Acrean cuisine
Acrean cuisine is the cuisine of Acrea, consisting of dishes, ingredients, cooking methods, and traditions from Acrea. Acrean cuisine is composed of a wide variety of regional and local cuisines reflecting Acrea's wide climate range and rich cultural history. As part of the wider Nordic cultural region of Eracura, Acrean cuisine shares some similarities with the national cuisines of neighbouring Nordic states such as Nordkrusen and Delkora. It also adopts many techniques and concepts from other neighbouring cuisines, such as that of Akashi and the Ryukan islands.
Acrean cuisine is known for its regional diversity; the substantial differences in climate from its warm mediterranean coast along the Sundering Sea in the south to its cool temperate north have resulted in a vast array of regional cuisines and ingredients. Despite this, there remains some similarities even among regional differences. Acrean cuisine is often centered around protein- beef, veal, duck, chicken, lamb, pork, and various seafoods- that is found in almost all staple Acrean dishes. The complexity and specific sort of ingredients of dishes varies with region; coastal regions of Acrea are known for simplicity in their cuisine, and make use of limited fresh ingredients and seafood (especially fish such as Salmon and Tuna), often complemented with citrus fruits. Dishes from Acrea's inland regions and alpine areas tend to be heavier and more spiced, making use of heavier proteins such as beef, lamb, or pork. Acrean cuisine is perhaps best known for its vast array of cured meats and sausages that are incredibly common staples which have spread throughout Eracura. Its alpine regions are known for their chocolatiers.
Acrea is also well known for its vast selection of alcohols. Beer, wine, cider, and mead are all incredibly popular and common throughout the country, with beer being the most predominant. It is estimated that among Acrea's approximately 3,000 beer breweries, there are nearly 7,000 varieties of beer brewed in Acrea nationwide with a wide selection of regional varieties. While beer, cider, and mead breweries are located all over the country, wine production is centered primarily in Acrea's central and southern river regions. Although some varieties of red wine are produced, white wine is far more common with Riesling being the most popular and common.
One of the earliest known Acrean recipe collections was the 6th century Um emnið att Matreiðsla (On the Subject of Cooking), written by Audo Evoricssen, a gourmet of the Late Imperial era. Later recipe collections and cookbooks from the 8th century onwards have provided culinary historians with a clear evolution and development of Acrean cuisine over time.
Beginning in the 1400s, Acrean society began to see the development of "high" cuisine, distinguished from regular cuisine not by who could eat but rather in the nature of its preparation. Although dedicated chefs had existed since antiquity in Acrea, it wasn't until the establishment of the country's first dedicated culinary school in Baden in 1436 that truly professionally educated chefs became commonplace in the courts and estates of Acrean society. Culinary arts had long been considered a trade alongside those such as carpentry and masonry, however where these professions had long had their own dedicated institutions, culinary arts had not. Professional chefs quickly became a staple amongst higher society, with chefs taking up positions not simply as the head of their estate's kitchen but also serving as the individual in the household staff responsible for planning lavish events such as parties, feasts, and weddings. "High" cuisine became known as such because of the meticulous planning, deliberately selected ingredients, use of extravagant presentation, and complex cooking techniques which was used by these chefs.
Although only the upper class were able to truly afford exotic ingredients or the extravagance that professional chefs had become known for, other aspects of high Acrean cuisine such as techniques and emphasis on flavour profiles and presentation trickled down to more common chefs. Like other trades, there was little cost associated with attending school, and so aspiring chefs of different socioeconomic backgrounds could attend, widely disseminating culinary knowledge across Acrea.