Southern Cainan Cuisine

CLIMATE: Tropical, cooler in the south and on the coastal plain.
There are few cereal crops in southern Caino and very few expansive fields. Staple carbohydrates are provided by starchy tubers like sweet potatoes and cassava, or by rice grown in terraced folds in the central Cainan uplands.
Green vegetables are relatively rare, but peppers, tomatoes, onions and okra are abundant. The jungles also provide a wealth of fruit and nuts, and these are cultivated into orchards and vineyards. The southern jungles in particular are known for coffee and cocoa beans. The region also produces an abundance of spices, hot peppers, cane sugar and tree sap syrups. These, rather than bulkier crops, are southern Cairo's principal exports.
Aside from some oxen in the north, herd animals are unusual. The lighter jungle is home to tapirs and small pigs, and a wide array of foul. Snake, monkey and a variety of large-to-giant insects and arachnids are eaten in the deeper jungle. Around the rivers, larger animals including crocodilians and sauropods, can be found.
Edible monstrosities include an they, catoblepasses and hydrae, although all are widely considered too dangerous for their savour and nutritional value. Catoblepas meat is actually something of a delicacy, but in addition to the challenge of killing the catopblepas, preparing the meat without tainting it with the animal's death stink is a skill in itself.
The trademark of southern Cainan cuisine is elaborate combinations of aromatic spices and herbs. The mark of a great chef is considered to be the ability to use a wide variety of spices, without any of the flavours overwhelming the others.
Drinks in southern Cairo include cassava beer, rice and grape wines, and spirits derived from the same sources. Coffee and hot chocolate are primarily consumed as ritual beverages in the south, but have an increasing market as recreational beverages. Traditionally served bitter, sweetened chocolate has found a place as an export.