Etrancoasti cuisine

The cuisine of the Earldom of Etrancoast has a long past, dating back to the days of the Kingdom of Hulra. Hulran culinary traditions carried over to the Earldom of Etrancoast, largerly undisturbed by the Etrandish occupation and change in religion, with the exception of the few initial famines.

Meat and fish
Both meat and fish play central parts in Etrancoasti cuisine. As Hulra used to be a coastal kingdom and Etrancoast is a coastal earldom, it is self-explanatory how big part fish plays in the native cuisine: it is an everyday staple food, consumed by peasant and nobleman alike, king and beggar alike. Salmon and tuna are the main favourites in Etrancoast - smoked salmon is a rather expensive delicacy that contineus to be the favourite of the upper class. During the Golden Age of maritime trade between East and West, a highly expensive fish sauce was produced in Hulra that was consumed even in foreign countries.

Other than fish, meat also plays a pivotal part: pork and mutton in Southern Etrancoast, goat's chevon and reindeer's venison in Northern Etrancoast. Meat is usually smoked first, then (dry-)fried - cooking meat is unpopular. Slicing meat - especially smoked bacon - into small strips before frying is also a popular practice, and pork rind is a favored holiday delicacy for peasants, morning snack for nobles.

Poultry meat is also consumed, but is less prominent than fish, pork, mutton, chevon and venison - the game of wild birds on the other hand are well-liked delicacies for the nobility of Etrancoast, making hunting a favoured pasttime.

Due to the Titanist religion's restrictions, cat meat, dog meat and horse meat are forbidden. The earlier of the two used to be taboo in Human Paganism too, but horse meat was a rather popular food before the Etrandish annexation of Hulra.

Meat and fish eaten by nobility is often delicately prepared - the meat/fish is cut into smaller parts, dipped in garlic and onion liquid, smoked and salted with the help of tobacco, dipped in garlic and onion liquid again, buttered, and then fried. Meat and fish consumed by the elite is usually served together with fruit jam, most often lingonberry jam.

While pork rind is liked as a snack and a holiday delicacy, it is also used as an important ingredient in Etrancoasti sausage, which is made from a combination of meat and fat (pork, mutton, chevon or venison), onions, garlic and lingoberry, smoke-cooked and usually served as a cold cut.

Dairy and other animal products
Dairy and eggs are also present in Etrancoasti cuisine. Due to Etrandish influence, fried eggs have became almost mandatory parts of a nobleman's breakfast. Cheese have been always a liked food in Etrancoast, but it wasn't until the Etrandish conquest that it became even more prominent.

Butter plays a bigger role than in the rest of Artograch - roasted and fried meat is often buttered.

Cereal products
Barley and oat are grown natively in Etrancoast, and is used to make flour, which is then used to make bread. Wheat, rye, maize and rice are imported from Etrand, and used for the same purpose: grinded into flour, made into bread.

Even more so than in Etrand, sweet pastries are very popular, sweetened with the native fruits, such as berries.

Vegetables
Potatoes serve a pivotal role in Etrancoasti cuisine, being cheaper alternatives to bread - however, they are viewed as peasant food, and the country's upper class prefers bread over potatoes.

Onions and garlic are often used as flavouring agents for meat. Sorrel and spinach are widely used in pottage.

Fruits
Unlike in the rest of Artograch, fruits are rarely consumed raw in Etrancoast, instead used as flavouring agents in sweet pastries, or made into jams that are either put onto pastries, or consumed together wit meat or fish - unlike in Etrand, where mixing sweet and salty is a taboo, in Etrancoast, just like in Froturn, they happily put sweet lingonberry jam on top of heavily spiced and salted venison or salmon, then eat it together with potatoes and fried eggs.

Alcoholic beverages
Etrancoast's national beverage is the usquebaugh, which dates back to ancient Hulran tines. It is known that the Etrandish and the Hulrans both adopted beer from the Dwarves, who would later also invent Usquebaugh. There are two rivalling theories on the genesis of Etrancoasti usquebaugh: theory one is that the Etrancoasti adopted usquebaugh from the dwarves, and then beer fell into obscurity. Theory two is that the Etrancoasti discovered distilation independently from the dwarves, and as time progressed distilled beer (usquebaugh) simply beat out regular beer from the game, which then faded into obscurity.

After the Etrandish occupation, wine was also introduced to Etrancoast, but it never became popular - only a few noblemen have wineyards that produce wine, most wine is imported from Etrand or Froturn, and consumed only by the upper class and clergy.

Etrandish beer on the other hand did make it into Etrancoast, drank as a safer and alcohol-poorer alternative to Etrancoasti usquebaugh

Non-alcoholic beverages
The majority of Etrancoast's native human population are avid milk-drinkers, drinking milk as often as they can afford it.

Additionally, tea from Dragoc also got introduced to Etrancoast due to trade, but just like wine, it remains a delicacy that is consumed only by the upper class.