The Food Overview

Food is the substance of life and can be described as anything consumed by a person, animal or plant to sustain that life. Almost all foods sources are themselves of a plant or animal origin with sentient beings also considered as food by some. Caelereth boasts a broad range of foods to delight the palettes of humans, elves, orcs, dwarves and hobbits. In fact all sentient races not only need to eat but they also prepare special dishes and receipts and often delight in the process of cooking, preparing and eating their meals.

The renowned chef Dame Sausade has collected many of these receipts from the continent of Sarvonia and beyond in her famous cookbook "Dame Sausade's Cookery Book: Being a Collation of Receipts From Various Parts of Sarvonia”. This overview explains the various sources of food as well as the various types of prepared food enjoyed by Caelereth's sentient races. We thank the revered Dame Sausade, whose cookbook inspired the classification scheme used in this overview.

Caelereth has many edible plants in every continent and island of the disc. Wherever you go you will most likely be able to find something edible if you know where to look. Just turn to the Herbarium section of the Compendium and you will find volumes describing the edible plants in Caelereth. Some examples of edible plants found on the disc are as follows:

FRUITS AND BERRIES
Caelereth holds many varieties of wonderful fruits and berries that can be eaten raw or used in a variety of dishes, especially desserts. Examples include the luscious heart-shaped faberige, the juicy and colorful lýth’bél or "love berry" and the crisp berries of the meldarapple tree.

GRAINS
Grains are a staple food that provides the basis for many hardy meals and most breads made in Caelereth. Examples include bredden grain, golden rain, and wheat grain. In addition to grains there are many varieties of grasses which are mostly consumed by animals.

SPICES AND FLAVOURINGS
Various plants provide the spices and flavorings which really bring out the flavors in prepared dishes and meals. Examples include the basiloc herb, pfepper grass, and rosemint bush.

TUBERS
Tubers are unique foods that grow under the ground and are harvested directly from the dirt. Examples of tubers include tuberfruit and tuberroots (potatoes).

VEGETABLE
Many humans, elves and hobbits view vegetables as one of the most important food sources. These plants not only provide a variety of flavors and colours but they are believed to hold great health value to those who eat them. Examples of vegetables include oya peas, onions, neeps, and carroots.

These are just a few examples of edible plants in Caelereth. Please visit our Herbarium for a more exhaustive list.

Animals provide a good source of food for almost every sentient race and tribe. Animals can be found in every climate on every continent, island and ocean in Caelereth. The type of animal one will eat is truly only limited by culture and willingness to experiment. In fact, a famous orc saying goes "Any beast is an edible beast..and that includes humans." After which the orc usually puts on a wide toothy grin.

In addition many animals produce milk that is used as a beverage, in cooking or for making dairy products such as cheeses. Just turn to the Beastiary section of the Compendium and you will find volumes describing the various animals in Caelereth. Some examples of animals more commonly used for food are described below:

CATTLE
Cattle are generally used to provide either beef or milk. Dairy cows such as the strata milking cow, furno, and rimmilch cow have the wonderful and unique ability to produce massive amounts of healthy and rich milk. Cows which tend to be weightier like the kyrattin cattle, wison ox and baneg cattle yield delicious meat that is cooked and eaten the world round.

PIGS AND SWINE
Pig and swine are butchered to provide a variety of pork products such as sausage, bacon and ham. The hogling, domestic pig and grassland boar are good examples of pigs and swine used for food.

SHEEP AND GOATS
Sheep and goats are generally domesticated animals used for food or for milk. Examples of sheep include the cuncu, dor’iyn, and sawis sheep. Examples of goats include the domestic, cragok, and milch goats.

FOWL
Birds are used in a variety of dishes and can be domesticated or killed in the wild. Many birds are kept and raised specifically to harvest their eggs. Examples of birds commonly used for food include the taenish, the gynnia and the arrowhead goose.

FISH AND MOLLUSCS
Fish and seafood comes in many different varieties and is enjoyed mainly by coastal residents but can also be found on occasional farther inland. Popular fish and mollusks for eating include the bonehead fish, lysh pike, yellowtail fish, tryster mollusk and the flyer crab.

DEER AND ELK
Even though deer and elk are not domesticated they are highly prized for their meet and their pelts and are hunted in the wild. The cloaked elk, the starback deer and the snowy deer are all examples of deer or elk used for food.

These are just a few examples of edible animals in Caelereth. Please visit our Beastiary for a more exhaustive list of the culinary possibilities.

DESSERTS, SWEETS AND CONFECTIONS
Sugar, sugar and more sugar. What goes better with a nice meal than a wonderful dessert. This section of the Compendium is dedicated to those foods rich in sugar; candies, cakes, pies, and cookies.

DRINKS AND BEVERAGES
Not just a thirst quencher, drinks and beverages are enjoyed and help define the culture of races and tribes. Expect to find cold drinks and hot drinks, fruity drinks and bland drinks, sweet drinks and salty drinks and of course the ever so popular wines, ales and beers.

MEATS - GAME, FISH AND POULTRY
Meat is a favourite staple in many cultures. Orcs are especially notorious for the type and amount of meat consumed in their diet, but all races eat meat in some form or another. Meat can be prepared in many different ways such as roasted, fried, grilled, baked or simply raw.

SAUCES, CONDIMENTS AND SPICES
Need a little something extra to bring the flavour out of your meal? You will find it in the sauces, condiments and spices section.

SAVORIES
These are the dishes made with cheese, any egg dishes, and most breads can be found here. Scones and omelets, flatcakes and wrapbread, plowman's lunches and casseroles.

SNACKS, ENTREMETS, APPETIZERS AND STREETFOOD
These little bites are served at the beginning of a meal to stimulate the appetite or are served as a quick snack on the street. They may be sweet, piquant, salty, sour, hot, cold, creamy, or crunchy.

SOUPS AND STEWS
Soups and stews are basically any combination of meats or vegetables cooked in liquid. Often a soup is made with the leftovers from a previous meal. The term soup and stew generally refers to the thickness of the broth. A thicker broth is usually referred to as a stew while a thin broth is a soup. However there is no hard and fast rule. Most tribes eat some variety of soup or stew and the farther north one travels the more popular it becomes.

SUBTLETIES
The wild, the marvelous, the spectacular, or the just plain unusual belongs here. Expect to surprise your palette with any of the dishes on this menu.

VEGETABLES AND GREENS
These are the healthy side dishes and salads, either mainly vegetable-based or completely meatless.