Maressea
The Republic of Maressea is the largest of the three countries of Mysandros. It is a largely hot and dry region. It has the wetter, tropical Hantau bordering it on the eastern front. The Nargunar Mountains in the north provide of the majority of the border with the Kingdom of Grone, a country that doesn't benefit from the warmer air of the south and is mostly cold tundra.
Basics of Maressean Cuisine
As Maressea, particularly on the coastal south, is at least warm all year round, a lot of cooking is done outside. Open fires are a common method of cooking there and many residences have installed large fire pits for this purpose. They can suspend boiling pots, spits and grilling grates from the apparatus built around the pits. The Maresseans are also known for their large clay ovens.
The southern hills of Maressea are known for their vast olive farms. The olives, in general, find their place in the cuisine of the Maresseans. If they are not part of the meal themselves, you will often find olives available in bowls by themselves in the many inns and taverns across Maressea. However, it is the oil extracted from this that is particularly unique to Maressean cooking. In terms of meats, Maressean cuisine is largely chicken and goat, but lamb, pig meats and beef are also present. In the coastal regions, seafood is very common also. Fruit & vegetable are grown in vast numbers. Oranges, lemons and limes are grown in large numbers, along with apples. Lemon juice especially features heavily within Maressean dishes. The Ialosian pepper is a speciality vegetable only grown in the fields around the capital city Ialos. The spicy red pepper was brought over from southern Suriima about two thousand years ago. Since then, the original is grown here in small numbers but it is the sweeter cousin that developed during the attempts to farm this exotic vegetable that seems to have been received better by the local people.
For beverages, behind olives, grape vineyards are next-most populous farms. As such, wine is not just important in Maressean cuisine, but the culture in general too. Due to vast crops of the aforementioned fruits, fruit juices are also commonly consumed alongside meals.
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