As someone who would have eaten hardtack and other battlefield rations, that idea would probably have been incredibly appealing. [Edit: I typed this reply when I was one minute in to the video, before Robert mentioned the same. I'm glad I wasn't alone in my thinking]
Gotta say, as a history nerd, I’ve always assumed that lembas was drawn from Tolkiens military service. It’s one of those tiny details that cements the world as being utterly fantastic. Anyone who’d served in the military, which after both world wars was a lot of people, would have seen “rations that taste good” as just as wondrous and magical elves and magic rings.
yeah it's probably something in between pemmican and hardtack or ship biscuits.. with elven craftmenship involved. we know those nerds always make fancy and pretty things. posh bast... eh? what?😆
I’m sure it was definitely, at least a little about Tolkien shaking his fist at his quartermaster going, “See! That’s what it should be like not bully beef and ship biscuits.”
Remember: pre-industrial societies used grain two ways-to bake and to ferment. And from fermentation comes distillation. So logically, lembas beer and lembas whiskey must both be possible!
Traditionally, corn meant any kind of grain. We see this today in "corned beef" meaning that the salt used to preserve it is as large as grain. The grain we now call corn is really called maize and Tolkien almost certainly did not envision lembas being made from maize. Actually, Tolkien specifically says that it is made of wheat.
@@dursty3226 As a midwestern American I can vouch that cornbread can in fact be amazing; so amazing in fact that I can and, in my youth occasionally did, eat nothing but cornbread for a meal. Like any other food it can also be terrible.
@@Yallan i'm not eating any, bc i don't really like it. but i've tried at least half a dozen varieties of cornbread made by at least a dozen different people. almost all of them have been really dry, they've all been really flat and boring flavor-wise (like it's literally just corn-flavored), and no matter how moist they are they're *always* super crumbly and messy (and i can't stand crumbly messy foods). i'm guessing it might be personal bias because i just don't like corn in general, but i've never had any kind of cornbread that i would describe as delicious. in my experience, cornbread is mediocre at best, but usually pretty flavorless and dry.
A note about the term 'corn'. In the context of the LoTR and European history/myth it doesn't mean the corn/maize that was shown in the painting. Corn referred to anything that had kernels of a certain size, hence barleycorn, and it was not limited to plant grains, corned beef is called that because of the grain size of the salt used. 'Corn' in the context of European history and by extension LoTR is not a reference to any specific type of grain.plant, it's a reference to the kernel size. As an aside, I've always imagined Lembas as a sort of magic shortbread, mainly because shortbread is deliciosus and the color and slightly crumbly aspect of Lembas always made me think of it.
@@emrek99205 The 'corn' in 'corned beef' referred to the size of the grains of salt, not just that salt grains in general are squaresih. When preserving in salt different sizes/coarsenesses of salt grains are used for different types of preservation. Townsends channel actually just recently has an episode where they talk about this exact thing (salt grain size in preservation, not the terminology).
There are so many parallels. There is the fact that the evil ones (orcs, gollum) find lembas objectionable, just as the consuming the Eucharist would not be beneficial to those in a state of mortal sin, but instead would be eating one's own damnation.
I love the idea that Lembas wasn't satisfying like normal food. It was fully sustaining, and pleasant to partake of, but was still a tool for those with need and if it had been commonly eaten, it would not have been as fulfilling as a hearty meal. I wonder if even Legolas had eaten it before receiving it from Galadriel. He obviously knew what it was and its significance, but he was probably fairly young for an elf and as far as I'm aware, he hadn't ventured far beyond Mirkwood before joining the Fellowship, so he may not have ever been given some before.
ik it’s acting and not coming directly from the novels but the fact he takes a bite and sounds relieved makes me think hes had it before, just very briefly, and has missed it since he hasn’t needed it before going on the journey.
Reminds me most of pemmican, the "waybread," of the American natives. A nutritious and high calorie granola bar, if you like, made of suet, local grains, dried meat and berries, nuts, et al. I'll add that through the 16th century, "corn," referred to any dried grain, seed or nut product, not just the American "maize." Barleycorn, wheat corn, millet corn, acorns, anything that could be made into a bread, cake, or porridge, was "corn."
Again you've managed to find a seemingly insignificant aspect of Tolkien's world and explained its deep significance. Thank you for increasing my appreciation of the depth of the Professor's work.
There is a book called "Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist." An entire chapter is dedicated to a discussion of manna and its relationship to Communion. As an educated and believing Catholic, Tolkien would have known these religious connections.
11:10 - Having been Catholic, Tolkien almost certainly would have heard the (dubious) stories of Saints who had sustained themselves on nothing but their daily intake of the Eucharist, and so the parallel to communion bread really comes out in that description of Lembas in the Mount Doom chapter.
I always imagined that Lembas' great taste would only make it way too tempting to eat and therefore be poorly suited for the task of being an actual travel ration.
Like a ww2 k ration. Emergency ration, super high calorie protein packed chocolate bar. But, they made it gross, bitter I think, to prevent soldiers from simply snacking on it.
John 6:31-44 King James Version "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat." ^ That's what it is seemingly based off of. 10:44 gives more weight to this theory, in that in Numbers 11 the Hebrews complained that they wanted meat, and grew tired of mana. Good video as usual, thanks. It's fascinating how much detail Tolkien gives to something as simple as Elvish bread.
My wife makes a pizza that I named Lembas because one small slice of this is enough to fi 6:09 lol a grown man. It’s a deep dish pizza that starts with andouille sausage, Italian sausage, bacon, Canadian bacon, and pepperoni. Next comes a full can of chopped olives followed by a pound of sautéed mushrooms. Next comes what sauce will fill the crust before the cheeses. Mozzarella, Asiago, Parmesan, Colby Jack, and sharp cheddar. When it comes out of the oven then it’ll need to sit and solidify because if it gets cut fresh then it will melt and collapse under its own weight.
I think this discussion provides a good example of one thing that makes Tolkien's writing so great. While we can see that Tolkien obviously took inspiration from some real-world things as he built his fantasy universe, it was almost never the sort of heavy-handed one-to-one inspiration we sometimes see in other works. Those tend to be quite obvious as readers, where we can immediately see that the author took a specific real-world item or concept, changed a couple of tiny details, and inserted it into their literary world. Tolkien, on the other hand, draws threads of inspiration from numerous disparate places (as varied as hardtack, communion bread, matzah, and manna), and weaves them together into something that can stand as its own unique artistic creation. Of course, we can pick those creations apart and examine the individual threads that went into them, but we can see how Tolkien's creations are a true fusion, and aren't dependent on any one inspiration or allegory.
There was an early-2000s internet “theory” that lembas loaves were Twinkies: light brown outside, creamy white inside, comes in a wrapper, can last a very long time if unopened!
As a kid, reading the books for the first time, I imagined it tasted like a nice light corn-bread, with honey baked right into it. Somehow both hearty and delicious.
6:14 looks surprisingly similar to a Vietnamese dish call "xôi bắp gói lá chuối" which is cooked corn topped with shredded coconut flesh, wrapped in banana leaf, eaten using a spoon made out of banana trunk traditionally.
In D&D, it could be a specially "Blessed" type of travel bread/hardtack made by the clerics of certain Deities. It would explain the characters with ill or opposing intentions being repelled by it.
The manna of the Old Testament had to be ground into meal & baked into cakes. These were said to be sweet like honey & also would impart physical satisfaction & spiritual strength to those that ate in faith with gratitude. This (and many other details) make the lembas like manna.
Lembas was required in the story for logistical reasons, oft forgotten in the modern retelling where hundreds of miles is no chore. Its weight and sustenance as much about travel rations as any ex-military person can understand on such ground. Hardtack , plus bovril maybe? j/k
Lembas is really just Walker's pure butter shortbread... one of the rare foods that contain vastly more calories than the object actually weighs. A mere 300g pack to the lips equals at least a kilo gained to the hips.
Beautiful: "... gods themselves had handed down, and given as a gift freely, and used as a last resort in a good cause can be more than just food. It can be a blessing, nourishment for more than just normal physical needs, magical; and sometimes, just sometimes, maybe even a little bit holy." Transubstantiation AMEN!
To the point you mentioned at 4:40 : Was it ever confirmed anywhere that Sam actually ended up going West? I know it's nice to think that he did, but as far as I remember, wasn't that just what his family _wanted_ to believe, not what was actually confirmed to have happened? Also, as a side note, I'm curious as to why it wasn't presented to the Fellowship at Rivendell? Does this, on a deeper level, reflect something as to the choices made by Elrond and his ancestors or something? Did they not have access to it?
Taking from what the video said, it was strictly for the Queen to give. Elrond may have had some, but it wasn't his right to give out even if he wanted to.
Makes me think of other long lasting breads. Germany has stollen, a sweet bread with dried fruit and nuts. Italian sailors had biscotti (literally meaning twice baked). I'm sure there are others but I'm not a food historian.
It’s a pauper staple for 2 colorless mana that lets you scry 1 and draw a card when it enters the battlefield. You can pay an additional 2 colorless mana and tap Lembas to sacrifice it and gain 3 life. If Lembas would be put into a graveyard from the battlefield, it’s returned to the owner’s library
Doritos are anti-lembas - empty calories that do not fill you up with any degree of efficiency at all, created from low corn and some questionable alchemic arts, the goetia of the modern food industry, rather than being associated with a nature goddess :P
i love your channel, and i listen to at least one or two Lotr videos every day and rewatching them, love the story! Can we maybe start talkin about the Rings of Power, amazon show. how accurate are they, what is calandriels full story, elrons etc. Lort lore is soooo god, its my daily drug atm
I'd never read the back story presented here. I wanted to create a facsimile of lembas that reflected to my understanding of what might have gone into it. My understanding led me to create a dense, nutritious, natural power bar. 1. Equal parts of acorn, chestnut, and hazelnut flour; 2. two parts lovegrass flour (teff) [substitute kamut flour if you insist upon wheat]; 3. eggs proportionally to bind; 4. butter or cream to consistency; 5. honey (or maple sugar or white sugar) to sweeten. Roll flat to about 1/2 inch onto parchment paper, cut into bars before baking. Paint with egg wash mixed with dash of hazelnut oil.. Hazelnut (or walnut) oil may substitute for butter or cream. Eggs man be considered optional, but your bar will be crumblier on the downside, more shelf stable on the upside. The results were tasty: more like a brown-bread version. Serve with candied chestnuts and fine Sauternes. Sauternes the only wine worthy of the Eldar.
I actually experimented with Lembas recipes. It's a thing online. Seriously. They are even served with, or wrapped in.. leaves. It's fascinating to think of them historically as rations, but also.. practically.. this one of the most popular recipes I've ever made for the holiday season. The "magic" was about being in a good mood while baking my batches, but also thinking like an elf. This usually meant watching the trilogy. Edit: I could listen to your voice all day and produce the same effect. No joke. This was an intentionally timed ritual which could not be rushed. Things had to sit. Everything had to be intentional. There could be, I suppose, a spiritual/symbolic/religious aspect as well, depending on the person. (For me it was a blend) But I didn't take myself too seriously with it all. It would be wonderful if I could do something more, but of course, I'm not delusional. How could I make something as simple and elegant as possible via the creative medium of baking? I also gave them as gifts with specific notes: If they were active (I lived in CO so this was pretty common) it was about the lore. If they were more into magic or pleasure, well, I focused on my secret blend of orange, vanilla, and pistachio, and still included a note about the lore. Nothing was fake, it was all organic. The point was experimenting with the best I could possibly create via the medium of baking. Although I put my soul into the final product, I didn't emphasize this to the recipient. I'm living outside the US right now, and miss this ritual. Having fun with magic, and making people happy. Edit: This isn't me, typically. I'm a rational introvert. So there you have it.
Very interesting 👍🏻 The way lembas is described makes me think distinctly of manna, especially because Tolkien would have had the religious background to know about it. A small portion of manna, just what every person could collect, would sustain the Israelites for the day - and it was said to taste sweet and pleasant. Maybe that's where Tolkien got the idea from. Also, a thought on the Valar: When I read the Silmarillion, in particular the first chapters, the Ainulindule, I understood Eru Iluvatar to be the only god (I believe he was called the first, like God would be called the first and the last in the Bible) and his thought created the Ainur (which the Valar are part of), who I understood to be angel-like creatures. You called them gods in the video, but I think they may be more like angels. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this, though 🙂
Tolkien wrote the Valar like they were both a pantheon of polytheistic gods, and the archangel servants of Eru Iluvatar. He rarely wrote things in a one-to-one translatable way, but blended his inspirations together to form a fusion and a wholly new idea.
A friend of ours found a recipe for it online and made it for us for one of her teas, while it didn't have the elvish properties, it seemed to be a cross between shortbread and a scone, and did taste good.
When I read the Tolkien books at the tender age of 8 years old, when I got to the first mentions of Lembas bread, I immediately thought of classic fig newtons and the idea stuck.
Please put the wheel of time on your channel. Even if the show isn’t living up the book series is incredible…. I need these style videos for the wheel of time…
I love the mention of Melian in Doriath knowing how to make it because Galadriel came to Doriath and married Celeborn. She was a Queen of the Eldar and it is a very cool link that the lembas was given to the Fellowship by her.
I remember learning about the stories of battle rations and anzac biscuits that got sent to soldiers. The idea of something sweet and delicious made by loved ones when you're under fire and dissolving from trenchfoot is profoundly touching. It's the quintessential relief food. A reminder of home. Not only that, but made from foods spared during times of rationing. Honey, oats, sugar, butter (depending on recipe, I looked it up and golden syrup is traditonal but we never made them like that 😅). It's also a sacrifice.
In Canada, Hard bread was a version of everyday hard tack. It's shaped like small buns. It was used for sailing voyages, long hunting trips or even simply winter food supply. In Newfoundland especially, they still pride themselves on recipes where this is blended with salted fish to make a stew like meal.
His comment that a laboratory would not find anything special about it is similar to language used in explaining the Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation. The same thing is said about the Eucharist, though the the same doctrine nonetheless states it is literally the body of Christ.
Funny this comes up today. I was just talking about Clif bars last night and opined that they're like less holy lembas bread. You get some decent energy out of them, but it doesn't make you not look forward to a real meal.
It should be said that you have mischaracterized what Tolkien said in that letter by a little bit; what Tolkien said was that he doubted that his religion could be deduced from his stories, although certain critics have asserted otherwise on various parts of his stories, although he admits the possibility that these parts were "coloured" by "far greater things". The particular things about lembas which he does not rule out were "coloured" are the name (waybread, like viaticum), the feeding of the will, and its increased efficacy while fasting, not its religious or supernatural nature. In actual fact lembas is much more like the manna, which I think can be shown easily enough from this passage of the Bible "Instead of which things thou didst feed thy people with the food of angels, and gavest them bread from heaven prepared without labor; having in it all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every taste. For thy sustenance shewed they sweetness to thy children, and serving every man's will, it was turned to what every man liked." - Wisdom 16:20f. At the same time, the impious hated the manna and found no sustenance in it "Our soul is dry: our eyes behold nothing else but manna." - Numbers 11:6, and even the pious still had an appetite for meats, just like Sam "The people therefore rising up all that day... gathered together of quails, he that did least, ten cores [about 580 gallons]". - Numbers 11:32. These similarities are so great that I doubt lembas is intended to be anything other than manna from the legendary past (although Tolkien doesn't seem to have remembered doing this intentionally), remembering that Tolkien intended his stories to be a suppositional history, and so it is not some allegory that lembas is manna any more than that Boromir is a man. It should be said that these also are similarities to the Eucharist since manna was intended by God to be like the Eucharist insofar as its fleshly qualities are like the spiritual qualities of the Eucharist, but this only furthers the point that lembas is more like the manna.
There is something else similar in the real world; Pemmican, (granted not a bread and primarily meat based). Ground up meat (bison meat in particular), berries and nuts. Ground into a fine powder, then dried so nearly all moisture is taken out. Finally animal fat added to bind it together. Meat-fat-nuts mixture packed exceedingly densely, creating a very long lasting and extremely energy rich food. Nothing like we would think of meat, its like meat fibers, but bound in lard and not water. Would have the properties of lembas I think. I dont know about the taste though. Apparently a few variations of pemmican did not use meat either, but yeah most did. Native Americans/ settlers relied on this for long trips.
Lembas is a deus ex machina-type plot contrivance to solve the problem of impossibility that frodo and sam wouldnt be able to carry enough food for a long journey.
Hiya In deep, long time viewer first time commentor, just a quick one, your travelers guide to Westeros seems to be missing quite a few videos for some reason, has sonething happened to them, they have always been a favourite of mine.
I actually mentioned it in the original video but it's worth repeating here. In addition to hard tack there was also another long lasting, yet even more nutritious & calorie dense food during WWI. Called pemmican, it was a compressed block of salted meat, grains, and dried berries if you were lucky, held together by animal fat. It was invented by the Native Americans, and is often sited as to how anyone in the 17th through the 19th centuries could travel for long periods of time without lugging around their own weight in food. It wouldn't surprise me if lembas bread was a synthesis of hometown cakes, hard tack, pemmican, and the eucharist all rolled into one super food.
As far as macronutrients go, it would likely be very high in fat. Fat contains 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates only have 4. So, if it contains a lot of calories for relatively little weight, it would probably have a high fat content.
Amazing videos. I wonder what Valinor is like according to Tolkien. Did the surviving members of the fellowship reunite? Does the special dispensation Frodo, Bilbo, and Gimli re ieved to travel to the undying lands grant them elf-like immortality? Thanks again for the amazing LOTR videos.
Unlikely. It technically just a place like any other. It was special because of those that resided there. The Valor. And it was difficult to get to because the Valor decided to close their borders to men. When godlike being decide you shall not pass...you shall not pass. Elves technically could return at any time but had their own reasons for staying amongst men for as long as they did. This is why when Frodo, Bilbo, and Gimli left for the undying lands they did so with elves. Only elves had that open invitation to return that allowed them to navigate to the undying lands. Of course going west to those lands did have magical and spiritual significance despite being just another parcel of land because of all the wondrous things from the dawn of creation still existed there. The Valor ruled, there were elf tribes there, wonders wrought when the world was still young abound.
I believe Tolkien explained in one of his letters that Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, and Gimli died of natural causes or old age--they did not change to immortals, but were able to live out their natural last years in peace and healing. They also likely didn't enter Aman, but resided on Tol Eressea, an island just off the coast. Tolkien mentioned that Valinor's power would likely be fatal to mortal bodies who dwelt there...I'm sure Olorin, Galadriel, and other immortals could come and visit them, though.
Flatbread, cooked and hardened and pounded to crumbs, mixed with beef suet, salt and cloves and once set and dry, soaked in honey, nuts and dried fruit and peel. Wrapped in grease proof paper and again in muslin, bound with twine. My family called it Lorcha cake. I thought it was a Teesside thing or, later, maybe a scottish or Maltese thing. Outside of old family cookbooks I can't find the exact food anywhere. I was convinced it was the origin of Lambass when I first read the books. Even more so in the films dhen you see Legolas nibble some. Lorcha Cake is dense and hard. You chew off a grape sized amount and work it with your teeth and tongue for about five minutes. It starts off sweet and the turns savoury as it co es apart. It will eventually disintegrate in your mouth at which point you wadh it down and your mouth out with water. The strong flavour and hard work to eat it means you are done after two or three bites. Lasted for months. If you swallowed it too soon or whole it could pass all the way through and out and make for a painful crap.
Lembas can also be interpretted as a balance of blessing by the gods to counter the corruption of Morgoth/Sauron. A direct line from Valinor, untouched by the corruption of Morgoth on the rest of Arda, to the recipient doing work in efforts opposing that corrupting influence. It helps equal the footing in a minor and subtle way. Empowering mortals to help themselves.
The communion bread connection to lembas is probably best understood in terms of typology, not allegory. From a Catholic point of view, the manna is a type (technical term!) of Communion, in that it shares some of the same pattern or structure. Tolkien may therefore have seen lembas as "sharing in the same pattern" as Communion.
>light brown on the outside, creamy white on the inside, incredibly sweet tasting, and lasts an unusually long time compared to other foodstuffs Bro that's a Twinkie lol
The ability of raising spirits attributed to Lembas makes me think of Gandalfs ring Narya which; "Narya was described as having the power to inspire others to resist tyranny, domination and despair" All things I see as related to loss & death of spirit. I don't think it's coincidental but I've not yet filtered through my own thoughts as to be able to explain why.
Wrapping in Mallorn leaves may have contibuted some invigorating properties.. I'm sure the Elves may have kept some secrets from Tolkien. 🤔😉 Be Well!! 😀
Wrapping in mallorn leaves was more about preservation. Rot and disorder came to the world through Melkor, mallorn came from the blessed land of Aman where the rot and the disorder were muted compared to the rest of Arda. The leaves would thus serve as a way to shield the lembas from the rot of the world around it.
I wonder if we could make a cornbread with some squash (like zucchini bread) and powdered beans that were raised in a 3 sister's garden, then maybe add some tallow amd dry it like a hard tack. It would have complete proteins and vitamins from the 3 sister's combo and tallow fat for energy and the shelf stability of hard tack. Plus you wrap it in squash greens with the corn husks, you can eat the greens! It won't be magic but it would make phenomenal rations!
My personal thoughts: Lembas being an Elvish waybread/ration could well have been made with Miruvor, a magical Elven liquor. Miruvor was most notably mentioned as having been the gift Gandalf received from Galadriel when the Fellowship departed Lothlorien, and which he in turn urged the others to partake in when crossing Caradhras. Anyway, the "fulfilling, sustainting" properties of Lembas lead me to believe there must be a smidgen of magic involved, which may be explained by being made with Miruvor.
For some reason I assumed that lembas contained some quantity of potent stimulant drug 😂 I was imagining something like corn mixed with coca leaves😅 Since I grew up eating corn tamales wrapped in leaves for cooking, they sounded dense, nourishing and appetizing. But it was funny to me how the hobbits would eat a bite and instantly feel invigorated and lose their hunger 😮
This is a revised and updated version of a video first published in June 2022.
WOW... literally watched it 2 days ago just found out about your channel...
"imagine the shock !"
Are we to expext these upcycled videos more often?
I'll watch it again :)
Can you start reuploaded videos by saying the video has been revised?
thanks. It seems identical to me. great episode.
I interpreted it as Tolkein just thinking to himself- "What if travel rations, but you WANT to eat them."
Probably true.
I thought of ‘manna’ from the Bible.
As someone who would have eaten hardtack and other battlefield rations, that idea would probably have been incredibly appealing. [Edit: I typed this reply when I was one minute in to the video, before Robert mentioned the same. I'm glad I wasn't alone in my thinking]
@@LOBricksAndSecrets great minds think alike, clearly! I never knew what hard tack was, so this is really interesting.
Haha
Gotta say, as a history nerd, I’ve always assumed that lembas was drawn from Tolkiens military service. It’s one of those tiny details that cements the world as being utterly fantastic. Anyone who’d served in the military, which after both world wars was a lot of people, would have seen “rations that taste good” as just as wondrous and magical elves and magic rings.
yeah it's probably something in between pemmican and hardtack or ship biscuits.. with elven craftmenship involved. we know those nerds always make fancy and pretty things. posh bast... eh? what?😆
A portable higjly nutritious snack to eat on a journey seems obvious. I don't see the need to be inspired by military service.
@itsgonnabeanaurfromme Thanks for not getting the point and adding nothing to the conversation all at once.
I’m sure it was definitely, at least a little about Tolkien shaking his fist at his quartermaster going, “See! That’s what it should be like not bully beef and ship biscuits.”
Remember: pre-industrial societies used grain two ways-to bake and to ferment. And from fermentation comes distillation. So logically, lembas beer and lembas whiskey must both be possible!
They call it Miruvor
I LIKE Your Thinking!!! 🤠👍
Now you might be on to something here...
Elven wine i hear is particularly potent. 100 man pints only made Legolas' fingers tingle
One small sip is enough to keep a bender going for a month
Traditionally, corn meant any kind of grain. We see this today in "corned beef" meaning that the salt used to preserve it is as large as grain. The grain we now call corn is really called maize and Tolkien almost certainly did not envision lembas being made from maize. Actually, Tolkien specifically says that it is made of wheat.
oh good. maybe it's personal bias, but i can't imagine CORNBREAD being that amazing.
@@dursty3226what kind of cornbread are you eating???
@@dursty3226 As a midwestern American I can vouch that cornbread can in fact be amazing; so amazing in fact that I can and, in my youth occasionally did, eat nothing but cornbread for a meal. Like any other food it can also be terrible.
@@Yallan i'm not eating any, bc i don't really like it. but i've tried at least half a dozen varieties of cornbread made by at least a dozen different people. almost all of them have been really dry, they've all been really flat and boring flavor-wise (like it's literally just corn-flavored), and no matter how moist they are they're *always* super crumbly and messy (and i can't stand crumbly messy foods).
i'm guessing it might be personal bias because i just don't like corn in general, but i've never had any kind of cornbread that i would describe as delicious. in my experience, cornbread is mediocre at best, but usually pretty flavorless and dry.
Maíz*
A note about the term 'corn'.
In the context of the LoTR and European history/myth it doesn't mean the corn/maize that was shown in the painting. Corn referred to anything that had kernels of a certain size, hence barleycorn, and it was not limited to plant grains, corned beef is called that because of the grain size of the salt used. 'Corn' in the context of European history and by extension LoTR is not a reference to any specific type of grain.plant, it's a reference to the kernel size.
As an aside, I've always imagined Lembas as a sort of magic shortbread, mainly because shortbread is deliciosus and the color and slightly crumbly aspect of Lembas always made me think of it.
That's why you can get "corns" in your feet. Corn, Querne -stone, Kernel; all related.
🌾
Corned Beef is just beef that has been salted. Salt is a square-ish shape, or a corn.
@@emrek99205 The 'corn' in 'corned beef' referred to the size of the grains of salt, not just that salt grains in general are squaresih. When preserving in salt different sizes/coarsenesses of salt grains are used for different types of preservation. Townsends channel actually just recently has an episode where they talk about this exact thing (salt grain size in preservation, not the terminology).
When he said "hardtack" I couldn't help but think of Max from Tasting History and laughed. Clack clack lol
clack clack!
Clack clack!
Clack clack to you as well!
Me too lol
Glad to see fellow tasting history connoisseurs out here LOL
"Waybread" is almost a direct translation of the Latin "Viaticum", which is Communion given to the dying as part of the Last Rites.
There are so many parallels. There is the fact that the evil ones (orcs, gollum) find lembas objectionable, just as the consuming the Eucharist would not be beneficial to those in a state of mortal sin, but instead would be eating one's own damnation.
I thought whey-bread! But that's interesting.
@@aggietony2010horrible christian beliefs truly
@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme How so?
Wonder if the practice of sin eating is related at all to that catholic process...
I love the idea that Lembas wasn't satisfying like normal food. It was fully sustaining, and pleasant to partake of, but was still a tool for those with need and if it had been commonly eaten, it would not have been as fulfilling as a hearty meal.
I wonder if even Legolas had eaten it before receiving it from Galadriel. He obviously knew what it was and its significance, but he was probably fairly young for an elf and as far as I'm aware, he hadn't ventured far beyond Mirkwood before joining the Fellowship, so he may not have ever been given some before.
It is unlikely.
Tolkien, in a late writing, indicates that Galadriel, Celebrian and Arwen were the last to know the art of its making.
ik it’s acting and not coming directly from the novels but the fact he takes a bite and sounds relieved makes me think hes had it before, just very briefly, and has missed it since he hasn’t needed it before going on the journey.
you should record fantasy audio books. you voice is just perfectly soothing to just float away while listening and start hallucinating the stuff
Check out "The Well Told Tale." it's a second channel/ podcast that Robert hosts, where he does exactly that.
I can't stop watching his videos because his voice is so calming and positive. Literally one of the best narrators I've ever heard. Golden voice
Reminds me most of pemmican, the "waybread," of the American natives. A nutritious and high calorie granola bar, if you like, made of suet, local grains, dried meat and berries, nuts, et al.
I'll add that through the 16th century, "corn," referred to any dried grain, seed or nut product, not just the American "maize." Barleycorn, wheat corn, millet corn, acorns, anything that could be made into a bread, cake, or porridge, was "corn."
LEMBAS was made by the Elves for their Moon landing program, it stands for Lunar Excursion Module Basic Alimentary Supply.
Lol
Again you've managed to find a seemingly insignificant aspect of Tolkien's world and explained its deep significance. Thank you for increasing my appreciation of the depth of the Professor's work.
How many did you eat? Four
Would love to see a companion piece to this, if you haven't already done it, about orc draught and ent draught.
I have enjoyed so much from IDG, but I have never been so pleased to have a subject covered as this minor one.
At 2:57, a photo of matzah (unleavened bread) and a cup of wine from a Pesach seder (Passover meal).
That was what I thought. Mmmmm...matzah...🤤
There is a book called "Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist." An entire chapter is dedicated to a discussion of manna and its relationship to Communion. As an educated and believing Catholic, Tolkien would have known these religious connections.
11:10 - Having been Catholic, Tolkien almost certainly would have heard the (dubious) stories of Saints who had sustained themselves on nothing but their daily intake of the Eucharist, and so the parallel to communion bread really comes out in that description of Lembas in the Mount Doom chapter.
I always imagined that Lembas' great taste would only make it way too tempting to eat and therefore be poorly suited for the task of being an actual travel ration.
Like a ww2 k ration. Emergency ration, super high calorie protein packed chocolate bar. But, they made it gross, bitter I think, to prevent soldiers from simply snacking on it.
What a wonderful update! Thank you for taking the time to revise your informative videos.
As a vet, I understand Tokiens biggest nightmares were field rations.
John 6:31-44
King James Version
"Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
^ That's what it is seemingly based off of.
10:44 gives more weight to this theory, in that in Numbers 11 the Hebrews complained that they wanted meat, and grew tired of mana.
Good video as usual, thanks. It's fascinating how much detail Tolkien gives to something as simple as Elvish bread.
Robert, thank you for this great video. Wonderful examination of this detail from the LOTR but also the larger legendarium.
My wife makes a pizza that I named Lembas because one small slice of this is enough to fi 6:09 lol a grown man. It’s a deep dish pizza that starts with andouille sausage, Italian sausage, bacon, Canadian bacon, and pepperoni. Next comes a full can of chopped olives followed by a pound of sautéed mushrooms. Next comes what sauce will fill the crust before the cheeses. Mozzarella, Asiago, Parmesan, Colby Jack, and sharp cheddar. When it comes out of the oven then it’ll need to sit and solidify because if it gets cut fresh then it will melt and collapse under its own weight.
I think this discussion provides a good example of one thing that makes Tolkien's writing so great. While we can see that Tolkien obviously took inspiration from some real-world things as he built his fantasy universe, it was almost never the sort of heavy-handed one-to-one inspiration we sometimes see in other works. Those tend to be quite obvious as readers, where we can immediately see that the author took a specific real-world item or concept, changed a couple of tiny details, and inserted it into their literary world. Tolkien, on the other hand, draws threads of inspiration from numerous disparate places (as varied as hardtack, communion bread, matzah, and manna), and weaves them together into something that can stand as its own unique artistic creation. Of course, we can pick those creations apart and examine the individual threads that went into them, but we can see how Tolkien's creations are a true fusion, and aren't dependent on any one inspiration or allegory.
Now I'm hungry. Time for second breakfast!
And don't forget about elevensies!
@@chazzmccloud36An apple will do you fine, young hobbit. "An apple a day keeps the Nazgul at bay. Honest."
And the luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper
Midnight snacks must also be a secret hobbit tradition.
i think there is no such thing call diabetes ... 🥲🥲🥲
I've always imagined Lembas as an ultra high calorie shortbread with added umph from Valinor. 😊❤😊
its deep fried multiple times in that valinor oil
yes daddy
Absolutely. Lembas always looked like and descriptions of what it is like to eat always made me think of shortbread.
There was an early-2000s internet “theory” that lembas loaves were Twinkies: light brown outside, creamy white inside, comes in a wrapper, can last a very long time if unopened!
As a kid, reading the books for the first time, I imagined it tasted like a nice light corn-bread, with honey baked right into it. Somehow both hearty and delicious.
6:14 looks surprisingly similar to a Vietnamese dish call "xôi bắp gói lá chuối" which is cooked corn topped with shredded coconut flesh, wrapped in banana leaf, eaten using a spoon made out of banana trunk traditionally.
Potent stuff 😂😏 4:28 forward for whole sentence
Your videos help me through my workday!
I made some lembas for my friend going through alcoholic recovery. I tested it and it was tasty- you use cinnamon and it tastes warm and buttery.
The channel "Townsends" has a video on how to make hard tack. Great channel overall.
It’s the best channel! Lol I love it.
In D&D, it could be a specially "Blessed" type of travel bread/hardtack made by the clerics of certain Deities. It would explain the characters with ill or opposing intentions being repelled by it.
The depth and thought that Tolkien put into his stories is stunning, glorious... I'm having a hard time finding the words to describe his genius.
The manna of the Old Testament had to be ground into meal & baked into cakes. These were said to be sweet like honey & also would impart physical satisfaction & spiritual strength to those that ate in faith with gratitude. This (and many other details) make the lembas like manna.
Well said. I hadn't expected such a comprehensive analysis. But I should have...
Always made me think of Senzu Beans. Rejuvenating magic food item
"Thank you Goku I will take this Lembas without hesitation"
Excellent as always rich 🎉
Robert, you've done it again, and brilliantly, even in this revision! And now I want to go to Middle-Earth again, too...
Lembas was required in the story for logistical reasons, oft forgotten in the modern retelling where hundreds of miles is no chore. Its weight and sustenance as much about travel rations as any ex-military person can understand on such ground. Hardtack , plus bovril maybe? j/k
Lembas is really just Walker's pure butter shortbread... one of the rare foods that contain vastly more calories than the object actually weighs. A mere 300g pack to the lips equals at least a kilo gained to the hips.
You are probably correct. Like most people, Tolkien probably loved shortbread.
Walker's pure butter shortbread is excellent! I get it sometimes for the wholesome, simple recipe, high quality and low sugar content.
From England and grew up in the north hiking with kendle mint cake. Now I'm after that sugar high
Damn it, now I want shortbread.
I alway's thought it would be like short bread umm I love short bread 🤤🥰❤
Beautiful:
"... gods themselves had handed down, and given as a gift freely, and used as a last resort in a good cause can be more than just food. It can be a blessing, nourishment for more than just normal physical needs, magical; and sometimes, just sometimes, maybe even a little bit holy."
Transubstantiation
AMEN!
To the point you mentioned at 4:40 : Was it ever confirmed anywhere that Sam actually ended up going West? I know it's nice to think that he did, but as far as I remember, wasn't that just what his family _wanted_ to believe, not what was actually confirmed to have happened?
Also, as a side note, I'm curious as to why it wasn't presented to the Fellowship at Rivendell? Does this, on a deeper level, reflect something as to the choices made by Elrond and his ancestors or something? Did they not have access to it?
Taking from what the video said, it was strictly for the Queen to give. Elrond may have had some, but it wasn't his right to give out even if he wanted to.
I'm pretty sure that lembas was made only by Galadriel.
@@wordsofcheresie936 Galadriel, Celebrian and Arwen were the last with the art.
Yes, Tolkien confirmed in the appendices at the end of Return of the King that Sam sailed into the Uttermost West.
2:18 Clack Clack
I thought about that too, MM is cultural phenomenon at this point
I swear I see this video in my recommendations once every two weeks
12 minute Video about bread....love it
Makes me think of other long lasting breads. Germany has stollen, a sweet bread with dried fruit and nuts. Italian sailors had biscotti (literally meaning twice baked). I'm sure there are others but I'm not a food historian.
It’s a pauper staple for 2 colorless mana that lets you scry 1 and draw a card when it enters the battlefield. You can pay an additional 2 colorless mana and tap Lembas to sacrifice it and gain 3 life. If Lembas would be put into a graveyard from the battlefield, it’s returned to the owner’s library
Would love a Turin video at some point
Durin?
@mox3909 Túrin from the children of Hurin it's one of the saddest stories in lord of the rings imo
Pretty sure based on what I am hearing here that Lembas is Cool Ranch Doritos.
Doritos are anti-lembas - empty calories that do not fill you up with any degree of efficiency at all, created from low corn and some questionable alchemic arts, the goetia of the modern food industry, rather than being associated with a nature goddess :P
Cool Ranch Doritos are the best Doritos.
That’s just absolutely wonderful.
i love your channel, and i listen to at least one or two Lotr videos every day and rewatching them, love the story!
Can we maybe start talkin about the Rings of Power, amazon show. how accurate are they, what is calandriels full story, elrons etc.
Lort lore is soooo god, its my daily drug atm
I'd never read the back story presented here. I wanted to create a facsimile of lembas that reflected to my understanding of what might have gone into it. My understanding led me to create a dense, nutritious, natural power bar. 1. Equal parts of acorn, chestnut, and hazelnut flour; 2. two parts lovegrass flour (teff) [substitute kamut flour if you insist upon wheat]; 3. eggs proportionally to bind; 4. butter or cream to consistency; 5. honey (or maple sugar or white sugar) to sweeten. Roll flat to about 1/2 inch onto parchment paper, cut into bars before baking. Paint with egg wash mixed with dash of hazelnut oil.. Hazelnut (or walnut) oil may substitute for butter or cream. Eggs man be considered optional, but your bar will be crumblier on the downside, more shelf stable on the upside. The results were tasty: more like a brown-bread version. Serve with candied chestnuts and fine Sauternes. Sauternes the only wine worthy of the Eldar.
What a great video...never knew this about lembas
I actually experimented with Lembas recipes. It's a thing online. Seriously. They are even served with, or wrapped in.. leaves.
It's fascinating to think of them historically as rations, but also.. practically.. this one of the most popular recipes I've ever made for the holiday season. The "magic" was about being in a good mood while baking my batches, but also thinking like an elf. This usually meant watching the trilogy.
Edit: I could listen to your voice all day and produce the same effect. No joke.
This was an intentionally timed ritual which could not be rushed. Things had to sit. Everything had to be intentional.
There could be, I suppose, a spiritual/symbolic/religious aspect as well, depending on the person. (For me it was a blend) But I didn't take myself too seriously with it all. It would be wonderful if I could do something more, but of course, I'm not delusional.
How could I make something as simple and elegant as possible via the creative medium of baking?
I also gave them as gifts with specific notes: If they were active (I lived in CO so this was pretty common) it was about the lore. If they were more into magic or pleasure, well, I focused on my secret blend of orange, vanilla, and pistachio, and still included a note about the lore. Nothing was fake, it was all organic. The point was experimenting with the best I could possibly create via the medium of baking. Although I put my soul into the final product, I didn't emphasize this to the recipient.
I'm living outside the US right now, and miss this ritual. Having fun with magic, and making people happy. Edit: This isn't me, typically. I'm a rational introvert. So there you have it.
Most of the lembas recipes online are basically desserts, they're not really made to last for a long time.
Thank you for doing these videos Robert, they really bring joy and it’s always exciting to see a new one come up! á na márië
Very interesting 👍🏻 The way lembas is described makes me think distinctly of manna, especially because Tolkien would have had the religious background to know about it. A small portion of manna, just what every person could collect, would sustain the Israelites for the day - and it was said to taste sweet and pleasant. Maybe that's where Tolkien got the idea from.
Also, a thought on the Valar: When I read the Silmarillion, in particular the first chapters, the Ainulindule, I understood Eru Iluvatar to be the only god (I believe he was called the first, like God would be called the first and the last in the Bible) and his thought created the Ainur (which the Valar are part of), who I understood to be angel-like creatures. You called them gods in the video, but I think they may be more like angels. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this, though 🙂
Tolkien wrote the Valar like they were both a pantheon of polytheistic gods, and the archangel servants of Eru Iluvatar. He rarely wrote things in a one-to-one translatable way, but blended his inspirations together to form a fusion and a wholly new idea.
A friend of ours found a recipe for it online and made it for us for one of her teas, while it didn't have the elvish properties, it seemed to be a cross between shortbread and a scone, and did taste good.
i'm so glad Tolkien clarified it was wheat, because i can't imagine CORNBREAD being that amazing
Look at this goblin over here who's never put honey on johnnycake.
@@MichaelRainey i have, actually. 5/10
@@dursty3226 That's okay. I like cornbread. If you've got any you need to get rid of I'll make sure it doesn't go to waste lol.
@@MichaelRainey you got it, dude 👍😎
When I read the Tolkien books at the tender age of 8 years old, when I got to the first mentions of Lembas bread, I immediately thought of classic fig newtons and the idea stuck.
Never forget Hobbits have Tardis stomachs, they are able to eat what would be several times the size of how big you may think their stomachs are.
2:18 I was almost expecting a Max Miller cameo
Please put the wheel of time on your channel. Even if the show isn’t living up the book series is incredible…. I need these style videos for the wheel of time…
Goes quite well with Senzu Beans
3:55 - Who's the artist of the illustration on the right? It's amazing!
Thanks for another great video :D
I love the mention of Melian in Doriath knowing how to make it because Galadriel came to Doriath and married Celeborn. She was a Queen of the Eldar and it is a very cool link that the lembas was given to the Fellowship by her.
I remember learning about the stories of battle rations and anzac biscuits that got sent to soldiers. The idea of something sweet and delicious made by loved ones when you're under fire and dissolving from trenchfoot is profoundly touching. It's the quintessential relief food. A reminder of home. Not only that, but made from foods spared during times of rationing. Honey, oats, sugar, butter (depending on recipe, I looked it up and golden syrup is traditonal but we never made them like that 😅). It's also a sacrifice.
Lembas bread! and Look more lembas bread!
Frodo: Have respect fool, it comes from Heavenland
As someone that was at the point of starvation, having rich homemade bread at the end of a long journey was most definitely a gift sent by the gods.
Best quote of the clip;
"Glorified packed lunch"😂
In Canada, Hard bread was a version of everyday hard tack. It's shaped like small buns. It was used for sailing voyages, long hunting trips or even simply winter food supply. In Newfoundland especially, they still pride themselves on recipes where this is blended with salted fish to make a stew like meal.
Looks like Lembas is back on the menu boys!
His comment that a laboratory would not find anything special about it is similar to language used in explaining the Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation. The same thing is said about the Eucharist, though the the same doctrine nonetheless states it is literally the body of Christ.
now I'm curious what the lembas bread in the films was really made of in real life.
Love how he said hardtack is resistant to going bad when the image says it is easily worm ridden
Funny this comes up today. I was just talking about Clif bars last night and opined that they're like less holy lembas bread. You get some decent energy out of them, but it doesn't make you not look forward to a real meal.
It should be said that you have mischaracterized what Tolkien said in that letter by a little bit; what Tolkien said was that he doubted that his religion could be deduced from his stories, although certain critics have asserted otherwise on various parts of his stories, although he admits the possibility that these parts were "coloured" by "far greater things". The particular things about lembas which he does not rule out were "coloured" are the name (waybread, like viaticum), the feeding of the will, and its increased efficacy while fasting, not its religious or supernatural nature. In actual fact lembas is much more like the manna, which I think can be shown easily enough from this passage of the Bible "Instead of which things thou didst feed thy people with the food of angels, and gavest them bread from heaven prepared without labor; having in it all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every taste. For thy sustenance shewed they sweetness to thy children, and serving every man's will, it was turned to what every man liked." - Wisdom 16:20f. At the same time, the impious hated the manna and found no sustenance in it "Our soul is dry: our eyes behold nothing else but manna." - Numbers 11:6, and even the pious still had an appetite for meats, just like Sam "The people therefore rising up all that day... gathered together of quails, he that did least, ten cores [about 580 gallons]". - Numbers 11:32. These similarities are so great that I doubt lembas is intended to be anything other than manna from the legendary past (although Tolkien doesn't seem to have remembered doing this intentionally), remembering that Tolkien intended his stories to be a suppositional history, and so it is not some allegory that lembas is manna any more than that Boromir is a man. It should be said that these also are similarities to the Eucharist since manna was intended by God to be like the Eucharist insofar as its fleshly qualities are like the spiritual qualities of the Eucharist, but this only furthers the point that lembas is more like the manna.
There is something else similar in the real world; Pemmican, (granted not a bread and primarily meat based).
Ground up meat (bison meat in particular), berries and nuts. Ground into a fine powder, then dried so nearly all moisture is taken out.
Finally animal fat added to bind it together.
Meat-fat-nuts mixture packed exceedingly densely, creating a very long lasting and extremely energy rich food.
Nothing like we would think of meat, its like meat fibers, but bound in lard and not water.
Would have the properties of lembas I think.
I dont know about the taste though.
Apparently a few variations of pemmican did not use meat either, but yeah most did.
Native Americans/ settlers relied on this for long trips.
Lembas is a deus ex machina-type plot contrivance to solve the problem of impossibility that frodo and sam wouldnt be able to carry enough food for a long journey.
Imagine that...a fantasy story that isn't realistic.
@@rikk319 wasn’t complaining dou@@ebag. Just explaining. Now swallow.
Supernatural is a better word than magical when discussing Tolkein's legendarium.
Hiya In deep, long time viewer first time commentor, just a quick one, your travelers guide to Westeros seems to be missing quite a few videos for some reason, has sonething happened to them, they have always been a favourite of mine.
I actually mentioned it in the original video but it's worth repeating here. In addition to hard tack there was also another long lasting, yet even more nutritious & calorie dense food during WWI. Called pemmican, it was a compressed block of salted meat, grains, and dried berries if you were lucky, held together by animal fat. It was invented by the Native Americans, and is often sited as to how anyone in the 17th through the 19th centuries could travel for long periods of time without lugging around their own weight in food. It wouldn't surprise me if lembas bread was a synthesis of hometown cakes, hard tack, pemmican, and the eucharist all rolled into one super food.
Ligurian fainâ always makes me think of lembas. In fact, a slice of fainâ and a slice of pizza can keep me going for a day.
As far as macronutrients go, it would likely be very high in fat. Fat contains 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates only have 4. So, if it contains a lot of calories for relatively little weight, it would probably have a high fat content.
Now we're starting to get close to pemmican.
Amazing videos. I wonder what Valinor is like according to Tolkien. Did the surviving members of the fellowship reunite? Does the special dispensation Frodo, Bilbo, and Gimli re ieved to travel to the undying lands grant them elf-like immortality? Thanks again for the amazing LOTR videos.
Unlikely. It technically just a place like any other. It was special because of those that resided there. The Valor. And it was difficult to get to because the Valor decided to close their borders to men. When godlike being decide you shall not pass...you shall not pass. Elves technically could return at any time but had their own reasons for staying amongst men for as long as they did. This is why when Frodo, Bilbo, and Gimli left for the undying lands they did so with elves. Only elves had that open invitation to return that allowed them to navigate to the undying lands.
Of course going west to those lands did have magical and spiritual significance despite being just another parcel of land because of all the wondrous things from the dawn of creation still existed there. The Valor ruled, there were elf tribes there, wonders wrought when the world was still young abound.
I believe Tolkien explained in one of his letters that Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, and Gimli died of natural causes or old age--they did not change to immortals, but were able to live out their natural last years in peace and healing. They also likely didn't enter Aman, but resided on Tol Eressea, an island just off the coast. Tolkien mentioned that Valinor's power would likely be fatal to mortal bodies who dwelt there...I'm sure Olorin, Galadriel, and other immortals could come and visit them, though.
Flatbread, cooked and hardened and pounded to crumbs, mixed with beef suet, salt and cloves and once set and dry, soaked in honey, nuts and dried fruit and peel. Wrapped in grease proof paper and again in muslin, bound with twine.
My family called it Lorcha cake. I thought it was a Teesside thing or, later, maybe a scottish or Maltese thing. Outside of old family cookbooks I can't find the exact food anywhere. I was convinced it was the origin of Lambass when I first read the books. Even more so in the films dhen you see Legolas nibble some.
Lorcha Cake is dense and hard. You chew off a grape sized amount and work it with your teeth and tongue for about five minutes. It starts off sweet and the turns savoury as it co es apart. It will eventually disintegrate in your mouth at which point you wadh it down and your mouth out with water. The strong flavour and hard work to eat it means you are done after two or three bites.
Lasted for months. If you swallowed it too soon or whole it could pass all the way through and out and make for a painful crap.
Lembas can also be interpretted as a balance of blessing by the gods to counter the corruption of Morgoth/Sauron. A direct line from Valinor, untouched by the corruption of Morgoth on the rest of Arda, to the recipient doing work in efforts opposing that corrupting influence. It helps equal the footing in a minor and subtle way. Empowering mortals to help themselves.
The communion bread connection to lembas is probably best understood in terms of typology, not allegory. From a Catholic point of view, the manna is a type (technical term!) of Communion, in that it shares some of the same pattern or structure. Tolkien may therefore have seen lembas as "sharing in the same pattern" as Communion.
>light brown on the outside, creamy white on the inside, incredibly sweet tasting, and lasts an unusually long time compared to other foodstuffs
Bro that's a Twinkie lol
Kinda want a video on orc draught now.
When I first read the books, I imagined they would taste like your favorite dish without loss of texture or mouthfeel.
The ability of raising spirits attributed to Lembas makes me think of Gandalfs ring Narya which; "Narya was described as having the power to inspire others to resist tyranny, domination and despair" All things I see as related to loss & death of spirit.
I don't think it's coincidental but I've not yet filtered through my own thoughts as to be able to explain why.
Wrapping in Mallorn leaves may have contibuted some invigorating properties..
I'm sure the Elves may have kept some secrets from Tolkien. 🤔😉
Be Well!! 😀
Wrapping in mallorn leaves was more about preservation. Rot and disorder came to the world through Melkor, mallorn came from the blessed land of Aman where the rot and the disorder were muted compared to the rest of Arda. The leaves would thus serve as a way to shield the lembas from the rot of the world around it.
I wonder if we could make a cornbread with some squash (like zucchini bread) and powdered beans that were raised in a 3 sister's garden, then maybe add some tallow amd dry it like a hard tack. It would have complete proteins and vitamins from the 3 sister's combo and tallow fat for energy and the shelf stability of hard tack. Plus you wrap it in squash greens with the corn husks, you can eat the greens! It won't be magic but it would make phenomenal rations!
When I was a kid, I used to pretend Poptarts was Lembas
They are, they really are.
The reason Galadriel gave Gimli the bread, when no other Dwarf even knew of its existence is because and I quote:
"He is the G.O.A.T"
My personal thoughts: Lembas being an Elvish waybread/ration could well have been made with Miruvor, a magical Elven liquor. Miruvor was most notably mentioned as having been the gift Gandalf received from Galadriel when the Fellowship departed Lothlorien, and which he in turn urged the others to partake in when crossing Caradhras.
Anyway, the "fulfilling, sustainting" properties of Lembas lead me to believe there must be a smidgen of magic involved, which may be explained by being made with Miruvor.
For some reason I assumed that lembas contained some quantity of potent stimulant drug 😂
I was imagining something like corn mixed with coca leaves😅
Since I grew up eating corn tamales wrapped in leaves for cooking, they sounded dense, nourishing and appetizing.
But it was funny to me how the hobbits would eat a bite and instantly feel invigorated and lose their hunger 😮