Elven culinary delights & beverages

**Elaini** Tue 18 Apr - 13:57

Influences

In Elven roleplay medieval cuisine is often used as an example. It's a good point to start at, but there are few points that hint about their list of recipes being larger than that. For their age they've had plenty of time to improve the art of their cooking, so taking inspiration from the later cooking as well may not be too strange as an idea.

But one thing the Elven food is most likely not – artificial or industrial. Since all Elves embrace living in balance with the nature in all things, their food is also expected to be as organic as possible, even down to the food colouring.

Vegetables, Grain & Spices

The Quendi do have a form of agriculture. Once it's considered that the Elves have had plenty of time to bring seeds all the way from Valinor and the northern and southern reaches of Beleriand, the diversity of the plants they grow for food could very well be comparable to ours, with some plants included that do not exist in our world.

In The Lord of the Rings it is told:

The Fellowship of the Ring – Three is Company wrote:
But he (Pippin) remembered that there was bread, surpassing the savour of a fair white loaf to one who is starving; and fruits sweet as wildberries and richer than tended fruits of the gardens; he drained a cup that was filled with a fragrant draught, cool as clear fountain, golden as a summer afternoon.

If one wants to use the extended list of cultivated vegetables used in the medieval Europe as an example, the texts from there mention:

Besides these the dairy products could be used to make cheese.

Lembas

Lembas, also known as coimas is an elven recipe mentioned by name.

The Fellowship of the Ring – Farewell to Lórien wrote:
The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream. Gimli took up one of the cakes and looked at it with a doubtful eye.
'Cram,' he said under his breath, as he broke off a crisp corner and nibbled at it. His expression quickly changed, and he ate all the rest of the cake with relish.
'No more, no more!' cried the Elves laughing. 'You have eaten enough already for a long day's march.'

…

'We call it lembas or waybread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant than cram, by all accounts.'

…

'For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them.

The recipe for the real lembas was first invented by the Valië Yavanna, and the corn (read: grain) needed for the recipe was also created by her. The secret of the recipe has been granted only to a select few, and Galadriel is one of them.

It's also in the laws of the Elves that only an Elven Queen should keep and distribute the waybread. To give it to the mortals is a very rare and special sign of favour towards them.

Meat & Fish

Some roleplayers and people who depict the Quendi portray them as vegetarians. An Elf can have such a choice of course, though the Elves are known to hunt. At least the princes of Noldor and the Elves of Greenwood the Great (Mirkwood) have done so, and venison seems to be their favourite game.

It is also not a strange idea that the sea loving Elves such as Falmari or Falathrim catch fish or shellfish and also collect seaweed on the side, since they are great in all things related to ships and they dive for pearls.

Sweeteners

Bees are able to extract honey from nut or almond blossoms and it has a unique flavour, and mallorn trees produce silver nuts. Thus the mallorn honey has been often used an ingredient in a roleplay before. What adds to the special flavour of the ingredient is that the mellyrn grow in Lothlórien of course, but are originally from the island of Tol Eressëa in Valinor. This makes the mallorn honey work as a very elvish sweetener.

Whether the Elves have probably discovered the other kind of organic sweeteners that can be likened to sugar as we know it (though is likely healthier) can be speculated.

Wine & Liquor

Elves are known to enjoy alcoholic beverages, especially wine. Actually they do not get drunk easily, so to get drunk they would have to drink the stronger alcohol such as the famous Dorwinion wine served in Mirkwood.

Another mentioned beverage is the fragrant miruvor which is mead or liquor made of flowers and it's served both as a festive drink and a cordial.