Irthironian Cuisine

Ingredients

There are a number of plants and animals that have found a place in Irthironian cuisine, both native to the island (so to speak) and as a result of their colonial empire.

Prehistory

Oddly enough, the founder crop that the country still relies on didn't come from the region at all. Carob (fabalaurus edibilis), also called the bean tree, is a nitrogen-fixing perennial plant, with beautiful golden honeysuckle-like flowers. The bean pods and seeds it produces are an excellent source of both nitrogen and carbohydrates, and can be ground down into a light, caramel-tasting flour. The flowers themselves attract bees, which produce a light, delicious, easily-crystallized honey. One can also roast the bean pods to produce a caramel-tasting drink, in Irthiron known as kiriss. Perhaps most importantly, however, the tree will grow in conditions of drought, and in conditions with plenty of water can grow to all of twenty metres tall. It is notable, therefore, that where places like the Senok Desert or the Comican River relied primarily on fields of annual plants that had to be replanted year after year, the Hlayosh River Basin—and for that matter the plains of Abhalyn, where agriculture started in Doas—instead had orchards, mixed with fruit trees and various smaller plants. And the carob seeds were carried across the continent, all the way to the Eastern Arm, where they spread to the highlands at the northern end for semi-permanent agriculture.

With these trees came a companion animal, the red-ringed duck (chennetta rufocervicis). Domesticated by the Rumak living in the Birdlands, red-ringed ducks can raise up to three broods a year, can be used to control insects, pests, and weeds among other crops, and best of all need very little actual contact with water. Most of their time is spent foraging on land, for grasses and other plants. They provide an excellent source of eggs, feathers, and meat across the whole of Western Pelia, and even semi-domesticated ducks have been used by hunter-gatherers. They are archeorniths, more primitive birds, and as such have a pair of motile canards which fan up from their heads when angry, but otherwise they look much like ducks on Earth, albeit with a ring of red feathers around their necks.

Finally, domesticated not too long after the other two, was the ashfar (curtama tinctoria). The first real "spice" on the continent, the flowers of the ashfar can be used to season meats, producing a saffron-like taste. The plant also produces a highly versatile oil, which has for thousands of years been used to burn lamps and fry foods. Finally, ashfar flowers are a major source of the orange-red pigment carthamin, used in making clothing for the nobility in Quiram, as well as a yellow dye.

These came to the burning plains of Abhalyn in around the 25th Century BC, but along the ancient rivers other plants were added to the sedentary diet. Spinach (psammophyllon halaphagus), for example, was grown along the shoreline, as well as in the shallow estuaries on the coast and in the dry grasslands further inland. Today it provides much of the iron necessary for one's daily consumption, despite a general dislike of the stuff by children across the Shallow Sea. Spinach is distinguishable from Earth spinach by its spiky (but not sharp) and somewhat darker leaves. Likewise, the goldapple (aurimalum spp.), with its vivid orange-yellow, prominently ribbed fruit and large seeds, was domesticated at this time, providing a useful fruit. This was mixed with pomeberry trees (alterpomona spp.), whose trunks, useful for construction of furniture, bore sweet black-skinned fruits with rich golden flesh.

Notably during this time a second animal was domesticated, this time in Irthiron proper. The comparatively cold winters on the peninsula compared to the plains of Abhalyn led to the domestication of a species of patrinutricial lactile, the jumbuck (penovis penovis). Living in groups from maybe two breeding pairs plus offspring to fairly large colonies up to 7,000 strong, about 50cm tall at the shoulder (1.5m standing up), the jumbuck have thick, fluffy coats that come in white, black, brown, gold, and even piebald. They live on roughage, grasses, and seeds, including carob seeds. Better yet, they were receptive to human interaction, and so became farmed for their fine wool, their meat, and occasionally (but very rarely) their eggs, which are soft and somewhat gelatinous. Jumbuck farming started in the lands that would one day become Irthiron and there they remained, but unlike other innovations this one spread quite quickly across the plains. Shearing the jumbucks became a matter of common sense at this point, to keep out the heat, and so wool became another fabric of choice, albeit one generally used for blankets rather than for clothing in the warmth.

The Warruk

While the Drowning wiped the civilization of Abhalyn off the map in the 29th Century BC, agriculture survived, both on the coast of the new Shallow Sea and on the isolated islands that once were mountains. Of these, the largest is Shandoo, a triangular-shaped land with a high central plateau called the Highlands, but much in the way of valleys and fertile grasslands and forests. The Warruk kept up the agricultural traditions of the old Abhalyn civilization, and made a few additions of their own, forming the basis of a primarily . Hadean geese, for example (chennetta dina), a distant relative of the red-ringed duck, were found to be just as profitable to domesticate in the surprisingly warmer weather. Blue cabbage (cramba cerulea) was not only a vegetable of some regard, it also produced differing amounts of cyanidin, which with differing acidity levels could be used to make red, blue, and purple dyes. Sea celery (haloselinum procerum), which grew on the shores and was mixed with the spinach crops there, likewise produced apigenin, a decent yellow dye.

But the two most important crops were yet to come.

The chocolate lily (lirium radiciferens) was actually domesticated about a century before the Drowning of Abhalyn, but never got particularly far from the tip of the Eastern Arm in the time between the Drowning and the Theryke Conquest. A relatively small plant with pretty blue flowers, the tuber of the chocolate lily is rich in starches and Vitamin C. More to the point, it grows in multiple parts; most of the tuber can be harvested year after year, and so long as a portion is retained for planting (they last about nine months without being restored to the earth), it can be reused for something like twenty years. This, although more labour-intensive than simply picking fruit off the trees, provided a useful foodstock and filling fields with blue flowers.

The real prizewinner, though, is the daegan tree (gloeodendron sicerae). Also called the cider-gum tree and the pjuuntihu, although deagans do not, in fact, produce much in the way of anything substantial for human consumption, they still have some potential. The resin of the tree produces both varnish and resinated alcohols, chiefly mead and goldapple cider. The sap is used in dying clothing (a yellow-brown colouration often called "wayfowl gold"—see later), as a sweet drink, in the tanning of leather, as a garnish on meats and cakes, and (most notably) as a semiprecious stone—hardened and shaped, "blood amber" was a major trading commodity for the Warruk, and the islands were even called the Amber Isles in Glass Imperial records for a time. Perhaps most importantly, however, leaves from the daegan trees are the meal of choice for the jade flutter (hyalopter pecuniarius), whose caterpillars produce a variety of silk, albeit not as effectively as the related silkmoth on the other side of the Shallow Sea. This silk, far less coarse than the regular barkcloth, the skins, and even the jumbuck wool, which formed the basis of commoners' clothing, was not put into any real kind of production until the War of Separation in the 28th Century LC. Once it was, though, Irthiron was able to boast that with only the chocolate lily, the sea celery, and the "wealth-trees" of their land—for that is the meaning of the Warruka word pjuuntihu and the Irthironian word daegan—they could call themselves wealthier than any other country in the region. It may have even been true, for a while at least.

And so, for thousands of years, the isolation would continue, the Warruk trading blood amber, leather, and wool with the mainland in exchange for various curiousities. There was back-and-forth commerce, to be sure, and the Warruk became known as much for their goods as for their peculiar taboo languages used among themselves when strangers were around. And they dined on mutton seasoned with salt, on carob bread flavoured with daegan sap, and on the resinated cider for which the region became famous.

The Glass Empire

From the city of Mirran, founded in 946 LC, the Glass Empire—for glass in the form of obsidian was their primary claim to wealth, until glassblowing techniques were developed and they could lead a trade monopoly in what they called "real glass", the source of which they kept as a careful secret. The Triarchs came to dominate the Shallow Sea first through a trade monopoly and then by outright conquest, but glass remained their primary export, although it was still only made in the region around Mirran and even then in strictest secrecy. And with them they brought—and sold—new plants for consumption.

Of these, the most important by far was the woad-pear (allapius glastofer), a vine which bears golden-orange fruit similar in shape to a pear but in taste to a rather tart strawberry, and has a single large peach-like stone at the centre which can be dried and used as a source of Vitamin C on long voyages. The fruit could also be made into a rather pleasant wine, which became a symbol of class. The leaves of the plant were an important source of indigo dye, which could be harvested and traded as well. It was said that the plant was revered by all the Middle Castes—artists, priests, and merchants—as a symbol of their capabilities, and indeed the source of them.

The other major plant was the pepperleaf (micropeperi frigidulum), a small bush which grew wild along the coast of the Fire Rivers where the Glass Empire had its foundation. The leaves in question actually are full of menthol, providing a cool taste when chewed, but the roots, which can be chewed as they are or grated and added as a condiment, have considerable amounts of piperine.

The Warruk already had woad-pears, although less well cultivated, and the sea celery cultivated by the Glass Empire they held inferior to their own. However, there was a surprising demand among the tribal confederations for pepperleaf, which became the major trade good accepted for their own amber.

The Glass Empire also introduced the silkplum (cyparissus utilis), actually a species of fructopine. Silkplum trees can grow to a height of twenty metres, and the wood is good for boat planking, joinery, saltwater piles (as seen on the Old Lock in Arrag, capital of Balleron), and furniture. The fleshy outside of the seed cones, meanwhile, forms a circle as much as five centimetres wide in some varieties, and is used both as a fruit and a condiment. It is high in citric acid and has a tart, sweet taste. When the seed (about 1cm in diameter) has been removed, a somewhat laborious process, the flesh can be made into preserves, jams (silkplum jam is a common "little luxury" for children), and a sweet-tasting alcoholic beverage called bengor or plum wine (a "little luxury" for adults).

The Theryke

There wasn't much the Theryke could provide, but provide they did—one foodstuff in particular would irreversibly alter cooking on the islands.

If the later Ashenacom could be said to live by their camels, then the Theryke who came forth from the fabled city of Limbir in the east lived by their wayfowl (hippostruthus sonipes). Large and somewhat ostrich-like, the wayfowl has four wings instead of two; the front pair are used in displays, while the back pair are held parallel to the body and are used for ground effect, allowing the wayfowl to reach speeds of 80kph. Males have black feathers, while females have a kind of golden-brown sheen (hence the colour "wayfowl gold"); both have a ring of white feathers like a collar around their necks. The Theryke rebuilt their lives around them; they used them to pull chariots to hunt kangaroos, they decorated themselves with their feathers, and (of course) they ate them. Actually for this purpose they bred two distinct lineages; subordinate wayfowl were bred for meat and eggs, as well as for feathers, while dominant wayfowl were used to pull chariots and wagons and guard the herds of their smaller brethren. A third breed, resilient wayfowl, were also used to pull wagons—as the smallest and toughest of all, they somewhat resemble emus in shape and size—but also had (and have) their place as companions for children.

It should be noted that this reliance on one animal—and on the dichotomy between dominant and subordinate wayfowl—would shape the Theryke's way of thinking about the world. Clearly, they thought, it was more than possible to breed a race to be more or less powerful; clearly, too, as those accustomed to hunting and herding ghey were obivously much more advanced than the Glassblowers and Shepherds in the northern lands. This attitude—and its implications—would have far-reaching consequences not just for Irthiron but for the whole world.

Staples

Bread is made from a combination of water, flour—either from the chocolate lily or from carob beans, with differing tastes—and a form of yeast, which is normally added by leaving carob beans exposed to yeasts in the air. Both plants contain a certain amount of amylase, chocolate lilies more than carob beans, which helps break down chemicals into sugars that are easier to ferment. Another popular recipe uses honey from bees attracted to carob trees to add further amylase to the mix, additionally giving the bread a rather sweet finish.

Honey is also used in the production of mead, one of two major alcoholic drinks found in Irthiron (the other being cider).

Porridges and mashes have long been a part of life in Irthiron, made usually from lilyroot or crushed carob seeds and flavoured with honey, chopped fruit, or (in more recent times) spices from further abroad.

Fresh fruit, too, is eaten regularly, although non-local varieties tended to be somewhat more expensive before the invention of the greenhouse.

Meat is a surprisingly common part of life on the islands, with a fair few varieties to choose from. Jumbuck meat is the cheapest type, given the fast reproductive rate of the collarval lactiles and their ubiquity in fields across the archipelago. Buckling meat (the young of jumbucks) is also eaten, although it tends to cost a little more. Ducks and geese are not far behind. Wayfowl meat is usually consumed only on special occasions, and is said to have a gamey but rich flavour to it. Other local animals—dwarf kangaroos, marrabies, passive pigeons, and the like—are not normally farmed, but are still hunted for their meat.

Eggs, too—hard- and soft-boiled, baked, roasted, fried—are just as common, if not more so. Once again, wayfowl eggs are preferred for both their size and their richness (a single egg is about 12 servings) but duck and geese eggs are also consumed and similar recipes are used.

Vegetable salads, generally greens like sea celery, spinach, and blue cabbage flavoured with sea salt and silkplum juice, are becoming increasingly popular with the health-food crowd.