Fubarnii are omnivorous - they can and do have a very varied diet. However, some foods suit them better than others. They do not usually eat a great deal of meat, and when they do it must be cooked. Their staple foods are fungi and garkrid. Fruit, seeds, leaves and tubers supplement their diet.
A selection of fubarnii foods
Fungi:
There are many types of fungus, each with different flavours and properties, but a couple of common species with a blander flavour are used as we would bread or potatoes. They are plentiful, filling, and can be eaten cooked or raw. Though they do grow wild, there are also cultivated varieties that are grown in the Empire and generally used for cooking.
Of the other species of fungus, some are rare and expensive delicacies such as might be served to the Emperor. Some species are poisonous.
Garkrid:
Garkrid are similar to our insects, though they can be much larger. A common example is similar to a giant woodlouse (which can grow up to a foot long), often roasted whole. Grubs and worms are also included in the diet. These provide the main source of protein in most fubarnii diets.
Meat:
It is rare that a fubarnii would eat meat from one of the large plains animals. They would generally hunt smaller creatures such as one of the burrowing megalopode species, tree-climbers or shelled animals similar to our tortoises. However, the ferals have a tradition of hunting a large animal such as a baksun for their annual festival, and sharing the meat among all the tribes gathered together. They would use every bit of the carcass; the offal, the bones boiled down for soup, and the hide and skull for making essentially ritual objects (though they may take the form of weapons and armour), which are distributed to the tribe chiefs.
The army of the Empire might also have cause to hunt large animals to feed marching regiments. The meat would usually be dried for preservation to sustain the troops on long journeys. These marching rations would give a distinctive smell to the army; the civilian fubarnii would probably find it smacked of predator and have an instinctive distrust of troops (not to mention that the army would likely to be able to commission whatever it needed from the towns of the Empire, another reason why they would be unpopular).
Fruit:
Fruit was cultivated from before the time of the Empire, and overgrown prehistoric orchards still provide interest to historian fubarnii. Modern orchards also exist, though the trees are unlike ours; they tend to be palm-like rather than solid wood, or vines and creepers. Further into the mountains there are also bushes with a variety of berries.
Fruit tends to have natural preservative mechanisms such as thick skins or antifungal chemicals. This means that some fruit requires processing to make it edible. It also means that the preservatives can be made use of for other foodstuffs; the skins can be pulped or boiled to cover lumps of meat or garkrid for storage.
Nuts and seeds:
These are not a major part of the fubarnii diet in most areas; they are not plentiful and tend to grow in inaccessible areas, and are often poisonous. However, some exist that can be used as spices, preservatives or medicines and are harvested for these reasons. They almost always require a good deal of processing, and are therefore expensive.
Leafy plants:
There are few plants with soft, edible leaves for the fubarnii to make use of in cooking. The plants tend to be fibrous and are mostly food for grazing animals with specialised digestive systems. Again, there are some that are used for flavouring or medicine. A few types of flower are used as a delicacy, adding colour to expensive dishes.
Tubers:
More common in the colder parts of the Empire, these can replace fungus as the staple foodstuff up at higher altitudes. They tend not to grow so well in the heart of the Empire and are therefore expensive imports for the central clans.
Eggs:
Eggs are universally eaten, but it varies between regions as to what animals it is acceptable to eat eggs from. Because they are already farmed as beasts of burden, Enuk and Belan eggs are common. As they are large animals, they also produce more egg matter. It is debated whether one should eat egg matter from carnivorous species. It is certainly harder to obtain.
Egg matter in molliovus species is a thick, jelly-like substance. Although not encased in a shell, the exterior will harden on contact with air. In the Empire the technique has been perfected of mixing the egg matter with a substance to prevent hardening to allow it to be served in a semi-liquid form. Egg matter can also be used as a thickener in cooking.
Fish and seafood:
Fubarnii are not adept at water transport and so do not use these foodstuffs as a large part of their diet. However, they will occasionally catch creatures from freshwater streams, and gather the Bakahn equivalent of shellfish from tidal pools along the coast. Eating shellfish is far more common in coastal areas - it seem to be an acquired taste and not regularly transported inland.
Fats:
Fubarnii do not require much fat in their diet. They do however use it occasionally in cooking, and obtain it from pressed seeds or oily fruits.
Sweeteners:
The most common sweetener used in the Empire comes from fruits, which as mentioned above are widely cultivated. Some varieties have been selected for sweetness, and drying processes have been developed to refine and store the fruit sugars. This is less common for the Delgon, where fruit is harder to grow. An alternative method is to collect the sugar reserves from certain species of garkrid, who process sugars from plants.
Spices and flavourings:
As mentioned above, leaves and nuts are generally used for flavouring rather than substance in food. This includes all sorts of herbs, which can be dried for storage. Some nuts and seeds also provide intense flavour (think of nutmeg). A few species of fungus are also used predominantly for flavouring.
Preservatives:
Methods of preserving include drying, salting, and marinating in various ways. As mentioned above, certain fruit peel contains antifungal agents and can be used to produce a sauce in which to bottle such things as meat, fish and garkrid. Hot spices also have a preservative effect. Bottling in alcohol is also used, and in certain areas other narcotics - while the preservation method is effective, the resulting food does retain the effects of the narcotic and it is generally unwise to eat too much of it. See also Tom’s comments on refrigeration.
