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In Conclusion...

Saturday, March 22, 2014 |

Sweet foods have an undeniable presence in the works of Children’s Literature, and function in various different ways within the narrative. The eating or desire to eat can illustrate moral ineptitude in order to instruct or educate young children. In this sense, food is turned into something grotesque and evil, and those that partake in the consumption of such food become immoral beings. This is particularly shown in the corruption of Edmund in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and the children of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, excluding Charlie.

Also, the food can help to construct the particular theme of the novel. In the case of the Harry Potter novels, the abundance of desirable and unattainable foods helps to create this fantasy world. It is also a means of navigation for Alice in Alice in Wonderland, and signifies Harry’s move and acceptance in to the world of magic.

As in nearly all of the texts studied in this blog, food is always accessible and readily available to the characters. They never seem to have to fight for food or do without. The consumption of sweet foods is never depicted as detrimental to a characters health, thereby allowing for an excessive intake if it is desired. Alice is the singular character that experiences odd effects from eating foods in Wonderland, but even this does not cause ill health.

Recipe’s created and designed specifically for children appear almost timeless. The recipes from cookbooks and pamphlets written in the 20th century are just as effective as those from the 21st century, in that it results in a successful and tasty final product.  Also, many of the recipes are similar if not entirely identical, clearly showing that the dietary desires of children have not changed drastically over time.  


Therefore, the varying ways authors utilise sweet foods within their texts stress their importance in childhood. The ways this food is desired by children in fiction is wholly reflective of the yearning for it in reality. It associations with luxury and indulgence ensure that children will continue to covet sweet foods over any other foods. 

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21st Century Cooking...

Sunday, March 16, 2014 |

To bring this research to near present day, I purchased the Usborne Farmyard Tales Children’s Cookbook, published in 2007. This cookbook is interesting, and unlike others I have seen, as the recipes are framed by a narrative. Before introducing the contents page of the recipes featured within the book, readers are introduced to “apple tree farm” (1) and those that reside there. The characters are intended to guide readers through this cookbook, and yet this format can arguably make it ambiguous as to whether this is a story book or not. Framing the book in this way does perhaps ensure a child’s engagement with it. The idea of a story being read from the beginning to end will encourage a child to work through all the recipes featured. However, this narrative format that is set out in the beginning of the book is not sustained throughout, nor is it brought to a conclusion at the end. 

The way in which it is similar to the My Learn to Cookbook from 1967 is its reliance on pictures and illustrations to convey its ideals. It does however, have a greater use of colour and inclusion of photos, which is perhaps illustrative of the changing times.


In order to compare the effectiveness of recipes between this book and one I have previously studied, I thought I would attempt to make “Picnic Cookies”. Noticeably, the recipe contains more steps in its recipes than the older cookbook. However, recipes from both cookbooks were simple and easy to follow, and resulted in a successful final product. 
Works Cited
Atkinson, C, R. Denny, & J, Kirby-Jones. Usborne Farmyard Tales, Children's Cookbook. London: Usborne Publishing, 2007. Print.

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Chocolate Frogs and Every-Flavour Beans...

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 |

“There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey coloured toffee; hundred of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of every flavour beans and another of Fizzing Whizzbees” (PA 147).

The food found in the world of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling is as fantastical as the world itself. It is unlimited and excessive, grand and decadent. The protagonist of the novels, Harry Potter, begins as a skinny under-nourished young boy, but this changes as he is introduced to the magic world. From then on, he has access to any and all variety of foods whenever he wants them, as in this world no one does without. This is a radical change from life at the Dursleys, where he would be deprived food as a form of punishment.




Particularly in the earlier novels of the series, food plays an important role in forming the atmosphere of a setting. The food of Hogwarts, the home of the three main characters, offers the most wholesome food, shown by the first feast they all attend. Filling the table are plates filled with “roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup” (PS 92). The seemingly endless list of food exemplifies the colossal amount of food and consumption that occurs in the series. Sweet food is of particular importance in the series when considering it formed the basis of the friendship between Harry and Ron. Hogwarts is not the only location in which food is found. Travelling to the castle on the Hogwarts express, Harry discovers that sweet foods are accessible everywhere in this world. The trolley offers “Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, liquorice wands and a number of strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything” (PS 76). Sweet foods are an access point to his new life, and a way to get an education in things he does not yet understand. 

The Hogwarts express is not the only location in which the characters have access to sweet foods. In fact, there is almost always somewhere in every location in which to find all different kinds of treats. In Hogsmede there is the famous Honeydukes sweet shop, and in Diagon Alley there is Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, from which Harry was given “free sundaes every half hour” (PA 42) in the Prisoner of Azkaban. Once again, sweet foods are apparently limitless and incredibly easy to access.


Food in the Harry Potter series is reflective of the fantasy elements of the world created. Food is easy to access and comes in limitless supply, and yet no character seems to suffer ill effects. Child readers not only aspire to achieve the magic of this world, but wish to have the ability to eat what they like and as much of it as they like. There is no mention of ill health or obesity in the novels, and indeed no concern of it either. Particularly for Harry, eating the foods exclusive to the magic world shows an ability to belong to it and enjoy it. It is not a sign of exclusivity or elitism, and does not work to alienate 'muggle' readers, but creates a world for these readers to aspire to.


Works Cited
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 2001. Print
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. London: Bloomsbury, 1999. Print.

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Child's Play

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 |

In order to look more closely at the cookbooks of childhood, my mother supplied me with a recipe book she owned as a child. Published in 1967, the My Learn to Cook Book looks a bit worn now but has been well used and loved by the family. It is interesting as it appears to rely heavily on illustration as opposed to written instruction. That isn’t to say that the recipes are difficult to follow; the appearance is perhaps intended to maintain the target audience’s attention. Also, the drawings create something to aspire to; the final product should ideally look like the illustrations. The illustrations tie in to instruction, as applying appearance to a product will help to familiarize children with typical kitchen appliances and products.

The instructions are easy to follow and the recipes contain a list of ingredients and equipment to go with them. At the beginning of each chapter, there are lists of ‘Do’s and Don’ts’, as well as helpful hints in order to educate, as well as ensuring a successful final product. It encourages safety in the kitchen as it asks to “make sure a grown-up is present when you are using the cooker” (7) and “ask your mother to help you when you use sharp knives” (7). The cook book appears particularly gender specific, but also communicates the idea that this activity will be one that involves the parent and child.

I decided to make a family favourite from this book. Both my sisters and I grew up eating ‘Crispy Crackolates’ at parties, special occasions, and whenever we could persuade our mum to make them! Considering that they are always irresistibly tasty, I thought it would be a good recipe to demonstrate that the older cookbooks for children are just as good as the new ones.
    

This is the successful final product which proved particularly popular with my flatmates. 
















Works Cited
Sedgwick, U. My Learn to Cook Book. Feltham: The Hamlyn Publishing Group ltd, 1967. Print.

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A World of Pure Imagination...

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 |

“Mr Willy Wonka can make marshmallows that taste of violets, and rich caramels that change colour every ten seconds as you suck them, and little feathery sweets that melt away deliciously the moment you put them between your lips. He can make chewing-gum that never loses its taste, and candy balloons that you can blow up to enormous sizes before you pop them with a pin and gobble them up” (11).

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory aptly depicts an extreme desire for sweet foods, whilst illustrating 
the potential for danger in it. The protagonist, Charlie Bucket, is poor and only acquires chocolate one day of the year. The factory and ticket represent all the things he wants but is unable to have; instead, his family live in a state of poverty and hunger. By comparison, the other characters that discover their own Golden Tickets are extremely flawed. The morality of Dahl's child characters is always absolute. They are either good or bad, and there is no in-between. Imbued with many positive qualities, the only likable child within this world is Charlie.

Thus, Dahl explores the relationship between food and vice. Charlie is undoubtedly the hero of the novel as he has no identifiable vices. By comparison, the unpleasant child characters personify their vices. The first to discover his ticket, Augustus Gloop, is greedy beyond measure. He is described as having “great flabby folds of fat [that] bulged out from every part of his body, and his face was like a monstrous ball of dough with two small greedy curranty eyes peering out upon the world” (21). Augustus gloop is a grotesque figure of the novel that is ultimately easy to mock and acts as a contrast to Charlie. The other children are no better than Augustus – Veruca Salt is spoilt, Violet Beauregarde chews gum all day, and Mike Teavee constantly watches television.

To underline the novel with a moral code, these ‘bad’ children are inevitably punished within the chocolate factory. After falling in to a river filled with chocolate, of which he was not meant to drink from, Augustus is “pulled under the surface and then into the mouth of the pipe” (74). Similarly, Violet Beauregarde chews gum to the extent she is turned into a giant blueberry. These children appear to be reinserted in to the moral system as they are punished for their wrong doings and vices. They become a physical manifestation of their grotesque personalities, and these extreme punishments are intended to reform these characters.



As the only moral child of the novel, Charlie receives all commendations and rewards. This shows how powerful food can be as a motivator of good behaviour.







Works Cited
Dahl, R. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. London: Puffin Books, 2007. Print.

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Through the Wardrobe...

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 |

“Edmund was already feeling uncomfortable from having eaten too many sweets, and when he heard that the Lady he had made friends with was a dangerous Witch he felt even more uncomfortable. But he still wanted to taste that Turkish Delight more than he wanted anything else” (42).

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950) presents food as synonymous with sin as it explores the power of greed and gluttony. As Edmund transgresses in to the unknown world of Narnia, he encounters the antagonist of the novel, the cruel and malevolent White Witch. Initially disturbed by the White Witch’s unfriendly manner and odd interest in his siblings, Edmund is no longer concerned once he receives the enchanted Turkish Delight. The Witch’s supposed generosity is pure artifice, but Edmund no longer cares, effectively blinding him from the dangerous situation in which readers find him. It is significant that the narrator informs readers that the Turkish Delight causes greed as “anyone who had once tasted it would want more and more of it” (38), but it does not alter the perception of the White Witch nor does it directly cause Edmund to obsess over the food after the Witch parts from him. If this were true, then Edmund would be absolved of his wrongdoing. Edmund’s sin does not lie in the eating of the Turkish Delight, but his over indulgence and his obsession with it. He allows this sweet dessert to obscure his moral compass and invade his thoughts. When not under the direct influence of the Turkish Delight, and reunited with his siblings, he has the opportunity to regain his moral awareness. However, he actively decides not to and dwells frequently on the memory of the sweet food, as "he thought about Turkish Delight and being a king [...] and horrible ideas came in to his head" (67). His fixation ultimately leads to his undoing.


The story of sin and consumption is not one unique to this narrative. Edmund’s consumption of the Turkish Delight makes reference to the fall of Adam and Eve, who were punished by God for eating from the tree of knowledge. Through this one act, Edmund effectively seals his fate as the fallen figure through consumption and obsession with his favourite sweet food.

Given Edmund’s preoccupation with this sweet food, it was important to try and discover what makes this sweet dessert a favourite above all else. Turkish Delight is believed to have originated in Istanbul in 1777. Invented by Bekir Affendi, Turkish Delight or Rahat-Locum as it was known then, became a staple favourite of all the confectionary in his sweet shop. As Rahat-Locum conquered the market in its native country, it was not long until it generated enough interest to be shipped worldwide. It was first introduced to the western world in the nineteenth century, and was renamed Turkish Delight to be shipped back to Britain. Its exotic reputation and sickly sweet flavour made it a major delicacy among the upper-classes of British society. It remains just as popular and widely produced today. Most famously in Britain, Fry’s Turkish delight is produced by Cadbury and has been since 1919.


Works Cited
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. London: Collins, 1997. Print.

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Keep Calm and Carry on

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 |

As this blog is to focus on childhood as well as sweet foods in literature, I decided to look back to the childhood of my Grandparents. Growing up during World War Two, they were directly subjected to the hardships of war and rationing on the home front. As war broke out in 1939, it became clear that the acquirement of food would become difficult for Britain. The country imported 60% of its food from abroad, a fact that would be exploited by Germany as the U-Boats would be sent to destroy as many ships as possible. As such, rationing was first introduced on the home front in January 1940.

Weekly food rations by the end of 1942 (about half way through the war) were as follows:
  • 113g Bacon or Ham
  • 1S 2d Meat (meat was rationed by price)
  • 57g Butter
  • 113g Cheese
  • 113g Margarine
  • 113g Cooking Fat
  • 226g Sugar
  • 57g Sugar
Milk and Eggs generally varied with supply but were available as follows:
  • 2 ½ Pints of milk and a tin of dried skimmed milk every month
  • 1 egg per week and one tin of dried skimmed milk every month
The food shortages caused people to turn to the less traditional forms of food. Offal (the internal organs of animals) became incredibly popular but were difficult to find. Nevertheless, these changes in diet actually introduced a more balanced and healthy eating regime to the British nation. Its agricultural schemes were one of the home fronts biggest successes, as it taught self sufficiency to a country that seemed to rely heavily on its imports.


For children, the biggest hardship of rationing was that of sweet foods. The amount allowed fluctuated throughout the war, although there were some absent entirely. Ice cream had completely disappeared, as had bananas; an entire generation grew up in ignorance of what they were. As milk was in short supply, chocolate became noticeably less smooth and more powdery.

The U.S soldiers were generous with giving children their sweet foods and chewing gum. Children would call out to them “got any gum chum” which became a popular catchphrase.

After speaking to my grandparents about the sweet foods they enjoyed during war time, they confessed that they couldn’t really remember many. However, they recalled milk based puddings, such as rice pudding (something which remains a staple in my house!). What they did say was that when sweets were available, you had to get them fast or do without!

On visiting the reading rooms at the Imperial War Museum, I discovered many pamphlets and books focused entirely on cooking for children during rationing. The various instructions and recipes reflected this, with minimal ingredients and quantities to ensure that food could go that extra mile. I found two recipes that interested me in particular; ‘milk pudding’ and ‘rusk trifle’. The recipes are as follows:



It was interesting as the recipe for ‘milk pudding’ is almost identical to the one used in our house today, and rusks are still found on the shelves of all supermarkets to cater for the nutritional needs of children. Dietary requirements for children have arguably not changed drastically in 70 years. I decided to give both recipes a go, and was pleasantly surprised to say that they didn’t taste too bad. The basic instructions made it slightly difficult to be sure if I had gotten them right. These recipes reflect the foods that were more readily available during rationing, and cater for a child’s desire for sweeter foods.

Something else that caught my eye in the reading rooms was the rationing books produced specifically for children. It shows that children were not only affected by the rationing, but were actively involved in it. They were policed in the same way that adults were, shown by the rationing book. This individual was ten years old when she owned this, and there were several others to follow. Not even children were exempt from rationing.

Luckily, it did not last forever. The rationing of sweet food ended on 5th February 1953, eight years after the end of the war. 

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