TL-15 Food Technology
The Imperium is an eclectic (deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources), cosmopolitan (familiar with and at ease in many different countries and cultures) empire. It is also Human-dominated (approximately 49% Human, although divided across many subdivisions) while embracing many additional sophonts.
- A combination of makertech and food tech.
- The Imperial survey counts about 9,000 star systems and a corresponding number of mainworlds. By a natural distribution, those worlds range from barren to extremely high population; from asteroid belts to massive planets.
- For example, the relative separation of worlds makes food customs widely variant based on available food sources, preparation technologies, and even anatomical and metabolic differences.
- Each world is different, but there are cultural and economic forces at work that provide some measure of sameness, especially where interstellar travel interfaces with the worlds.
Description (Specifications)[edit]
Starports typically include a variety of restaurants serving local fare: travellers enjoy at least a taste of the local cuisine.
- On the other hand, travellers (as well as professionals, crew, functionaries, and others) also appreciate predictable and convenient dining options: fast food.
- There is a constrained universe of fast food options is Human-centered: they comprise the majority of patrons; various accommodations are made based on local demand.
Libations[edit]
Beverages. There are a variety of liquids for refreshment and recreation, ranging from flavored waters, local infusions, fermentations, and distillations. Local proprietary brands may be regional, continental, or world-spanning.
- There are a few wider-ranging proprietary brands of beverage.
- Zurta Kola
- Hava Kola
Vat Technology[edit]
No information yet available.
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
Food Technologies:
- Cuisines vary with each world: tastes, metabolisms, and preparation techniques abound and depend on a spectrum of differences ranging down to trace mineral availabilities.
- Fast food is different. Its fundamental principles are mass-production, short wait times, standardized menus and tastes across many vending locations, and (for most) a low regard for nutrition.
- Across interstellar space, fast food outlets (in starports, startowns, and major population centers frequented by travellers) are differentiated primarily by competing preparation and serving technologies. Individual nutrients vary by world, market demographics, and availability, but travellers can expect to see the standard fast food technologies in any food mall with reasonable traffic.
- Travellers can expect to encounter: Food Extruders, Food Makers, Dippers, Hand Meals, or Bolls.
Primary Technologies[edit]
Food Technologies:
- Food Extruders
- Food Extruders uses a proprietary process to create a variable length hand-meal with specified components: usually a protein center with a carbohydrate envelope similar to a variable length hot dog and bun. Upcharge variations can alternate internal protein in bursts or swirls, add a toasted or singed exterior, insert liquid, slurry, crunchy, or cold interior elements, and even add specified sophont specific nutrients. In addition to the standard hand-sized round format, novelty format shapes (square, triangle, alphabetic or symbol outlines) are available, often on a short duration special basis. Novelty format cross-sections can also be extruded to include patriotic symbols, cartoon characters, or inspirational glyphs.
- Dedicated consumers develop personal taste preferences: “I would like a 30 centimeter beef with toasted grain and a pineapple injection, unsweetened. Make that pentagon output.”
- Food Makers
- Food Makers uses a proprietary process to create a layered food structure in personal and group serving sizes. The preparation mechanisms move output nozzles for variously formatted components in reusable trays; some are served as output, while others are flash baked, flash frozen, or otherwise treated.
- Food Maker output can mimic classic pizza or lasagna, produce layered sandwich formats, or create proprietary outputs which combine many tastes and textures.
- Dippers
- Dippers uses proprietary formulations to create a series of primary foods (meat, vegetable, roughage) which are dipped into various sauces which cling, infuse, or harden as shells on the primary. Additional flavors or supplements may be misted, sprayed, or injected.
- Dipper patrons enjoy the preparation process as they select their primary item(s) and move down a line of dipping bowls, spray booths, and injection nozzles. Some of the treatments are more esthetic than nutritional: children like to add confectionary eyes, mouths, and noses to their primaries.
- Hand Meals
- Hand Meals provides a selection of edible wrappers which can be filled with appropriate foodstuffs and condiments. Sandwich is too simple a word: Hand Meals provides the familiar Wraps or Pitas and other baked carbohydrate wrappers. Other Hand Meals create wraps from sliced natural or treated plants, or processed nutrients.
- Bolls [Bowls]
- Bolls abjures proprietary technology and simply provides a single serving bowl which is filled with ingredients from a multi-compartmented serving system. The lack of esthetic presentation is belied by the ease of access. Bolls is particularly suited to the non-standard sophonts: who can make careful selection of appropriate nutrients and careful avoidance of problematic ones.
Other Technologies[edit]
- Flash cooker
- Stasis fridge
References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
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- TBD
- Author & Contributor: Crawm Lermil
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science