Food

Crelteckle is a type of hors d’oeuvre found among the Veng. Somewhere between pastry and dumpling, crelteckle come in brilliant colors and look like tasty gemstones. The purpose of crelteckle is to represent the full range of tastes that will be found in the meal to come.

Farvtesh is an Arcturan delicacy, though it looks disgusting, much like scrapple, if scrapple was a mottled cherry color, and had tentacles. But what appear to be tentacles are actually a root vegetable that only grows in the polar regions of their homeworld, which makes sense when you recall that Arcturans are strict vegetarians. Like most Arcturan food, it is eaten without utensils. Breaking off a piece can result in an aroma not unlike cheddar cheese.

Leasel is an hors d’oeuvre served on a Swope tasting plate (one which has been cleared as edible by Humans) that looks like a deceptively innocent-looking, squarish biscuit with white powder. Gel described it as "the personification of bitterness." It contains traces of sufficient umami flavor to keep it from being an emetic, though only barely.

Ploger omelet is made with eggs that are usually only available on worlds occupied by Clarkesons; they’re each about the size of a human thumb, cooking up to produce a creamy texture with a tart flavor.

Poki is a critrus-like dried berry served in dried forms in bars on Veng worlds, much like "beer nuts" on Earth. They smell a bit like tangerines and a bit like cherries, and they tend to turn the tongue purple.

Sisal bread is rather like a cross between whole wheat and a chocolate soufflé. It is especially popular among Taurians.

Slinko is a popular alcoholic drink among Veng. It is derived from the poki berry and comes in several versions. Ordinary slinko is just fermented poki fruit. Dark slinko is like regular slinko, but it’s been aged in vats of rancid poki peels for at least a year, which gives it its distinct dark purply color. Hot slinko is actually not hot at all; it’s dark slinko that’s been distilled. And dead slinko isn’t really slinko at all; it’s a distillation of the juices you get when you press the rancid poki peels used in making dark slinko. On those rare occasions when a Veng orders dead slink they tend to drink it quickly as it smells awful.”

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