Honeydukes

Like most twenty-somethings, I spent the later part of my childhood spellbound by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. I remember stories of younger sisters devastated that they didn't receive, by owl-post on their 11th birthdays, much anticipated letters from Hogwarts, informing them that they were wizards. Re-reading the Harry Potter books is always nostalgic and always brings back those feelings of excitement that I experienced on my first reading. For me, the magic was always in the details, and none more so than in the lavish descriptions of food.

My blogging journey will commence at Honeydukes, the fantastical sweet shop in the wizarding town of Hogsmeade. Magical morsels abound as Harry enters the sweet shop for the first time in The Prisoner of Azkaban through a secret passage...

"There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent looking sweets imaginable..."

Alongside traditional confectionery such as nougat, coconut ice and toffee, Harry discovers levitating sherbert balls, exploding bonbons, ice mice that cause your teeth to chatter and squeak and black pepper mints that allow you to breathe fire.

As a child who loved anything slightly disgusting, my favourites were always the 'Unusual Tastes'; blood flavoured lollipops and cockroach clusters.

No discussion of Harry Potter sweets and treats would be complete without an affectionate mention of the Chocolate Frog. Not only does it attempt to make a hop-footed escape from the wizard or witch about to devour it, the Chocolate Frog contains inside it a moving picture card of a famous witch or wizard. Chocolate Frog cards played an important role in Harry, Ron and Hermoine's first year at Hogwarts when they used them to uncover the identity of Nicolas Flamel - a seminal moment in their first encounter with Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts.

Coming up in Mouthwatering Magic:

I attempt to recreate some of my favourite celebration dishes from the wizarding world in my entirely unenchanted muggle kitchen....