Polantian Cuisine and Food Customs

The cuisine of Polantia features a lot of fish, being an island nation, most of the farmable and fertile land is taken up by grain fields, leaving very little for cattle. The cattle that is raised on the islands used for milk more than meat, Goats, Cows, Sheep. Tropical fruits do grow across the islands, the people taking the citrusy fruits and combining them with the fish and aquatic plant life to create a multitude of recipes and signature foods.
The blend of spices available to the Polantians has only expanded through trade, however the most abundant, common, and cheapest are those available to be grown on the islands, whether naturally found in the wild, or grown in place of some grain fields, or homegrown in peoples gardens or balconies. Those spices are:

• Sea Salt
• Basil
• Bay Leaves
• Black Pepper
• Cumin
• Garlic
• Saffron
• Thyme
• Chives

Traditional Polantian Food

Kelp and Ganfish Pie

Usually baked as either a 5" diameter small pie, or a 10-12" diameter large pie, this shortcrust pie gets its name from the fillings, Kelp and Ganfish. Ganfish a large tuna sized fish local to the Opalescent Ocean, the white flaky meat of the fish, pairing with the salty diced kelp. The kelp and fish mixed into a white sauce, with some crushed garlic, and finely diced chives.

Fruit Sorbet

A traditional Polantian desert, Fruit Sorbet is made from whatever local fruit the chef can get a hand on, most commonly Mango, Kiwi, or Blood Orange. Dicing the fruit up very finely, reducing them into a simple syrup and then cooling, most effectively from the breath of a white or silver Dragonborn, or placed into an enchanted cold box. This is then scooped into a bowl and garnished with larger chunks of fruit.

History

Many Polantian customs around food they brought over from Venka when they left the ancestral homeland, though they began to adapt these customs to better suit island life.

From Sea and Land

Living on the small islands of Polantia, the Dragonborn had to harvest the ocean around them for food, fishing and farming the ocean flora, and as such a great respect of the ocean life was instilled into the Dragonborn. They will only fish in a certain region of the Opalescent Ocean for a season, and with it the types of aquatic meats change, during Spring the fisherman cast their nets into the waters near Lumibroth Isle, harvesting a lot of Crustacea. During Summer they fish in the waters around Wrawyn Isle, bringing up majority Muscles, during Autumn they fish in near Zramash Isle getting mainly red fish. And in the Winter fishing around Jesgissa Isle, producing mainly white fish.
Every fishing trawler owned by a Polantian hangs a symbol of Umberlea above or near their steerage, and after bringing up a net, will let around 10% of the fish go back into the waters, symbolic of their only taking as much as needed from the sea. And whether a sailors superstition or divine blessing, Polantia has been protected from any tropical storms that move through the region, always moving around the isles, instead of tearing through them.

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Toasting the Fallen

At every supper meal, from the smallest family dinner, to a royal banquet, to meals alone, mainly the most traditional people doing so alone, the head of the table will raise a toast to their ancestors and the people who aren't at the table with them. In times after war or conflict, the toast may name individuals, or during times of peace, toasting their ancestors generally. The drink toasted with is traditionally wine, or in family gatherings in the time following a funeral, a glass of the deceased favourite drink, a bottle they never finished, or sometimes never got to try, but wanted to.

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Infusing Tea

A practise common across all Dragonborn nations and people, the custom of infusing tea with elements linked to the Dragonborn's heritage. The kind of tea doesn't matter, but the tea leaves will be infused with various different elements, the element dependant on the breath weapon from a Dragonborn.

• Ice Breath - Infused with Mint, and is served as a cold brew.
• Fire Breath - Infused with Cinnamon, served very hot, the Dragonborn keeping the tea hot with its breath.
• Lightning Breath - Infused with Lightning Salts, ground from stones near Blue or Bronze Dragon nests.
• Acid Breath - Infused with highly acidic substances, mainly citrus fruits like Lemons or Oranges.
• Poison Breath - Infused with slightly poisonous substances, venom from snakes normally, and due to their natural resistance to poison, those Dragonborn can consume it without worry, though this is the only kind of tea highly unadvised for sharing with creatures outside their heritage.

When the Gemstone Dragonborn began coming into the world after the Draconic resurgence, the new subspecies of Dragonborn were left without a connection to this custom, and began to adopt the custom and find their own things to infuse into the tea.

• Force Breath - Infused with a hydrophobic, non-polar liquid, that pools on the surface of the tea in small spherical bubbles.
• Radiant Breath - Infused with a bio-luminescent herb found to be growing near and around holy sites and temples, making the tea appear to glow.
• Psychic Breath - Infused with mild hallucinogenic herbs or mushrooms, creating a deep sense of relaxation
• Thunderous Breath - The only kind of tea apart of this custom that isn't infused, but it comes from a speciality enchanted teapot, made from Sapphire that makes a rumbling sound when poured, giving the tea the faint smell of burnt ozone.
• Necrotic Breath - When brewed an animal bone, which can be any kind, though normally something small, infusing the tea with the bone marrow flavour.

Some Dragonborn are not fond of the leaf brewed beverage, so they have taken to creating their own take on the custom, creating speciality Wines or Ales instead of the tea. For example, those with a firey heritage may make a cinnamon mulled wine, or those with an acidic heritage a citrus wine.

Related Organizations

• Polantia - Queendom

Related Ethnicities

• Polantian