Food

Alliance cuisine includes the foods, eating habits, and cooking
methods of various cultures.

Bread is the staple, followed by other foods made from cereals, such
as porridge and pasta. Meat is more prestigious and more expensive
than grain or vegetables. Common seasonings included verjuice (unripe
grape juice), wine and vinegar. These, along with the widespread use
of honey or sugar (among those who can afford it), give many dishes a
sweet-sour flavor. The most popular types of meat are pork and
chicken, while beef, which requires greater investment in land, is
less common. Cod and herring are mainstays among the northern
population, but a wide variety of other saltwater and freshwater fish
are also eaten. Almonds, both sweet and bitter, are eaten whole as
garnish, or more commonly ground up and used as a thickener in soups,
stews, and sauces. Particularly popular is almond milk, which is a
common substitute for animal milk as a cooking medium during religious
fast days.

Slow transportation and inefficient food preservation techniques
prevent long-distance trade of many foods. For the most part, only the
wealthy, especially the nobility, can afford imported ingredients such
as spices. Because of this, their cuisine is more prone to foreign
influence than the cuisine of poorer people. As each level of society
imitates the one above it, innovations from international trade and
foreign wars gradually disseminate through the upper middle class of
Alliance cities.

Dietary norms

The cuisines of the cultures around the Sea of Fallen Stars have since
antiquity been based on cereals, particularly various types of wheat.
Porridge and gruel, and later bread became the basic food staple that
made up the majority of calorie intake for most of the population. The
dependence on wheat has remained as significant long into Alliance
era, and has spread northwards. The centrality of bread in religious
rituals means that it enjoys an especially high prestige among
foodstuffs. Only (olive) oil and wine have a comparable value, but
remain so much more exclusive outside of the warmer wine and olive
growing regions.

The religions of the Alliance and their calendars have great influence
on eating habits. Exempt from fasting regulations are children, the
old, pilgrims, workers and beggars, but not the poor as long as they
have some sort of shelter.

Medical science in the Alliance has an influence on what is considered
healthy and nutritious. One's lifestyle — including diet, exercise,
appropriate social behavior, and approved medical remedies — is the
way to good health, and all types of food are assigned certain
properties that affect a person's health. All foodstuffs are also
classified by the scientists of some countries on scales ranging from
hot to cold and moist to dry, according to the four bodily humors theory.

Alliance scholars in some countries consider human digestion to be a
process similar to cooking. The processing of food in the stomach is
seen as a continuation of the preparation initiated by the cook. In
order for the food to be properly "cooked" and for the nutrients to be
properly absorbed, it is important that the stomach be filled in an
appropriate manner. Easily digestible foods should be consumed first,
followed by gradually heavier dishes. If this regimen is not respected
it is believed that heavy foods will sink to the bottom of the
stomach, thus blocking the digestion duct, so that food will digest
very slowly and cause putrefaction of the body and draw bad humors
into the stomach. It is also of vital importance that food of
differing properties not be mixed.

Before a meal, the stomach will preferably be "opened" with an
apéritif that is preferably of a hot and dry nature: confections made
from sugar- or honey-coated spices like ginger, caraway and seeds of
anise, fennel or cumin, wine and sweetened fortified milk drinks. As
the stomach has been opened, it should then be "closed" at the end of
the meal with the help of a digestive, most commonly a dragée, which
consists of lumps of spiced sugar, or hypocras, a wine flavored with
fragrant spices, along with aged cheese.

A meal ideally begins with easily digestible fruit, such as apples. It
would then be followed by vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage,
purslane, herbs, moist fruits, light meats like chicken or goat kid
with potages and broths. Later would be consumed heavy meats such as
pork and beef, as well as vegetables and nuts like pears and
chestnuts, both considered difficult to digest. It is popular (and
recommended by medical expertise) to finish the meal with aged cheese
and various digestives.

The most ideal food, some believe, is that which most closely matches
the humor of human beings, i.e. moderately warm and moist. Food should
preferably also be finely chopped, ground, pounded and strained to
achieve a true mixture of all the ingredients. White wine is believed
to be cooler than red and the same distinction is applied to red and
white vinegar. Milk is moderately warm and moist, but the milk of
different animals is often believed to differ. Egg yolks are
considered to be warm and moist while the whites are cold and moist.

Regional cuisines of the Alliance

Geographical variation is the result of differences in climate. Though
sweeping generalizations should be avoided, more or less distinct
areas where certain foodstuffs dominate can be discerned. In the
Moonshae Isles, northern Dalelands, the Low Countries, northern
Rockhome, the Northlands and the Moonsea the climate is generally too
harsh for the cultivation of grapes and olives. In the south, wine is
the common drink for both rich and poor alike (though the commoner
usually has to settle for cheap second pressing wine) while beer is
the commoner's drink in the north and wine an expensive import. Citrus
fruits and pomegranates are common around the Sea of Fallen Stars.
Dried figs and dates occur in the north, but are used rather sparingly
in cooking.

Olive oil is a ubiquitous ingredient around the Sea of Fallen Stars,
but remains an expensive import in the north where oil of poppy,
walnut, hazel and filbert is the most affordable alternative. Butter
and lard is used in considerable quantities in the northern and
northwestern regions, especially in the Low Countries. Almost
universal in middle and upper class cooking all over the Alliance is
the almond, which is in the ubiquitous and highly versatile almond
milk, which is used as a substitute in dishes that otherwise require
eggs or milk.

There are typically three meals a day: breakfast in the morning,
dinner at mid-day and a lighter supper in the evening. Lavish dinner
banquets and late-night reresopers ("late supper") with considerable
amounts of alcoholic beverage are especially associated with the vices
of gambling, crude language, drunkenness, and lewd behavior. Minor
meals and snacks are common, and working men commonly receive an
allowance from their employers in order to buy nuncheons, small
morsels to be eaten during breaks.

Etiquette

The Alliance meal is a communal affair, like every other part of life.
The entire household, including servants, ideally dines together. To
sneak off to enjoy private company is considered a haughty and
inefficient egotism in a world where people depend very much on each
other. A nobleman advised his peers to watch that the servants not
make off with leftovers to make merry at rere-suppers, rather than
giving it as alms.

Table etiquette is mainly of concern for the wealthy. Before the meal
and between courses, shallow basins and linen towels are offered to
guests so they may wash their hands, as cleanliness is emphasized.
Social codes make it difficult for women to uphold the stereotype of
being neat, delicate and immaculate while enjoying a sumptuous feast,
so the wife of the host often dines in private with her entourage. She
may then join dinner only after the potentially messy business of
eating is done. Overall, fine dining is a predominantly male affair,
and it is uncommon for anyone but the most honored of guests to bring
his wife or her ladies-in-waiting. The hierarchical nature of society
is reinforced by etiquette where the lower ranked are expected to help
the higher, the younger to assist the elder, and men to spare women
the risk of sullying dress and reputation by having to handle food in
an unwomanly fashion. Shared drinking cups are common even at lavish
banquets for all but those who sat at the high table, as is the
standard etiquette of breaking bread and carving meat for one's fellow
diners.

Food is mostly served on plates or in stew pots, and diners take their
share from the dishes and place it on trenchers of stale bread, wood
or pewter with the help of spoons or bare hands. In lower-class
households it is common to eat food straight off the table. Knives are
used at the table, but most people are expected to bring their own,
and only highly favored guests are given a personal knife. A knife is
usually shared with at least one other dinner guest, unless one is of
very high rank or well-acquainted with the host. Forks for eating are
not in widespread usage in the Alliance.

All types of cooking involve the direct use of fire. Ovens are used,
but they are expensive to construct and only exist in fairly large
households and bakeries, or businesses which dispense food. It is
common for a community to have shared ownership of an oven to ensure
that the bread baking essential to everyone is made communal rather
than private. There are also portable ovens designed to be filled with
food and then buried in hot coals, and even larger ones on wheels that
are used to sell pies in the streets of towns. But for most people,
almost all cooking is done in simple stewpots, since this is the most
efficient use of firewood and does not waste precious cooking juices,
making potages and stews the most common dishes. Overall, most
Alliance dishes have a fairly high fat content, or at least when fat
can be afforded. This is not considered a problem in a time of
widespread agricultural toil.

Fruit is readily combined with meat, fish and eggs. The recipe for
Tart de brymlent, a fish pie, includes a mix of figs, raisins, apples
and pears with fish (salmon, codling or haddock) and pitted damson
plums under the top crust. In some areas, it is more important to
make sure that the dish agrees with contemporary standards of medicine
and dietetics. This means that food has to be "tempered" according to
its nature by an appropriate combination of preparation and mixing
certain ingredients, condiments and spices. For example, fish is
considered to be quite cold and moist, and best cooked in a way that
heated and dried it, such as frying or oven baking, and seasoned with
hot and dry spices; beef is dry and hot and should therefore be
boiled; pork is hot and moist and should therefore always be roasted.
In some recipe collections, alternative ingredients are assigned with
more consideration to the humoral nature than similarity in taste. In
a recipe for quince pie, cabbage is given as working equally well, and
in another turnips are considered to be the equivalent of pears. New
techniques, like the shortcrust pie and the clarification of jelly
with egg whites appear in recipes in the Alliance era and recipes
begin to include detailed instructions instead of being mere memory aides.

In most households, cooking is done on an open hearth in the middle of
the main living area, to make efficient use of the heat. This is the
most common arrangement, even in wealthy households, for most of the
Alliance, where the kitchen was combined with the dining hall. In
parts of the Alliance a separate kitchen area is evolving. The first
step is to move the fireplaces towards the walls of the main hall, and
later to build a separate building or wing that contains a dedicated
kitchen area, often separated from the main building by a covered
arcade. This way, the smoke, odors and bustle of the kitchen may be
kept out of sight of guests, and the fire risk lessened.

Many basic variations of cooking utensils, such as frying pans, pots,
kettles, and waffle irons exist, even if they are often too expensive
for poorer households. Other tools more specific to cooking over an
open fire are spits of various sizes, and material for skewering
anything from delicate quails to whole oxen. There are also cranes
with adjustable hooks so that pots and cauldrons may easily be swung
away from the fire to keep them from burning or boiling over. Utensils
are often held directly over the fire or placed into embers on
tripods. To assist the cook there are also assorted knives, stirring
spoons, ladles and graters. In wealthy households one of the most
common tools is the mortar and sieve cloth, since many recipes call
for food to be finely chopped, mashed, strained and seasoned either
before or after cooking. This is based on a belief among physicians
that the finer the consistency of food, the more effectively the body
would absorb the nourishment. It also gives skilled cooks the
opportunity to elaborately shape the results. Fine-textured food is
also associated with wealth, for example finely-milled flour is more
expensive, while the bread of commoners is typically brown and coarse.
A typical procedure is to skin and dress an animal, grind up the meat
and mix it with spices and other ingredients and return it into its
own skin, or mold it into the shape of a completely different animal.

The kitchen staff of huge noble or royal courts occasionally numbers
in the hundreds: pantlers, bakers, waferers, sauciers, larderers,
butchers, carvers, page boys, milk maids, butlers and countless
scullions. While an average peasant household often makes do with
firewood collected from the surrounding woodlands, the major kitchens
of households have to cope with the logistics of daily providing at
least two meals for several hundred people. Guidelines on how to
prepare for a two-day banquet can be found in a cookbook of one master
chef, who recommends that the chief cook should have at hand at least
1,000 cartloads of "good, dry firewood" and a large barnful of coal.

Preservation

Food preservation methods are basically the same as have been used
since antiquity. The most common and simplest method is to expose
foodstuffs to heat or wind to remove moisture, thereby prolonging the
durability if not the flavor of almost any type of food from cereals
to meats; the drying of food worked by drastically reducing the
activity of various water-dependent microorganisms that cause decay.
In warm climates this is mostly achieved by leaving food out in the
sun, and in the cooler northern climates by exposure to strong winds
(especially common for the preparation of stockfish), or in warm
ovens, cellars, attics, and at times even in living quarters.

Subjecting food to a number of chemical processes such as smoking,
salting, brining, conserving or fermenting also makes it keep longer.
Most of these methods have the advantage of shorter preparation times
and of introducing new flavors. Smoking or salting meat of livestock
butchered in the fall is a common household strategy to avoid having
to feed more animals than necessary during the lean winter months.
Butter tends to be heavily salted (5–10%) in order not to spoil.
Vegetables, eggs or fish are also often pickled in tightly packed
jars, containing brine and acidic liquids (lemon juice, verjuice or
vinegar). Another method is to create a seal around the food by
cooking it in sugar or honey or fat, in which it is then stored.
Bacterial modification (though not by that name, as bacteria are not
really known about) is also encouraged, however, by a number of
methods; grains, fruit and grapes are turned into alcoholic drinks
that disinfected the beverage, and milk is fermented and cured into a
multitude of cheeses or buttermilk.

Food intake among all social classes consists mainly of cereals,
usually in the form of bread and, to a lesser extent, gruel, porridge,
and pasta. Estimates of bread consumption all over the Alliance are
fairly similar: around 1–1.5 kg (2–3 lb) of bread per person per day.
The most common grains are rye, barley, buckwheat, millet, and oats.
Rice is a fairly expensive import for most of the Alliance. Wheat is
common all over the Alliance and is considered to be the most
nutritious of all grains, but is more prestigious and thus more
expensive. Finely sifted white flour is reserved for the bread of the
upper classes, while those of lower status eat bread that becomes
coarser, darker and of a higher bran content the lower one is on the
social ladder. In times of grain shortages or outright famine, grains
may be supplemented with cheaper and less desirable substitutes like
chestnuts, dried legumes, acorns, ferns, and a wide variety of more or
less nutritious vegetable matter.

One of the most common constituents of an Alliance meal, either as
part of a banquet or as a small snack, is sops, pieces of bread with
which a liquid like wine, soup, broth, or sauce may be soaked up and
eaten. Another common sight at the Alliance dinner table is the
frumenty, a thick wheat porridge often boiled in a meat broth and
seasoned with spices. Porridges are also made of every type of grain
and may be served as desserts or dishes for the sick, if boiled in
milk (or almond milk) and sweetened with sugar. Pies filled with
meats, eggs, vegetables, or fruit are common throughout the Alliance,
as are turnovers, fritters, doughnuts, and many similar pastries.
Biscuits (cookies) and especially wafers, eaten for dessert, are
high-prestige foods and come in many varieties. Grain, either as bread
crumbs or flour, is also the most common thickener of soups and stews,
alone or in combination with almond milk.

The importance of bread as a daily staple means that bakers play a
crucial role in any Alliance community. Among the first town guilds to
be organized were the bakers', and laws and regulations were passed to
keep bread prices stable. Since bread is such a central part of the
Alliance diet, swindling by those who are trusted with supplying the
precious commodity to the community is considered a serious offense.
Bakers who are caught tampering with weights or adulterating dough
with less expensive ingredients receive severe penalties. This has
given rise to the "baker's dozen": a baker may give 13 for the price
of 12, to be certain of not being known as a cheat.

Bread is used for more than just eating: though often of wood or metal
(mostly pewter), trenchers that serve as dinner plates in affluent
households are made out of old bread made from unsifted flour, and
bread is used to wipe off knives when passing them to the next diner
or before fishing out salt from the shared salt cellars. Even the
seemingly carefree handling of hot metal serving plates may be
achieved with slices of bread neatly tucked into the hands of
servants, but still away from the unforgiving gaze of fussy,
high-ranking diners.

While grains are the primary constituent of most meals, vegetables
such as cabbage, beets, onions, garlic and carrots are common
foodstuffs. Many of these are eaten daily by peasants and workers, but
are less prestigious than meat. The cookbooks, intended mostly for
those who can afford such luxuries, which appear in the Alliance, only
contain a small number of recipes using vegetables other than side
dishes and the occasional potage. Carrots are available in many
variants: among them a tastier reddish-purple variety and a less
prestigious green-yellow type. Various legumes, like chickpeas, fava
beans and peas are also common and important sources of protein.

Fruit is popular and may be served fresh, dried, or preserved, and is
a common ingredient in many meat dishes. Since sugar and honey are
expensive, it is common to include many types of fruit in dishes that
call for sweeteners of some sort. The fruits of choice in the south
are lemons, citrons, bitter oranges, pomegranates, quinces, and, of
course, grapes. Further north, apples, pears, plums, and strawberries
are more common. Figs and dates are eaten all over the continent, but
remain rather expensive imports in the north.

While all forms of wild game are popular among those who can obtain
it, most meat comes from domesticated animals. Beef is not common
because raising cattle is labor-intensive, requiring pastures and
feed, and oxen and cows are much more valuable as draught animals and
for producing milk. Animals slaughtered because they are no longer
able to work are not particularly appetizing and are therefore less
valued. Far more common is pork, as pigs require less attention and
cheaper feed. Domestic pigs often run freely even in towns and may be
fed on just about any organic kitchen waste, and suckling pig is a
sought-after delicacy. Mutton and lamb are fairly common, especially
in areas with a sizeable wool industry, as is veal. Just about every
part of the animal is eaten, including ears, snout, tail, tongue, and
womb. Intestines, bladder and stomach are used as casings for sausage
or even "illusion food" such as giant eggs. Among other meats found
were hedgehog and porcupine, occasionally mentioned in Alliance recipe
collections. Both are considered lesser forms of pig, hence their names.

A wide range of birds is eaten, including swans, peafowl, quail,
partridge, storks, cranes, larks and just about any wild bird that can
be hunted. Swans and peafowl are often domesticated, but are only
eaten by the social elite, and more praised for their fine appearance
(often used to create stunning entremets) than for their meat. Geese
and ducks are domesticated but are not as popular as the chicken, the
fowl equivalent of the pig.

Meats are more expensive than plant foods. Though rich in protein, the
calorie-to-weight ratio of meat is less than that of plant food. Meat
may be up to four times as expensive as bread. Fish is up to 16 times
as costly in some areas, and was still expensive even for coastal
populations.

Although less prestigious than other animal meats, seafood is still
the mainstay of many coastal populations. "Fish" is also a general
name for anything not considered a proper land-living animal,
including marine mammals such as whales and porpoises. Especially
important is the fishing and trade in herring and cod in the Western
Ocean and the waterways between the Northlands and Usser. The herring
is of great significance to the economy of much of the Northlands and
the northern part of the continent. Kippers made from herring caught
in the sea between the Moonshaes and the Northlands (The Sword Coast)
may be found in markets as far away as the eastern Alliance. While
large quantities of fish are eaten fresh, a large proportion is
salted, dried, and, to a lesser extent, smoked. Stockfish, cod that is
split down the middle, fixed to a pole and dried, is very common,
though preparation can be time-consuming, and means beating the dried
fish with a mallet before soaking it in water. A wide range of
mollusks including oysters, mussels, scallops, and freshwater crayfish
are eaten by coastal and river-dwelling populations. Compared to meat,
fish is much more expensive for inland populations, especially in the
central continent, and therefore not an option for most. Freshwater
fish such as pike, carp, bream, perch, lamprey, and trout are common.

In some areas, water is seen as a common choice to drink with a meal.
In others, however, concerns over purity and its low prestige value
make it less favored, and alcoholic beverages are preferred. They are
seen as more nutritious and beneficial to digestion than water, with
the invaluable bonus of being less prone to putrefaction due to the
alcohol content. Wine is consumed on a daily basis in most of the
Dalelands and all over the western Sea of Fallen Stars wherever grapes
are cultivated. Further north it remains the preferred drink of the
bourgeoisie and the nobility who can afford it, and far less common
among peasants and workers. The drink of commoners in the northern
parts of the continent is primarily beer or ale. Because of the
difficulty of preserving this beverage for any time, it is mostly
consumed fresh; it is therefore somewhat cloudy and perhaps has a
relatively low alcohol content. Plain milk is not consumed by adults
except the poor or sick, being reserved for the very young or elderly,
and then usually as buttermilk or whey. Fresh milk is overall less
common than other dairy products because of the lack of technology to
keep it from spoiling.

Juices, as well as wines, of a multitude of fruits and berries have
been known at least since antiquity and are still consumed in the
Alliance: pomegranate, mulberry and blackberry wines, perry, and cider
which is especially popular in the north where both apples and pears
are plentiful. Other drinks include prunellé from wild plums, mulberry
gin and blackberry wine. Many variants of mead have been found in
Alliance recipes, with or without alcoholic content. Kumis, the
fermented milk of mares or camels, is known in the Alliance, but is
mostly something prescribed by physicians. Mead is common at weddings
and baptismal parties, though in limited quantity due to its high price.

Wine is commonly drunk and is also regarded as the most prestigious
and healthy choice. It is considered hot and dry, but these qualities
are moderated when wine is watered down. Unlike water or beer, which
are considered cold and moist, consumption of wine in moderation
(especially red wine) is, among other things, believed to aid
digestion, generate good blood and brighten the mood. The quality of
wine differs considerably according to vintage, the type of grape and
more importantly, the number of grape pressings. The first pressing is
made into the finest and most expensive wines which are reserved for
the upper classes. The second and third pressings are subsequently of
lower quality and alcohol content. Common folk usually have to settle
for a cheap white or rosé from a second or even third pressing,
meaning that it can be consumed in quite generous amounts without
leading to heavy intoxication. For the poorest, watered-down vinegar
is often the only available choice.

The aging of high quality red wine requires specialized knowledge as
well as expensive storage and equipment, and results in an even more
expensive end product. Spiced or mulled wine is not only popular among
the affluent, but is also considered especially healthy by physicians
in some areas. Wine is believed to act as a kind of vaporizer and
conduit of other foodstuffs to every part of the body, and the
addition of fragrant and exotic spices would make it even more
wholesome. Spiced wines are usually made by mixing an ordinary (red)
wine with an assortment of spices such as ginger, cardamom, pepper,
grains of paradise, nutmeg, cloves and sugar. These may be contained
in small bags which are either steeped in wine or had liquid poured
over them to produce hypocras and claré. Bagged spice mixes can be
bought ready-made from spice merchants.

History of beer

While wine is the most common table beverage in much of the Alliance,
this is not the case in the northern regions where grapes are not
cultivated. Those who can afford it drink imported wine, but even for
nobility in these areas it is common to drink beer or ale. In Brython,
the Low Countries, northern Rockhome, Polska and the Northlands, beer
is consumed on a daily basis by people of all social classes and age
groups. For most Alliance citizens, it is a humble brew compared with
common southern drinks and cooking ingredients, such as wine, lemons
and olive oil. Beer is just an acceptable alternative and is assigned
various negative qualities.

The intoxicating effect of beer is believed by some to last longer
than that of wine, but it is also admitted that it does not create the
"false thirst" associated with wine. Though less prominent than in the
north, beer is consumed in the northern Dalelands and the Talian
mainland. A Dalelands variant called godale is made from barley and
spelt, but without hops. In Brython there are also the variants poset
ale, made from hot milk and cold ale, and brakot or braggot, a spiced
ale prepared much like hypocras.

Distillates

Distillation is believed by some scholars to produce the essence of
the liquid being purified, and the term aqua vitae ("water of life")
is used as a generic term for all kinds of distillates. The early use
of various distillates, alcoholic or not, is varied, but it is
primarily culinary or medicinal; grape syrup mixed with sugar and
spices is prescribed for a variety of ailments, and rose water is used
as a perfume and cooking ingredient and for hand washing. Alcoholic
distillates are also occasionally used to create dazzling,
fire-breathing entremets (a type of entertainment dish served between
courses) by soaking a piece of cotton in spirits. It is then be placed
in the mouth of the stuffed, cooked and occasionally redressed
animals, and lit just before presenting the creation.

Spices

Spices are among the most luxurious products available in the
Alliance, the most common being black pepper, cinnamon (and the
cheaper alternative cassia), cumin, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. They
all have to be imported from plantations in other parts of the world,
which makes them extremely expensive. It has been estimated that
around 1,000 tons of pepper and 1,000 tons of the other common spices
are imported into the Alliance each year. While pepper is the most
common spice, the most exclusive is saffron, used as much for its
vivid yellow-red color as for its flavor. Other spices include grains
of paradise, a relative of cardamom, long pepper, mace, spikenard,
galangal and cubeb. Sugar is considered to be a type of spice due to
its high cost and humoral qualities.

Common herbs such as sage, mustard, and especially parsley are grown
and used in cooking all over the Alliance, as are caraway, mint, dill
and fennel. Anise may be used to flavor fish and chicken dishes, and
its seeds are served as sugar-coated comfits. Locally grown herbs are
more affordable and are also used in upper-class food, but are then
usually less prominent or included merely as coloring.

Sweets and desserts

Dessert typically consists of dragées and mulled wine accompanied by
aged cheese, and in some areas may also include fresh fruit covered in
sugar, honey or syrup and boiled-down fruit pastes. There is a wide
variety of fritters, crêpes with sugar, sweet custards and darioles,
almond milk and eggs in a pastry shell that may also include fruit and
sometimes even bone marrow or fish. Areas around Rockhome have a
particular fondness for krapfen: fried pastries and dough with various
sweet and savory fillings. Marzipan in many forms is well-known in
Talia and the southern Dalelands and is assumed to be originally from
Al-Qadim. Alliance cookbooks are full of recipes for sweet and savory
custards, potages, sauces and tarts with strawberries, cherries,
apples and plums. The Moonshae chefs also have a penchant for using
flower petals of roses and elderberry.

In the northern Dalelands, a wide assortment of waffles and wafers is
eaten with cheese and hypocras or a sweet malmsey as issue de table
("departure from the table"). The ever-present candied ginger,
coriander, aniseed and other spices are referred to as épices de
chambre ("parlor spices") and are taken as digestables at the end of a
meal to "close" the stomach. Traders from Al-Qadim introduced a wide
variety of new sweets and desserts that have eventually found their
way to the rest of the Alliance. These include comfits, nougat candy
and almond clusters (confetti). From the south, the traders of
Al-Qadim also brought the art of ice cream making that produced
sherbets and several examples of sweet cakes and pastries; sponge cake
and sweetened ricotta and cannoli.