This is a master list of food and beverages from the Star
Wars universe, culled from various sources around the Net and sorted
into categories I consider useful. When the available sources were not
sufficiently explicit, I invented my own details; you can follow the
hyperlinks to the source material. The information here is not
canonical, but you’re welcome to use it in your own stories.
The basis for the native cuisine of world-cities is grown in the
algae vats in the cisterns beneath the skyscrapers that cover the
planet, churned every hour of the day by massive impellers and harshly
lit by the glaring lights that are optimized to feed the algae. The
algae is genetically tailored to make a rough flour that provides
starch and dietary fiber and almost no flavor. The tailored krill used in some of
the stages of water purification provide protein; there are numerous
breeds that express proteins from popular meat animals. They can
be easily processed into patties and sausage; processing them into
something with the consistency of an actual cut of meat is more
expensive, and never matches the quality of even vatgrown tissue.
The algae can be fed to other bacteria that churn out useful things
like a variety of sugars, or milk and egg proteins, or fermented into
alcohol, vinegar, etc. and used in condiments comparable to
worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, or catsup. With these basic
ingredients and some yeast, a wide variety of things can be produced:
noodles, cheese, butter, bread, syrups. Add krill protein, and you
have the basics of lower-class ecumenopolis cuisine. The
quintessential dish is the algae-flour krill dumpling.
The middle class, living well above the vats but lucky to get natural
sunlight piped in from outdoors, use hydroponics and artificial lights
to cultivate fruits and vegetables. Meat on a middle-class table is
usually grown in a vat whose nutrient fluid was derived from processed
algae. In prosperous times, they often have grain coming from offworld.
Only the upper class, able to afford the luxury of rooftop gardens,
ever sees fruit trees growing in soil. They dine on real cuts of meat
brought in refrigerated containers on hyperspace container carriers, a
few luxuries tucked in amongst the huge amount of grain.
Zoochberry:
a tart lavender-colored berry that serves as an effective stain, though it
takes a lot of brewing and distilling to get a deep-colored dye out of it.
Cereals, Legumes, and Tubers
Popular carbohydrate crops.
Bang-corn is a grain that explodes into a puff of carbohydrate-rich cellulose, like popcorn on Earth.
Corellian potatoes are a tuber that originated on Corellia that can be converted into an amazing variety of foods, including fries, hash browns, chowders...
Gizer ale:
a blue ale fermented from ????, with a tasty pale
variety. Many worlds brew their own blue ales.
Gravdinian
ale: a sweet beer, but dangerous to the brewers; it gives off a
strong vapor as it ferments, which can be lethal in high
concentration. Named for its inventor, Jalkor Gravdinian, it is
brewed in numerous locations around the galaxy.
Harmon Kizzlebrew: a beer favored in the Mid Rim, and was an excellent accompaniment to steamed yazstrimskizzies.
Jawa beer
(2),
also known as Jawa
juice, is a sour beverage made by Jawas from fermented grains
stored in bantha hide. It picks up a fair amount of flavor from the
leather, which makes it an acquired taste. Its primary virtue is that
an evening of drinking it will cause the drinker to secrete the same
sourness from their pores, masking their natural scent, so it is popular
among hunters.
Lomin ale
(2):
the name given to the house lager in cantinas that brew their own ale
from a recipes descended from one spread by the entrepreneur Kelan
Lomin, who traveled the galaxy selling robotic fermentation vats in
bygone generations. Some travelers make a point of testing the Lomin ale
in every cantina they visit; discussing it is a common conversational
gambit. It is usually both bitter and spicy, with a foamy green head.
Tarisian
ale: a highly alcoholic beverage brewed on the planet Taris. It requires
enzymes from a particular gland from a tach, which they
usually import from Kashyyyk now that all available land surface on
Taris is covered in city. The tach enzymes increase the effective
potency of the alcohol in the drinker’s system, causing it to
pack a wallop more like distilled spirits.
Utoz: a fermented malt liquor made from toz grain, primarily grown
on Merisee. The
locals in Elrood Sector enjoy it, though visitors find it a bit
sour.
Weg
Brew: a flavorful dark beer popular in the Mid and Outer Rim
territories. The recipe originally came from a single microbrewery,
though they have had to drastically scale up production in order to meet
offworld demand.
Zairana
Ale: an expensive full-flavored ale with a subtle nutty overtone.
Wines
Wine is the generic term for fermented fruits and berries.
Alderaanian spiced wine (usually served steam-heated) is an excellent
way to warm up on a cold night. (CatCW p42)
Algarine
wine: A wine brewed on Algara II. Best
served at 10° in a 4° glass. (The galaxy is obviously on the
metric system, so the original 50 degrees in a 40 degree glass
just doesn’t make sense.)
Andoan
Ale: A green, alcoholic beverage made from fermented kelp-fruit on Ando by the Aqualish. Somewhat
minty-tasting.
Andoan
Wine: This distinctive wine is produced on Ando, and is aged in
heavy casks. Cuttlewine is one brand.
Bespin
Port: a sweet port wine fermented from a mixture of Tatooinian fruits.
Deltron Spice
Wine (2):
a spicy wine whose final stage of fermentation is accomplished by
microwaving it immediately before serving. It contains mildly
addictive stimulants that counteract the depressant effect of the
alcohol without improving the drinker’s coordination.
Arkanian
sweet milk: a creamy, potent mead brewed on Arkania.
TO DO: figure out where the near-human mad scientists
who became the Arkanians are at this time in history. Dates in the
back of the New Essential Guide to Alien Species don’t match
those in Wookieepedia.
Blossom
wine (2):
a fermented mixture of honey and fruit juices made on Naboo. The delicate
flavor masks the beverage’s potency.
Danaru:
a potent and flavorful beverage from Parein II 4,
made from sweetgreen fruit, terrberries, and spicy nuts, and fermented
in the sweetgreen fruit shells. Highly refreshing going down, with an
alcohol load that takes about half an hour to really hit.
Gralinyn
juice (2):
A fermented Wookiee beverage. Light by Wookiee standards, mild enough
for humans to drink.
Gruvian
tovash (2):
a distilled spirit exported from Gruvia. It has the
rather interesting property of forming flammable blue smoke when it
comes into contact with ryll spice. Usually
served over ice to bring out the flavor.
Jaar: a sweet drink fermented from vineberry fruit and alcoari milk, favored by Wookiees.
Nikta (23):
a strong, frothy beverage created by the Nikto.
Norvanian
Grog (2):
made on the island of N’van on Ban-Satir II.
It is a distillate of a reed similar to sugarcane that grows in the
shallows of the island; it contains enzymes that allow it to age in
the bottle, and over centuries it can develop an exquisitely subtle
flavor.
Orgone
Bubbler: a sweet licorice-like beverage with a frothy, purple head,
which enhances tactile sensations as it intoxicates; prized as an
aphrodisiac among most humans and para-humans.
Orryxian
Catsblood (2):
a reddish brew of rum and meat broth made by Orryxians, often
served with a whipped topping of Mince Creme.
Pludris (2): traditionally served chilled, but in a heated glass.
T’ssolok (2): T’ssolok is an intense Twi’lek liquor that is always served in a decorative decanter. While the standing flavor of T’ssolok is not particularily good, the aftertaste is delicious.
Vayerbok (23):
a thick, green beer brewed from a mixture of vegetable greens and
fungi. Its flavor is best appreciated at 18°C.
Vlizz-kick:
a potent Quarren beverage made from Calamarian seaweed. Most species
find it to be a mixture of sour and bitter that appeals only to
determined drinkers.
Spirits are the result of distilling fermentation products.
If the original source is a cereal, it’s usually called a whiskey;
if a fruit or berry, a brandy.
Lum: a Corellian
spirit distilled from fermented sugar cane. There’s a spiced
variety as well. Spot-luma
lum is made on Adarlon, named after a
kind of flashlight. If you simply order lum, you’ll get a dilute
form comparable to grog;
you have to order it neat to get the pure stuff.
Luranian brandy (2): a high-quality distillate
of fermented fruit.
Cometduster:
a mixed drink served in a glass containing a small force field
generator that leaks energy into the surface of the drink, effectively
raising the vapor pressure and giving it more of an aromatic kick.
Coruscant Cooler: a mixture of wine and fruit juice favored in the middle tiers of Coruscant.
Deuterium-pyro
(2):
a potent beverage that is based on the equivalent of a pepper vodka. A
favorite drink of ruffians, due to its terrible flavor and strong
aftertaste. You have to be tough to put down a Deuterium-pyro.
Elshandruu
Pica Thundercloud (2):
a fancy mixed drink, made with all the pomp and circumstance of a
Borneo Fogcutter. The chemical reactions taking place in the head the
drink make it a roiling grey cloud that emits flashes of light.
Eyeblaster:
a mixed, alcoholic drink. It could be served fizzed or atomized,
although the fizzed version was considered a drink for occasional
drinkers.
Flameout
(2):
a powerful mixed drink that burns the tongue while at the same time
freezes the throat.
Frosty Sulphate: a drink based on pepper vodkas, sold chilled enough to make it bearable to most species.
Ice Blaster: made from Sullustan gin and served at 0° C.
Meltdown (): similar to a Reactor Core, made from spice liquor and lum.
Mutant Zombie Cooler (2): a concoction of liquors of contrasting color, flavor, and viscosity. Etiquette demands that the drink be finished before it achieves a uniform color.
Pink
Lizard Thunderbolt: a variant of the Elshandruu Pica
Thundercloud, named for the reptilian bartender who invented it.
Polyquaternium-7:
an alcoholic concoction used as a mixer with the eponymous multicarbonator,
part of a marketing gimmick for creating a wide variety of mixed
drinks.
Reactor
Core: a cocktail of Spice Liquor and Blue Tonic.
Stimufrost: a drink served chilled well below the freezing point of water, enough for a spill to cause freezer burn; it must be sipped carefully, and savored as the drink warms and releases a cascade of different aromatic compounds.
Talmog (2): half pepper vodka, half Lyme’s rose juice; aromatic and fiery.
Muja juice: made from the berries of the muja tree.
Pawei juice: a tart drink pressed from pawei berries.
Ruby bliel (2): a tasty fruit drink, popular with the kids.
Essences
Extraction from herbs and beans with hot water, including teas and
coffees.
Adira VineSpider Tea: Strange, almost mossy tea. Very narcotic hallucinogen, not for humans at all.
Caf (2) or Caffa: a popular coffeinated beverage, brewed from roasted caf beans that originated on Garqi; often adulterated with cream or sugar to offset the bitter taste. When processed with steam, it is called espcaf.
Vine-coffee: a similar beverage to caf, but brewed from the roots of a vine native to Belsavis.
Orotay: a bitter, sour stimulant beverage that is popular for keeping
soldiers awake at a fraction of the cost of caf. Served hot, often with spices to counter the flavor.
Paricha (2): a spicy
beverage brewed from paricha root.
Skoa (2): a refreshing beverage, best served cold.
Turbofizz:
an alternative coffeine delivery system that comes with glucose,
carbonated water, fruit flavorings, and essential nutrients for people
on the go.
Vitawater: distilled water with vitamins. Sold by the bottle and consumed by busy office workers.
Nut-beetles are fed into torpidity with meal that enhances their flavor; they taste good to Humans, though cracking open live beetles for the meat inside takes some getting used to.
Gorrnar: A frozen dessert favored by Wookiees, who make it during the snowbound Kashyyyk winters; there are a number of variants around berries inside pastry.
Tranna
nougat: an expensive treat well-matched by Doth brandy.
The Menu
Prices are usually in credit units; since those are calibrated to a
day’s nutrition for an average-sized human slave, a 1&credit;
meal is usually noodles in broth, a bread roll with nutrient paste
filling, etc. Those are what laboring serfs grab for lunch if they
couldn’t pack something cheaper.
Soypro (2): a meat substitute for people who can’t afford vatgrown meat, let alone something from a real animal.
Squall meat is
favored by carnivores who enjoy consuming cute, furry, harmless animals.
Synthsteak: A tasty fortified steak substitute designed to withstand long
space travel.
Trimpian (2): Sliced meat served in a seasoned miasra sauce.
Cooking ingredients:
Sugar, spices, and other raw materials.
Algae sugar: the equivalent of cane sugar on ecumenopolis worlds, where the basic nutritious algae is broken down for starches that are then unzipped into sugars.
Armudu spice
(2):
an actual spice (as opposed to the drug) used in both cooking and tobacco.
Protato: a protein-enhanced synthetic vegetable, commonly synthesized on ecumenopolis worlds and space stations. An ingredient in Cho-Nor-Hoola and Bivoli Tempari.
