Sweets!

I have such a sweet tooth that I love all the sweet treats that J. K. Rowling invented for the Harry Potter series. The wide variety of sweets (and food in general) is where it becomes obvious that these novels are part of the fantasy genre (excluding the magic that makes the stories, of course!). Rowling did not ignore mealtimes and snacks in the series. Instead, she took these as opportunities to create unusual and fascinating dishes and foods.

The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (because I am British), introduces the readers to these new and exciting foods through the wide repertoire of sweets. Solely looking for any sweet treats in the books was actually quite fun and interesting because I noticed more flavours and different kinds of sweets than I had remembered from the previous times I’ve read this book.

The initial instance of a sweet is by Professor Albus Dumbledore. When he and Professor McGonagall are at Privet Drive, waiting for Hagrid to arrive with Harry, Dumbledore offers McGonagall a sherbet lemon. He describes it as “a kind of Muggle sweet I’m rather fond of” (p13). McGongall’s reaction is not light-hearted. Instead, she responds to him “coldly, as though she didn’t think this was the moment for sherbet lemons” (p13). This simple (and probably often overlooked) conversation between these two professors says an awful lot about their characters. In McGonagall’s eyes, Dumbledore is not appreciating the seriousness of the situation and is not behaving accordingly (i.e. not behaving like her, which is sensibly and in a worried manner). However, the fact that Dumbledore is even describing the sweet hints at his eccentric and powerful personality. He understands the situation perfectly and has assessed the different outcomes for Harry and his future. Dumbledore is content with his decision of Harry staying with his Muggle Aunt and Uncle, rather than growing up in the wizarding world, which he explains to McGonagall. In addition, Dumbledore even eating a Muggle sweet illustrates his ability to be appreciative of something that others would not be. This popular sweet in the UK has a hard outer shell and is sour on the inside. Dumbledore’s fondness of this sweet is seen again when he makes this the password to his office at one point in the series. Rowling’s choice is making him like something Muggle-related brings to light his kind, caring, and non-judgemental characteristics, all of which made him a respected wizard.

Another instance of sweets in the first novel is the trolley on the Hogwarts Express. The reader is introduced to this small event by Harry wanting a Mars Bar, a popular English (and Muggle) chocolate. Instead, Harry sees a trolley filled with sweets and chocolates that are foreign to him. 

“… the woman didn’t have Mars Bars. What she did have were 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.” (p76)

These are all strange sweets and chocolates that Harry has not heard of before, demonstrating that Rowling is taking advantage of the fantasy genre that the books are considered to be. Rowling has thrown an assortment of sweets at the reader, which makes them continue reading in hope that she explains what they are or what they taste like. Unfortunately, (something I see as a downfall), Rowling often fulfils neither of these wishes. After searching for them on google, I find what they are and what they are supposedly meant to look like. Putting this lack of description aside, Rowling’s imagination cannot be entirely faulted as she does provide a long list of flavours for Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans. These flavours are introduced by Ron, who warns Harry about the large variety of flavours.

“‘When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour – you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he got a bogey-flavoured one once.’” (p78)

“They had a good times eating the Every-Flavour Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked beans, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Ron wouldn’t touch, which turned out to be pepper.” (p78)

There are a variety of flavours, some which wouldn’t have even been considered as flavours for sweets. This complements the fantasy genre as the flavours are not confined to the generic ‘Muggle’ flavours. Sprouts, vomit, toffee, and earwax are other flavours that are mentioned in The Philospher’s Stone. More flavours are mentioned in the other books; a long list is provided at this link http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Bertie_Bott%27s_Every_Flavour_Beans. By just glancing at the flavours, it is obvious to see that Rowling has mixed ordinary flavours with abnormal flavours. This includes conventional edible food flavours with unusual INEDIBLE food flavours, such as grass, dirty sock, and vomit. The purpose of this is to shock the reader and keep them interested. This was definitely the case with me. When I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, I bought these sweets. I am positive that the first one I tried was the flavour of soap!

Above is the film adaptation of this scene. Skip to 0.47 for a shot of the trolley. It is packed with glorious goodies. It should be noted that they have adapted the script to show Harry opening the Chocolate Frog box. A spell is cast on the chocolate frog to make them jump, which was not mentioned in the book at all. In my opinion, this would have added to the description of the sweets as it would have demonstrated the difference between Muggle sweets and magical sweets.

As you can see, I have only focused on the first novel in this post. Seeing as Harry and his peers are teenagers, sweets are a vital part of their diet. So I will most likely make another post about this area of food. Now, I’m off to get my fill of sweets as writing this has given me a craving!