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From: Lenona <lenona321@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: "Turkish Delight in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
Date: Thu, 8 May 2025 00:42:24 +0000
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I found this at r/cooking. It brought up a couple of points I had never
thought of!


https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/1kgiu8u/whats_the_most_overrated_dish_youve_ever_tried/

"What’s the most overrated dish you’ve ever tried?"


"I don’t mean “bad,” just something everyone seems to love that didn’t
live up to the hype for you.

"Maybe it was something trendy on social media, a “must-try” restaurant
dish, or a classic that people swear by but just didn’t do it for you."


moxiewhoreon
I spent so much of my childhood wondering how magical Turkish Delight
had to be for that kid to sell out his family (and an entire alternate
world) for. And then I tried it in my 20s and....ugh.

Terrible-Notice-7617
Definitely not "sell out your family good" but if you find a good
Turkish delight it is wonderful. But a good Turkish delight is extremely
hard to find, sadly.


Weed_O_Whirler
I felt the same way, until a Turkish guy took me to a small shop in
Istanbul and ordered me some, and my first thought was "I'd betray my
sister for this."


vertigo42
One it's rationed england in WW2. Sweets and sugar are rare. 2 it's
magical Turkish delight that is designed to basically take Edmond over.


Purple-Pound-6759
I think this is it - well, not just that, but the fact that, 70+ years
ago, British diets were much less sweet in general, with less processed
foods and refined sugar.

A lot of the time, when I hear people dislike Turkish delight, it's
because it tastes soapy, but when your palate is desensitised to sugar,
it won't taste sweet with floral notes, but rather floral with sweet
notes.

I personally like Turkish delight, even the cheap ones. I think floral
flavours are generally underused, especially in confectionery. But maybe
I'm just weird like that.

StarsofSobek
No, it definitely was (enchanted). Poor Edmund, he just didn't realise
he was making a deal with the devil. The whole excerpt explains that
Queen Jadis magically produced several pounds of Turkish Delight, which
Edmund then consumed. He even asks for more. The Queen denies him,
because he would likely eat himself to death. He even feels sickly
after, once the Queen has gone. The scene is to establish how warm, and
inviting, and even motherly the Queen became to Edmund at a time in his
young life when he felt displaced and angry and perhaps even frightened
(we have to remember, Edmund was a young lad who was separated from all
the comforts of home, and they were moved to the country to stay safe
during the war. Edmund wasn't coping well with the changes, let alone
getting on well with his siblings...) The Queen absolutely takes
advantage of this. Enchanted food reminds Edmund of home and comfort -
that makes him feel warm and safe, and he craves everything, even the
Queen's empty promises - it gives us an idea of how cruel, manipulative,
pervasive, and sly her evil can be.

CumpireStateBuilding
You might enjoy it a little more if the last memory you have of your
childhood home is of it getting bombed by Nazis


BostonBestEats
It was magical Turkish Delight. Of course it tasted amazing.

"While he was eating the Queen kept asking him questions. At first
Edmund tried to remember that it is rude to speak with one’s mouth full,
but soon he forgot about this and thought only of trying to shovel down
as much Turkish Delight as he could, and the more he ate the more he
wanted to eat..."

You've only had non-magical Turkish Delight, and probably the usual
pretty crappy version too. That's like saying you had a Hershey's Kiss
and that chocolate isn't really that good.


LittleBlag
Also we aren’t kids who’ve grown up with absolutely 0 sugar from wartime
rationing. Of COURSE something that is 99% sugar (and 100% magic, I
definitely agree with you there) is going to blow your tiny little mind


makiir
I loved Turkish delight as a kid but still wouldn't have sold out my
family for it (but if I had been a kid on war rations and evacuating
from the London Blitz in the 1940s, maybe I would have)


theduckopera
GOOD Turkish delight is a thing of beauty. In my home city in Australia
we have a lot of Turkish places and their Turkish delight is delicate
powdery melt in the mouth wonderful. I lived in the States for years and
never had Turkish delight that even slightly measured up. So I think
it's a treat that varies wildly in quality depending where you are.
Also, Edmund probably hadn't had sugar in months and Skittles were yet
to be invented.


Hungry_Panic_2482
Weren't they were on war rations or something, the kid wasn't just sugar
deprived, he was probably also losing weight from not eating enough
regularly, then went on a fantasy adventure with sporadic meal times

dirthawker0
When I was a kid my folks would buy Aplets and cotlets (the Armenian
immigrant version of Turkish delight) and those were pretty damn good.
Would 8 year old me betray the fam for it? Maybe...

Since then I've occasionally bought TD in European import groceries and
that stuff is kind of terrible by comparison. Hard and not as flavorful.

StarsofSobek
My partner is Irish. Turkish delight is his absolute favourite treat. As
an American, I only knew about it from reading, The Lion, The Witch, and
The Wardrobe, and I had always wanted to try it. He was hyped and so
excited to find me authentic Turkish delight and to share that first
experience of tasting it with me.

...I am still so sad by how disappointing it was. Lol! It was always
such a magical idea, but the reality is it's a rosewater or lemon
flavoured jelly candy dusted in sugar powder or coated in a milk
chocolate. I'd still give it another shot if say, someone could give me
an authentic bite of a family recipe or something, but...yeah. That
said, I think my partner would happily trade a foot for some proper
Turkish delight. He really does love it! 🤣


Harper_Macallan
In the Houston area, we have Royal Roastery which imports Turkish goods
and makes specialty treats in-house. Took my kids there for a birthday,
and ended up coming home with three pounds of Turkish delight, after the
manager let them sample probably twenty flavors. It was INCREDIBLE, and
I highly recommend real Turkish delight. Their previous experience had
been limited to the boxed crap shared with them after reading CS Lewis,
as well, so they’ve really had the full range. For what it’s worth, I
think Royal Roastery will also mail you orders, and they have a
multitude of flavors to pick from.