June 24th is National Food Truck Day! Pioneers of the restaurant industry have innovated the business by combining mobility and high-quality food. In honor of the delicious cuisine served up by these restaurants on wheels, let’s take a moment to remember food written about in books that all readers wanted to eat.
Harry Potter: The Food on the Trolley
“What she did have were Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life.”
j.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerror’s Stone
J.K. Rowling introduced readers to a whole new magical world filled with fantastical schools, gadgets, and foods in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. All of the treats off of the Honeydukes Express trolley on the Hogwarts Express were described as not only magical but also delicious. From chocolate frogs to pumpkin pasties, the cart was described to be overflowing with an array of candies and desserts.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Turkish Delights
“It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating,” said the Queen presently. “What would you like best to eat?” “Turkish Delight, please your Majesty,” said Edmund.
C.S. Lewis, The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia
In C.S. Lewis’s novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia, Edmund accepts Turkish Delights from the White Queen during his first visit to Narnia. With the decadent, gumdrop-like candies as an easy bribe, the Evil White Witch easily manipulated Edmund into getting exactly what she wanted.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: The Queen of Heart’s Tarts
“The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,
Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
All on a summer day:
The Knave of Hearts, he stole those hearts,
And took them quite away!”
In Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice finds herself in quite the predicament when she must testify in the trial of the Knave of Hearts, who has been accused of stealing the Queen of Heart’s jam tarts. Even with all the drama caused by the case of the stolen tarts, it is hard for readers not to imagine how delicious they must taste.
Moby Dick: Clam Chowder
“However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh! sweet friends, hearken to me. It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuits, and salted pork cut up into little flakes! the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt.”
Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Herman Melville details a mouth-watering description of the clam chowder served aboard the Pequod in Moby-Dick. The promise of warm soup quickly changes the tired attitudes of the crewmates aboard Captain Ahab’s ship. It is hard not to share in Ishmael’s hunger and excitement as he explains the ingredients and alluring scent of the concoction simmering in the pot.
Little Women: Pickled Limes
“Why, you see, the girls are always buying them, and unless you want to be thought mean, you must do it too. It’s nothing but limes now, for everyone is sucking them in their desks in schooltime, and trading them off for pencils, bead rings, paper dolls, or something else, at recess. If one girl likes another, she gives her a lime. If she’s mad with her, she eats one before her face, and doesn’t offer even a suck. They treat by turns, and I’ve had ever so many but haven’t returned them, and I ought for they are debts of honor, you know.”
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
In Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women, Amy explains to her sister, Meg, how pickled limes have become all the rage at her school. Girls have begun to barter them for other goods, and giving pickled limes to someone has become a sign of friendship. Amy’s explanation of pickled limes’ popularity makes readers who have never tried one wonder what these civil war era delicacies taste like.
If you have any interest in trying to make any of these foods or any other dishes from books, check out The Little Library Cook Book!
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