There are many foods on Gor that are similar or the same to those found on Earth. Many of the foods originated from Earth. However, there are great differences as well, even amongst those products of Earth origin. There are many different varieties of fish are consumed on Gor, some more common than others, just as on Earth some are edible, some not. River fish tend to be the most edible of all the fishes on Gor. Alas, there is no sushi on Gor; seaweed on Gor is poisonous to humans — at least in certain areas, such as in the Schendi region. However, refer to: "Seaweed" in the Vegetable section for complete details.

"One smell that I did not smell to a great degree was that of fish. Many fish in these tropical waters are poisonous to eat, a function of certain forms of seaweed on which they feed. The seaweed is harmless to the fish but it contains substances toxic to humans." — Explorers of Gor, page 109.

"The river fish on the other hand, as far as I know, are generally wholesome for humans to eat. Indeed, there are many villages along the Kamba and Nyoka, and along the shores of Lake Ushindi, in which fishing is the major source of livelihood." — Explorers of Gor, page 109.

"I had also been used to carry heavy kettles of rence beer from the various islands to the place of feasting, as well as strings of water gourds, poles of fish, plucked gants, slaughtered tarsks, and baskets of the pith of rence." — Raiders of Gor, pages 40-41.

"Around the tenth Gorean hour, the Gorean noon, the rencers ate small rence cakes, dotted with seeds, drank water, and nibbled on scraps of fish. The great feast would be in the evening." — Raiders of Gor, page 41.

"Before the feast I had helped the women, cleaning the 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 island by metal racks, themselves resting on larger pans. During most of the feast I have been used in the serving, particularly the serving of the girls who had competed for me, one of whom had won me, which one I did not know. 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.

Caviar
Roe. This is a delicacy of the very wealthy of the cities.

"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.

Cosian Wingfish
Also: Cosian Songfish
This is a tiny blue saltwater fish with four poisonous spines on its dorsal fin; its liver is considered a delicacy. This fish is indigenous to the waters of Cos. How Turia was able to obtain this fish was solely through the means of the top merchant, Saphrar. The nomads of the Turian plains muchly enjoyed this treat while visiting Turia, although Tarl Cabot did not.

"Now this," Saphrar the merchant was telling me, "is the braised liver of the blue, four-spired 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; it is capable of hurling itself from the water and, for brief distances, on its stiff pectoral fins, gliding through the air, usually to evade the smaller sea-tharlarions, which seem to be immune to the poison of the spines. This fish is also sometimes referred to as the songfish because, as a portion of its courtship rituals, the males and females thrust their heads from the water and utter a sort of whistling sound. The blue, four-spired 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 delicacy of delicacies. — Nomads of Gor, pages 84-85.

"How is it," I asked, "that here in Turia you can serve the livers of wingfish?"
      "I have a war galley in Port Kar," said Saphrar the merchant, "which I send to Cos twice a year for the fish." — Nomads of Gor, page 85.

"… I heard the mating whistles of the tiny, lovely Cosian wingfish. This is a small, delicate fish; it has three or four slender spines in its dorsal fin, which are poisonous. It is called the wingfish because it can, on its stiff pectoral fins, for short distances, glide through the air, usually in an attempt to flee small sea tharlarion, who are immune to the poison of the spines. It is also called a songfish, because, in their courtship rituals, males and females thrust their heads from the water, uttering a kind of whistle. Their livers are regarded as a delicacy." — Raiders of Gor, page 139.

Eel
Sea snakes which are dried.

"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.

"… the delicacy of dried eels from Port Kar…" — Outlaw of Gor, page 248.

Lelt
This blind fish, found only in the waters of the salt pits in Klima, is edible, although only the hungry slaves of the mines would eat this fish, and eat it raw.

"I knelt down on the raft, and, quickly, scooped, holding it, one of the lelts from the water. It was enclosed in my hand. It struggled briefly, then lay still. The lelt is a small fish, long-bodied for its size, long-finned. It commonly swims slowly, smoothly, conserving energy in the black, saline world encompassing its existence. There is little to eat in that world; it is a liquid desert, almost barren, black, blind and cool. It swims slowly, conserving its energy, not alerting its prey, commonly flatworms and tiny-segmented creatures, predominantly isopods. I turned the lelt, looking at the small, sunken, covered pits in the sides of its head.. The tiny gills, oddly beneath and at the sides of its jaws, closed and opened. There was a minute sound. I lowered my hand and let the lelt slip again into the dark water. It slipped from sight. Then I saw it again, a few feet from the raft. Again its head protruded from the water, again oriented to the same lamp at the corner of the raft. "Why did you not eat it?" asked the man near me. I shrugged. Some salt slaves eat the lelt, raw, taken from the water, or gleaned from their harvesting vessels. The first bite is taken behind the back of the neck." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 256.

Oysters
A type of shellfish found in the Vosk; the Vosk sorp.

"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.

"Rask of Treve threw the girl one of the oysters, from a silver plate on the low, wooden table." — Captive of Gor, page 302.

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 slender striped parsit fish has vast plankton banks north of the town, and may there, particularly in the spring and the fall, be taken in great numbers." — Marauders of Gor, pages 27-28.

"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.

"Like the bond-maids, she had been fed only on cold Sa-Tarna porridge and scraps of dried parsit fish." — Marauders of Gor, page 56.

"The men with the net drew it up. In it, twisting and flopping, silverish, striped with brown, squirmed more than a stone of parsit fish. They threw the net to the planking and, with knives, began to slice the heads and tails from the fish." — Marauders of Gor, page 61.

Snails
Edible sea snails; favored of the Torvaldslanders, though not made quite so delicately as escargot.

Once the Forkbeard went to her and taught her to check the scoop, with her left hand, for snails, that they not be thrown overboard. Returning to me he held one of the snails, whose shell he crushed between his fingers, and sucked out the animal, chewing and swallowing it. He then threw the shell fragments overboard. "They are edible," he said. "And we use them for fish bait." — Marauders of Gor, page 62.

Vosk Carp
A carp native to the Vosk River. Carp is a "dirty" fish as they will eat even tainted foods.

Vosk Sorp
A large shellfish, common especially in the Vosk River.

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.

 

 

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Special Note

Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:

  • Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
  • Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
  • Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
  • Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
  • Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
  • Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)

Disclaimer

These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are strictly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.