Cathlaean Cuisine
CLIMATE: Variable. High elevation, day-round sunlight.
Great Delta - tropical and humid: low-lying marsh.
Dustlands - Desert; one of of the most extreme environments on Aiaos.
South coast - temperate to sub-tropical; blighted. Cathlaea's varied and often extreme climate means that culinary culture also varies considerably. Staple foods are mostly starchy roots in the interior and rice on the coasts. Some rice varietals are cultivated in the Ophionic Empire, but potatoes, yams and breadfruit are more common. In the Delta region, short-grained, deviate yzmr rice is grown, while long-grained goali predominates in the northern Water Margins. Especially distinctive are the robust, black grains of khar, the varietal grown in the Darklands. Dustland Cuisine consists of goat and camel meat, the flesh of succulent plants and the hardy fruits of the robust trees and bushes which grow around the scattered oases. The culinary culture descends from the unrefined cuisine of the gnoll tribes, favouring fruits and vegetables cooked with meat, and the more elaborate cuisine of the genies. The latter will tend to prepare many small dishes for each meal, elaborately prepared and delicately spiced. The cuisine of the Ophionic Empire has one of the broadest spreads of any in Aiaos, having absorbed the insular traditions of the Empire's many tribal constituents before traveling out with various waves of refugees. It incorporates a range of local spices, fish and fowl, imported herbs and spices from the Delta and Dustlands, and meats including camels in the north, pigs from the south, and wild cattle and goats throughout. The Imperial cuisine is a highly traditional style, elaborating on earlier cultures of the central jungle. It uses fish, beef, crocodile, hippogriff and kelpie, fruits and nuts, and a range of herbs and spices with more flavour than heat. Dishes combine a range of savoury and sweet flavours, and are served with rice or gum. On the banks of the Delta, the Ash Elves of Benefice Zeranzeri combine traditional Underhollow cuisine - protein from giant beetles, monstrous arachnids, tunnelling creatures including ankheg, mushrooms and bean curds, as well as a range of bitter, savoury herbs - with the fish, earthy spices and sweet rice of the Delta region. Thanks to the desolation of the Parklands after the Legion-Regime Wars, orc cuisine is based more on forage than on cultivation. Meat is taken from fish, ground sloths, yales and wild game, most notably dire rabbits. Some groups eat pork, but overall the pig is viewed as steed and partner, rather than food. Wild tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs are combined with rich spices and black rice. Wheat is not cultivated, but some areas produce beer and breads from rye or wild spelt.
Great Delta - tropical and humid: low-lying marsh.
Dustlands - Desert; one of of the most extreme environments on Aiaos.
South coast - temperate to sub-tropical; blighted. Cathlaea's varied and often extreme climate means that culinary culture also varies considerably. Staple foods are mostly starchy roots in the interior and rice on the coasts. Some rice varietals are cultivated in the Ophionic Empire, but potatoes, yams and breadfruit are more common. In the Delta region, short-grained, deviate yzmr rice is grown, while long-grained goali predominates in the northern Water Margins. Especially distinctive are the robust, black grains of khar, the varietal grown in the Darklands. Dustland Cuisine consists of goat and camel meat, the flesh of succulent plants and the hardy fruits of the robust trees and bushes which grow around the scattered oases. The culinary culture descends from the unrefined cuisine of the gnoll tribes, favouring fruits and vegetables cooked with meat, and the more elaborate cuisine of the genies. The latter will tend to prepare many small dishes for each meal, elaborately prepared and delicately spiced. The cuisine of the Ophionic Empire has one of the broadest spreads of any in Aiaos, having absorbed the insular traditions of the Empire's many tribal constituents before traveling out with various waves of refugees. It incorporates a range of local spices, fish and fowl, imported herbs and spices from the Delta and Dustlands, and meats including camels in the north, pigs from the south, and wild cattle and goats throughout. The Imperial cuisine is a highly traditional style, elaborating on earlier cultures of the central jungle. It uses fish, beef, crocodile, hippogriff and kelpie, fruits and nuts, and a range of herbs and spices with more flavour than heat. Dishes combine a range of savoury and sweet flavours, and are served with rice or gum. On the banks of the Delta, the Ash Elves of Benefice Zeranzeri combine traditional Underhollow cuisine - protein from giant beetles, monstrous arachnids, tunnelling creatures including ankheg, mushrooms and bean curds, as well as a range of bitter, savoury herbs - with the fish, earthy spices and sweet rice of the Delta region. Thanks to the desolation of the Parklands after the Legion-Regime Wars, orc cuisine is based more on forage than on cultivation. Meat is taken from fish, ground sloths, yales and wild game, most notably dire rabbits. Some groups eat pork, but overall the pig is viewed as steed and partner, rather than food. Wild tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs are combined with rich spices and black rice. Wheat is not cultivated, but some areas produce beer and breads from rye or wild spelt.
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