Food that sounds great in books but is disappointing in real life

[BlowDryRat]

As a child I was very into reading the Famous Five and begged my mum to buy me ginger beer. It was a disappointing experience. It tasted horrible!

Ditto cakes made with chestnut flour (The Wolves of Willoughby Chase) and the butterbeer at the Harry Potter studio tour.

@LApprentiSorcier

I tried anchovy paste inspired by the 'shoe polish' episode in Fifth Form at St Clare's. I liked it (as I like anchovies generally) but how it could ever be confused with shoe polish is beyond me - it was quite a pale colour and not nearly as thick as shoe polish. Of course, anchovy paste and indeed, shoe polish, might have changed in the 70+ years since that scene was written.

I think it probably has done. Commercialism and supermarkets have a lot to answer for. Bread was ruined in the 60s by mass production techniques. No anaemic, soggy Tesco's effort will ever match up to a properly made pork pie with decent ingredients and a crisp, melt-in-your-mouth pastry.

My own try was the "nectar" coffee from the Chalet School books, with its "featherbed of whipped cream" that made me physically sick.

I think it probably has done. Commercialism and supermarkets have a lot to answer for.

Yes - I might see if I can find a recipe and make my own shoe-polish identical anchovy paste!

Love kedgeree. And ginger beer, which is much nicer than Diet Coke when you’re not drinking. Ginger Pepsi max is lush though

@MrMucker

Whenever I stop to sup in a late nineteenth century festival marquee on the edge of Casterbridge I am always shocked at the mouth feel you get from furmenty even that laced with rum, and wonder how long it will take for somebody to invent a commercialised noodle snack which can be reconstituted in it's own pot with very hot water and a small pouch of spiced grease, for that will surely be an improvement.

What is the mouth feel from frumenty?

I don't think I have ever had it. I just looked it up, and apparently it was often served on Mothering Sunday!

We do often have porridge for breakfast - is it like a rich porridge? Or a cross between porridge and custard?

I love a lot of the 'trad British' stuff on this thread - kedgeree, crumpets, sardines on toast, plum cake, ginger beer. But I basically love anything salty or spiced. Crumpets should be dripping with salted butter and honey; everything else is obviously salty/spiced.

I never liked pork pie - which is heresy where I come from, as it's near Melton Mowbray - but I wonder if it's something fridges have killed. I really hate the taste of meat chilled in the fridge, and there's a bit in Elizabeth David where she speculates that fridges introduce a really peculiar taste as compared to a (cool, but not cold) larder. In particular she points out cold roast chicken cooked this morning and left to cool down for lunch is delicious, but cold roast chicken cooked last night and put in the fridge is not. So maybe that is part of it?

For me, the biggest disappointment was from the Little House books. I always credulously took for granted the food was exactly as delicious as Laura claims, including in The Long Winter where the unbuttered bread made of ground green corn has a 'nutty flavour that almost replaced butter' and the soup Ma makes for Christmas with watered-down milk and canned clams are both delicious. A few years ago someone on here pointed out there'd be revolting and the scales fell from my eyes.

(Btw, on the theme of American food, I can confirm fried green tomatoes are amazing. We had an excess of tomatoes last year and I made DP cook them about once a week.)

@beyondtheshoe
'English' tea, as you call it, is as individual as the person who makes it !!

Turning the OP around, as a child I read all the Narnia books and was fascinated by the fruit that was like toffee. As an adult, the first time I had fresh dates, I became convinced that was what C. S. Lewish was thinking of. I may be wrong, because looking it up I see that he describes the fruit as juicy. But in every other respect a date is a toffee in fruit form, and was just as delicious as I'd always hoped.

Another 'Katy' one - I always wanted to try the 'molasses' of which Dorry was so very fond.

Imagine my disappointment when I learned that molasses is just an American word for treacle.

(The Magician's Nephew)

Roasted chestnuts.

Boilng sludge in a near impenetrable shell.

Sardines on toast was a bit of a Sunday night thing for my mother, but with tinned sardines mashed together with vinegar, then spread on toast. Yum.

I just had porridge for dinner, but it was oats, a bit of milk, water, and frozen rhubarb, cook that until it reduces, then add mixed berries, black cherries, some greek yoghurt and cinnamon.
Basically a big bowl of dessert.

same! who on earth mentions quinoa in a book?

Perhaps they misread the title and thought it was"Love In The Time of Quinoa."

Anchovy toast. I think it was in one of the Malory Towers books. Well, it's awful! Really strongly fishy.

Boiling

Also Earl Grey tea. It's like drinking the 'perfume' I made from water and rose petals as a kid. Give me a builder's Typhoo any day.

I don't get this thing about Cadbury chocolate - its rough and sticks in your throat, galaxy is especially aweful

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Turning the OP around, as a child I read all the Narnia books and was fascinated by the fruit that was like toffee. As an adult, the first time I had fresh dates, I became convinced that was what C. S. Lewish was thinking of. I may be wrong, because looking it up I see that he describes the fruit as juicy. But in every other respect a date is a toffee in fruit form, and was just as delicious as I'd always hoped.

I think it is fresh dates, because they are juicy if you let them get fully ripe, aren't they? They have that slight mouth pucker and crunchiness when they're fresh off the tree, but if you put them in a fruit bowl for a week or 10 days they definitely exude juice.

He does describe it as a bit like dates, I think.

Galaxy isn't made by Cadbury's.

Oh! I have a proper one. Alcoholic punch. I read loads of trashy novels where they sipped punch or had Pimms.

I don't hate either, but I thought they would be lovely, fresh-fruit flavours with a delicate hint of booze. Not so much.

I tried onion soup after Harry Potter had some in one of the books. It was from a tin and rank. I imagine if it was home cooked properly it would probably be ok?
And no to ginger beer, root beer and cream soda. Also grim.

[quote shinynewapple21]@beyondtheshoe
'English' tea, as you call it, is as individual as the person who makes it !! [/quote]
I am still looking for the right one for me unfortunately!

(I have a DH but he doesn't drink tea )

You're doing coconut water all wrong.

It needs to be fresh, on a beach in the Caribbean with a very large slug of coconut rum poured in the top. Then it's gorgeous.

I always wanted to try Frobscottle in the BFG 😆

Just remembered another one - not me but DD. When she was 2 she was desperate to try pink milk like Lola always has in the Charlie and Lola books, so I got some raspberry stuff to mix up with milk. She really didn’t like it! However I was pregnant with DC2 and discovered it was just the thing for heartburn. I spent every evening with a big glass of pink milk.

The Sopranos has loads of references to food but when you google them, they are mostly pasta with tomato sauce or processed meat...

@ivykaty44

I don't get this thing about Cadbury chocolate - its rough and sticks in your throat, galaxy is especially aweful

Both used to be delicious.

Then they were sold to American companies, and they introduce palm oil into the recipe.

Root Beer, Vimto and Dr Peppers.

Stick to Coke or Pepsi and stay safe.