| Foods |
| There are many foods on Gor that are similar or the same to those found on Earth. However, there are great differences as well. Below you will find foods of the Gorean world, although most probably, not a complete listing. |
| IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL SLAVES |
| Please be sure to read this information carefully. Much work has been put forth to list the foods accurately from the books written by John Norman. For the purposes of KWC, slaves will note the italiized text. This will give you important information on how the food is stored and how the food is served. Also refer to the section in the kajira training section on the slaughtering of camp animals as slaves of this camp will be required to learn this task as well, and this section will also provide information in preparation of these meats. Because we have guests from many camps or cities, should a Free ask for a drink or food not listed, please discreetly inform them apologizing saying thatthe item is not available or ask about it.The key is to be creative with these foods. Prepare stews and salads. Use garnishes. |
| Sa-Tassna This term refers to all meat; can also refer to food in general. |
| Dairy |
| Butter: Churned from the milk of the Bosk or the Verr. |
| Slaves will be expected to churn butter; stored in the coolery. "We stopped by the churning shed, where Olga, sweating, had finished making a keg of butter." "Marauders of Gor" page 101 |
| Cheese: Pressed from the milk of the Bosk, these cheeses are sharp in taste and travel well, resisting mold in their hard rinds. |
| Cheeses are stored in the coolery. ". . .the food, bosk steak and yellow bread, peas and Torian olives, and two golden-brown, starchy Suls, broken open and filled with melted bosk cheese." "Assassin of Gor" page 168 |
| Eggs: Eggs of the vulo. Slaves will collect eggs from the vulo pens. Eggs are cooked the same as Earth chicken eggs. "Soon, I smelled the frying of vulo eggs in a large, flat pan." "Slave Girl of Gor" page 73 |
| FISH |
| There are many different varieties of fish are consumed on Gor, some more common than others, just as on Earth.Caviar: |
| "In the hall was a open circle of small tables, at which a handful of guests, on cushions and mats, reclined. There were fourmen and two women at these tables, other than the Lady Florence, the hostess, and her guest of the past several days, the Lady Metpomene. The tables were covered with cloths of glistening white and a service of gold. Before each guest there were tiny slices of tospit and larma, small pastries, and in a tiny golden cup, with a small golden spoon, the clustered, black, tiny eggs of the white grunt. The first wine, a light white wine, was being deferentially served by Pamela and Bonnie." "Fighting Slave of Gor" pages 275-276 |
| Cosian wingfish: This is a tiny blue saltwater fish with four poisonous spines on its dorsal fin; its liver is considered a delicacy in the city of Turia. "Now this, Saphrar the merchant was telling me, is the braised liver of the blue, four-spined Cosian wingfish. This fish is a tiny, delicate fish, blue, about the size of a tarn disk when curled in one's hand; it has three or four slender spines in its dorsal fin, which are poisonous. . .The blue four-spined wingfish is found only in the waters of Cos. Larger varieties are found farther out to sea. The small blue fish is regarded as a great delicacy, and its liver as the delicacies of delicacies." "Nomads of Gor" page 23 |
| Eel: "Clitus, too, had brought two bottles of Ka-la-na wine, a string of eels, cheese of the verr and a sack of red olives from the groves of Tyros." "Raiders of Gor" page 114 |
| Oysters: "Other girls had prepared the repast, which for the war camp, was sumptuous indeed, containing even oysters from the delta of the Vosk." "Captive of Gor" page 301 |
| Parsit: This is a thin silvery fish found in the cold waters of the North. Torvaldslanders dry and salt the fish, one of its main exports; they also add it to the gruel of bond-maids. "The men of Torvaldsland are skilled with their hands. Trade to the south, of course, is largely in furs acquired from Torvaldsland, and in barrels of smoked, dried parsit fish." "Marauders of Gor" page 28 |
| Marsh Shark: These fish are large and carnivorous, found in the marshes of the delta; sliced thick into steaks. |
| Salt Thassa fish: A small fish from the gleaming Thassa, served baked, steamed or broiled. |
| Sorp: A shellfish, common especially in the Vosk River. |
| Vosk Carp: A large carp from the river Vosk. |
| White-bellied Grunt: A fish of the cold Northern waters. "Three other men of the Forkbeard attended to fishing, two with a net, sweeping it along the side of the serpent, for parsit fish, and the third, near the stem, with a hook and line, baited with vulo liver, for the white-bellied grunt, a large game fish which haunts the plankton banks to feed on parsit fish." "Marauders of Gor" page 59 Slaves will be expected to fish if required, . Should a Master/Mistress present a slave with a fish to clean and scale, she will do so, as well as prepare the fish per the Master/Mistress' directive. "I had carried about bowls of cut, fried fish, and wooden trays of roasted tarsk meat, and roasted gants, threaded on sticks, and rence cakes and porridges, and gourd flagons, many times replenished, of rence beer." "Raiders of Gor" page 44 |
| Meats |
| Bosk: Large, shaggy, long horned bovine similar to the Earth buffalo or ox; cook and serve as Earth beef is cooked and served. Bosk is stored wrapped in rep cloth in the coolery for only a couple of days because there is no refrigeration as known on Earth. Be creative in what you can prepare with bosk. Always be sure to ask before using a quiva to slice the meat. The meat may be served roasted or sliced as in steaks, deep pit roasted with herbs and spices, with slices of Ka-la-na fruit and sprinkles of tospit fruit to garnish. It is also stewed, broiled or dried. When roasted on a spit, the outside is very dark; the inside very pink and juicy. Roast bosk is served rare, with baked suls and sa-tarna bread. ". . .the food, bosk steak and yellow bread, peas and Torian olives, and two golden-brown, starchy Suls, broken open and filled with melted bosk cheese." "Assassin of Gor" page 168. |
| Gant: An aquatic fowl that is the staple of the Rencers of the Vosk Delta. "I heard a bird, some forty or fifty yards to my right; it sounded like a marsh gant, a small, horned, web-footed aquatic fowl, broad-billed and broad-winged. Marsh girls, the daughters of Rence growers, sometimes hunt them with throwing sticks." "Raiders of Gor" page 4. "Before the feasts I had helped the women, cleaning fish and dressing marsh gants. . ." "Raiders of Gor" page 44. "I had carried about bowls of cut, fried fish, and wooden trays of roasted tarsk meat, and roasted gants, threaded on sticks, and rence cakes and porridges, and gourd flagons, many times replenished, of rence beer." "Raiders of Gor" page 44. |
| Tabuk: The one-horned yellow antelope of Gor. The Northern tabuk clearly a much larger and more dangerous variety. Stored wrapped in rep cloth in the coolery, roasted or grilled is the preferable way to serve this meat. "Gripped in the talons of the tarn was the dead body of an antelope, one of the one-horned, yellow antelopes called tabuks that frequent the bright Ka-la-na thickets of Gor" "Tarnsmen of Gor" page 145. "They were northern tabuk, tawny and swift; many of them ten hands at the shoulder, a quite different animal from the small, yellow-pelted antelope-like quadruped of the south. On the other hand, they too distinguished by the single horn of the tabuk. On these animals, however, that object, in swirling ivory, was often, at its base, some two and one half inches in diameter, and better than a yard in length. A charging tabuk, because of the swiftness of its reflexes, is quite a dangerous animal." "Beasts of Gor" page 152. |
| Tarn: A rare delicacy eaten on the battlefield by Warriors after a battle. The tarn is roasted, cut into chunks and served with red (blood) gravy. |
| Tarsk: A porcine animal, having a bristly mane which runs down its spine to the base of the tail. The tarsk is a staple in the diet of Rencers, though not a favored food as it is a carrion eater. Stored wrapped in rep cloth in the storeroom, this meat is roasted and commonly stuffed with suls and peppers. "Before the feasts I had helped the women, cleaning fish and dressing marsh gants, and then, later, turning spits for the roasted tarsks, roasted over rence-root fires, kept on metal pans, elevated about the rence of the islands by metal racks, themselves resting on larger pans." "Raiders of Gor" page 44. ". . .if I were lucky, a slice of roast tarsk, the formidable six tusked wild boar of Gor's temperate forests." "Assassins of Gor" page 87. "I had carried about bowls of cut, fried fish, and wooden trays of roasted tarsk meat, and roasted gants, threaded on sticks, and rence cakes and porridges, and gourd flagons, many times replenished, of rence beer." "Raiders of Gor" page 44. |
| Tumits: A large carnivorous bird of the plains, is hunted and eaten by the Nomadic people of Gor. Traditionally hunted with bolos the sport lies in whether you or the bird gets to eat that night. Stored in the coolery, wrapped in rep cloth. These birds are served roasted or in a stew. "I gathered that the best time to hunt tumits, the large flightless, carnivorous birds of the southern plains, was at hand." "Nomads of Gor" page 331. |
| Verr: The mountain goat of Thentis, however smaller, less vicious varieties are bred and kept in pens. The meat can be eaten. Its milk can be used for drinking or the making of cheese and butter. Stored in coolery, wrapped in rep cloth. Verr meat must be steamed in the ground wrapped in leaves for the whole day. This prevents it from being bitter and stringy. "In the cafes, I had feasted well. I had had verr meat, cut in chunks and threaded on a metal rod." "Tribesmen of Gor"page 48. |
| Vulo: A tawny colored poultry bird, which also exists in the wild; used for meat and eggs. Vulo is caught fresh and slaughtered the same day it is prepared. Roasted on a spit, or baked, stuffed with herbs, grains and spices. "She had been carrying a wicker basket containing vulos, a domesticated pigeon raised for eggs and meat." "Nomads of Gor" Page 1."It is the spiced brain of the Turian vulo," Saphrar explained. I shot the spiced brain into my mouth on the tip of a golden eating prong. "Nomads of Gor" Page 83. |
| Produce |
| Vegetables and fruits that also grown on Earth, are often mentioned in the books by John Norman, such as peas, carrots, turnips, Garlic, onions, radishes, nuts, melons, berries, peaches, and plums just to name a few. It is fairly safe to assume that vegetables and fruits found on Earth, are on Gor as well. Below you will find other foods of the Gorean world. |
| Apricots: Mentioned in "Tribesmen of Gor" page 45. |
| Beans: Mentioned in "Tribesmen of Gor" page 37. |
| Dates: From the city of Tor. "The principal export of the oasis are dates, or pressed-date bricks." "Tribesmen of Gor" page 37. |
| Ka-La-Na Fruit: The fruit of the Ka-La-Na tree; possibly similar to an Earth pear, used as a garnish and for making wines. Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. |
| Katch: A foliated leaf vegetable (possibly a cabbage-type vegetable). Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. ". . .a foliated, leaf vegetable, called Katch" "Tribesmen of Gor" page 37. |
| Kes: A shrub whose salty blue secondary roots are a main ingredient in sullage. Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. "The principal ingredients of Sullage are. . .and the salty, blue secondary roots of the Kes shrub, a small, deeply rooted plant which grows best in sandy soil." "Priest-Kings of Gor" page 45. |
| Kort: A large, brown-skinned, thick-skinned sphere-shaped vegetable, about 6 inches wide, yellow and fibrous inside, heavily seeded (most probably, like a yellow squash of Earth). Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. |
| Larma, Hard: A firm, single-seeded apple-like fruit, also called the "pit fruit." Larma, Juicy: Segmented, sweet and juicy. Larma may be served fried, with a browned honey sauce. Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. I took a slice of hard larma from the tray. This is a firm, single seeded applelike fruit. It is quite unlike the segmented, juicy larma. It is sometimes called, perhaps more aptly, the pit fruit, because of its large single stone." "Players of Gor" page 267. "I idly observed the dancer. Her eyes were on me. It seemed, in her hands, she held ripe fruits for me, lush larma, fresh picked. . .She touched the imaginary larma to her body, caressing her swaying beauty with it, and then, eyes piteous, held her hands forth, as though begging me to accept the lush fruit. . .On Gor, the female slave, desiring her master, yet sometimes fearing to speak to him, frightened that she may be struck, has recourse upon occasion to certain devices. . .Another device, common in Port Kar, is for the girl to kneel before the master and put her head down and lift her arms, offering him fruit, usually larma, or a yellow Gorean peach, ripe and fresh." "Tribesmen of Gor" page 27-28. |
| Melons: Probably similar to a cantaloupe. "Buy melons! called a fellow next to her, lifting one of the yellowish red-striped spheres toward me." "Tribesmen of Gor" page 45. Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. |
| Nuts: Used in vulo stew, as well as in other dishes. Mentioned in "Tribesmen of Gor" page 47. |
| Olives: There are two varieties: those of Tor and the red-skinned of Tyros. Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. ". . .the food, bosk steak and yellow bread, peas and Torian olives, and two golden-brown, starchy Suls, broken open and filled with melted bosk cheese." "Assassin of Gor" page 168. "Clitus, too, had brought two bottles of Ka-la-na wine, a string of eels, cheese of the verr and a sack of red olives from the groves of Tyros." "Raiders of Gor" page 114 |
| Peaches: Yellow fruit. Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. "Another device, common in Port Kar, is for the girl to kneel before the master and put her head down and lift her arms, offering him fruit, usually larma, or a yellow Gorean peach, ripe and fresh." "Tribesmen of Gor" page 27-28. |
| Onions: Mentioned in "Tribesmen of Gor" page 47. |
| Peas: Though specifically called "Gorean peas" by Tarl Cabot, there was nothing mentioned giving specifics as to how they may differ from Earth peas. Mentioned in "Assassin of Gor" page 87. |
| Plums: Mentioned in "Tribesmen of Gor" page 45. |
| Ram-berries: These are a small, reddish fruit, heavily seeded and similar to a plum that is native to Gor used in making jams and pies, as well as serving as is in a bowl. Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. "A guard was with us, and we were charged with filling our leather buckets with ram-berries, a small reddish fruit with edible seeds, not unlike plums save for the many seeds." "Captive of Gor" page 305 |
| Suls: Starchy, golden brown, vine borne vegetable; principal ingredient in sullage, a tuberous vegetable similar to the potato. Stored in large baskets in the storeroom, this vegetable is often served sliced and fried, baked or in stews. ". . .the food, bosk steak and yellow bread, peas and Torian olives, and two golden-brown, starchy Suls, broken open and filled with melted bosk cheese." "Assassin of Gor" page 168. "The sul is a large, thick-skinned, yellow-fleshed, root vegetable. It is very common on this world. There are a thousand ways in which it is prepared. It is fed even to slaves. I had had some at the house; narrow, cooked slices, smeared with butter, sprinkled with salt, fed to me by hand." "Dancer of Gor" page 80. |
| Ta grapes: These grapes hail from the isle of Cos and resemble grapes of Earth. They are used in making Ta wine, but are also a favored fruit to eat. It is possible, that these are the raisins in vulo stew, as mentioned in "Tribesmen of Gor" page 45. Stored in baskets in the storeroom. "The grapes were purple and, I suppose, Ta-grapes from the lower vineyards of the terraced island of Cos." "Priest-Kings of Gor" page 45. |
| Tospit: A bitter, juicy citrus fruit, named for the large number of seeds it holds. Small (about the size of a plum) and peach-like, yellow in color often dried and candied, as well as dipped in honey. It is often used as a garnish in Kal-da, its juice to prepare citrus drinks. Stored in baskets in the coolery. "He looked at me shrewdly and, to my surprise, drew a tospit out of his pouch, that yellowish-white, bitter fruit, looking something like a peach, but about the size of a plum." "Nomads of Gor" page 149. |
| Turnips: Mentioned in "Outlaw of Gor" page 29. |
| Tur-pah: An edible tree parasite with curly, red, ovate leaves; cultivated in host orchards of the Tur tree; a main ingredient in sullage. Stored in the storeroom in large baskets. "The principal ingredients of Sullage are. . .curled, red, ovate leaves of the Tur-Pah, a tree parasite, cultivated in host orchards of Tur trees. . ." "Priest Kings of Gor" page 45. |
| Rence: A water plant, the grain is eaten and the stems harvested and pressed into paper or woven into cloth. The pith (or center) may be boiled or ground into a paste and sweetened; this paste can also be fried into a type of pancake. It is also distilled into beer. Vegetables and fruits are kept in baskets in a cool place in the main storeroom. "I had carried about bowls of cut, fried fish, and wooden trays of roasted tarsk meat, and roasted gants, threaded on sticks, and rence cakes and porridges, and gourd flagons, many times replenished, of rence beer." "Raiders of Gor" page 44. |
| Sa-Tarna: Yellow grain; in the Tahari the grain is a golden brown color, the shell hardened to survive the desert winds. It is the staple of Gor, used to make bread as well as brewing paga. "Economically, the base of the Gorean life was the free peasant, which was perhaps the lowest but undoubtedly the most fundamental caste, and the staple crop was a yellow grain called Sa-Tarna, or Life Daughter." "Tarnsman of Gor" page 43 "A great amount of farming, or perhaps one should speak of gardening, is done at the oasis, but little of this is exported. At the oasis, will be grown a hybrid, brownish Sa-Tarna, adapted to the heat of the desert; most Sa-Tarna is yellow. . ." "Tribesman of Gor" page 37 |
| Sa-Tarna Bread: Flat, round, six-sectionedyellow bread made from Sa-Tarna grains. I thought of the yellow Gorean bread, baked in the shape of round, flat loaves, fresh and hot.." "Outlaw of Gor" page 76 |
| Slave porridge or gruel: A cold, unsweetened mixture of water and Sa-Tarna meal, on which slaves are fed. The Torvaldslanders call it "bond-maid gruel." Often, bits of fish is added to this |
| Sullage: A soup made principally from suls, tur-pah, and kes, along with whatever else may be handy. Be creative with this soup. Add peas, carrots, whatever is found in the storeroom. Vegetables are stored in baskets in the storeroom. "First she boiled and simmered a kettle of Sullage, a common Gorean soup consisting of three standard ingredients, and, as it is said, whatever else may be found, saving only the rocks of the field. The principal ingredients of Sullage are the golden Sul; the curled, red, ovate leaves of the Tur-Pah, a tree parasite; and the salty, blue secondary roots of the Kes shrub." "Priest- Kings of Gor" page 45. |
| It is safe to assume that spices common to Earth are also common to Gor. Here are a few of those mentioned in the Gorean world. |
| Cinnamon: Mentioned as one of the main trading goods of the Schendi in "Explorers of Gor." Stored in cupboards in the storeroom. |
| Cloves: Mentioned as one of the main trading goods of the Schendi in "Explorers of Gor." Stored in cupboards in the storeroom. |
| Mint Sticks: Mentioned in "Explorers of Gor" page 10. Stored in cupboards in the storeroom. |
| Salt: From the mines of Klima, in the Tahari desert. The Torvaldslander, however, gathers his salt from the sea. Possible this is how the introduction to "red and yellow sweetrocks" (although those such terms I have seen used by many as sugars) came to be, though this term is not used in the books by John Norman. Note below how this confusion may have come to pass. Stored in cupboards in the storeroom. "Most salt at Klima is white, but certain of the mines deliver red salt, red from the ferrous oxide in its composition, which is called the Red Salt of Kasra, after its port of embarkation, at the juncture of the Upper and Lower Fayeen."Tribesmen of Gor" page 238. ". . .salt, incidentally, is obtained by the men of Torvaldsland, most commonly, from seat water or the burning of sea weed. It is also, however, a trade commodity,and is sometimes taken in raids, the red and yellow salts ofthe south, some of which I saw on the tables, are notdomestic to Torvaldsland." "Marauders of Gor" page 186-7. |
| Sugar: No where in the books of John Norman is the term "sweet rocks" used for sugar (please see the information on Salts as to how this confusion possibly came about). The bottom passage below leaves us to believe there are four types (colors, perhaps) of sugars on Gor. Specifically, white and yellow are mentioned in the following passage: "With a tiny spoon, its tip no more than a tenth of a hort in diameter, she placed four measures of white sugar, and six of yellow in the cup." "Tribesmen of Gor" page 89. "Lola now returned to the small table, and, kneeling head down, served us our dessert, slices of tospit, sprinkled with four Gorean sugars." "Rogue of Gor" page 132. Sugars are stored in the storeroom in tin boxes. |
| Candies: Several varieties as noted below. "He yelled something raucous and ribald. It had to do with "tastas"or "stick candies." These are not candies, incidentally, like sticks, as for example, licorice or peppermint sticks, but soft, rounded, succulent candies, usually covered with a coating of syrup or fudge, rather in the nature of the caramel apple, but much smaller, and, like a caramel apple, mounted on sticks. The candy is prepared and the stick, from the bottom, is thrust up, deeply into it. It is then ready to be eaten." "Dancer of Gor" page 81. |
| Custards: Mentioned in several of the books of Gor. |
| Pastries "In the hall was a open circle of small tables, at which a handful of guests, on cushions and mats, reclined. There were four men and two women at these tables, other than the Lady Florence, the hostess, and her guest of the past several days, the Lady Metpomene.The tables were covered with cloths of glistening white and a service of gold. Before each guest there were tiny slices of tospit and larma, small pastries, and in a tiny golden cup, with a small golden spoon, the clustered, black, tiny eggs of the white grunt. The first wine, a light white wine, was being deferentially served by Pamela and Bonnie.""Fighting Slave of Gor" pages 275-276 |