Drinks and Foods

Drinks

Bota: A verr-skin pouch which is well insulated with animal fat and wax to hold liquid.
Ale: True Gorean ale is closer to a honey lager than to an ale or beer of Earth, a deep gold in color, and brewed from the grains and hops grown on Gor.
Serve in a tankard; the ale is kept in wooden kegs in chilling room.
Bazi tea:
"An herbal beverage served hot and heavily sugared; traditionally drunk three tiny cups at a time, in rapid succession."
Alas, there is no "Bazi Tea Ceremony" as I have seen demonstrated in other cities and camps. Beautiful as they are, no such ceremony is ever mentioned in any of the 25 books of Gor written by John Norman.
It is made in a small copper pot, using two measured ounces of the tea leaves.
These items are all kept stored in the main part of the servery.
Black wine:
This is simply coffee of Earth, however, the beans were long ago introduced on Gor and the black wine bean crop a standard of Gor, grown on the slopes of Thentis. Black wine is extremely expensive and far more bitter than Earth coffee. This drink traditionally served with sugar (yellow and white) and bosk milk, and in small cups, although in most taverns it is served in mugs.
Breeding wine:
A beverage made from the extract of the teslik plant, counteracts the contraceptive effects of slave wine, making a slave girl fertile; also called second wine. This would be served to a girl by her Master in the event she is to be bred with a handsome male slave. Such breeding is done with both male and female slaves hooded so that they may not see each other.
Chocolate:
This drink, very expensive and very rarely served, is made from beans brought back on one of the early Voyages of Acquisition, this is the same as the chocolate of Earth. Generally, it is served in higher class establishments.
Cosian Wine:
A sweet red wine, made from fruit imported.
This wine is stored in bottles and served warm or chilled in goblets.
Juice:
Made from Gorean fruits (larma, redfruit, tospit).
Made fresh daily, and stored in pitchers in the chilling room, served in a goblet. A nice touch is to garnish with fresh fruit slices and/or mint
Ka-la-na:
"...which might not inappropriately be described as an almost incandescent wine, bright, dry and powerful. I learned later it was called Ka-La-Na." The wine is a reddish-gold in color, thus the controversy on ka-la-na color. It is also known as the drink of romance.
This drink is served hot, warm or chilled. Warmed or hot Ka-La-Na is served in the Gorean enameled trimmed clay bowl, called a "crater;" chilled Ka-La-Na served in a goblet. Ka-la-na is stored in bottles in the chilling room; Ka-La-Na to be heated is stored in the servery, and is to be heated by pouring into a small copper pot and placed over the fires before serving in the bowl.
"I turned and among the furnishings of the tent, found a bottle of Ka-la-na, of good vintage, from the vineyards of Ar, the loot of a caravan raid. I then took the wine, with a small copper bowl, and a black, red-rimmed wine crater, to the side of the fire."
Kal-da:
This drink is made of cheap Ka-la-na, mulling spices and citrus juice.
Kal-da is not mixed during the serve. Brewing pots filled with Kal-da are kept over the fires, then ladled into pots or bowls. Refill the brewing pots as needed with the botas of Kal-da kept stored in the servery.
"Kal-da is a hot drink, almost scalding, made of diluted ka-la-na wine, mixed with citrus juices and stinging spices. I did not care much for this mouth-burning concoction, but it was popular with some of the lower castes, particularly those who performed strenuous manual labor. I expected its popularity was due more to its capacity to warm a man and stick to his ribs, and to its cheapness (a poor grade of ka-la-na wine being used in its brewing) than to any gustatory excellence."
Mead:
A beverage of fermented honey, thick, sweet and very potent. Common drink of the northern parts of Gor.
Served in a drinking horn or a cup, you will find these stored in the servery on shelves. The mead is stored in botas.
Milk:
Usually this is bosk milk, but can be verr milk.
Served in goblets or mugs; milk is stored in flagons in the chilling room.
Milk curds, fermented:
Traditional alcoholic beverage of the Tuchuks, made from bosk milk and very potent.
Stored in the chilling room, served in goblets.
Paga:
(shortened from Pagar-Sa-Tarna, meaning "Pleasure of the Life-Daughter"): A grain-based, lumpy, distilled hard liquor; sometimes served warm, this is the drink most often served in taverns.
called 'Pagar-Sa-Tarna,' 'Pleasure of the Life-Daughter,' but almost always 'Paga' for short."
Serve in goblets, cups, kalanthros (footed bowl) or straight from the bota, chilled, warm or heated. Paga is stored in botas and bottles in the chilling room.

Palm wine:
A popular export of Schendi, a wine made of the palm of the inland rainforests.
Served in a goblet; stored in bottles.
Rence Beer:
Brewed from the pith of the rence plant, it is a drink of the rence growers of the Delta of the Vosk.
Slave Wine:
Developed long ago by the caste of physicians, and the formula perfected per the insistence of masters and slavers, a concentrated form of the very bitter sip root, it serves as a contraceptive and one drink lasts almost indefinitely. In order for her to conceive, a releaser called the "breeding wine" or "second wine" is required for remission of the contraceptive qualities of the slave wine. Slave wine need not be administered by physicians; it is readily available to purchase in markets. Traditionally, the slave wine is given to a slave by her Master. The sip root can instead, be consumed by a slave within the moon (her ovulation period), and this lasts 3 to 4 moons, rather than indefinitely as in the concentrated slave wine. In the matter of bitterness of taste there is little to choose from between the raw sip root and slave wine,, the emulsive qualities of the slave wine being offset to some extent by its strength of the concentrations involved. from
Sul Paga:
An alcoholic beverage distilled, clear and made from the sul; (an Earth equivalent may be vodka.) it is the drink of peasants.
"Sul paga is, when distilled, though the sul itself is yellow, is as clear as water."
Serve in a footed bowl. The drink is stored in botas.
Ta wine:
Wine made from the Ta grapes of Cos, stored in bottles, and served at room temperature. If a girl is asked to serve Cosian wine, this is actually Ta-wine.
Turian Liqueur:
A thick, sweet liqueur from Turia, served in tiny glasses. These liqueurs are considered the best on Gor. Mentioned in "Guardsmen of Gor" page 237and 259.Turian Wine:
Sweet, syrupy wines of Turia, flavored and sugared to the point where could leave a mark on the surface.
Water:
Obtained fresh from the river.
Serve in a goblet. Water from the river is stored in wooden casks and barrels; spring water is stored in the chilling room in botas.
White Wine:
Light in color and taste, note that it is not referred to as Ka-la-na, simply wine, thus showing us there are more wines available than just Ka-la-na or Turian wines.

Foods

Dairy Foods:
Butter:
Churned from the milk of the Bosk or the Verr.
Slaves will be expected to churn butter; stored in the chilling room.
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 chilling room.
Eggs:
Eggs of the vulo.Slaves will collect eggs from the vulo pens. Eggs are cooked the same as Earth chicken eggs.
Fish and Shellfish:
There are many different varieties of fish are consumed on Gor, some more common than others, just as on Earth.
Caviar: Nuff said
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.
Eel:
Oysters:
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.
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.
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 chilling room 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.
Gant:
An aquatic fowl that is the staple of the Rencers of the Vosk Delta.
Tabuk:
The one-horned yellow antelope of Gor. The Northern tabuk clearly a much larger and more dangerous variety.
from the small, yellow-pelted antelope-like quadruped of the south. On the other hand, 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 servery, 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."
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 chilling room, wrapped in rep cloth. These birds are served roasted or in a stew.
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 chilling room, 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.
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.
Fruits and Vegetables:
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:
Beans:
Dates:
From the city of Tor.
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 servery.
Katch:
A foliated leaf vegetable (possibly a cabbage-type vegetable).
Kes:
A shrub whose salty blue secondary roots are a main ingredient in sullage.
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).
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.
Offering a larma, real or imagined, by a slave girl to her Master is a silent plea for the girl to be raped.
Melons:
Probably similar to a cantaloupe.
Nuts:
Used in vulo stew, as well as in other dishes.
Olives:There are two varieties: those of Tor and the red-skinned of Tyros.
Onions:
Peaches:
Peas:
Plums:
Ram-berries:
These are a small, reddish fruit, heavily seeded and similar to a plum that is native to Gor and used in making jams and pies, as well as serving as is in a bowl.
Suls:
Starchy, golden brown, vine borne vegetable; principal ingredient in sullage, a tuberous vegetable similar to the potato.
Stored in large baskets in the servery, this vegetable is often served sliced and fried, baked or in stews.
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.
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 and 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.
Turnips:
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 servery in large baskets.
Nuts, Grains, and Soups:
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.
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.
Sa-Tarna Bread:
Flat, round, six-sectioned yellow bread made from Sa-Tarna grains.
Slaves will be required to bake this bread using Sa-Tarna grain flour; the flour is stored in the servery in large tin boxes. The bread is baked in the ovens outside the servery, close to the cooking fires.
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.
Slaves are responsible for cooking batches of the gruel in large kettles. Sa-Tarna grain is stored in the servery in a large tin box.
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 servery.
Salts, Sugars, and Spices:
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:
Cloves:
Mint Sticks:
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.
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.
Other:
Candies:
Custards:
Pastries