Talahaean Cuisine

CLIMATE: Shielded from the heat of the Aurora by the highlands of the Goblin Bluffs, the climate of Talahaea is temperate. The coast is notably dry, but east of the Spine the Riverlands have plentiful rain. Below the southern water margins, however, the Dustlands are an arid desert.
Above the Bluffs, the Auroral Highlands are high and dry, heated by the morning sun.
Zeras, on the Great Delta, is a climatic oddity, wreathed in cool mists thanks to the influence of necromantic magic and necrosis taint; what food its residents require is mostly imported.
The staples of Talahaea are mostly cereals, in particular a wide variety of wheat, barley and oats. Sugar beet and honey provide sweetening, and the continent is noted for a huge range of regional breads, pastas, cakes, biscuits and beer. Almost every region or settlement has a characteristic version of one or more cereal products.
In the Riverlands and around the Delta, mushrooms are highly prized. Herbs are widely grown, but spices are less common, save in the south where the warmer coronal climate has allowed for traditions of sun-drying for preservation. Around the Delta, the Zeranzeri ash elves grow a number of varietals of Underhollow spices and fungi.
A wide array of green vegetables - cabbage, spinach, asparagus, brassicas and seaweed-thrive in Talahaea, along with carrots, beets, parsnips and squash, and tomatoes and potatoes originally imported from Moraea. Olives and tree nuts are common on the coast, and orchard fruit and berries in the Riverland. The south of Talahaea is espeically noted for its fruit.
Sheep are raised across Talahaea, although cattle are more prestigious. Most Talahaean cattle are descended from the aurochs of the bluffs. Pigs are not commonly husbanded, but wild boars are widely taken as game, along with deer, hares, rabbits and small birds. Fish are a coastal and esturine favourite, and may be smoked for preservation or preparation.
The Sacred Republic has laws against eating monstrosities, but chimera is a delicacy of the White Barrens. and leucrotta is a specialty of the Dustlands, requiring the same kind of skilled preparation as fugu. The Zeranzeri also have a number of monstrous arachnids that they keep as food animals.
Talahaean cuisine is varied, but is usually stereotyped as consisting of soup and salad. Broths, gravy and other light sauces predominate over heavier stews. Meat, vegetables and carbohydrates tend to be cooked separately and served side by side. Milk is most commonly used in desserts, with even cheeses typically served with fruit and sweet preserves.