A comprehensive guide to the Orenian Cuisine.
Orenian Culinary History
The Orenian people have an immensely unique and diverse culture. This fact translates into their culinary cuisine as well. Spreading across a vast selection of dishes, cooking methods, and ingredients, the Orenian cuisine is far different when compared to other nations of humanity. Hearty meals are a majority of the dishes served within Orenian cuisine. Big portions and high calorie foods are often the favorites of the people of Oren. It is believed that this strong taste for hearty meals originated from the ideal that an excess in body weight is acquainted with wealth. Subsequently, the most common cooking practices in Orenian cuisine are boiling, frying, and baking. All three of those methods retain a high level of nutrients and content within the food, in turn creating a hearty and calorie rich meal. Soups, grains/doughs, and large portions of beef, pork, and chicken are the most common types of dishes within Oren. The drinks within oren are also quite diverse, ranging from fruity juices, strong liquors, and aromatic wines. The main portion of drinks originating from Azor, such as Orange Juice, Azor Merlot, Carrion Black, and more.
Common Orenian Dishes
Oren as a nation doesn’t have very many dishes itself. It’s true cuisine comes from the medley of various dishes stemming from the people and families. This creating a unique and diverse world of culinary pieces within a single nation. The most common dishes shown in almost all the sub-groups of the nation are:
Pottage
Pottage, a stew made from oats, broth, and vegetables. A simple dish, often a common food of peasants. This stew is started by bringing broth made from bones up to a boil. Vegetables and occasionally meat are added to the broth. Just as they start to finish oats or grain is added to thicken the soup. This thick porridge consistency stew is very hearty and high in protein and other nutrients. Keeping peasants awake and energized for their long work days.
Dark Grain Bread
This bread made of rye is often considered food of the poor. It’s rather bland, however quite soft and has a strong grainy flavor. This bread is served alongside almost every peasant meal. It’s rather easy to make and is inexpensive. The rye grown in the yards or plots of the peasants, berries foraged for, and the other ingredients could be bought or found. This bread is made in a similar way to other breads, consisting of making the dough, letting it rise, kneading, proofing and then baking. The dough is made with rye flour, water, malt syrup, rye berries, and sometimes other ingredients like sunflower seeds, cocoa powder, and espresso beans.
Mardon Roast
A simple dish, at its basis it's rare steak grilled with a medley of herbs, slathered in lemon and brown sugar, then served upon a slab of spruce bark. This is a staple within Orenian cuisine, showing the common features of an Orenian dish. The hearty beef, with a contrast between the bitter herbs and the sweet sugar creates a wonderful aroma. This creates a powerful but simple flavor profile delivering an excellent dining experience.
Barszcz/Borscht
Borscht is a beetroot soup in its simplest form. However, it differs from a traditional soup rather drastically as it does not use the usual mirepoix that soups usually follow. Instead it’s simply a beef or chicken broth, and consisting of a main ingredient of beets. Sometimes a Borscht will be made with a substitute from beets, such as tomatoes. The Borscht is made by boiling a broth and some protein, creating a stock. Afterwards, adding roasted vegetables, and the second most important ingredient, cabbage. Once boiled for a little longer the dish is served. The soup can be made with pureed ingredients or not, with protein or not, and can be changed about to the desired taste. This ability to be changed around makes it a staple in the Oren cuisine.
Sausages
Simple, yet incredibly delicious, the sausage is a mandatory piece of the cuisine in Oren. While only a protein within a pork intestine casing, it can come in all shapes and sizes. Usually being a blend of pork and fat, occasionally beef, the filling can be anywhere between vegetables to rice. Spices, fat to base ratios, and other fillings can be interchanged to fit the desired taste. They can also be cooked in a variety of ways. Boiling, pan-frying, frying, steaming, and stir-frying are the most common cooking methods for these delectable tubular links. This versatility allows the sausage to be placed within virtually any dish.
Unique Dishes of Orenian Peers
The peers of Oren all have their own unique culture, and cuisine. All having their own basis on what makes their culture unique. Some having emphasis on beets, others following a finer life of wine and cheeses. This all pours into the city of Vienne, creating a medley of many different cultures.
Grodno
The Margrave of Grodno is heavily based on soups, and pastry. Most common dishes within the Margrave involve boiling. Cabbage, like within most other cultures in Oren, is a vital part of the Grodno cuisine.
Pierogi
The Pierogi is a traditional dumpling, made of thinly rolled dough, with various fillings. They can be filled with meat, with potatoes and cheese, or with fruit. To make these dumplings, one forms a piece of dough into a little circle, placing the filling within the middle, and folding the dough over before sealing it. The dumplings are then boiled within water, and occasionally broth, until they float. The floating being the indicator of readiness, after they reach this point, they can be served, or lightly pan-fried to add a crunch and crust to them. These little fried pastries are often served along side a helping of sour cream.
Golabki
Simply just meat and rice, wrapped in pre-boiled cabbage. Golabki is a traditional dish within Grodno. The way these simple wraps are made is equally as simple. Starting off by boiling, or baking a piece of meat, before slicing it or shredding it. Having a portion of rice made, by boiling the grains in water, and boiling leaves of cabbage. Taking these 3 parts, you lay the rice upon the boiled leaf, then place the meat, then either fold or roll the leaf into a wrap. Other things can be added to this dish to add spice, or savoriness.
Azor
The people of Azor participate in an elevated cuisine. Heavy emphasis on the finer dishes and drinks. Wines, juices, fowl, and cured meats are the main diet of the Azor people. Azor doesn’t have very many unique standard dishes, however their drinks and cheeses are far more in depth.
Orange Cake
A cake made with oranges in its simplest form. As usual the cake is made with a simple yellow cake batter, with either chunks or zest shavings of an orange. These cakes are very versatile, and don’t have a set recipe besides pieces of orange being included. Having a sweet and sour contrast between the zestiness of the orange and the sugary flavor of the cake. This creates a delicious blend of fruity flavor with sweet dessert.
Azor Merlot
The Azor Merlot is a staple in the catalog of drinks within Azor. It's a wine made with Azor grapes. Mashes and fermented within massive barrels to make a fruity, sweet, and smooth wine. Lacking potency this wine goes well with strong cheeses, such as smoked gouda, muenster, or feta. Glasses of this wine are also served alongside charcuterie boards.
Corwin
The cuisine of House von Alstreim and the Barony of Corwinsburg primarily corresponds to culinary traditions of southern Aesterwalder regions and that of Aesterwald's former capital, Vanderfell, with certain unique quirks owing to the House's tenure in the tropical reaches of Sutica and Almarian Savoy. Beef dishes with a side of potatoes and beets, usually sausages served with beer are common; where available, Sutican lemons and southern spices are added to enhance the meals.
Weisswurst
The staple meal of Corwinsburg is Weisswurst, a Waldenian white sausage made from minced veal and pork and encased in pork skin. It is traditionally eaten before noon with a side of Aesterwalder sesame-topped pretzels and wheat beer. Both pretzels and wheat beer are produced locally, within Alstreim holdings.
Whisperwood Cake
A unique feature of Alstreim cuisine is the Whisperwood cake, named in honor of the Sutican-Alstreim victory in the Merryweather War, achieved at the Battle of the Whispering Woods. It is a chocolate cake served with sweet cream and Sutican cherries, with cherry spirit added to the cake. Sutican lemonade or a mixture of beer and lemonade is also served alongside this dessert.
Pompourelia
Pomporelian cuisine is similar to Grodno’s. Consisting of soups, portions of meat, and hearty meals. Boiling is a staple in the cooking of Pompourelian cuisine. Having cabbage as a staple for their cuisine as well.
Bigos
Bigos, also referred to as Hunter’s Stew, is a stew made with various types of game meat, sauerkraut and boiled cabbage. Having other ingredients, like mushrooms, berries, tomato stock, this stew is incredibly hearty and is a staple in Pompourelia. This stew is made by boiling roasted game bones, in water to make a broth, before boiling the harder and denser vegetables, adding the meat, and other vegetables. Once done boiling, seasonings and spices are added. Once this is complete it is served hot.
Makowiec
The Makowiec or Poppy Seed roll is a yeast bread roll, sweet in nature, filled with a bitter and rich poppy seed filling. This dessert is a simple yeast roll, baked and made the same way as a dinner roll. The dough is made, kneaded, proofed, then kneaded then proofed again. Once this is completed it’s rolled out, lined with filling and then rolled up. Baked for a while then served hot or cold.
Halstaig
Adunian dishes are often quite strong, usually consisting of game meat. This fact spreads even to their drinks, which happen to be bourbons, liquors, and rums. This combination creates a resounding and powerful taste within your mouth.
Bear Jerky
A dry aged meat cured in salt. A chewy snack for the road first fashioned by the Barkeeps of Paddy's Pint - Made of Arentania Grizzly, Bear Jerky is prepared by the hunters of Halstaig after a day's kill. Cured for a week in bear fat then coated in salt, it can stand the test of time.
Adunic Stew
A beef broth stew of rabbit, potatoes, carrots, and herbs. Deeply connected to the ancient culture of Adunia, utilizing the simple things found in the local terrain. - The rabbit is cooked at a low heat before being placed into the broth on a low flame. The carrots should be diced to chunks then softened in the stew along with the potato's. Last the herbs are grinded on with a healthy amount of salt, delivering a plentiful dish.
Antonious Bourbon
An aged and distilled liquor with a flavor implicative of caramel, rather sweet. Procured by fermented barley, whence left to age with barrels, fresh sugar added thereafter. Foam floats across the surface tension against the hazel colored contents. Best served at room temperature, all ingredients are sourced from Arentania.
Ames
Based upon a finer life, the Asmeian cuisine is often clean and clear soups or broths, as well as heartier cheeses and sauces. Another common part of the Ames cuisine is bread and grains. The sauces,cheeses, and bread and grains often go hand in hand.
Fondue
Fondue is melted cheese or occasionally chocolate served in a pot alongside bread, crackers, fruits, amongst other dipping items. The warm cheese compliments the cold bold flavors of the dipping items. The cheese can be changed around or spiced to appeal to a specific flavor or dipping item. This can serve as an entree, or a dessert.
Gulasch
This stew of meat and vegetables is similar to a curry. Strong in spice and bold in flavor this is often served with pasta and bread. The bold spice compliments the gentle and soft flavor of the pasta or bread. The meat is often sausage, however it can be chicken or beef as well. Occasionally the meat is removed and it becomes a vegetarian stew.
Acre
The cuisine within Acre is very simplistic, similar to common peasantry food. Consisting of breads, potatoes, and cheese. Simple yet delicious, while being hearty and calorie packed.
The Cheesebeast
A classic cheese wheel, perpetuated by generations of cheese-making in the most traditional parts of the de Vilain family, nowadays passed onto the farmer's of Acre to produce. These giant cheese wheels are of cylindrical shape, with a diameter of 17 inches and a height of 10 inches, these wheels are robust weighing in at around an average of 92 pounds per wheel. The rind is a natural golden yellow in color. The cheese is firm, but with a subtle, closed texture. Note the full, imposing flavor with notes of nuttiness, citrus, and hints of onion. The full-cream used to make Acre's Cheesebeast gives it a rich and buttery taste, and a flaky texture. Not as firm as cheddar, Acre's Cheesebeast is still firm and biteable, like hard chocolate. It has a mellow, nutty character with an orange-zest tang. Additionally, it melts well, making it perfect for cooking - easily served alongside a variety of fruits and wines - dry, or sweet. Some Savoyard Smirk may just be a good compliment to it, too. A massive cheese is perfect for a massive occasion, and so the cheese is celebrated in a grand event where the cheese wheels are rolled down a steep hill and chased by the village folk. The one who manages to stop the wheel gets to take it home. This event is held for a good harvest, and to hail continued prosperity in the community. It is recommended for the cheese to be kept in a cool, dry place, if so the massive cheese wheel can often last for up to two years in proper storage.
Raisin Bread
A staple, traditional food made with wheat flour bread, dried raisins, and sometimes flavored with strokes of cinnamon or wild pepper, the bread itself is coated with powdered sugar or raw flour. Traditionally, it is given as a wedding gift to wish good health and tastefulness in life. Wedding couples usually split or cut the bread, and it is good luck to get the half which has the most raisins within. Usually, the bread is branded with the baker's mark, and for weddings the couples' initials are included as well.
The Baked Potato
An unpeeled potato, cut through the middle and baked in an oven until tender, this filling dish is a staple food for laborers, men of trade, and Barons alike. Traditionally, the potatoes are wrapped in a tough baking linen as they cook in the hot stone oven. The oven itself is periodically misted with water to keep the potatoes moist under the cooking process. Once removed from the oven, the potato will have bloomed, with the skin now being crisp and unblemished from the cooking. Before serving, the inside is exposed more and basted with a gentle serving of cold butter, or oil of one's choosing. It is then ready to be eaten, providing a rich and adequate meal to sup. The Baron's baked potato is a variation of the dish, it is cooked traditionally aside from deviating by scooping out the interior after baking, leaving the skin as a shell. Its interior flesh is then used to contain ingredients such as hard cheese, meaty bits, and corn before the interior is re-added to the baked potato and served with a good helping of melted butter over the top of the hot potato.
Common Drinks of Orenian Peers
The drinks of oren are quite diverse, ranging from grungy rums to high-life . The most common drinks are usually the strongest or the most fruity. Depending on the basis of the meal being served and the time of day.
Carrion Black
A potent jet black liquor, having deep hints and tastes. A staple within human culture. This drink can be found in almost every tavern within Oren. Its among the favorites of all, and the strongest of beverages.
Pruvian Port
A fruity mixture of cherries and wild berries of the Mardonic forest hills, Pruvian Port is a light delicacy intended for the casual drinker. It is a party drink, typically reserved for large parties, fancy dinners and feasts.
Wines
As wine is a major part of Oren, there are hundreds of types of wines. Too many to list upon here. Each wine being unique in its own way, sweetness, bitterness, fruitiness, and more. These are factors that make each and every wine an experience in its own self. Grapes being in huge supply within Oren, wine easily climbed the ranks of one of the best drinks within the kingdom.
Written, Edited, and Published by
Head Chef of Oren, and Lieutenant of the Petran Legion
@excitedIs fr winning the 1v4
