How do Martians spice their food? I'm going to make the leap to assume that they need some degree of salt in their diet, since Claire seemed to like the meat and unsalted meat is GROSS. But if they're carnivores, then do they use plant-based spices? You talking about how Martians think humans eating plants is weird would indicate otherwise, but at the same time carnivores on earth will eat plants to help with digestion and stuff so it seems plausible (at least to me) that they might have (1/2)
(cont.) --plants for spices. But then what plants would they use? And moving onward, would Martians be able to eat things like garlic, or cocoa? Because those contain chemical compounds that are toxic to dogs and cats, at least (I can’t find anything for other species of predatory animals RIP) so would that be a problem for Martians who were trying to eat human food? (Also, on that note, can/do Martians eat spicy foods?) (Food as it pertains to world-building really fascinates me! ^^) (2/2)
This is something I’ve thought a lot about too!! They definitely use salt, pretty extensively too once you get into things like food preservation. Other “spices” are mostly mineral-based, they eat different types of clays and minerals, including some metals like copper and iron oxide. Other than that a lot of the flavor comes from animal products; things similar to honey, cultured dairy, certain types of bugs, the venom of some animals, etc. There are lots of weird animals on Mars that they’ve found creative ways to make use of! Most Martian food tastes... a little weird to a human palette, and Martians have no problem with the taste of unseasoned meat, so. Rip Claire’s taste buds. (Jorei is an excellent cook though, so anything he makes will be at least okay) Some Martian food is a little spicy, but it’s generally more sour or bitter. They can digest bones, fur, keratin, some metals, but they aren’t good with really any plant matter.
As for eating plants, they definitely eat some!! They are mostly used medicinally, and rarely for seasoning food. HOWEVER they will eat more plants during times of famine (aka now). Of course they can’t chew plants at all, they don’t have any grinding teeth, so it’s always a challenge.
Eating human food gets a little tricky, because it tastes very good, but it really isn’t good for them. Tei’aa learned this the hard way while he was on Earth. They aren’t allergic to cocoa or garlic (there is actually an interesting history of chocolate trade between the two planets, they absolutely love chocolate) but they are deathly allergic to coffee, and some other things.
(Also, human-martian hybrids need the same sort of vitamins as humans to survive, but have the same sensitive stomachs as their Na’asin parents. These people generally only live on Earth, but if any found their way to Mars they would have a pretty tough time...)