Meisylvan cuisine is largely based on a variety of acorn called a Hoshachot (Butternut), tree fruit, and air fowl.
Hosha oak is the single most cultivated plant among meisylphs. It is grown across the Imperium and likely beyond. Most scholars believe that it was specifically crossbred or lifeshaped by meisylvan tenders. The hoshachot contains none of the poisonous tannin usually present in acorns, and its rich meat can be either roasted or ground into flour and baked. Chot verid (Nut bread) is naturally soft and moist, though it can be made with a tough crust for preservation. Hoshachota are also be pressed into a seed oil good for burning or cooking.
Wood sylphs usually hunt air fowl and raise guinea hens as a staple meat. Deer, boars, and other mammals are occasionally hunted but are considered something of a luxury food. Birds are typically roasted in a Dyol Chovi (Knot oven). Meisylvan families carve out a large knot in a dense old-growth tree, heat-treat the inside, and line it with fire-resistant baked earth (if necessary) to form an insulated space for baking. They stuff hot stones into the cleaned bird along with herbs and spices and fit it inside the chovi with more hot stones packed around. Often, cooler stones will be used and replaced once or twice to slow-cook the meat and keep it tender.
Meisylphs universally eat a large amount of fruit, although the variety differs from region to region. Many pack the fruit inside fowl when roasting it or crush it to make a glaze for the meat. Most meisylphs also make fruit preserves for winter and eat them on chot verid. The soft, rich texture of chot verid makes it ideal to bake fruit and nuts into it to add variety.
The only food meisylphs routinely make from ‘land meat’ is a preserved food they call Tochmost (Roadflesh). Tochmost is a mix of half rendered fat, half lean meat, and a small amount of dried berries. Meisylphs carry tochmost on long journeys and store it for winter because it takes no preservation. It also contains an enormous amount of energy per pound, easily sustaining soldiers or travelers on small rations.
Wood sylphs brew a wide variety of fruit wines, much as noble sylphs. They also enjoy hosha chiert (Butter beer), a dark lager made from hoshachot malt. It is relatively light in alcohol content but has a very stout, nutty flavor. They also distill brandy from their regional wines, but it is considered a warrior’s drink. Meisylvan soldiers often carry flasks of strong brandy due to the bulk of wine. Many drink the brandy hot when possible, a practice that has caught on within many hob families in Shiekli and Kaliba.
Hosha oak is the single most cultivated plant among meisylphs. It is grown across the Imperium and likely beyond. Most scholars believe that it was specifically crossbred or lifeshaped by meisylvan tenders. The hoshachot contains none of the poisonous tannin usually present in acorns, and its rich meat can be either roasted or ground into flour and baked. Chot verid (Nut bread) is naturally soft and moist, though it can be made with a tough crust for preservation. Hoshachota are also be pressed into a seed oil good for burning or cooking.
Wood sylphs usually hunt air fowl and raise guinea hens as a staple meat. Deer, boars, and other mammals are occasionally hunted but are considered something of a luxury food. Birds are typically roasted in a Dyol Chovi (Knot oven). Meisylvan families carve out a large knot in a dense old-growth tree, heat-treat the inside, and line it with fire-resistant baked earth (if necessary) to form an insulated space for baking. They stuff hot stones into the cleaned bird along with herbs and spices and fit it inside the chovi with more hot stones packed around. Often, cooler stones will be used and replaced once or twice to slow-cook the meat and keep it tender.
Meisylphs universally eat a large amount of fruit, although the variety differs from region to region. Many pack the fruit inside fowl when roasting it or crush it to make a glaze for the meat. Most meisylphs also make fruit preserves for winter and eat them on chot verid. The soft, rich texture of chot verid makes it ideal to bake fruit and nuts into it to add variety.
The only food meisylphs routinely make from ‘land meat’ is a preserved food they call Tochmost (Roadflesh). Tochmost is a mix of half rendered fat, half lean meat, and a small amount of dried berries. Meisylphs carry tochmost on long journeys and store it for winter because it takes no preservation. It also contains an enormous amount of energy per pound, easily sustaining soldiers or travelers on small rations.
Wood sylphs brew a wide variety of fruit wines, much as noble sylphs. They also enjoy hosha chiert (Butter beer), a dark lager made from hoshachot malt. It is relatively light in alcohol content but has a very stout, nutty flavor. They also distill brandy from their regional wines, but it is considered a warrior’s drink. Meisylvan soldiers often carry flasks of strong brandy due to the bulk of wine. Many drink the brandy hot when possible, a practice that has caught on within many hob families in Shiekli and Kaliba.