Lembas bread is one of the most famous foods in fantasy, both for its wholesome properties and its ability to divide stressed hobbits. Today we look at Galadriel’s claim that one cake contains enough calories to sustain a full day’s march. Is this physically possible, or are there a few tablespoons of magical calories in the secret recipe?
"Eat little at a time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them. One will keep a traveler on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith."
-The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
"Eat little at a time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them. One will keep a traveler on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith."
-The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
First, some things about food. It has calories (a unit of energy, just like the Joules we discussed in the dragon fire experiment). Our bodies require calories to keep our hearts beating, our organs working, and our skin warm. They require more calories to stay on our feet for a long day’s hike.
Backpackers are keenly aware of how many calories it takes to hike all day. It takes more for big people than small, more for men than women, more for a heavy pack than a light one, more for long distances on hills than short strolls through meadows, more for a many-day through-hike than a weekend jaunt. In general, though, you could expect a tall man of Minas Tirith to burn 3000 calories on a normal day and 6000 calories on a traveling “day of long labour” (link).
Backpackers are keenly aware of how many calories it takes to hike all day. It takes more for big people than small, more for men than women, more for a heavy pack than a light one, more for long distances on hills than short strolls through meadows, more for a many-day through-hike than a weekend jaunt. In general, though, you could expect a tall man of Minas Tirith to burn 3000 calories on a normal day and 6000 calories on a traveling “day of long labour” (link).
Image: l-o-t-r.tumbler.com
How big is a cake of lembas?
The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream.
-The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
There’s no knowing how big a “very thin cake” is, but let’s be super generous and say it has a volume of 1 cup. Is it possible for one cup of anything to have 6000 calories? Let’s see.
Calories come in three forms: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Every gram of protein has 4 calories, every gram of carb has 4 calories, and every gram of fat has 9 calories (link). Go ahead, check me: grab a candy bar or bottle of Kombucha and calculate 4 x carbs + 4 x protein + 9 x fat. It should equal the calories per serving.
Lembas bread sounds like it’s made out of carbs. Lore says it’s made out of corn, though this could be an old way of saying it’s made out of wheat (link). So what are some of the purest, most calorie-dense forms of carbohydrates?
Info from FoodDataCentral
It would take 14 cups of corn flour (almost a gallon) to get us to 6000 calories. Even if lembas were pure honey, we would need 6 cups of it. It's not looking good for carb-heavy lembas.
But what if lembas had some fat in it? Next time we’ll learn about fats, see what the most calorie-dense food of all is, and learn how many magical calories the elves mix into lembas bread.
Leave a comment: What’s your go-to energy food lembas bread equivalent?
The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream.
-The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
There’s no knowing how big a “very thin cake” is, but let’s be super generous and say it has a volume of 1 cup. Is it possible for one cup of anything to have 6000 calories? Let’s see.
Calories come in three forms: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Every gram of protein has 4 calories, every gram of carb has 4 calories, and every gram of fat has 9 calories (link). Go ahead, check me: grab a candy bar or bottle of Kombucha and calculate 4 x carbs + 4 x protein + 9 x fat. It should equal the calories per serving.
Lembas bread sounds like it’s made out of carbs. Lore says it’s made out of corn, though this could be an old way of saying it’s made out of wheat (link). So what are some of the purest, most calorie-dense forms of carbohydrates?
- White wheat flour: 455 calories / cup
- About 10% of the calories come from protein, and there’s a decent amount of fiber and other things that take up space without giving calories
- Yellow corn flour: 422 calories / cup
- Similar caloric composition to wheat flour
- Granulated sugar: 773 calories / cup
- 3.9 calories / gram – almost pure carbohydrate
- Honey: 1031 calories / cup
- 3 calories / gram, carbs only (plus 17% water and other bee-related non-caloric stuff)
- Agave nectar: 680 calories / cup
- 3.1 calories / gram, carbs only (plus 23% water and other non-caloric stuff)
- Raisins: 478 calories / cup
- 3 calories / gram, mostly carbs (a tiny amount of protein, plus 16% water and some fiber)
Info from FoodDataCentral
It would take 14 cups of corn flour (almost a gallon) to get us to 6000 calories. Even if lembas were pure honey, we would need 6 cups of it. It's not looking good for carb-heavy lembas.
But what if lembas had some fat in it? Next time we’ll learn about fats, see what the most calorie-dense food of all is, and learn how many magical calories the elves mix into lembas bread.
Leave a comment: What’s your go-to energy food lembas bread equivalent?