[HPforGrownups] Re: Rejoice, for another candy debate cometh!

[Amanda Lewanski]

No: HPFGUIDX 12989

Amy Z wrote:

> What is treacle anyway?  This is not a term we use in the US.  My
> Annotated Alice says it's molasses.  Is it *exactly* the same as what
> we call molasses (thick syrup that is produced during the process of
> refining cane sugar)?  Or some other kind of syrup?  I've been trying
> to picture treacle tart for some time now, without success.

I've gotten the impression that treacle is thicker than our molasses.
Picture cold molasses.

> And do people really make fudge OR toffee out of it, or is this an
> example of Hagrid's culinary inventiveness?

I would hope not; it tastes awful.

> And while we're at it, what's spotted dick?  (I'm trying to imagine
> serving something with that name in a US school.  The students would
> die of the giggles.)
>
> Mod Squad, is this off-topic?

I hope not, because I was going to ask this very thing. I was flipping
through my GoF last night, and came across the scene where Ron is trying
to entice the elf-indignant-Hermione to eat. Aha, found it (p. 183 US):

" 'Treacle tart, Hermione!' said Ron, deliberately wafting its smell
toward her. "Spotted dick, look! Chocolate gateau!' "

I have no idea what any of these are. Treacle tart has treacle in it and
so I probably wouldn't like it, and spotted dick, well, it sounds like
some sort of condition. A few lines later it says "When the puddings too
had been demolished..." so I assume most of these are in the pudding
category--but that doesn't help just a hell of a lot either, because in
Brit-land they call *hard* things pudding, not our Jello-type semiliquid
variety. Plum pudding could be downright dangerous at high velocities;
they make it with *batter,* which in the U.S. is only for cakes.

So clearly the Brits eat weird food and I was going to ask just what
exactly spotted dick is, and whether I should worry about you guys
overseas being exposed to it....

--Amanda, whose mom had to explain why Tom Thumb fell into the *batter*
when his mom was making *pudding*


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