imaginary food

[truepenny]

Talk to me about food in fantasy. (And science fiction, if you like.)

Readers, what kinds of details do you like to see? What makes a culture's eating habits come alive for you?

Writers (oh, please, writers, you're my only hope), how do you go about inventing cuisines and delicacies and what the street vendors sell? Especially when you are not relying on the old trick of, "I'll make this culture !Japan or !India or !France." How do you figure out what people eat?

Comments

[penrynsdreams.livejournal.com]

Another thing to think about re: water is how the heck do they make it safe? The reason drinks like tea and alcohol became popular is because the process of making them kills a lot of germs. In China, drinking hot water is pretty common. (I read a memoir by a Buddhist monk whose older brother left their family farm to go have a hot water cart in the city.)