Published: 14 July 2022
First published in 1865, the British children’s book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll has captured the hearts of children and adults alike with its absurd scenarios and endearing anthropomorphic creatures. This one-sitting wonder explores the captivating tale of a young girl named Alice as she ventures into the magical and quirky fantasy world of Wonderland.
To my surprise, there is quite a number of food references sprinkled throughout this beloved English novel. Without further ado, let’s explore the foods and dishes showcased in the book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.
Orange marmalade
Marmalade is a must for a British breakfast table. If Paddington Bear and the Queen can agree on marmalade sandwiches for afternoon tea, surely it must have something going for it!
In the very beginning of chapter 1, Alice mentions a jar of sweet orange spread right after falling down the rabbit hole.
“She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed: it was labelled “ORANGE MARMALADE,” but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar, for fear of killing somebody underneath, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it“– Chapter 1, page 4.
Milk
The traditional image of a cat drinking milk out of a saucer is ingrained in most people’s psyche. Funnily enough, a majority of our feline pets are actually lactose intolerant. Regardless, it’s Dinah’s favourite afternoon treat.
“‘Dinah’ll miss me very much to-night, I should think!’ (Dinah was the cat.) ‘I hope they’ll remember her saucer of milk at teatime. Dinah, my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I’m afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that’s very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder?'” – Chapter 1, page 4.
“Drink me”
The mysterious “drink me” bottles are simply iconic and an integral part of any Wonderland menu.
“There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went back to the table, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she found a little bottle on it (‘which certainly was not here before,’ said Alice), and tied round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words ‘DRINK ME’ beautifully printed on it in large letters” – Chapter 1, pages 5-6.
Stumbling upon “DRINK ME” potions is common currency for Alice throughout her journey. Despite having zero information on the nature of the drink, Alice is able to provide more insight on the peculiar taste of the curious refreshment that shrunk her to ten inches.
“However, this bottle was not marked “poison,” so Alice ventured to taste it, and, finding it very nice (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffy, and hot buttered toast), she very soon finished it off.” – Chapter 1, page 6.
“Drink me” doesn’t provide much information on the product now, does it? No wonder why Alice fearlessly picks up an unlabelled drink in chapter 4.
“There was no label this time with the words ‘DRINK ME,’ but nevertheless she uncorked it and put it to her lips. ‘I know something interesting is sure to happen,’ she said to herself, ‘whenever I eat or drink anything: so I’ll just see what this bottle does. I do hope it’ll make me grow large again, for really I’m quite tired of being such a tiny little thing!’ It did so indeed, and much sooner than she had expected: before she had drunk half the bottle, she found her head pressing against the ceiling, and had to stop to save her neck from being broken.” – Chapter 4, page 19
“Eat me”
Only in Wonderland does one gain height rather than weight from cake eating.
“Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words ‘EAT ME’ were beautifully marked in currants” – Chapter 1, page 7.
Carroll later details how Alice opens out “like the largest telescope that ever was” after finishing the currant cake.
In chapter 4, cakes return when Alice desperately looks for a way to shrink while stuck inside Rabbit’s house.
“Alice noticed, with some surprise, that the pebbles were all turning into little cakes as they lay on the floor, and a bright idea came into her head. ‘If I eat one of these cakes,’ she thought, ‘it’s sure to make some change in my size; and, as it can’t possibly make me larger, it must make me smaller, I suppose.’ So she swallowed one of the cakes, and was delighted to find that she began shrinking directly” – Chapter 4, page 22.
Comfits
Liquorice comfits are another British classic. Comfits are confectionery consisting of dried fruits, seeds, spices or nuts coated with a colourful hard sugar coating.
Comfits make an appearance in chapter 3, right after the race-course with all the animals.
“Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her pocket, and pulled out a box of comfits (luckily the salt water had not got into it), and handed them round as prizes. There was exactly one a-piece, all round” – Chapter 3, page 15.
“The next thing was to eat the comfits: this caused some noise and confusion, as the large birds complained that they could not taste theirs, and the small ones choked and had to be patted on the back.” – Chapter 3, page 15.
Apples (but actually potatoes)
Can you dig for apples? Earth apples maybe? In fact, Irish apples was a slang word used to refer to potatoes during the Victorian times.
In chapter 4, the White Rabbit calls upon Pat, the gardener, for help while Alice remains stuck inside Rabbit’s house.
“Next came an angry voice—the Rabbit’s—‘Pat! Pat! Where are you?’ And then a voice she had never heard before, ‘Sure then I’m here! Digging for apples, yer honour!’ ‘Digging for apples, indeed!’ said the Rabbit angrily. ‘Here! Come and help me out of this!’ (Sounds of more broken glass.)” – Chapter 4, page 20.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are first introduced at the same time as the mysterious blue caterpillar. But these are not your regular mushrooms…
“There was a large mushroom growing near her, about the same height as herself; and, when she had looked under it, and on both sides of it, and behind it, it occurred to her that she might as well look and see what was on the top of it. She stretched herself up on tiptoe, and peeped over the edge of the mushroom, and her eyes immediately met those of a large blue caterpillar, that was sitting on the top, with its arms folded, quietly smoking a long hookah, and taking not the smallest notice of her or of anything else” – Chapter 4, page 23.
“Alice remained looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a minute, trying to make out which were the two sides of it; and, as it was perfectly round, she found this a very difficult question. However, at last she stretched her arms round it as far as they would go, and broke off a bit of the edge with each hand. ‘And now which is which?’ she said to herself, and nibbled a little of the right-hand bit to try the effect. The next moment she felt a violent blow underneath her chin: it had struck her foot!” – Chapter 5, page 27.
Alice continues nibbling on pieces of mushroom throughout her adventures, swiftly growing and shrinking as she sees fit.
“After a while she remembered that she still held the pieces of mushroom in her hands, and she set to work very carefully, nibbling first at one and then at the other, and growing sometimes taller, and sometimes shorter, until she had succeeded in bringing herself down to her usual height” – Chapter 5, page 29.
“‘Whoever lives there,’ thought Alice, ‘it’ll never do to come upon them this size: why, I should frighten them out of their wits!’ So she began nibbling at the right-hand bit again, and did not venture to go near the house till she had brought herself down to nine inches high” – Chapter 5, page 29.
“It was so large a house, that she did not like to go nearer till she had nibbled some more of the left-hand bit of mushroom, and raised herself to about two feet high: even then she walked up towards it rather timidly, saying to herself ‘Suppose it should be raving mad after all! I almost wish I’d gone to see the Hatter instead!’”– Chapter 6, page 35.
“Then she went to work nibbling at the mushroom (she had kept a piece of it in her pocket) till she was about a foot high: then she walked down the little passage: and then—she found herself at last in the beautiful garden, among the bright flower-beds and the cool fountains” – Chapter 7, page 41.
Suet
Suet is a common ingredient in many traditional British recipes including Christmas pudding and dumplings. This fat is usually taken from around the kidneys and loin areas of beef, lamb or mutton.
Alice bring it up in chapter 5 while reciting ‘You are old, Father William’ to the blue caterpillar:
“’You are old,’ said the youth, ‘and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak—
Pray, how did you manage to do it?” – Chapter 5, page 25.
Eggs
When Alice encounters the Pigeon in chapter 5, she candidly expresses her fondness for eggs.
“‘I’ve seen a good many little girls in my time, but never one with such a neck as that! No, no! You’re a serpent; and there’s no use denying it. I suppose you’ll be telling me next that you never tasted an egg!’ ‘I have tasted eggs, certainly,’ said Alice, who was a very truthful child; ‘but little girls eat eggs quite as much as serpents do, you know’ “ – Chapter 5, page 28.
Peppery soup & Turtle soup
We don’t get much intel on the kind of soup the cook is preparing in chapter 6. Even so, Alice’s repeated sneezing says a lot about the levels of pepper added to the cauldron.
“The door led right into a large kitchen, which was full of smoke from one end to the other: the Duchess was sitting on a three-legged stool in the middle, nursing a baby: the cook was leaning over the fire, stirring a large cauldron which seemed to be full of soup. ‘There’s certainly too much pepper in that soup!’ Alice said to herself, as well as she could for sneezing” – Chapter 6, page 31.
The relationship between food behaviours and personality traits is further explored by Alice in this next quote.
“Alice was very glad to find her in such a pleasant temper, and thought to herself that perhaps it was only the pepper that had made her so savage when they met in the kitchen. ‘When I’m a Duchess,’ she said to herself (not in a very hopeful tone, though), ‘I won’t have any pepper in my kitchen at all. Soup does very well without—Maybe it’s always pepper that makes people hot-tempered,’ she went on, very much pleased at having found out a new kind of rule, ‘and vinegar that makes them sour—and camomile that makes them bitter—and—and barley-sugar and such things that make children sweet-tempered. I only wish people knew that: then they wouldn’t be so stingy about it, you know——'”– Chapter 9, page 49.
The Duchess’s cook is known to make everyone sneeze. Clearly, her love for pepper cannot be measured.
“The next witness was the Duchess’s cook. She carried the pepper-box in her hand, and Alice guessed who it was, even before she got into the court, by the way the people near the door began sneezing all at once” – Chapter 11, page 65.
Soup is also brought up during the Mock Turtle’s rendition of “Turtle Soup” in chapter 10.
“‘Hm! No accounting for tastes! Sing her ‘Turtle Soup,’ will you, old fellow?’ The Mock Turtle sighed deeply, and began, in a voice choked with sobs, to sing this:—
‘Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Beau—ootiful Soo—oop!
Beau—ootiful Soo—oop!
Soo—oop of the e—e—evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!
Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
Beau—ootiful Soo—oop!
Beau—ootiful Soo—oop!
Soo—oop of the e—e—evening,
Beautiful, beauti—FUL SOUP!'” – Chapter 10, pages 59-60.
Fig
Figs or pigs? That is the question!
Alice’s encounters with the charismatic and quirky Cheshire cat is by far one of the most memorable moments in Wonderland.
“As she said this, she looked up, and there was the Cat again, sitting on a branch of a tree. ‘Did you say ‘pig’, or ‘fig’?’ said the Cat. ‘I said ‘pig’,’ replied Alice; ‘and I wish you wouldn’t keep appearing and vanishing so suddenly: you make one quite giddy.’ ‘All right,’ said the Cat; and this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone” – Chapter 6, page 35.
Tea, bread and butter
In chapter 7, a modest spread awaits Alice for afternoon tea with the Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse.
“Alice considered a little, and then said ‘The fourth.’ ‘Two days wrong!’ sighed the Hatter. ‘I told you butter wouldn’t suit the works!’ he added looking angrily at the March Hare. ‘It was the best butter,’ the March Hare meekly replied. ‘Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,’ the Hatter grumbled: ‘you shouldn’t have put it in with the bread-knife.’ The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, ‘It was the best butter, you know’ “ – Chapter 7, page 37.
“A bright idea came into Alice’s head. ‘Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here?’ she asked. ‘Yes, that’s it,’ said the Hatter with a sigh: ‘it’s always tea-time, and we’ve no time to wash the things between whiles.’ ‘Then you keep moving round, I suppose?’ said Alice. ‘Exactly so,’ said the Hatter: ‘as the things get used up’“– Chapter 7, page 39.
The Hatter goes as far as to appear as a witness at the trial with his tea and afternoon snack, both of which are brought up multiple times throughout the chapter.
“‘Call the first witness,’ said the King; and the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and called out, ‘First witness!’ The first witness was the Hatter. He came in with a teacup in one hand and a piece of bread-and-butter in the other. ‘I beg pardon, your Majesty,’ he began, ‘for bringing these in; but I hadn’t quite finished my tea when I was sent for'” – Chapter 11, page 62.
“‘Give your evidence,’ said the King; ‘and don’t be nervous, or I’ll have you executed on the spot.’ This did not seem to encourage the witness at all: he kept shifting from one foot to the other, looking uneasily at the Queen, and in his confusion he bit a large piece out of his teacup instead of the bread-and-butter” – Chapter 11, page 63.
“‘I’m a poor man, your Majesty,’ the Hatter began, in a trembling voice, ‘—and I hadn’t begun my tea—not above a week or so—and what with the bread-and-butter getting so thin—and the twinkling of the tea——'” – Chapter 11, page 63.
“The miserable Hatter dropped his teacup and bread-and-butter, and went down on one knee. ‘I’m a poor man, your Majesty,’ he began. ‘You’re a very poor speaker,’ said the King– Chapter 11, page 64.
Ode to the Great British cuppa, tea is brought up one last time after Alice wakes up from her barmy adventures.
“‘Oh, I’ve had such a curious dream!’ said Alice. And she told her sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures of hers that you have just been reading about; and, when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said, ‘It was a curious dream, dear, certainly; but now run in to your tea: it’s getting late.’ So Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been”– Chapter 12, page 70.
Wine
Wine is mentioned once during tea-time with the March Hare, the Hatter and the Dormouse, although none is served at the time.
“‘Have some wine,’ the March Hare said in an encouraging tone. Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. ‘I don’t see any wine,’ she remarked. ‘There isn’t any,’ said the March Hare. ‘Then it wasn’t very civil of you to offer it,’ said Alice angrily. ‘It wasn’t very civil of you to sit down without being invited,’ said the March Hare” – Chapter 7, page 36.
Treacle
Also known as blackstrap molasses in the US, treacle is a very dark and thick sugar syrup that was primarily used to treat snakebites during the 17th century. Nowadays, treacle is used in an array of British specialities, from toffee and puddings to Christmas drinks and cocktails.
In Wonderland, treacle is brought up multiple times as the Dormouse narrates his story.
“‘Once upon a time there were three little sisters,’ the Dormouse began in a great hurry; ‘and their names were Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie; and they lived at the bottom of a well——’ ‘What did they live on?’ said Alice, who always took a great interest in questions of eating and drinking. ‘They lived on treacle,’ said the Dormouse, after thinking a minute or two” – Chapter 7, page 39.
“Alice did not quite know what to say to this: so she helped herself to some tea and bread-and-butter, and then turned to the Dormouse, and repeated her question. ‘Why did they live at the bottom of a well?’ The Dormouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then said, ‘It was a treacle-well'”– Chapter 7, page 40.
“Alice did not wish to offend the Dormouse again, so she began very cautiously: ‘But I don’t understand. Where did they draw the treacle from?’ ‘You can draw water out of a water-well,’ said the Hatter; ‘so I should think you could draw treacle out of a treacle-well—eh, stupid?'” – Chapter 7, page 40.
Tulip-roots
Tulip bulb consumption is said to have originated during WWII. As a result of the Dutch famine of 1944–1945, Dutch authorities started selling the unplanted tulip bulbs of farmers who had stopped their activities due to the war.
When prepared correctly, tulips are edible so long as they are not treated with chemicals. However, it is worth noting that the bulbs can be poisonous, with large amounts resulting in severe clinical signs including dizziness, vomiting and convulsions.
At the Royal garden, Five and Seven mention tulip-roots during their arguments in front of the freshly painted roses.
“‘You’d better not talk!’ said Five. ‘I heard the Queen say only yesterday you deserved to be beheaded.’ ‘What for?’ said the one who had spoken first. ‘That’s none of your business, Two!’ said Seven. ‘Yes, it is his business!’ said Five. ‘And I’ll tell him—it was for bringing the cook tulip-roots instead of onions'” – Chapter 8, page 42.
Mustard
According to the Duchess, mustard and flamingoes have more in common than we think!
“‘Very true,’ said the Duchess: ‘flamingoes and mustard both bite. And the moral of that is—‘Birds of a feather flock together.’ ‘Only mustard isn’t a bird,’ Alice remarked. ‘Right, as usual,’ said the Duchess: ‘what a clear way you have of putting things!’ ‘It’s a mineral, I think,’ said Alice. ‘Of course it is,’ said the Duchess, who seemed ready to agree to everything that Alice said; ‘there’s a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral of that is—‘The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours.’ ‘Oh, I know!’ exclaimed Alice, who had not attended to this last remark. ‘It’s a vegetable. It doesn’t look like one, but it is.’ ‘I quite agree with you,’ said the Duchess; ‘and the moral of that is—‘Be what you would seem to be’—or, if you’d like it put more simply—‘Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise’” – Chapter 9, page 50.
Lobster
In chapter 10, Alice rightfully conceals her appetite for lobsters during her discussion with the sorrowful Mock Turtle.
“At last the Mock Turtle recovered his voice, and, with tears running down his cheeks, he went on again:— ‘You may not have lived much under the sea—’ (‘I haven’t,’ said Alice)—’and perhaps you were never even introduced to a lobster—’ (Alice began to say ‘I once tasted——’ but checked herself hastily, and said ‘No, never’) ‘——so you can have no idea what a delightful thing a Lobster-Quadrille is!’ ‘No, indeed,’ said Alice. ‘What sort of a dance is it?'” – Chapter 10, page 55.
Whiting
For fear of offended and frightening the Mock Turtle, Alice omits her pescetarianism.
“‘Oh, as to the whiting,’ said the Mock Turtle, ‘they—you’ve seen them, of course?’ ‘Yes,’ said Alice, ‘I’ve often seen them at dinn——’ she checked herself hastily. ‘I don’t know where Dinn may be,’ said the Mock Turtle; ‘but, if you’ve seen them so often, of course you know what they’re like?’ ‘I believe so,’ Alice replied thoughtfully. ‘They have their tails in their mouths—and they’re all over crumbs'” – Chapter 10, pages 56-57.
Pie-crust and gravy and meat
Pie-crust, gravy and meat come up as Alice, the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle discuss the infamous Lobster-Quadrille.
“Alice did not dare to disobey, though she felt sure it would all come wrong, and she went on in a trembling voice:— ‘I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye, How the Owl and the Panther were sharing a pie: [later editions continued as follows: The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat, While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat. When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon, Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon: While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl, And concluded the banquet by——’]” – Chapter 10, page 59.
Tarts
These baked desserts are a big part of chapter 11, as it focuses on the trial of the Knave of Hearts, who allegedly stole the Queen of Hearts’ tray of tarts.
“In the very middle of the court was a table, with a large dish of tarts upon it: they looked so good, that it made Alice quite hungry to look at them—‘I wish they’d get the trial done,’ she thought, ‘and hand round the refreshments!'”– Chapter 11, page 61.
“On this the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and then unrolled the parchment-scroll, and read as follows:—
‘The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,
All on a summer day:
The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts,
And took them quite away!’
‘Consider your verdict,’ the King said to the jury.
‘Not yet, not yet!’ the Rabbit hastily interrupted. ‘There’s a great deal to come before that!’ – Chapter 11, page 62.
Fun fact: Treacle tart is also referenced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Of course, in the Wonderland version of this traditional English dessert, pepper is unavoidable.
“‘Well, if I must, I must,’ the King said with a melancholy air, and, after folding his arms and frowning at the cook till his eyes were nearly out of sight, he said, in a deep voice, ‘What are tarts made of?’ ‘Pepper, mostly,’ said the cook. ‘Treacle,’ said a sleepy voice behind her. ‘Collar that Dormouse,’ the Queen shrieked out” – Chapter 11, page 65.
“‘All right, so far,’ said the King; and he went on muttering over the verses to himself: ”We know it to be true’—that’s the jury, of course—‘If she should push the matter on’—that must be the Queen—‘What would become of you?’—What, indeed!—‘I gave her one, they gave him two’—why, that must be what he did with the tarts, you know——’ ‘But it goes on ‘they all returned from him to you,’’ said Alice. ‘Why, there they are!’ said the King triumphantly, pointing to the tarts on the table'”– Chapter 12, page 69.
