Cooking Skyrim: Herbs

    Cooking and baking in Skyrim ought to involve a number of herbs; and we do see some uses for Garlic (7 recipes), Lavender (2 recipes), and Moon Sugar (2 recipes).  But there are several other ingredients in Skyrim, mainly used in alchemy, that are clearly based on real-world plants and fungi, and they don't see any use at all.

A bulb of garlic, for warding off vampires unwanted suitors.

    With recipes as-written, that's fine, but I do plan to make plausible improvements to at least some of the recipes.  Jazbay Grapes and Juniper Berries are used in baked goods, so why not other ingredients?  Are there any other herbs that could plausibly be used?

    Well, Skyrim doesn't let the player cook with any of the mushrooms... most of which have primary poisoning effects.  (One of the exceptions is Fly Amanita, based on the real-world fly agaric, which just goes to show you that a primary beneficial effect is not the mark of safe eating!)  So maybe I won't try to add mushrooms to anything, either.

    But what about Elves Ear, which is clearly based on sage?  Or Frost Mirriam, which is probably based on parsley?  They can only be found dried and hanging from kitchen rafters in Skyrim, which suggests that they're culinary herbs which have to be imported from somewhere else.  This makes sense; the famous quartet of "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" are all Mediterranean plants, and wouldn't be native to the northern European setting that Skyrim is based on.  I think sage and parsley are valid options for improving a Skyrim recipe, even if they're not included in the cooking or baking mini-games.

Fresh sage leaves, as opposed to the dried ones found in-game.

    Although I think of Canis Root as a poison (it even has a paralysis effect), the dark elf wizard Neloth drinks canis root tea, so in theory it's edible.  I'm not wild about playing with poisonous plants, though, particularly with the sort of neurotoxins that cause paralysis; even if I could come up with a real-world equivalent, I wouldn't be adding canis root to anything.

    Nightshade is obviously based on deadly nightshade, so that's out.  Dragon's Tongue looks like it might be some type of orchid, but the player doesn't harvest the root like potato orchids, nor any seed pods like vanilla.  It could also be an iris, which is a better match for the climate; but the root (as in orris root, used for perfumery and flavoring) is, again, not harvested in-game.

    Giant Lichen could be a kind of cup lichen, which are readily eaten by caribou/elk, and most lichens are edible for humans, though they may require special preparation.  Lichens are usually a famine food, though, and the few lichens that were historically used in cooking—like Iceland moss or rock tripe—don't seem to be the right shape.  Hanging Moss could be based either on Spanish moss (not used for food) or on so-called beard moss (actually another lichen; also eaten only during famines).

    Going by alchemical effects, I might have guessed that Nirnroot is based on a fern, whose mythical flowers or seeds are said to allow people to travel invisibly or find magically-hidden treasure.  Appearance-wise, however, it looks more like a dandelion or rocket—though there are several similar-looking plants called "rocket," including garden rocket and dyer's rocket.  They all seem to like loose, well-drained soil, however, and Nirnroot is known in-game for liking "wet feet."  Wolfsbane is sometimes called "blue rocket," and it does like moister soils, but wolfsbane is well-known for its (usually purple) flowers, and Nirnroot is never shown in bloom.  Also, you know, poison, so not great for eating.

    I'm not sure what the various mountain flowers are supposed be, but there are lots of edible flowers in the real world; having eaten some in my time, I can say it's almost exactly like eating raw cabbage, or possibly clover leaves.  Very boring.  They can make a salad or a place-setting look nice, but they usually aren't going to add much flavor.

    Scathecraw looks like a succulent, which aren't usually eaten; Snowberries are pretty clearly inspired by holly, which is toxic to humans.  Nobody eats Thistle Branch or Tundra Cotton (probably based on cotton-grass), though apparently there is a Portuguese cheese that uses thistles instead of rennet.  And most of the ingredients added by the Rare Curios Creation are too fantastical to have real-world equivalents.

    So what is available to the enterprising Skyrim cook?

• Elves Ear (sage)
• Frost Mirriam (parsley)
• Garlic
• Jazbay Grapes (Concord grapes)
• Juniper Berries
• Lavender
• Moon Sugar (cane sugar)

    That's not much, but it's better than nothing.  There may not be any pepper in Skyrim, but there are some seasonings available, in addition to things like honey, leeks, and various cheeses that can add flavor to a dish.