanently marked down in my estimation from that moment.”
Also: Evelyn Waugh banana day
posted by chavenet at 9:15 AM on January 14, 2023 [10 favorites]
Also: Evelyn Waugh banana day
posted by chavenet at 9:15 AM on January 14, 2023 [10 favorites]
But the Waugh children never got theirs—Evelyn took all three of their bananas and devoured them himself. “It would be absurd to say that I never forgave him,” Auberon wrote, “but he was permanently marked down in my estimation from that moment.”
Ooooooof.
I still remember the scene in which Laura Ingalls Wilder, new bride, cooks lunch for the farmhands but forgets to sweeten the pie, leading one of them to add sugar to it right at the table. Interesting to think of the ready availability of sugar, even at the table to serve yourself, in that time and place.
Another source of childhood (teenage, actually) confusion, if not technically YA: as an American, I could not figure out for the longest time why young Bertie Wooster would think biscuits (stale, even? I thought) worth sneaking into the headmaster's office and getting a caning for.
posted by praemunire at 10:05 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ooooooof.
I still remember the scene in which Laura Ingalls Wilder, new bride, cooks lunch for the farmhands but forgets to sweeten the pie, leading one of them to add sugar to it right at the table. Interesting to think of the ready availability of sugar, even at the table to serve yourself, in that time and place.
Another source of childhood (teenage, actually) confusion, if not technically YA: as an American, I could not figure out for the longest time why young Bertie Wooster would think biscuits (stale, even? I thought) worth sneaking into the headmaster's office and getting a caning for.
posted by praemunire at 10:05 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
A surplus of food/ calories is a relatively modern thing for most of the world, and hunger makes food taste so much better. I don't recall marmalade as a child; as an adult the little bit of bitter with the sweet is delicious. People don't love honey? weird.
posted by theora55 at 10:09 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 10:09 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
I could not figure out for the longest time why young Bertie Wooster would think biscuits (stale, even? I thought) worth sneaking into the headmaster's office and getting a caning for.
Possibly, like Hazell in The Charioteer, the caning was part of what made it enjoyable.
posted by betweenthebars at 10:11 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Possibly, like Hazell in The Charioteer, the caning was part of what made it enjoyable.
posted by betweenthebars at 10:11 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
When I read the title, I thought "Turkish delight". Was it because the book takes place during the war and sweets were rare?
I actually like Turkish delight but I also immediately thought "Turkish delight."
posted by grobstein at 10:20 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I actually like Turkish delight but I also immediately thought "Turkish delight."
posted by grobstein at 10:20 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Every Meal Pippi Longstocking Cooks In Pippi Longstocking
By Daniel Mallory Ortberg - The Toast - January 15, 2016
posted by mikelieman at 11:21 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
By Daniel Mallory Ortberg - The Toast - January 15, 2016
posted by mikelieman at 11:21 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
I did not find watercress sandwiches to be particularly enjoyable when I finally encountered one. But, I am not a swan.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:28 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:28 AM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
“Many Judy Blume mentions of liverwurst on rye with mustard….NOT DELICIOUS!!!”
Well sure, she forgot the thick slice of raw onion.
posted by Splunge at 11:30 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well sure, she forgot the thick slice of raw onion.
posted by Splunge at 11:30 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
There's a scene Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing where they're trying to get Fudge to eat something so they get him his favorite food, lamb chops. He won't eat them so Peter gets to have them. He then says "I dipped the bone in some ketchup and chewed away"
I'm still mad about that.
posted by bondcliff at 12:27 PM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm still mad about that.
posted by bondcliff at 12:27 PM on January 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
The discussion of wartime rationing and literary depictions of food reminded me of Dorothy L. Sayers and the Wartime Lemon.
posted by BenAstrea at 1:29 PM on January 14, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by BenAstrea at 1:29 PM on January 14, 2023 [10 favorites]
After reading this I made my own egg cream inspired thing, and…pretty good? Had to make my own chocolate syrup but found the end result very pleasant, I can see it being a great summer drink. Really though I’d love to be able to carbonate the milk directly, which is not possible with a sodastream. I might try making the sofa ridiculously, undrinkably fizzy so the milk is a bit less watered down.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 4:32 PM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 4:32 PM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think a lot of you have never had proper Turkish delight. Firstly, if it's made properly it is a sugar-based confection and gelatin has no place in it. You have to carefully simmer sugar to a particular temperature and add it at *just* the right time to a cornflour/water mix and then beat THAT until it gets to a particular temperature. Properly done (and I've had a LOT of bought stuff that wasn't) it should be slightly bouncy and faintly chewy. The correct texture is supposed to be like that of an earlobe - if it's chewy or a bite of it leaves a toffee-like string, someone has fucked up. The dusting powder is half powdered sugar and half cornflour. The rose flavour should be proper rosewater and not synthetic oil. I can understand not liking rose flavouring, but lemon, pistachio and vanilla are all common too.
I've made it and it's a chore, but when it works it is very good indeed. I can post my recipe if anyone is interested.
posted by ninazer0 at 4:47 PM on January 14, 2023 [8 favorites]
I've made it and it's a chore, but when it works it is very good indeed. I can post my recipe if anyone is interested.
posted by ninazer0 at 4:47 PM on January 14, 2023 [8 favorites]
From the picture, yeah, they had the BAD kind of liverwurst, which looks like bologna and tastes like rotting kidney. Good liverwurst is spreadable, smoked, mostly made of pork fat, and it's one of the most delicious things. I made some myself recently, and it worked pretty well, even though all I had was chicken liver... If you feel like the name is off-putting (and yeah), call it Pâté de Foie.
Now, marzipan -- and I've fed a lot of it to it to a range of non-Germans -- seems to be an acquired taste. It's really just almonds, lots of sugar, and a little rose water though, so what's not to like? Apparently you have to be German. Who knew? But also, there's good and bad marzipan; the good stuff is almost always from Lübeck (which is the north-German city where it was apparently invented), and it's almost never shaped like Monopoly pieces. Sometimes, for Christmas, it's shaped like little tiny potatoes though. I don't believe anybody knows why.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 5:25 PM on January 14, 2023 [6 favorites]
Now, marzipan -- and I've fed a lot of it to it to a range of non-Germans -- seems to be an acquired taste. It's really just almonds, lots of sugar, and a little rose water though, so what's not to like? Apparently you have to be German. Who knew? But also, there's good and bad marzipan; the good stuff is almost always from Lübeck (which is the north-German city where it was apparently invented), and it's almost never shaped like Monopoly pieces. Sometimes, for Christmas, it's shaped like little tiny potatoes though. I don't believe anybody knows why.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 5:25 PM on January 14, 2023 [6 favorites]
The correct texture is supposed to be like that of an earlobe
I think the marketing department needs to work on this more, I am not feeling sold on the product.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:55 PM on January 14, 2023 [11 favorites]
I think the marketing department needs to work on this more, I am not feeling sold on the product.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:55 PM on January 14, 2023 [11 favorites]
I can't keep marzipan in the house because I'd make myself sick on it.
The correct texture is supposed to be like that of an earlobe
Flashes me back to when Grandma would grab us kids and gnaw on our elbows.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:41 PM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
The correct texture is supposed to be like that of an earlobe
Flashes me back to when Grandma would grab us kids and gnaw on our elbows.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:41 PM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
My literary mystery food growing up was potted meat, which appeared in the Famous Five books and in some other fifties and sixties era English books for children that my family had in our library, mostly because they'd been awarded as Sunday School attendance prizes. I grew up on an Ontarian farm where a lot of our food was home grown and home preserved, so I assumed potted meat must be some kind of home canned meat, and that it would be good, because all my mom's home canned food was tasty. Reading about it used to make my mouth water.
It wasn't until I was in my thirties that I saw an internet comment from another North American who had made a similar assumption growing up and had recently discovered that potted meat was what is best known as Spam in North America. I laughed over that discovery until tears were streaming down my face.
posted by orange swan at 7:40 PM on January 14, 2023
It wasn't until I was in my thirties that I saw an internet comment from another North American who had made a similar assumption growing up and had recently discovered that potted meat was what is best known as Spam in North America. I laughed over that discovery until tears were streaming down my face.
posted by orange swan at 7:40 PM on January 14, 2023
The correct texture is supposed to be like that of an earlobe
I just spent a very unpleasant minute squishing my ear between my thumb and forefinger, imagining what it would be like to bite through something with that texture. NOPE, I say with extreme prejudice. If C.S. Lewis over-exaggerated the virtues of Turkish Delight, I can say confidently that you have further undersold them. I will never be able to un-hear this comparison, and even if I happen to be in Istanbul and presented with the finest pistachio-flavored lokum, there will be a faint echo in my mind saying "... like an earlobe" and I will not be able to take a bite.
posted by Daily Alice at 7:41 PM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
I just spent a very unpleasant minute squishing my ear between my thumb and forefinger, imagining what it would be like to bite through something with that texture. NOPE, I say with extreme prejudice. If C.S. Lewis over-exaggerated the virtues of Turkish Delight, I can say confidently that you have further undersold them. I will never be able to un-hear this comparison, and even if I happen to be in Istanbul and presented with the finest pistachio-flavored lokum, there will be a faint echo in my mind saying "... like an earlobe" and I will not be able to take a bite.
posted by Daily Alice at 7:41 PM on January 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
potted meat was what is best known as Spam in North America
I don’t think this is quite right - from having had potted beef sandwiches in the UK it seems more like a seasoned, cooked-to-a-mulch meat, not unlike something you might feed a baby (albeit much saltier. Actually pretty good despite that description, though!
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:40 AM on January 15, 2023
I don’t think this is quite right - from having had potted beef sandwiches in the UK it seems more like a seasoned, cooked-to-a-mulch meat, not unlike something you might feed a baby (albeit much saltier. Actually pretty good despite that description, though!
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:40 AM on January 15, 2023
I also don't think the SPAM comparison is quite right. (I may be wrong with my alternative though)
I always thought the NA equivalent was the meat spreads made by the Underwood brand. Those little cans wrapped in paper with the red devil logo?
I suppose you could call it pâté; but that has the connotation of rich, luxury products made from fancy goose liver and such.
This stuff is just the scraps - the equivalent of lathe shavings and sawdust from the ham factory - where they grind the devil out of it (thus 'deviled ham') and pack it in a can. Also comes in chicken and beef varieties.
Keep a can handy in the pantry and spread some on toast for a quick sandwich. Or as we used to try to gross each other out as children, a snack of 'cat food & crackers'.
Is that not 'potted meat' or tinned meat spread or chicken pâté in a can, etc?
posted by bartleby at 1:31 AM on January 15, 2023
I always thought the NA equivalent was the meat spreads made by the Underwood brand. Those little cans wrapped in paper with the red devil logo?
I suppose you could call it pâté; but that has the connotation of rich, luxury products made from fancy goose liver and such.
This stuff is just the scraps - the equivalent of lathe shavings and sawdust from the ham factory - where they grind the devil out of it (thus 'deviled ham') and pack it in a can. Also comes in chicken and beef varieties.
Keep a can handy in the pantry and spread some on toast for a quick sandwich. Or as we used to try to gross each other out as children, a snack of 'cat food & crackers'.
Is that not 'potted meat' or tinned meat spread or chicken pâté in a can, etc?
posted by bartleby at 1:31 AM on January 15, 2023
The Underwood stuff is deviled ham. Potted meat is more like ground-up Vienna sausages. We'd occasionally have it in sandwiches with mustard, but it was a staple of Christmas Eve canapés, mixed with egg salad and served on Ritz crackers.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:46 AM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:46 AM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
A lot of you have never gently nibbled on a lover's earlobe, and it shows.
posted by ninazer0 at 2:05 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by ninazer0 at 2:05 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
It is precisely the distinction between "gently nibbling" and "biting through and consuming" that makes that simile so terrifying for a food.
posted by Daily Alice at 6:21 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Daily Alice at 6:21 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
From context, I've always taken potted meat to be a posher version of meat paste, and various parts of the internet are backing me up on that. Here's a recipe for potted beef.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:38 AM on January 15, 2023
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:38 AM on January 15, 2023
Gosh, I thought "deviled" meant "spicy," although at the time that term was popular, a sprinkle of sweet paprika was considered spicy in America.
I don't eat meat, but chief among the meats I don't eat is potted meat. We once had an elderly dog whose farts smelled exactly like a freshly opened can of potted meat, which can say nothing good about the manufacturing process in the potted meat factory, the dog food factory, and our poor dog.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:41 AM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I don't eat meat, but chief among the meats I don't eat is potted meat. We once had an elderly dog whose farts smelled exactly like a freshly opened can of potted meat, which can say nothing good about the manufacturing process in the potted meat factory, the dog food factory, and our poor dog.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:41 AM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I never really connected to smores, which are a bit of a campfire treat for some USians. Perhaps its positive associations.
As luck would have it, I've in the past week watched two different movies in which S'mores appear in kind of grizzly contexts (actual movies behind details tag below for spoiler protection). Maybe societally we're over them.
posted by jackbishop at 8:11 AM on January 15, 2023
As luck would have it, I've in the past week watched two different movies in which S'mores appear in kind of grizzly contexts (actual movies behind details tag below for spoiler protection). Maybe societally we're over them.
The Menu (where they are the final course) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (where a Walmart overrun by miniature Stay-Puft Marshmallow Men includes a shot of them making S'mores of each other)
posted by jackbishop at 8:11 AM on January 15, 2023
Deviled does usually mean 'spicy' (including in other languages, as with fra diavolo).
I think the 'devil ground out of it' derivation is spurious. Underwood Deviled Ham:
Far from evil, the word “deviled” is a culinary term that means “adding spices” — usually hot ones like cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard, or chopped chili peppers — to foods like ham, eggs, turkey, or even lobster.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:20 AM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think the 'devil ground out of it' derivation is spurious. Underwood Deviled Ham:
Far from evil, the word “deviled” is a culinary term that means “adding spices” — usually hot ones like cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard, or chopped chili peppers — to foods like ham, eggs, turkey, or even lobster.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:20 AM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I was a child first reading the Narnia books, I had never heard of turkish delight, so, prompted by the name, I assumed - without realizing that I was making it up - that turkish delight was like little bite sized turkey pot pies, served hot, with buttery pastry and bursting with gravy. That would be so good on a cold snowy day!
Turns out I like the actual turkish delight but someday I want to try the version from my imagination, preferably in a sleigh with an ice queen.
posted by moonmilk at 8:43 AM on January 15, 2023 [7 favorites]
Turns out I like the actual turkish delight but someday I want to try the version from my imagination, preferably in a sleigh with an ice queen.
posted by moonmilk at 8:43 AM on January 15, 2023 [7 favorites]
little bite sized turkey pot pies, served hot, with buttery pastry and bursting with gravy.
posted by moonmilk
Now I'm hungry.
posted by Splunge at 10:13 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by moonmilk
Now I'm hungry.
posted by Splunge at 10:13 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I think people sometimes underestimate the impact of food rationing on British children's fiction from the mid-twentieth century.
Also apparently the reason for all the food descriptions in Brideshead Revisited [see previous bananas].
I like turkish delight, assuming Edmund wasn’t asking for Fry’s Turkish Delight, which is definitively the worst chocolate bar in the world.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 10:49 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also apparently the reason for all the food descriptions in Brideshead Revisited [see previous bananas].
I like turkish delight, assuming Edmund wasn’t asking for Fry’s Turkish Delight, which is definitively the worst chocolate bar in the world.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 10:49 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I hesitate to go all pedantic on this (but what is MeFi for if not some extra bean-plating?), but Edmund Pevensie betrayed his family because he resented the shit out of Peter and Susan being the older kids & thus in charge, Lucy being the beloved baby & thus pampered, and he had been traumatized from being bullied in boarding school. Also by the fact of being a kid in England during WWII. (The most-recent movie adaptation did a pretty good job of showing all this, and thus made him more understandable and less dastardly.)
The Turkish Delight was merely an example for him of the physical delights he expected to experience in the Witch's service, while his siblings (he thought) would mope about and do his bidding for once.
I grew up eating mince-meat pie as a sweet in my family, so I never had a real meat pie until I was an adult: I have yet to have one that I think is amazingly good, but I have had some decent Cornish pasties.
posted by suelac at 12:25 PM on January 15, 2023 [10 favorites]
The Turkish Delight was merely an example for him of the physical delights he expected to experience in the Witch's service, while his siblings (he thought) would mope about and do his bidding for once.
I grew up eating mince-meat pie as a sweet in my family, so I never had a real meat pie until I was an adult: I have yet to have one that I think is amazingly good, but I have had some decent Cornish pasties.
posted by suelac at 12:25 PM on January 15, 2023 [10 favorites]
spurious Ah yes, I had forgotten about the 'Egads, paprika? so spicy! I'm sweating!'
I maintain some sentiment that the canned deviled stuff is ham that has been punished for its sins.
posted by bartleby at 2:17 PM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I maintain some sentiment that the canned deviled stuff is ham that has been punished for its sins.
posted by bartleby at 2:17 PM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I assumed - without realizing that I was making it up - that turkish delight was like little bite sized turkey pot pies, served hot, with buttery pastry and bursting with gravy.
....Okay, this is literally making me want to look up what spices would work in a Turkish meat pie, so I can get some turkey and pastry and those spices and then actually make this.
(I'd have to have Turkish spices because it's Turkish delight, yaknow?)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:54 PM on January 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
....Okay, this is literally making me want to look up what spices would work in a Turkish meat pie, so I can get some turkey and pastry and those spices and then actually make this.
(I'd have to have Turkish spices because it's Turkish delight, yaknow?)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:54 PM on January 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
get some turkey and pastry and those spices and then actually make this.
I think you live in the same metro area I do, in case you need any help testing this...
posted by moonmilk at 5:24 PM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think you live in the same metro area I do, in case you need any help testing this...
posted by moonmilk at 5:24 PM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
There are a bunch of recipes online for 'Thanksgiving ravioli' - e.g. pumpkin ravioli with a ladle of turkey gravy with sage & pecans for sauce (or just table leftovers stuffed inside wonton wrappers and fried, with gravy for dipping).
Not very Turkish, but might fulfill some fantasies.
posted by bartleby at 5:47 PM on January 15, 2023
Not very Turkish, but might fulfill some fantasies.
posted by bartleby at 5:47 PM on January 15, 2023
I think you live in the same metro area I do, in case you need any help testing this...
I volunteer to assist with this noble project.
posted by praemunire at 5:57 PM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I volunteer to assist with this noble project.
posted by praemunire at 5:57 PM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Turkish Delight was merely an example for him of the physical delights he expected to experience in the Witch's service, while his siblings (he thought) would mope about and do his bidding for once.
This is actually subtly nastier than "kid going through wartime rationing falls for the offer of candy."
posted by praemunire at 5:58 PM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is actually subtly nastier than "kid going through wartime rationing falls for the offer of candy."
posted by praemunire at 5:58 PM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I tried eating a s'more once. Luckily, the campfire was right on the beach so I could just duck right into the lake and wash most of it off my skin, clothes, and hair. The little bit that managed to get into my digestive system was so sweet it made me shudder, and not in a good way.
suelac, we always had green tomato mincemeat without actual meat in it, so when I read about meat pies in books I always pictured pot pie, which is just as wrong in its own way.
Someone above mentioned the sugarless pie in The First Four Years, and it got me to thinking about all the food in the Little House books. Passages that jump out in my memory are the ginger water to drink while doing hot farm work; the party a teenage Laura attends where nobody knows how they're supposed to eat the oranges and white cake (alternating bites of each); the rough bread made from wheat ground in the coffee mill during the long winter; and the hoop cheese, smoked venison, and other preserved foods from Little House in the Big Woods. Descriptions of food were such a big part of Farmer Boy (remember when they used up all the white sugar while the parents were away, and when the pig's jaws got stuck shut with maple candy?) that I was delighted to find this Hairpin piece: Every Meal Almanzo Eats in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:11 PM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
suelac, we always had green tomato mincemeat without actual meat in it, so when I read about meat pies in books I always pictured pot pie, which is just as wrong in its own way.
Someone above mentioned the sugarless pie in The First Four Years, and it got me to thinking about all the food in the Little House books. Passages that jump out in my memory are the ginger water to drink while doing hot farm work; the party a teenage Laura attends where nobody knows how they're supposed to eat the oranges and white cake (alternating bites of each); the rough bread made from wheat ground in the coffee mill during the long winter; and the hoop cheese, smoked venison, and other preserved foods from Little House in the Big Woods. Descriptions of food were such a big part of Farmer Boy (remember when they used up all the white sugar while the parents were away, and when the pig's jaws got stuck shut with maple candy?) that I was delighted to find this Hairpin piece: Every Meal Almanzo Eats in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:11 PM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Egg cream sounded vile -- like a snowball, maybe, which my dad drank every Christmas, with the gloopy bottle of Warnink's Advocaat dusted off from the back of the cupboard.
Reading this made me want to go get a can of good ginger beer and pour it into half a glass of very cold milk. When a work colleague first suggested this to me, I thought it sounded foul. (He was from Congleton and insisted it was regarded as a treat there, although I have never confirmed that.) Give it a try, though: the sharpness of the ginger and the fizz really combine well with the creaminess of the milk.
Note for all marmalade haters: You don't have to get the kind with shreds in. Wish I'd known that as a kid, when I would infuriate my parents by patiently picking tiny pieces of orange rind out of rapidly congealing buttered toast.
posted by Orkney Vole at 4:59 AM on January 16, 2023
Reading this made me want to go get a can of good ginger beer and pour it into half a glass of very cold milk. When a work colleague first suggested this to me, I thought it sounded foul. (He was from Congleton and insisted it was regarded as a treat there, although I have never confirmed that.) Give it a try, though: the sharpness of the ginger and the fizz really combine well with the creaminess of the milk.
Note for all marmalade haters: You don't have to get the kind with shreds in. Wish I'd known that as a kid, when I would infuriate my parents by patiently picking tiny pieces of orange rind out of rapidly congealing buttered toast.
posted by Orkney Vole at 4:59 AM on January 16, 2023
If anyone's interested (as far as I know) the gelling agent in Turkish Delight is cornflower, so it's vegetarian, and possibly vegan. Not gelatin, which is definitely neither. Having grown up with the rather rich chocolate bar of that name, when I encountered actual Turkish Delight I was, indeed, delighted.
When I was a child, I was fascinated by the confectionery and breakfast cereals advertised in American comics, which were widely (if not deeply) available in newsagents in the UK. They looked delicious and exotic, and they were (of course) American, which meant something in those days. Such disappointment. I actually quite like American chocolate - Hershey's, for example - although I do agree it tastes faintly of vomit (in much the same way that non-fresh parmesan does, I suppose). But, on the whole, encountering actual American confectionery and breakfast cereals did manage to start to break down the cultural propaganda I'd experienced throughout my childhood. If Twinkie bars are actually disgusting, perhaps it's time to question the flag-and-freedom stuff as well.
Not sure I'd take it as a personal affront, though, the way the respondents in the linked article seem to have done.
posted by Grangousier at 5:53 AM on January 16, 2023 [3 favorites]
When I was a child, I was fascinated by the confectionery and breakfast cereals advertised in American comics, which were widely (if not deeply) available in newsagents in the UK. They looked delicious and exotic, and they were (of course) American, which meant something in those days. Such disappointment. I actually quite like American chocolate - Hershey's, for example - although I do agree it tastes faintly of vomit (in much the same way that non-fresh parmesan does, I suppose). But, on the whole, encountering actual American confectionery and breakfast cereals did manage to start to break down the cultural propaganda I'd experienced throughout my childhood. If Twinkie bars are actually disgusting, perhaps it's time to question the flag-and-freedom stuff as well.
Not sure I'd take it as a personal affront, though, the way the respondents in the linked article seem to have done.
posted by Grangousier at 5:53 AM on January 16, 2023 [3 favorites]
If Twinkie bars are actually disgusting, perhaps it's time to question the flag-and-freedom stuff as well.
This American is going to say "no hard feelings about that" by sharing some of the Lad Bible Snack Wars videos I've been charmed by, in which similar conclusions are reached:
Matt Smith and Paddy Considine say "no" to Goober Grape (a spread where peanut butter and jam are both in the same jar) and opt for Bounty Bars over Hershey's Kisses.
Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge prefer custard creams to Hostess Snowballs; and choose Lucky Charms cereal over black pudding.
Tom Holland is excited to try Twinkies for the first time - but finds them "minging".
David Schwimmer is still a Twinkie fan - but has to admit that the Cadbury chocolate roll is better.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:41 AM on January 16, 2023
This American is going to say "no hard feelings about that" by sharing some of the Lad Bible Snack Wars videos I've been charmed by, in which similar conclusions are reached:
Matt Smith and Paddy Considine say "no" to Goober Grape (a spread where peanut butter and jam are both in the same jar) and opt for Bounty Bars over Hershey's Kisses.
Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge prefer custard creams to Hostess Snowballs; and choose Lucky Charms cereal over black pudding.
Tom Holland is excited to try Twinkies for the first time - but finds them "minging".
David Schwimmer is still a Twinkie fan - but has to admit that the Cadbury chocolate roll is better.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:41 AM on January 16, 2023
As strongly as I feel about down-home American cooking, I have no problem saying that UK chocolate is miles better. Even soft-serve ice cream from a truck is amazingly rich compared to how it is in the US. All about regulations and levels of butterfat, I expect.
S'mores are fun when they're created in a kitchen or some other controlled environment. Around the campfire, it's a big mess -- you've got your hot marshmallow and you have to pull it off quick, making a sandwich with the Hershey's and graham crackers. Either your marshmallow is hot enough to melt around and burn your fingers, or it's too cool and you end up just eating the s'more cold, which is okay but didn't have to involve a hot stick.
At a campfire, I prefer to set a marshmallow on fire. I like to get it on the stick, watch it flame out and turn black while other people make fun of me for not doing it right, then eat the whole thing, starting with the charcoal envelope. The bitterness of the outside is a nice counterpoint to the pure sugar in the marshmallow, and the inside is perfectly done. (I also like burnt popcorn. I am maybe not an authority on these things.)
posted by Countess Elena at 7:10 AM on January 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
S'mores are fun when they're created in a kitchen or some other controlled environment. Around the campfire, it's a big mess -- you've got your hot marshmallow and you have to pull it off quick, making a sandwich with the Hershey's and graham crackers. Either your marshmallow is hot enough to melt around and burn your fingers, or it's too cool and you end up just eating the s'more cold, which is okay but didn't have to involve a hot stick.
At a campfire, I prefer to set a marshmallow on fire. I like to get it on the stick, watch it flame out and turn black while other people make fun of me for not doing it right, then eat the whole thing, starting with the charcoal envelope. The bitterness of the outside is a nice counterpoint to the pure sugar in the marshmallow, and the inside is perfectly done. (I also like burnt popcorn. I am maybe not an authority on these things.)
posted by Countess Elena at 7:10 AM on January 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
We always set the marshmallows on fire and then waved them around while singing the Olympic theme.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:06 AM on January 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:06 AM on January 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
I hesitate to go all pedantic on this (but what is MeFi for if not some extra bean-plating?), but Edmund Pevensie betrayed his family because he resented the shit out of Peter and Susan being the older kids & thus in charge, Lucy being the beloved baby & thus pampered, and he had been traumatized from being bullied in boarding school.
As MetaFilter is for pedantry, I would like to note that it's not clear if Edmund was bullied or if he fell in with the late 1930s version of Flashman at school and it brought out the worst in him. (I would assume both.) All it says in the book is that he changed after going to school and that Peter saw him bullying younger students.
posted by betweenthebars at 9:20 AM on January 16, 2023 [6 favorites]
As MetaFilter is for pedantry, I would like to note that it's not clear if Edmund was bullied or if he fell in with the late 1930s version of Flashman at school and it brought out the worst in him. (I would assume both.) All it says in the book is that he changed after going to school and that Peter saw him bullying younger students.
posted by betweenthebars at 9:20 AM on January 16, 2023 [6 favorites]
I would assume both.
Me, too: what little I've learned about the British boarding school system seems to indicate nobody gets out unscathed.
posted by suelac at 10:19 AM on January 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Me, too: what little I've learned about the British boarding school system seems to indicate nobody gets out unscathed.
posted by suelac at 10:19 AM on January 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Give it a try, though: the sharpness of the ginger and the fizz really combine well with the creaminess of the milk.
Midwestern people have known this for a long time, in the form of the Vernors float.
I stand corrected on the cornstarch vs. gelatin, but, well...neither of them plain are exactly an inherently delightful substance, are they?
posted by praemunire at 10:49 AM on January 16, 2023
Midwestern people have known this for a long time, in the form of the Vernors float.
I stand corrected on the cornstarch vs. gelatin, but, well...neither of them plain are exactly an inherently delightful substance, are they?
posted by praemunire at 10:49 AM on January 16, 2023
I believe the gelling agent in Turkish delight is gum arabic, which was and largely still is rare and expensive. Cornstarch is used these days to keep the pieces from sticking together.
posted by jamjam at 11:10 AM on January 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jamjam at 11:10 AM on January 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh, I realized yesterday that I have another literary mystery food story. In C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew, Polly Plummer is described as sometimes enjoying "a quiet bottle of ginger beer" in her attic hideaway. In Jo's Boys, Jo March Bhaer serves homemade ginger beer to a couple of her now adult former students, along with a temperance lecture.
Last summer when I happened to see ginger beer on sale at No-Frills, I bought two bottles just to try it out. I enjoyed it and would buy it again sometime. It's basically gingerale without the carbonation (which I don't like) and with more bite.
posted by orange swan at 5:10 PM on January 22, 2023
Last summer when I happened to see ginger beer on sale at No-Frills, I bought two bottles just to try it out. I enjoyed it and would buy it again sometime. It's basically gingerale without the carbonation (which I don't like) and with more bite.
posted by orange swan at 5:10 PM on January 22, 2023
I've absolutely had carbonated ginger beer, but maybe the bottlers were using the term inappropriately?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:41 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:41 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I don’t know what the ginger beer the Famous Five drank was like, but modern commercial ginger beer is normally carbonated. If I bought ginger beer in the UK and it was flat, I would assume there was something wrong with it. Or at least think it was a surprising choice.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 5:09 AM on January 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 5:09 AM on January 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Reed's is the ginger beer you see most commonly in US supermarkets. It's carbonated—maybe not quite as strongly as sodas.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:43 AM on January 23, 2023
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:43 AM on January 23, 2023
TIL that ginger beer and ginger ale are not necessarily the same thing. Possibly just as well I was never all that interested in sweet drinks, because according to my dictionary (Chambers), there can be a fairly important difference...
gingerade or ginger ale:
A carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger.
ginger beer:
1. A mildly alcoholic sparkling drink made with fermenting ginger
2. Ginger ale.
Both fizzy, but even "mildly" alcoholic sounds like something you'd want to know about!
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:57 AM on January 23, 2023
gingerade or ginger ale:
A carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger.
ginger beer:
1. A mildly alcoholic sparkling drink made with fermenting ginger
2. Ginger ale.
Both fizzy, but even "mildly" alcoholic sounds like something you'd want to know about!
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:57 AM on January 23, 2023
Ginger beer can be made fizzy (like Reed's) or flat (like agua fresca or lemonade); both are legit but not really interchangable other than the names and the ginger taste. In my experience the flat agua fresca-style version is usually much stronger in terms of gingeryness. You can also make either version slightly or strongly alcoholic if you want, but in my (limited) experience that is rare and people aren't usually fermenting ginger beer in the places I have been.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:09 AM on January 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Dip Flash at 7:09 AM on January 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
So far as the kind sold in markets, mildly as in non-intoxicating. No more than kombucha, or other fermented things.
Everywhere I've been, 'ginger ale' specifically means the soda version (the most prominent being Canada Dry).
The difference matters as a mixer, both the taste and the mouthfeel — e.g., Moscow Mules should be made with ginger beer, Pimm's Cup with ginger ale.
Interesting about the agua fresca version, I haven't had it and will be keeping an eye out.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:11 AM on January 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Everywhere I've been, 'ginger ale' specifically means the soda version (the most prominent being Canada Dry).
The difference matters as a mixer, both the taste and the mouthfeel — e.g., Moscow Mules should be made with ginger beer, Pimm's Cup with ginger ale.
Interesting about the agua fresca version, I haven't had it and will be keeping an eye out.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:11 AM on January 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
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