The Magical Nature of Food: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

From simple roast dinners and Chocolate Frogs to the infamous Butterbeer and Bettie Bott's Every Flavoured Bean, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter entices both the imagination of children and adults when it comes to the theme of food. Food in Harry Potter is used as a focal point to blur the boundary between fantasy and reality as with the introduction of monsters and magic it is important to keep some realism within Rowling's children's fantasy to slowly allude to the idea of another more magical world.

Harry Potter, for me at least has always left me with a warm feeling when it came to the topic of food. There's something about Every Flavoured Bean that makes your mind question whether they really can taste like every flavour imaginable and this feeling is accentuated through Rowling's funky names. They're memorable, catchy and fun and that's what food is all about, the taste, the texture and the comfort that food brings to a person is just... bliss. but that's not what all Rowling's funky names do, they stir the imagination of the reader enticing them to think differently more creatively about food acting as a way to transition from reality into a more diverse and magical universe hidden away by platform 9 3/4. 

The more we get to delve into the magical nature of food is when Harry is transitioning for life as a muggle into the magical realm of Hogwarts. Harry "had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry." Rowling brings up the notion of a Mars Bars as its an easily identifiable British candy bar so it becomes a relevant and relatable item however, she begins to fill our imaginations of other foods by giving them a magical quality. Harry continues with: "but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything..." Rowling plays with our imagination and this is due to the enticing names that are filled with alliteration, I mean, isn't there a magic aspect that makes you wonder what a "Cauldron Cake" tastes like? J.K. Rowling uses alliteration and sweet sugary foods to grab the attention of children and adults alike but it also acts as a method of transitioning from a low fantasy fiction book towards the high fantasy aspect of Hogwarts.

As we continue, we can see that the use of food is symbolic of friendship. Harry offering Ron a pasty "had nerve had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten." Food for Harry becomes a way for him to befriend Ron and much like in our muggle world we tend to share with those that are close to us moreover, with all these magical and sugary food we have the habit of forgetting the more boring, plain and well... 'normal' food like the sandwiches Ron's mum had made. Accentuating the exchange of food Harry swaps "you for one of these, Harry said holding up a pasty. Go on." This acts as a way to cement their friendship and certainly reminds every reader of all ages of their childhood when they would trade food.

Lastly, despite the catchy names and magical aspect of food, there seems to be an ever abundance of food within Harry Potter. At the start of his first banquet within Hogwarts "Harry's mouth fell open. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs." The vast a quantity of food is enough to put someone into a food coma thinking about it but, this overwhelming amount of food makes the atmosphere more magical. Despite being ordinary food we 'muggles' eat, Rowling uses quantity as a way to give a more intense sensation and this is also used to remind us that despite being wizards they love food just as much as we do. Lastly Rowling ends the list with "Peppermint humbugs" as a reminder for the reader that Hogwarts is a place of magic and plays with our imaginations. 

The theme of food plays an important within The Philosopher's Stone as it acts as a method to transition between low fantasy into Rowling's realm of high fantasy where everything is magical. Rowling encourages our imagination in a way that gets our palates drooling with the use of creative names and an abundance of food that we can't help but have a warm fuzzy feeling inside. 

SO... question time. What Potter food would you want to try the most?