Northern Cainan Cuisine

CLIMATE: Temperate, warmer in the west; plentiful rainfall and good soil from Elysian rivers.
The staple of much north Cainan Cuisine is cereal crops cultivated from the wild grasses of the plains and steppes, including wheat, barley and oats. Around the Skystone Peaks, quinoa and amaranth predominate.
The Lowlands of the Skystones also have numerous orchards, producing tree fruit, nuts and berries. Nightshades, including wild and cultivated tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and potatoes, also grow in the warmer regions.
Seaweed is harvested on the coasts, and salt - especially that from the northern coast of the Stormlands - is widely used as a preser­vative as well as a seasoning. Varieties of beans grow across the region.
Sources of protein include fish and shellfish from rivers and coasts; at the latter, seabirds, seals and whales are also hunted. Domesti­cated fowl are common in the south, but game birds and their eggs are more common in the steppes. Buffalo, goats and small game abound, living wild in the Free Moblands and herded in more settled areas, and are valued for meat as well as leather, parchment and milk. South of the Skystones, small pigs are common in forested regions, and larger swine are cultivated in cleared areas. Small numbers of mid-sized dinosaurs survive in the steppes of the Free Moblands.
In the north, aromatic herbs are common, while the south is better known for earthy spices. Sweetening is mostly done with honey or tree sap syrups.
Many monstrosities are indigestible, but a few provide good eating. The chimera and the gorgon are delicacies in the Free mob lands, and among the few meats that the Canon great folk ever eat. The gray renders of the lowlands are eaten, but rarely as a meat of preference. Any monstrosity requires careful preparation, and all of the above are potentially poisonous if carelessly cooked.
Greatfolk rarely eat meat, and the Stormlands are best known for rich vegetable and bean stews, served with bread or thickened with pearl barley. Beans and groundnuts are their main protein sources, with smaller lineages adding fish - often salted for transport. Herds of goats and buffalo are kept for milk and wool. In the Free Moblands, goat and buffalo meat is more often eaten, if not by the Greatfolk then by their working rokos (mid-size theropods used for riding and hauling.) Rokos are the most common saurians in the area. Greatfolk value had animals for milk and wool, so most of the larger dinosaurs were displaced in favour of buffalo.
The Elysian Federation has a distinctive fusion cuisine. Indigenous cuisine - itself a varied product of many cultures - includes rich meat stews, bread dumplings and stir fried greens. The influence of the Legion and Regime aggressors introduced spiced, creamy stews and salt meat, and flat breads and wheat pasta respectively. The Dwarfs of the Skystones bring savoury one sweet pasties to the table. Paprika, introduced by the Orcs, and the cornucopia of spices from southern Caino, add additional flavours to the trad­itional cuisine.
Beer, fruit ciders and mead are all consumed regularly in northern Cairo. There are also vineyards around the borders of the Grass Sea, supplying wine as a prestige drink to the nomes of the Elysian Federation. Stronger spirits are created by distilling fruit peel mash or mead.