Fantasy for Foodies: 7 Books Guaranteed to Make You Hungry

The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
Most Craved: Chocolate Frogs, Butterbeer, Pumpkin Pasties
Who hasn’t wanted to sit at a Hogwarts feast or fill up on enchanted candy at Honeydukes? The pages of the Harry Potter series are stuffed with every sort of food, from the magical and delicious to the disturbing and disgusting (see: booger-flavored candy beans and Deathday feasts.) Some of the most exciting treats have even made the jump to the real world: There are probably hundreds of recipes for Butterbeer online (here are just a few), and you can visit a replica Honeydukes filled with acid pops, Cauldron Cakes, Fizzing Whizzbees, Chocolate Frogs and more at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.
 

Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
Most Craved: Cinnamon rolls, Bitter Chocolate Death, Death of Marat
Sunshine‘s cinnamon rolls aren’t just any old cinnamon rolls: They’re as big as your head and almost a main character in the book, which is both strange and delightful in a story about vampires. As for the rest of the menu at Charlie’s Coffeehouse—Killer Zebras, tea bread, Bitter Chocolate Death, Death of Marat (who knows, but doesn’t it just sound fascinating?), muffins, muffins, and more muffins—well, let’s just say that you probably shouldn’t read Sunshine if you’re on a low-carb diet.
 

A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin
Most Craved: Lemon cakes, creamy chestnut soup, Dothraki blood pie
Game of Thrones-inspired food has become so popular that the series has inspired not one, but two cookbooks: A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook, by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehre; and The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook: From Direwolf Ale to Auroch Stew, by Alan Kistler. Martin himself says that he’s been accused of “gratuitous feasting,” but going by the number of GoT-themed dinner parties and cooking blogs popping up on the internet, fans think the feasting is anything but gratuitous. For my part, sign me up for Dornish cream cakes and sweet plum wine any day (I’d even try the honeyed locusts…once).
 

 The Redwall series, by Brian Jacques
Most Craved: Candied chestnuts, Deeper’n’Ever Turnip’n’Tater’n’Beetroot Pie, candied rose petals
Another series that inspired a cookbook (The Redwall Cookbook), the food of Redwall sometimes seems like pure, edible, whimsy. These are dishes with names that taste as good on the tongue as the actual recipe might: Hare’s Pawspring Vegetable Soup, Cheerful Churchmouse Cherry Crisp, Harvestberry Sunset Pudden. Almost two decades have passed since I started reading Redwall, and it all still sounds as delicious as it did that first time.
 

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
Most Craved: Miruvor
There’s a lot of fuss about that glorified Powerbar business, although to my mind the obvious winner of the Middle Earth food contest is miruvor, a mead-like cordial with incredible restorative powers. But it isn’t so much a specific food as it is the Hobbits’ sheer love of eating that makes this a book worthy of a foodie, a love that can be summed up in two words: Second. Breakfast.
 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
Most Craved: Turkish Delight
I wonder what percentage of children reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for the first time actually know what Turkish delight is, and why it was so incredibly tempting. Certainly, many readers have expressed their disappointment when they finally encounter it—it’s an odd confection, and not for everybody. Those of us who love it, though! The powdered sugar, the strange and varied flavors (you might find it in rose, or almond, or earl grey tea), the chewy sweetness…well, for us poor Edmund’s plight makes a little more sense.
 

The Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan
Most Craved: Honey-glazed chicken, sweetberry tea, honey cakes
A list of foods mentioned in the series appears to possibly run into the hundreds: a delightful vision of spice cakes, hearty stews (alright, it may be common, but really, who doesn’t love a good stew?), and plenty of delicious teas. Of course, there are some less delightful dishes as well—porridge makes several appearances—but tasty descriptions outweigh the not-so-tasty, and you should never dive into the books hungry.
What fantasy never fails to make you hungry?