Wizards and Muggles and Food

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 161737

Sue wrote:
> 
> Goodness, what a  variety of subjects for a post! :-) 
> 
> The problem about grocery shopping is you'd have to get Muggle 
> money. This is certainly available, or they wouldn't be able to take 
> Muggle taxis, make phone calls or such. In fact, it's indicated 
> early on that there's some sort of exchange at Gringott's, where 
> Hermione's parents do a swap for galleons and such. But the wizards 
> don't seem to have a clue how to use Muggle money and there would be 
> a bit of suspicion, surely, when they go to Muggle stores (would 
> there be anyone thinking wizard shoppers were spies?)

Carol responds:
I think Catlady was suggesting that witches and wizards shop by using
owls to place their orders and then have them delivered, perhaps by
Floo network, which makes more sense to me than carrying them by broom
or apparating, and it would take more than a few owls to carry a
week's groceries for a family the size of the Weasleys. No need for
Muggle money. The store just sends the bill to Gringotts and they
debit your account. Of course, the Weasleys have to supplement any
orders to the Wizard grocery store with food they've grown themselves
and conjured sauce.
> 
Sue:
> Not sure about using Transfiguration for everything. We've seen 
> Molly cooking, even if she did use her wand to light the stove and 
> stir the sauce.The house elves seem to cook, too. Surely using 
> transfiguration for everything would be like eating processed food 
> all the time? Maybe magic is tiring?

Carol:
I don't think conjured food has any nutritional value, only the taste
and appearance of real food. It probably disappears after being eaten
just as Leprechaun's gold disappears within twenty-four hours.
Essentially, it's an illusion. Otherwise, witches and wizards wouldn't
need to work and the Weasleys wouldn't be poor or the Malfoys rich.
Sirius Black could simply have stolen a wand and conjured the food he
needed rather than living on rats or the food Harry got from the
house-elves. Magic in the HP books has its limits, and I think
conjured food is one of them.
> 
Sue:
> Hey, maybe there ARE wizard farms, where they can at least grow 
> things quickly...?
>
Carol:
Well, some poor witch bet (and lost) her eel farm that Bulgaria would
win the QWC. If the WW has eel farms, it probably has farms to grow
produce as well. I'm pretty sure that the Malfoys don't grow their own
vegetables and more than they raise their own pigs.

Carol, thinking that JKR deliberately leaves such details to the
imagination of the reader