Top Five Foods From Children's Literature

Sure, most kids' books lack the literary merit of, say, Moby Dick. But which would you prefer to read: a hundred pages about harvesting techniques for whale oil, or a mouth-watering description of Harry Potter's magical dinner? When it comes to food, children's literature has the adult version beat. Here are five of the most notable examples.

​5. Turkish delight, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Narnia books always struck me as a sneaky way to make kids gobble up Christianity, sort of like hiding vitamins in a spoonful of ice cream. (If you read them after age 8 or so, the big friendly lion-as-Christ metaphor is like getting smacked in the face with a crucifix.) So it's no surprise that the most memorable food in the series also misrepresents itself. When the evil White Witch recruits young Edmund by bribing him with Turkish delight, it sounds like the most awesome food ever: so delicious it can turn you to the dark side. But C.S. Lewis never really explains what Turkish delight is beyond saying it's "sweet and light to the very center." Turns out it's jelly cubes sprinkled with powdered sugar, sort of like Aplets & Cotlets. And I'm sorry, but only grandmas eat Aplets & Cotlets. They're right up there with cod liver oil and prunes.