Daily life in Melza: Food, recipes, cuisine of Melza and dining customs

Various meals and drinks consumed in and around Melza and central Aporue in my Orbis Fūrum setting.

Maybe with some recipes included. In my setting, I have not yet decided about New World crops, so I avoid mentioning them.

 

Meals

Fish meat recipes - As a major city on the Melza river, it is no wonder that fish meat is an important source of food. But even beyond the territory of The City, the statelet is home to many places that fish regularly with nets or fishing rods, or even raise certain fish species in artificially created or enlarged ponds. Most commoners, including both villagers and most townsmen, tend to eat trout (in the mountains) or catfish, pike, carp and roach (in the lowlands). Carp are among the species that have been partly domesticated from the original Melza river wild carp and are now common in monastery ponds throughout central Aporue, including the rural monasteries of the statelet. (Markania is another central Apourean country with a huge carp-raising tradition and many ponds.) Catfish, trout and pike meat is cooked, roasted, stewed and fried mostly in the spring, summer and early autumn season, and though carp is also consumed along with them all year round, it's particularly appreciated during the winter holidays, especially Pilgrimas. It is said that the leftover fish scales from a Pilgrimas dinner carp, carried in one's pouch throughout the year, will bring good luck to those who carry them. (This folk tradition/superstition is nicknamed "the Pilgrim's fish coins".) The most prized fish species intended for consumption, considered luxurious and favoured by the nobility for their feasts, are the huchen (a large river-salmon), the great sturgeon, the river sturgeon (or common sturgeon) and the sterlet. The City's frequent fish and fishmonger motifs are evidenced even in gang names, particularly two gans of thieves-smugglers, known as the Carps and the Huchens. (Real world counterparts include the wild Danube carp, domesticated into the carp raised today on fish farms, as well as the popularity of roaches, catfishes, pikes, trout and many other smaller and larger fish harvested from central European lakes and rivers for many centuries. Sadly, huchens, sterlets , the common sturgeon and great sturgeons in the Danube and other central European rivers have become increasingly rarer, ever since the industrialisation and large river modifications that took place in the 20th century. Today, they are considered rare. The great sturgeon was considered a highly-prized fish in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Kings such as Sigismund of Luxembourg were noted for taking even diplomatic visitors, monarchs included, on fishing trips for sturgeon on the Danube, and then invite them to a sturgeon feast. The carp scale good luck tradition is also based directly on a historical Christmas tradition.)

Halászlé (pron. halaas-lay) - An originally Ďamaran expression, literally meaning "fisher's juice", this has become something of an umbrella term for any thicker type of fish soup with some added vegetables, but focused mostly on the fish meat included in it. (Based on real world halászlé soups.)

Crayfish - Crayfish are mostly caught, cooked and eaten in the Melzan countryside, particularly in areas where smaller local rivers and lakes have clean waters, ideal for a river crayfish. The Melza river tends to get muddy and is frequently more polluted around the banks that run through The City, so river crayfish occur less, but mud crayfish are somewhat more adaptable and durable even in such an environment. Unfortunately, their meat is nowhere near as tasty as that of river crayfish, and tends to smell badly due to the mud. Some local tall tales like to exaggerate that the cray meat occassionally available at markets and shanties was actually taken from killed members of the crustfolk, but this is unlikely, as the crustfolk generally do not occur in the statelet and are far more common on far away sea shores. (The "mud crayfish" is the real world Danube crayfish or Galician crayfish, whereas the "river crayfish" is the European crayfish, a.k.a. the noble crayfish. As Melza is far from the sea, no one can expect to catch any lobsters, but inland river and lake crayfish are available for those who can be bothered to catch them.)

River mussels - Unlike fish or even crayfish, bivalves are not consumed much by melzans, whether in The City, the two towns or the countryside. Some areas have larger populations of mussels along rivers and streams, but people's interest in them is fairly low. However, members of both the otterfolk and the newtfolk like diving after mussels and consider them a delicacy, often eating them raw as well as cooked. Aside from the thick shelled river mussel, one of the most common species of bivalves in the statelet, another economically somewhat important mussel species if the freshwater pearl mussel. Some enterprising locals, especially of the otterfolk, but even some newtfolk and humans, have started small businesses that farm pearl mussels, in order to produce pearls. Others try to raise the common mussels for meat.

Lecsó (pron. lech-oh) - Stewed vegetable recipe, consisting of various boiled and finely cut vegetables available in central Aporue, especially after the summer harvest (or pickled after the harvest for later years). It is often cooked together with some eggs (usually chicken eggs), albeit the eggs are not prepared separately (in the manner of scrambled eggs), u The oldest forms of lecsó were prepared by Ďamarans as far back as their formative era, when they were a semi-nomadic people of shepherds and horsemen. (Based on real world Hungarian lecsó, one of the oldest attested Hungarian recipes of all. Nowadays, virtually all lecsó recipes include New World crops as ingredients, especially peppers (paprika) and tomatoes. Note that the lecsó of my fictional world does not use peppers, tomatoes or any other now-common New World plants.)

Goulash (pron. goo-lash) - Goulash is an interesting type of recipe, as it can constitute either a soup recipe or a thicker stew recipe.

Pierogi - These cooked or fried soft unleavened dough pockets are popular in many central Aporuean countries and come with a variety of tastes and fillings. Some are sweet, largelly thanks to their fillings, most have more hardy fillings, including certain varieties of sheep cheese, minced meat, and various other ingredients. Finally, the deep-fried, crispier pierogi are often filled with sauerkraut, other vegetable fillings, and sometimes even fish meat. (Based on real world pierogi. While the cooked, white-dough version is the most famous in central Europe and elsewhere, there are also more flour-heavy versions that can be fried and baked, a crispy version.)

Strasanka - A type of dryer stew, made with sauerkraut, baked slices of edible beet, small chunks of cut onions and other vegetables, midly fried pork scratchings, and some caraway and herbs for seasoning. An old western Lesanian speciality, also found in parts of northwestern Ďamara. To no one's surprise, this popular dish hasn't changed much in many centuries and is considered a recipe of the less wealthy or just about moderately wealthy social classes in Melza. Though some richer people no doubt like cooking and eating it too, at least in private...  (Strasanka is an old eastern Slovak and eastern Hungarian stew recipe, nowadays commonly made with potatoes as a major ingredient, but apparently It is sometimes known in central and northern Slovakia as Trasanka. Both names are derived from the verb "to shake", so it's a "shaken stew". Note that the strasanka of my fictional world does not use potatoes or any other now-common New World plants.)

Zameška (pron. zameshka) - Thick porridge made of suitable ground-up corn. (Based on the zameška or zsámiska, known in Slovakia and Hungary. The corn used for it these days is maize, but it has some historical antecedents prior to the introduction of maize to central Europe as a commonly grown crop. The Romanian mamaliga is a similar recipe to zameška.)

Langoš (lángos) (pron. langosh or laangosh) - Tasty fried flatbreads, made of softer puffy dough, with a golden colouration. Also known as "flambreads" or "flamebreads". Eaten frequently with cheese, cream, chopped onions, bits of garlic, or even just cool sour milk. A favourite peasant food that became a popular snack food around The City and the towns of the statelet, now sold as one of the most popular snacks by various vendors. Possibly a Ďamaran invention, though it spread into other central Aporuean countries as well, and even some further to the south. (Based on the real world Hungarian lángos flatbreads, popular throughout central Europe,)

Podpecník or Podplamenník - Leavened dough flatbread, baked in an oven. Also known colloquially as an "under-oven" or "under-flame" flatbread. Usually baked with carum seeds or herbs as baked-in seasoning, and eaten with bryndza cheese, onions, garlic, sausage cuts, bits of home-smoked bacon, pork scratchings, and if made in a sweetened form, with fruit jam, quark or diced walnut fillings. (Based on real world podpecník flatbreads, common in Slovak folk cuisine in many regions.)

Pretzels - Fairly large, made of baked dough. Fairly dry and salty, but tasty. Baked and sold as a snack or an appetizer or desert for larger meals. Sold both at street vendor stalls or at marketplaces. (Not the little salted pretzels you can buy today in packaging, but the original large ones, once common in many European marketplaces for many centuries.)

Bread - Most of the bread eaten in Melza and much of central Aporue is brown bread and dark bread, usually made with a large amount of milled rye, i.e. rye flour. The crust and the middle tend to be of a similar dark colouration. Typical central Aporuean, bread loaves come in both rounded and more elliptical/lozenge shapes - this varies depending on the exact baker and bakery. Bread is eaten together with all manner of other foods, be it various meats, various vegetables, cheeses and types of milk, butter or other spread, various soups and stews, and often used to collect remaining gravy or grease from one's plate. (Most bread in older historical eras wasn't as white as modern kinds of bread, in the last 200 years - with good quality wheat more readily accessible - so it often came in more darker colourations. It was common for it to have a hardier texture or include some leftover seeds or ones added intentionally, like carum seeds. More wheat-heavy bread is available in central Aporue, but it is a far rarer sight. The use of bread in the Orbis Furum's daily dining has loads of parallels to real historical dining.)

Crescent breads - There are various types, some similar in consistency to usual bread, but with a softer crust, others made with higher doses of milk and some other sweeter ingredients and baked along with poppy seed seasoning. Originally a southern Aporuean or Ďamaran invention, it was adopted by many central Aporuean nations, and nowadays, you can find many indigenous recipes for it in Karantia, Ďamara, Lesana, Rvača, Melza, even Lengelia, and so on and so forth. (Based on the real world kifli-s, other similar crescent breads and pastries, and their many, many sweet and non-sweet variants throughout many European countries.)

Apple or pear porridge with wine - Apples or pears (or both) are cut up, stewed in butter. Wine is then added to the mix. After they are further stewed, they are sieved, sprinkled with a small amount of spices, and if there is interest, one can also add a few eggs, and scramble them along with the fruity/wine contents to create a thicker porridge. (Based on a real 15th century recipe.)

Fresh rose flower porridge - Clean rose flowers, complete with healthy petals, are washed in warm water, then crushed and ground up in a kitchen mortar with a pestle. Then they are placed on a pan, covered with a thin coat of white flour (about a handful) and fry it mildly. Ready a cauldron, pour in about half a pint of wine (or slightly more), add honey and ginger to the cauldron. Cook properly and carefully, stir regularly to avoid the ingredients coagulating. Combine the ingredients. The result should be greased with butter, and during the lent season, with cooking oil. An optional choice is sprinkling the finished meal with pinches of crushed and ground up aniseed. (Based on a real 15th and 16th century recipe.)

Chicken, duck, goose and pigeon recipes - In Aporue, poultry meat is consumed far less on a regular basis, since most poultry is raised for eggs, or to be sold off as a source of meat and feathers to interested well-paying customers (besides the meat and innards, feathers have use for making pillows and duvets, small household tools and for arrow fletching). Usually, when someone is preparing poultry, even in a humbler rural family, it's considered a minor feast for some special occassion, such as an annual holiday or a family anniversary or ocassion. Some poultry recipes: Cook some young chickens. In the meantime, ready the sauce for further cooking. Prepare twenty to twenty-five onions, and then boil them all in wine. Then spread them in a bowl along with a prepared parsley root, add some of the wine used for preparing the onions, and also add some clean wine vinegar. Add some spices, namely a small amount of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a decent amount of saffron. Once you've added these spices and completed this sauce, add the cooked chickens to the sauce. Decorating the dish with almonds and raisins, a custom popular in wealthier courts, is optional. (Based on a Hungarian recipe from the 15th and 16th century.) Cook some hen meat. Debone the hen and chop and dice up the hen meat well. Add some water-soaked white-flour bread to the meat. Crush up the hen bones, cook them in beef soup, then sieve. Mix together the meat, bread and beef soup, sprinkle with spices of your personal choice, cook further, then serve in a bowl. (Based on a real 15th and 16th century recipe.)

Čevapi (pron. chevapi) - somewhat similar to meatballs known in some countries of Aporue. Čevapi originated in southwestern Aporue, but have also successfully spread into central Aporue over the centuries. Unlike meatballs, čevapi tend to be more elongated in shape and are made of a mince meat centre (usually minced-and-shredded pork or beef) and a thinner coating of breadcrumbs on the outside, fried or deep-fried. (Based directly on real world čevapi.)

Miner schnitzels or Miner steaks - As their name suggests, these are thin pork or beef steaks (or cuts) fried or roasted, along with onions and other vegetables, mushrooms and herbs. (Based on the traditional pork or beef schnitzels prepared by miner families in some old Slovak mining towns, e.g. Banská Bystrica, Banská Štiavnica, Kremnica.)

Calf brain porridge - "Yikes !" to some, a delicacy to others ! Properly boil and cook a calf brain, dissolve it and spread it into a bowl in the form of a porridge, mix it with good quality wine. Pour the contents into a cauldron. Separately cook one or two handfuls of meal of wheat, add some saffron (which will add yellow colouration), then some caraway and honey, cook it all in the cauldron. The dish should be served with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top. (Based on a real 16th century recipe. Fancy but disgusting ? A little bit of both ? No accounting for taste, especially among the wealthier people. Personally, I've never been much of a fan of recipes including organs.)

Milk baked on a spit - A somewhat unusual recipe, but it doesn't involve regular liquid milk, but sour milk curds instead, i.e. cheese-like solidified milk. Prepare good quality sour milk, place it in cheesecloth bags and pouches for curd cheese and sweet curd making. Weigh down the bags and pouches properly and leave them in this state for the entire night. The next day, once the solidified sour milk curd is ready, cut it up carefully into equal bits on a table, then put the curd pieces on spits, slightly sprinkle with small pinches of salt and bake them by placing the spits onto a wooden grill. After the curds have been evenly baked, take them down from the spits, sprinkle with ground-up black pepper and fresh or mildly melted butter. (No, really. As slightly silly as this sounds, this is based on a real 16th century recipe.)

Sirloin of beef á la central Aporue - One of those (literally) beefy meat recipes of central Aporue. To ensure that the sirloin of beef is nice and tender already before the main phase of preparation, it is left to lie immersed for some three days in a mixture of beer vinegar, caraway and juniper berries. Once this early preparation period passes, the sirloin of beef should be partly cooked, carefully, then placed on a spit and carefully roasted until it's nice and ready. The sirloin of beef should then be served with a gravy containing bits of caraway Sirloin of beef fit for a nobleman or wealthy townspeople ! Baron Dortan, current ruler of Melza, apparently loves this particular recipe. (Based on a real 17th century recipe.)

Festive four-coloured porridge - Intended for feasts and special occassions, includes a fair amount of fancy, exotic ingredients. First, one should crush up or grind up some almonds, then cook them and dissolve them into a mush, which is then divided into four different pots. One should contain a white colouration, the second pot should have saffron added until its mush gains a yellowy colouration, the third pot's contents should be coloured by sandalwood, and finally, the fourth pot's mush should gain a near black-colouration, based on mixing together raisins and plum jam with the base mush. The contents of all four pots should be slightly seasoned with a small amount of sugar (not honey, the more usual sweet ingredient) and then cooked thoroughly and adequately until these four different variations on the almond mush grow thicker. Serving is done by taking a larger flat bowl or tray (wooden or ceramic), dividing it temporarily with a cross-shaped thin plank into four quarters, pouring the four different varieties of porridge into each quarter. The dividing tool is then removed and guests at the feast can be served (or serve themselves) from the four porridges in four quarters. (Based on a real 15th and 16th century recipe.)


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