[Sca-cooks] foods in fantasy novels

[Devra at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/13/2006 6:19:04 AM Pacific Daylight Time,  
sca-cooks-request at lists.ansteorra.org writes:

science-fiction and phantasy books refer
seldom to food but in  Eddings, Zelazny and other similar, the
characters and the societies seems  to me frozen in a Middle Age diet,
wild boars, eelk, reindeer, mead, honey  and beer.
 
For this you should consult Diana Wynne Jones' (very tongue-in-cheek) book,  
The Tough Guide to Fantasyland (soon to be reprinted), which sends up many of  
the cliches of fantasy novels. Her comments on stew (since we have only seen  
dogs, cats, horses, and vermin, one wonders what meat is in the stew always  
served in taverns....) can give one - erm - pause.
    Devra the Baker