Harry Potter a celebration in Food

While suffering from this yucky summer cold, I bought and too quickly finished the latest Harry Potter Book #6 in the series. It was wonderful and ended too quickly for me, now the long wait begins for the final book.

One of the richest things about Harry Potter books is the real world sensory touches JK Rowling brings to her stories. This extra attention to detail is what really brings Harry's world to life. And one of my long time favorite parts of that sensory world she has created- is the food.

Rowling uses food for celebration in the many feasts at Hogwarts, to show family relationships (as we see at the Dursleys' where Harry is punished with no meals or cold tinned soup), passage of time and structure to the days that pass, and characters emotional states are often portrayed through food- Like Harry or Ron being too nervous to eat before a quidditch match. Or comfort food- like chocolate being a good remedy food after an encounter with a Dementor.

Rowling also gives her world richness by the sheer variety of foods and cultural texture by some of the very "British offerings" she presents.

A list of some of the foods that HP characters consume, or create;

Yorkshire pudding, beef casserole, sprouts, Pumpkin juice, Roast beef, roast chicken, fried sausages, stew, casserole, tripe, pork chops, shepherd's pie, steak, Cornish pasties, lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, steak and kidney pudding, steak and kidney pie, black pudding, sandwiches (chicken and ham),bread, marshmallows and crumpets (Harry and Ron roast them over the Common room fire during the Christmas holidays), baked pumpkin, roast potatoes, jacket potatoes, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, chips, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, custard tart, mint humbugs, ice cream, apple pies, treacle tart, spotted dick, chocolate eclairs, chocolate gateau, jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, and rice pudding.
Breakfast - Porridge, rolls, orange juice, kippers, eggs and bacon, toast, buttered toast with jam, corn flakes.

Christmas treats:
turkey, chipolatas, thick rich gravy, cranberry sauce, turkey, Christmas pudding, eggnogg, crumpets, more trifle, and Christmas cake. And when it gets really cold in the winter, the House Elves supply teachers and students with warming stews and savoury puddings.

In Diagon Alley/ Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, with a wide range of differently flavoured ice creams and sundaes (among them peanut butter, coconut, strawberry with and without chopped nuts)

The lunch trolley on the train and Honeydukes' sweet shop offer the following, mouth-watering articles:
Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, Liquorice Wands, Pepper Imps, chocolate balls full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, Sugar Quills, tooth flossing string mints, Jelly Slugs, nougat, coconut ice, toffees, Fizzing Whizbees, ice mice, peppermint toads, blood flavoured lollipops, Cockroach Cluster, fudge flies, Acid Pops, sherbet balls, pumpkin tart and ice creams and sundaes of various flavours.

At the Three Broomsticks, Butterbeer, Red Currant Rum, Gillywater, cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella and mulled mead.
And then there is of course tea

Hagrid cooks making a strange assortment of food including treacle fudge, rock cakes and bath buns, stoat sandwiches or his alleged beef casserole (containing a large talon)

As an American I never really had much exposure to trifle and the name of it always catches my eye when I read Harry Potter- they seem to have trifle and treacle tart quite often.

Here is a recipe for a classic "Proper Trifle" originally from the Sundays at the moosewood cookbook.

A Proper Trifle

Custard:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar (superfine or granulated)
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Cake/Fruit layer:
5 cups pound cake pieces
or sponge cake pieces
raspberry jam
1/8 to 1/4 cup sherry
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
OR blackberries
1 large banana

Topping:
1/2 pint heavy cream -- whipped
1/2 cup slivered almonds -- lightly toasted

To make the custard, heat the cream in a small saucepan, taking care that it does not scorch. In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. When the cream is hot, pour it into the bowl with the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Return the custard to the saucepan and stir constantly on low heat until thickened, but do not let it boil.
Remove it from the heat and cool.

To assemble the trifle, spread the pieces of cake with a very thin layer of jam. Put the pieces in a large bowl. (Clear glass or crystal is traditional.) Sprinkle the sherry and berries over the cake and stir.

Don't bother to thaw frozen berries; there's less mess if they're frozen. Peel and thinly slice the banana. Stir it in with the cake and berries. Drizzle the custard over the top. Don't expect to cover and completely encase the cake and fruit mix.
Spread the whipped cream over the trifle. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.

From: "Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant"
This recipe was originally posted in Diana's Kitchen

You can read a whole essay about use of food in the Harry Potter series and some thoughts on the unhealthy eating habits of wizards at HP Lexicon

You can also see some great ideas for having a Harry Potter inspired party or tea at
I Village UK or
Amazing Moms.com

and don't forget the Trifle