I have two: Turkish Delight and a madeleine.
When I was 10, I used to love *The Chronicles of Narnia*, particularly *The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe*.
I remember getting to the part where the Witch offers Edmund something to eat, and he chooses Turkish Delight. The way Lewis wrote about Turkish Delight made it seem absolutely delicious, so I really really wanted to try some.
>Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious
I ended up trying some and hated it.
Even though I am far too old for it, I decided to re-read *The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe* today, and I was reminded of Turkish Delight and of how the book convinced me to try some. (Coincidentally, I even saw another Reddit comment today that mentioned Turkish Delight.)
I became obsessed with trying a real madeleine after reading Proust, and I made sure I tried a bunch when I went to Paris for the first time. They were all delicious, especially dipped in tea, but none gave me the nostalgic flashbacks that I was hoping for, probably because I didn’t have a French aunt who fed them to me growing up.
Also less specific, but whenever I read Percy Jackson, I get a craving for burgers, fries, and milkshakes.
And I wanted to try beef tongue after reading some of the Ramona books from Beverly Cleary
by FormalCricket
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Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans.
Most lore accurate fantasy candy I’ve ever had lmao
I, too, tried Turkish Delight after reading *The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe*. It was an experience I never want to repeat.
After reading Crying in H Mart, I had to have as much Korean food as possible.
Have you had fresh Turkish delights? They taste completely different than the ones that have been sitting in a box for a while. I love Turkish delights and fresh ones taste significantly better.
After i read Heidi in like 3rd grade i became obsessed with having milk bread & cheese as an after school snack. Tbh that’s still a great combo.
Kvass. I read about it in various spy novels and Cold War novels. A Russian restaurant in San Diego had some, I tried it and liked it. Now I always keep a supply in the fridge.
Ortolan. But *The Knight in the Panther’s Skin* whilst extolling the yumminess of it conveniently fails to tell the reader how damned stupid one feels when eating with a napkin draped over the head.
Karkade strong hibiscus 🌺 tea
It is delicious
Inspired to try it after reading city of brass
I actually love Turkish delights 😅
I can’t remember the title but it was some book by Elizabeth Berg about an Iranian transplant who felt like she didn’t fit into the states and it had a lot of food in it. I had to try some and now I will say I’m quite fond of Iranian food.
When Stephanie Plum’s mother needed something, she would either bribe with pineapple upside down cake, or threaten to withhold it. Had to see what the fuss was about. Made one for a birthday party and it was dang good.
Groundnut stew from Rivers of London. It was wonderful.
All the food in the Little House series sounds SO GOOD, especially in Farmer Boy. And it’s all so ‘simple’, it’s just home cooking with all food available on a farm/in a small town in the 1800s.
I’ve always wanted to try bouillabaisse. Sadly I can’t get it in Northern England.
I Blame Maigret.
I’m a huge fan of the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I loved her description of “vanity cakes” in *On the Banks of Plum Creek*.
I bought the *Little House Cookbook* in 1980 while visiting the Wilder home in Mansfield, Missouri, and the first thing I did was make the vanity cakes–which weren’t that great, but they were edible.
Jollof rice after reading Half of a Yellow Sun. I got some in Deptford, London. Was decent!
Turkish Delight is an exercise in absolute inconsistency. I’ve had some that has been quite literally the best thing I’ve ever tasted. I’ve had some that has been the worst. I’ve had both from the same provider. I can only conclude that some sort of witchcraft is afoot.
Made risotto after seeing it in *44 Scotland Street* by Alexander McCall Smith.
I had a few bites and thought “what have I been doing with my life?” It is damn good.
The scene in wind in the willows when they arrive at badgers house, he makes them supper you dont actually get told what they eat but you can imagine it would be the best meal given the circumstances
You are NEVER too old for any of the Chronicles of Narnia.
Many years ago I did a small class for kids on all the Narnia books, so of course we had to try Turkish Delight. One kid took a bite and exclaimed, “This tastes like old people!” Though I don’t agree with his assessment, this is how I have thought of Turkish Delight ever since.
There was some throwaway line in “Under the Tuscan Sun” where the author said (I’m paraphrasing) “we would get fresh arugula from the farmer’s market and have that in pasta with pancetta and cream.” So I tried making my own wherein I fried up some pancetta, added cream, added arugula until it wilted and served it over penne and CHEF’S KISS it is now one of my family’s favorite meals. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever if that’s what the actual author was eating but we love it.
In a similar vein, in TLTWATW, Mr Beaver catches fish and serves it to the children with butter and potatoes, and there’s a line about how fish tastes amazing when it’s fresh out of the water and gone straight into the pan.
My dad is a fisherman and sometimes he’s given us some of his catch… and fresh, pan-fried fish is a world away from what you buy at the supermarket. Mr Beaver was right.
In Canada one can still find, occasionally, a chocolate bar called a big turk, which is ostensibly inspired by Turkish delight, in that the centre is a purple, jellied candy tasting vaguely grape-y and somewhat floral. Anyway, I love them, 10/10, weird as hell.
Have you ever read Redwall? Any of the series, the description of the foods is so good
Saw “Farewell to Arms” in the discard bin in the library, realized I’d never read it, so took it to the beach. Had to try a cool Sançerre. Very nice wine.
After reading “Devolution” by Max Brooks (the “World War Z” author) I wanted to try some *Vegeta* seasoning.
It’s probably available at any Eastern European grocery if you have one. I ordered it through Amazon. It’s a really tasty all purpose seasoning, great to put a bit on/in food while cooking. I probably wouldn’t use it on a finished plate of food, though.
Reading James Michener’s *Centennial* got me interested in trying lapsang souchong tea. It’s like drinking a campfire and it’s sooo good!
Speaking of Michener, I wish I had a recipe for the bread pudding the family makes in *The Covenant*
Definitely turkish delight. Ate it once as a teen and it was awful, but have had some good ones since then.
The other is also from Narnia, sort of. There was a 1970s cartoon adaptation of the lion the witch and the wardrobe, and at one point some beavers (I think?] help the kids travel and at one point there is a snow storm and they go into a nest/cave and it’s super cozy and they have tea and sandwiches and soup. I was OBSESSED with the vibe and as a 10 year old would have grilled cheese and tomato soup under the table in my “cave”
I wanted to try pheasant after reading Danny The Champion of the World. My Dad acquired me a plucked pheasant and I cooked it in the slow cooker and had it with a side of vegetables. It turned out really well although it didn’t beat quail for the top spot of favourite bird meat.
Cherries Jubilee from reading the Enchanted Forest Chronicles as a kid.
Proust’s madeleine dipped in tea is nostalgic for him because the aunt he used to visit during the summers gave them to him all the time in his childhood. When he tasted one again in adulthood it unexpectedly brought the memories of those summers flooding back. If you want a shot at the the same experience you should try to think of something you used to eat a lot in your own childhood and haven’t eaten since.
I’ve made Gunslinger Burritos a few times. Prolly will soon seeing as my GF is reading the Dark Tower now.
Harriet the spy, tomato mayo sandwiches. Still eat them to this day.
It was Christmas stories from England and plum pudding for me! Mmmmm …
Maple syrup and snow candy from Little House in the Big Woods
Not a specific food but a way to cook it.
In Planesrunner, the narrator describes the perfect way to make scrambled eggs, so I had to try it.
No milk, just salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Lots of butter in pan. Fluffiness is all about how hard you beat the eggs.
Turns out it was pretty accurate. My family, at least, likes my eggs the best.
There is a chapter in “ All I need to know I learned in kindergarten “ dedicated to chicken fried steak. While on a business trip to Fort Worth I had chicken fried steak 3 times in less than 24 hours.
I too, wanted to eat Turkish Delight because of Edmund. But sadly, I’ve still never had it. When we were kids, my little sister and I, would eat the fudge my grandma made for Christmas and call it our “num nums” like in the movie.
Another food thing I did because of a book was put chocolate syrup on everything for like 3 days. I had just finished reading the chocolate touch and thought “everything tastes like chocolate how could that possibly be bad?” Child brain does not compute that chocolate covered food is not the same as chocolate flavored food. I do not suggest anyone try chocolate covered broccoli.
Ricotta stuffed deep fried zucchini flowers. The book was The Tuscan Child. I did a horrible job of it but I wouldn’t rule out trying them again if someone knew what they were doing.
Watercress after Trumpet of The Swan, and a pastrami and tomato sandwich after a Wrinkle In Time. Both were pretty okay!
I’m reading “Dracula” and Jonathan Harker raves about Paprika Hendl, so I had to try it.
And it’s good!
I actually kinda like Turkish delights. But I think you have to really remember the setting, the children are from London during WWII, they’ve likely been eating rations for a while. Something with sugar and floral scents like Turkish delight would have been exciting and wonderful.
I think I might be the only person who got excited to try Turkish delight after reading Narnia as a kid and *liked* it. Then again the stuff I first tried was homemade from a farmer’s market, so it might be as much a matter of quality as taste.
I’m still in search of the perfect Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster!
First and foremost: **Redwall**. Everything described in Redwall. Now that there is a cookbook I might try some.
Also, the very simple food described in the **Boxcar Children**. They were excited to afford butter, their meals were fresh bread sliced up with milk. Blueberries with cream. Roasted potatoes with butter and salt. Fresh peas. A stew cooked over the fire.
I’m reading this series to my own child and we’ve been inspired to recreate some of their meals!
Marzipan. from The Amber Spyglass of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.
Every time I read a book set in New Orleans that mentioned beignets and chicory coffee, I really wanted to try it. I finally did. The beignets were delightful and the chicory coffee was disgusting.
I was pregnant while reading Legends and Lattes. I became feral for chocolate croissants and ate them everyday for like 2 weeks straight.
Don’t remember which books exactly but it’s pasta puttanesca and enchiladas from A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Fried Green Tomatoes! I’m from Mexico so we don’t really have equivalents to deep friend veggies like that. I was not too impressed but I might give them another change if I’m ever in the South.
My mom read Under The Tuscan Sun then fed us Italian for weeks. Until then I didn’t know Olive Garden wasn’t authentic Italian food.