Taste: Inspiring the senses for readers

Our amazing wedding cake was created by Allana Rowan and decorated by Kathryn Ryan, both very talented creators.

Today’s post will make you drool. Be warned.

I was looking up recipes for a dairy-free, gluten-free cheesecake today and stumbled upon an idea. (The idea sounds ridiculous but the recipes I found look amazing and I simply cannot wait any longer! I have lived for three and a half years now without cheesecake and it is lame.)

But while I was looking at those recipes, I found a link to ‘best recipes in literature’. It brought back the best memories ever!

Taste is one of the most powerful memory-making senses. A good meal can make a day; a bad meal can break it. And when we read about meals in books, it brings us into the story in a powerful way.

Below are some of the most memorable food recipes I found in beloved storybooks, but first, here’s the writing tip for today.

Write lots of food into your own stories:

You have to inspire all the senses to get your reader to feel like they’re really there.

Taste is a huge one.

We eat a lot in real life. The more your characters eat, the more their lives and desires will seem real to the reader.

Smell is actually the strongest of the senses and carries the most enduring memories, so if you can include the smell of the food in your writing, you can heighten the experience.

Memorable foods from beloved stories:

I am indebted to Food in Literature by Bryton Taylor for starting this trip down the rabbit hole, and for providing so many great images for each recipe.

1. The Hobbit (An Unexpected Party chapter): Seed Cake