Foods Found in the Tondene Empire
Being cosmopolitan, the Empire is made up of just about every sentient race on Velyri, so the types of foods available is very large. In cities, “ethnic” food is common, and you can find an eating establishment that caters to just about any race’s food preference. Some larger or more established restaurants might have several different kinds of food available. Most inns will have 1-4 different dishes available on any specific night, with maybe 5-7 different kinds of beverage, not including water (beer, wine, cider, a fruit juice, milk, some spirits). The type of food will be dependent upon the proprietor, although if they have many offerings one might be from a different ethnicity. In most cities, street food is also common; it's usually grilled or fried.
Port Karn, having a fairly high population of Orcs, has a lot of Orcish food available, and it’s popular, even to non-Orcs. Human food is also very common; Elven and Dwarven foods are not common, but available here and there. Goblin food falls somewhere in the middle in prevalence. There are also fusions available; a lot of Orc-style spices are used in Human noodle dishes, for instance. This mixing is, of course, natural and expected. The food profile of Port Karn could rightly be called a melange of Orc, Human, and Goblin food styles.
horses (occasionally)
pigs (meat)
goats (meat and milk)
chickens (meat and eggs)
duck (meat and eggs)
goose (meat and eggs)
sheep (meat and milk)
deer (meat)
elk (meat)
rabbit (meat)
fish (meat)
eels (meat)
trihorn (occasionally) (meat)
auroch (occasionally) (meat)
hydrae (some varieties, usually Orcish food) (meat and eggs)
stun lizards (occasionally) (meat)
giant centipede (Elven delicacy) (meat)
giant cave centipede (Dwarven dish) (meat)
alligators (Marsh folk delicacy) (meat and eggs)
bears (occasional) (meat)
diatryma (Elven dish) (meat)
dinohyus (giant boar, Orcish dish) (meat)
hippos (occasional, Goblin dish) (meat)
gryphon (Dwarven dish) (meat)
giant rat (Goblin dish) (meat)
wolf (Goblin dish) (meat)
“Occasional” is the equivalent of “game meats” in modern parlance. So they exist, they are eaten by some, but there isn’t a huge market for them and they can be difficult to find if you don’t know a hunter that goes after them.
vegetables (too many to list; anything found in a grocery store)
fruits (too many to list; anything found in a grocery store)
nuts (peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts)
Kingtree fruit (Elven, although you can very rarely find the fruits elsewhere) Human foods conform to medieval norms: lots of grilled meats, and several vegetable dishes that wouldn’t be out of place at any standard European or American restaurant. Pasta/noodles are a thing, although the dishes are closer to chow mien rather than spaghetti and sauce (so vegetables and meat mixed with noodles). Breads of various kinds. The lower classes tend to not get meat too often, so for them, meat is a condiment or flavor additive, more than a specific dish. Orcish food tends to be spicy, and meat-heavy, often pork. They like intense flavors. They also historically didn’t use a lot of dairy, mainly because they didn’t have a lot of milk-producing animals in their herds, which was most often pigs and boars, with the occasional herd of deer or elk. Milk products just weren’t a thing with Orcs. Nowadays, in the Empire, that’s different; dairy products are consumed all the time. The cheeses they prefer tend to be very strong, like bleu cheese, stilton, muenster, strong cheddar, and limburger. Example dishes: Ukavallun: Spiced pork on fermented cabbage (kimchi, basically) Caruk avheuke: Spicy pork and bean stew (a sort of chili) Ukhelavas: Porridge with chili peppers and olives. Goblin foods tend, like Orc dishes, to be heavy on the meat, but even more so, being (mostly) carnivorous. Vegetables are a side dish, at best. They like just about any kind of meat. They also like sauces, such as gravies, cheese sauce, and cream sauces. Their love for spicy foods varies depending upon region; the more equatorial Goblins like very spicy food, while their more higher-latitude cousins like more mild foods. Goblin foods also tend to be on the sweet side, so spicy-sweet or savory-sweet tend to be their flavor profiles. Lots of the “baking spices” (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, anise) tend to be used in Goblin dishes. Moroccan food would be a decent analogue. Example dishes: Shaal taliin: Grilled venison with spicy cream sauce; Shuukhaan der hagekki: Baked beef en croute with gravy; Shaal hiin shokhaan: Chili peach chutney. Elven foods tend to be vegetable-heavy, and while many Elves are vegetarian, that is hardly the norm. They eat meat as much as humans do, perhaps more, given that meat can be expensive, and most Elven communities are fairly egalitarian, and tend to share their hunting results with the community. Example dishes: Remmen laicolassë: Green salad (a hearty version, uses kale, nuts, and berries in addition to other types of greens and vegetables) Remmenwa maxe laicolassë: A salad with strips of meat laid over the top; Andatelcoli laimamatta: Centipede meat with gingered carrots and onions; Oiossëva malma: Roasted diatryma leg with garlic and lemon. Dwarven foods tend to be very earthy, likely because one of their main ingredients is mushrooms (of various kinds). They also eat meat, and utilize dairy products. About the only nuts they really utilize are peanuts (called “ground beans”). Peanut sauce is a Dwarven invention. They tend to prefer more savory notes than sweet in their foods, so to many non-Dwarves, Dwarven food can taste somewhat bitter. Example dishes: Khuzd goraz: Dwarven Ale is basically a bitter stout in flavor, but with a dark amber color. Ganabruhas zarshamâd: Cave centipede with mixed mushrooms. Ablâkhul’uznash hasas zarshamâd: Griffon flank with grilled mushrooms. Aarakocra food is limited, and isn’t really eaten by non-Aarakocra. Most is raw, although they do grill or cook meat. Non-meat ingredients are sauces/flavorings; they don’t eat a lot of vegetables (they are raptors, after all). They don’t really have cuisine; at best, they have BBQ. Hobbits haven’t met a food they didn’t like. Originally, their diet was similar to Humans, but they glom on to anything they think tastes good, which is just about everything. Marsh Folk were the ones to come up with most of the rice-based dishes, and cultivated the greatest varieties of rice. Steamed rice, pilaf, fried rice, rice noodles. They tend to like both simple fare, and complicated yet subtle blendings of flavors. Some of the best chefs are Hobbits (love of food is a great incentive for cooking). While they don't really have their own style of cuisine, they are often the ones to come up with interesting dishes based on combinations of other ethnic foods.
Animals
cattle (meat and milk)horses (occasionally)
pigs (meat)
goats (meat and milk)
chickens (meat and eggs)
duck (meat and eggs)
goose (meat and eggs)
sheep (meat and milk)
deer (meat)
elk (meat)
rabbit (meat)
fish (meat)
eels (meat)
trihorn (occasionally) (meat)
auroch (occasionally) (meat)
hydrae (some varieties, usually Orcish food) (meat and eggs)
stun lizards (occasionally) (meat)
giant centipede (Elven delicacy) (meat)
giant cave centipede (Dwarven dish) (meat)
alligators (Marsh folk delicacy) (meat and eggs)
bears (occasional) (meat)
diatryma (Elven dish) (meat)
dinohyus (giant boar, Orcish dish) (meat)
hippos (occasional, Goblin dish) (meat)
gryphon (Dwarven dish) (meat)
giant rat (Goblin dish) (meat)
wolf (Goblin dish) (meat)
“Occasional” is the equivalent of “game meats” in modern parlance. So they exist, they are eaten by some, but there isn’t a huge market for them and they can be difficult to find if you don’t know a hunter that goes after them.
Plants
grains (wheat, corn, barley, millet, rice, rye)vegetables (too many to list; anything found in a grocery store)
fruits (too many to list; anything found in a grocery store)
nuts (peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts)
Kingtree fruit (Elven, although you can very rarely find the fruits elsewhere) Human foods conform to medieval norms: lots of grilled meats, and several vegetable dishes that wouldn’t be out of place at any standard European or American restaurant. Pasta/noodles are a thing, although the dishes are closer to chow mien rather than spaghetti and sauce (so vegetables and meat mixed with noodles). Breads of various kinds. The lower classes tend to not get meat too often, so for them, meat is a condiment or flavor additive, more than a specific dish. Orcish food tends to be spicy, and meat-heavy, often pork. They like intense flavors. They also historically didn’t use a lot of dairy, mainly because they didn’t have a lot of milk-producing animals in their herds, which was most often pigs and boars, with the occasional herd of deer or elk. Milk products just weren’t a thing with Orcs. Nowadays, in the Empire, that’s different; dairy products are consumed all the time. The cheeses they prefer tend to be very strong, like bleu cheese, stilton, muenster, strong cheddar, and limburger. Example dishes: Ukavallun: Spiced pork on fermented cabbage (kimchi, basically) Caruk avheuke: Spicy pork and bean stew (a sort of chili) Ukhelavas: Porridge with chili peppers and olives. Goblin foods tend, like Orc dishes, to be heavy on the meat, but even more so, being (mostly) carnivorous. Vegetables are a side dish, at best. They like just about any kind of meat. They also like sauces, such as gravies, cheese sauce, and cream sauces. Their love for spicy foods varies depending upon region; the more equatorial Goblins like very spicy food, while their more higher-latitude cousins like more mild foods. Goblin foods also tend to be on the sweet side, so spicy-sweet or savory-sweet tend to be their flavor profiles. Lots of the “baking spices” (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, anise) tend to be used in Goblin dishes. Moroccan food would be a decent analogue. Example dishes: Shaal taliin: Grilled venison with spicy cream sauce; Shuukhaan der hagekki: Baked beef en croute with gravy; Shaal hiin shokhaan: Chili peach chutney. Elven foods tend to be vegetable-heavy, and while many Elves are vegetarian, that is hardly the norm. They eat meat as much as humans do, perhaps more, given that meat can be expensive, and most Elven communities are fairly egalitarian, and tend to share their hunting results with the community. Example dishes: Remmen laicolassë: Green salad (a hearty version, uses kale, nuts, and berries in addition to other types of greens and vegetables) Remmenwa maxe laicolassë: A salad with strips of meat laid over the top; Andatelcoli laimamatta: Centipede meat with gingered carrots and onions; Oiossëva malma: Roasted diatryma leg with garlic and lemon. Dwarven foods tend to be very earthy, likely because one of their main ingredients is mushrooms (of various kinds). They also eat meat, and utilize dairy products. About the only nuts they really utilize are peanuts (called “ground beans”). Peanut sauce is a Dwarven invention. They tend to prefer more savory notes than sweet in their foods, so to many non-Dwarves, Dwarven food can taste somewhat bitter. Example dishes: Khuzd goraz: Dwarven Ale is basically a bitter stout in flavor, but with a dark amber color. Ganabruhas zarshamâd: Cave centipede with mixed mushrooms. Ablâkhul’uznash hasas zarshamâd: Griffon flank with grilled mushrooms. Aarakocra food is limited, and isn’t really eaten by non-Aarakocra. Most is raw, although they do grill or cook meat. Non-meat ingredients are sauces/flavorings; they don’t eat a lot of vegetables (they are raptors, after all). They don’t really have cuisine; at best, they have BBQ. Hobbits haven’t met a food they didn’t like. Originally, their diet was similar to Humans, but they glom on to anything they think tastes good, which is just about everything. Marsh Folk were the ones to come up with most of the rice-based dishes, and cultivated the greatest varieties of rice. Steamed rice, pilaf, fried rice, rice noodles. They tend to like both simple fare, and complicated yet subtle blendings of flavors. Some of the best chefs are Hobbits (love of food is a great incentive for cooking). While they don't really have their own style of cuisine, they are often the ones to come up with interesting dishes based on combinations of other ethnic foods.
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