Ever since I took that one mission in the Dark Brotherhood quest line, it made me wonder on what the other races eat in their homelands.

We know for example that Bosmer eat their enemies, their allies, and their grandparents because of the Green Pact, and from Skyrim we learned that Bretons have a culinary tradition and that Dunmeri cuisine isn't the best in the world, or the most palatable. I don't know much about anything else, so any ideas on how and what the races eat?

They eat whatever's available and acceptable, just like us. They grow crops, hunt meat, scavenge herbs, apply salts, etc.

Does that answer your question? It's hard to get any more specific than that without going right into each recipe, and once you've gone that far, what's the point anyway? Food's food.

EDIT: By the way, I think you mean "palatable" not "palpable."

Not really, sorry. I'm talking about what they eat in their own respective provinces. What a Dunmer eats in Morrowind, isn't the same on what a Nord eats in Skyrim; Kwama eggs and raw grass drink, to red meat and "rotgut" mead. I am probably asking for much since the Elder Scrolls is a RPG game that is based on mythology and adventure, not cultural and culinary, but I'd like to know more if the information is out there.

Khajiits: integrate moon sugar into cooking, food should be avoided by non-khajiits if prepared with moon sugar.

Redguards: Due to the varied climate of Hammerfell, (from deserts to coastline to forest) redguards most likely don't have a single menu. The residents of the Alik'r desert probably have different cuisine compared to the people in Sentinel or the Dragontail mountains.

Bretons: if fantasy europe can eat it, bretons can eat it.

Hmm...

Well, as you said, Bosmer eat only meat, but they eat all kinds, cooked in all fashions. I'm not sure what kind of eating traditions they have in their culture, although considering how lackadaisical they are, they probably just eat whenever they're hungry.

The Dunmer have a very strange diet which consists of whatever they manage to scrounge up on Vvardenfell, as you said. They have scheduled times during the day for meals, including Dinner and Breakfast. I'm not sure what their eating habits are during the rest of the day...

As for the Altmer, I have hardly a clue. It might be logical to assume that the Cyrodiilic eating traditions were adopted from them when the human slaves began revolting against the Ayleids, as that's where humans also learned the principles of modesty (ie wearing clothes). Speaking of which...

According to a Dance in Fire, the Imperials eat four meals a day. Their diet is largely the same as the Bretons, with the addition of a few oddities of flora and fauna that stalk their borders.

The Breton culture is heavily inspired from English and French culture from the middle ages, so they probably eat three meals a day. Their diet consists of the same things that were popular during that period. In Daggerfall if you go to a tavern and ask for food, you can purchase stew, mead, ale, fowl, pie, wine, cheese, bread, etc.

I think it's pretty obvious what the Nords eat if you play Skyrim. Their diet seems to be similar to the Bretons, with the addition of some strange meats like the Sabrecat and the Mammoth.

I have little clue as to what the Redguards or the Orcs eat. Considering the climate of their homeland, the redguards probably trade other materials for food rather than hunt or grow their own, and while the Orcs certainly hunt for meat and fruit, they probably don't grow their own crops at all.

As DarthRavager said, the Khajiit instill Moonsugar in nearly everything they eat. This makes their food nearly toxic to everyone but themselves. Supposedly the smell of a city in Elsweyr during the lunch hour is repulsive to any race but them, especially Argonians.

Speaking of which, Argonians will eat pretty much any piece of fruit or meat they can get their claws on, raw or not. From what I can tell, at home they don't usually depend upon prepared meals for sustenance.

I think a dev once said that bonemeal was quite popular in Tamriel. Can't tell if that statement is what you'd call "canon".

I've always been inclined to believe that Altmer might have more fish in their diet than some of the other races. Of course, this is just my own speculation and hardly canon, but they live on an island. I could see a lot of fishing going on in some of the coastal cities, and the catch being transported inland. They wouldn't have to transport it too far, so it could be kept fresh. They probably wouldn't eat many fishysticks, though. I'd wager it would be more "elegant" foods like seared salmon and whatnot. Maybe even sushi?

Well from what animations have shown us, most Tamrielic people enjoy pretending to munch on bread.

The Khajiit, notably, like dousing stuff in sugars of any sort, especially Moon Sugar.

Khajiit eats Bosmer, Argonian eats Dunmer.

Bosmer eats all of the above.

Altmer - Except high holy days, pure, Summurset-stock Altmer eat exactly one meal per day at the first break of dawn. Menu includes nutritive spun-crystal lattices, octuple-distilled artesian wellspring water, and a cornucopia of different wavelengths of light.

Bosmer - Bosmer are carnivores. They'll eat it roasted, baked, friend, stewed, steamed, poached, braised, raw, rare, smoked, salted, brined, and even fermented. Though in the Green-sapper language and mindset, there is no comparable concept of 'meal-time'; Bosmer are technically always at-table, so to speak, it is only a matter of how long they care to stalk their prey. The exception of course is on the eve of a great Clan battle, in which case the Braves will fast in anticipation of the post-hostility ritual engorgement.

Dunmer - Dunmer traditionally eat three meals: Ayemdroth/Boethiabrek is a large, morning meal providing most of the days protein (Guar, S'lt-Strider, Skar, Kwama, Netch, Nix, Rat, Shalk, etc.), Vehkdroth/Mephaltach is midday meal of cereals and greens/reds/purples, Hackle-Lo & Bittergreen Salad and Saltrice breads being popular options; Sehtdroth/Azurssup is light, late evening meal usually consisting of not much more than Ashyam soup and bonemeal trenchers. Regardless of the specific meal, offerings of bonemeal bread are always burned to one's ancestors before eating.

More to come...

Thank you for the replies! They help me frame the races better.

On the Altmer, I guess they would crystals of some kind or at least food of the highest quality. They do want to live as god-like as possible, implying an untainted and clandestine state above the mortal world, feasting on things border-line magical or magic itself would make sense. It would also be highly ritualized. They would treat it like a sacrament in its own right.


I remember reading that Orcs in the mountains would herd these massive woolly caterpillars like yaks or water buffalo. So maybe they eat them as well? They'd probably eat with the chief/shaman first followed by the warriors, leaving the woman for the last serving.

For Redguards, I throw in the typical Middle-Eastern/African fare; lots of flat bread, goat and lamb, yogurts, curds, and starchy foods like yams or chickpeas. Probably very spicy. Hammerfall is also a coastal nation so I think they eat lots of seafood.

If High Elves are that puritanical, what are their arts like? Bearing in mind that they were supposedly copied in the empire. And since when were Orcish women second to men?
The number of meals eaten per day will probably depend on class and the type of work people do as much as culture. According to Anarenen and Tendris Vedran, most Vvardenfell food wasn't bad, apart from rat and scrib meat. Kwama eggs were (and are assuming there are mines on the mainland) eaten across the empire boiled, roasted and raw.

I think Altmer art looks like an older, more austere, but elegant and abstract version of Imperial art. Instead of focusing on details, they probably care more about the subject's message and its physical relation to its surroundings, which would explain why Altmer arms and armor borrow so much from nature. Plus, they like using crystal, glass, and other shimmering materials if Alinor's description is anything to go by.

I assumed orcish women are lesser than men in because in Orcish Strongholds women that aren't shamans are pvssyl. A girl's fate is to be wed to warchiefs to foster children and raise them to know how to forge weapons and armor. They really can't do anything beyond that.

I've always imagined that rat meat would fetch a high price amongst Vvardenfell outlanders. It being the only meat I can think of that doesn't look sinewy, chitinous or leathery.

Since TESV.. At least among the Skyrim Strongholds.

That's really a matter of perspective. Orcish women are warriors, as are the men. It's not a matter of women being oppressed while the men reign supreme. As a father, it is a simple fact that you will one day be brutally murdered by one of your sons, who has likely already killed enough of his brothers to get the message across that he's in charge now, as a man it is a simple fact that you will never have children of your own unless you're willing and able to kill your father and/or brothers. As a woman you are expected to bear the children of a man you didn't chose and you will never rise to lead your clan. Are any of these situations worse than the others? Both sixes can go into battle and fight for their tribe, both work the forge and share in the duties of stronghold life. Most orcs seem perfectly happy with their way of life (why wouldn't they be?). If you really can't stand it you can always join the legion, there's no shame in that. Your tribe will proudly welcome you back if you return.

People seem to have a rather romanticised idea of what the word "equality" means.

Why would they borrow from nature if the're trying to get away from that?


They might assume that, given that it's the only mammal available so far as non Wood Elves are concerned. Now I think of it, the Telvanni would probably have been cool with Wood Eles eating people. Another reason for them to live on the east coast. Crab and hound meat are supposed to be better though. Better than rat meat that is. Guar and shalks are herded for their meat as well as their hides, shells and resin, but that meat didn't appear in the game. On a side note, I found this:

"Three creatures are commonly encountered in Vvardenfell's coastal and water environments. The mudcrab, and its larger cousins the king mudcrab and mudcrab titan, are large but unaggressive. Slaughterfish are small but very aggressive, and the larger varieties, the blind slaughterfish and the electric slaughterfish, are quite dangerous. But the most dangerous water creature is the large and powerful dreugh and the dreugh man o'war."


Point. I never did understand how Orcs were admired for treating men and women equally, albeit differently. Who doesn't in Tamriel?

Argonians traditionally eat the eggshells they have hatched from after licking the Hist-Sap, in an act symbolic of casting away childishness.

Actually, one of the followers in-game that you can gather is an Orcish woman feels caged about the entire deal named Borgakh the Steel Heart. She just became of age and will be soon shipped off to some random warlord not of her choosing. There's also the smith in Markarth that left the Stronghold for similar reasons.

So no, the "equlity" aspect is not romantic. It rings true, but I personally don't buy "separate but equal". In Stronghold society women cannot rule to become warlords and men cannot learn to become shamans. Men are fated to either be killed on the battlefield or their son's hand while women can only bear children and fight. Granted this makes plenty sense knowing the background of the Orcs, but it hardly paints orcish society in a bright light.

Probably for same reason why Zen Buddhist Monasteries are found in the the depths of the wilds with manicured gardens; it's a means to create a sense of harmony within the land conducive to meditation and study. Like the Altmer, Zen Buddhists, and Buddhists in general, try to get away from the world and overcome it, but we embrace it at the same time to understand it. Plus, the whole "living in nature" thing is part on being an elf.

As much as the Altmer may resent it, they are physical creatures and as such a diet of crystals and light ain't gonna cut it. I imagine their meals are light, but exquisitely prepared like a fancy and famed chef might serve.

Inclined to agree, they're not the high lords of Umbriel who put on a ton of airs and would be the kind of people http://youtu.be/OM9jhGiIAFM

You know I've got to wonder if the word 'races' is the correct terminology for the 'races'. Wouldn't 'species' be a better word to define them?

Depends. Altmer and Dunmer are clearly divergent species of Mer, but Mer are a different race entirely from men. Within Man, the differences are more subtle because they're based more on environment and heritage than straight up change via divine intervention.

Humans and elves are the same species.