Re^5: xml simple not a hash reference

[morgon]

It prints out: HASH(0x27acfbc)

This indicates that your $mealtype variable does not hold a scalar or array, but a reference to a hash.

The easiest way to print that is probably to use Data::Dumper:

use Data::Dumper;
print Dumper($mealtype);

[Anonymous Monk]

To quote perldata

Perl has three built-in data types: scalars, arrays of scalars, and associative arrays of scalars, known as "hashes". A scalar is a single string (of any size, limited only by the available memory), number, or a reference to something (which will be discussed in perlref).