Food is one of the things that you will eventually come across in your world building, and can serve a couple of functions depending on the scene and mood you are writing.
It's a kaleidoscope of possibilities, given the amount of dishes and food sources in the world, but also food is each unique enough to colour your scenes in different ways.
So, here are some ways you can use food to add to your stories, scenes, and the environment you've created.
Time, Place, and Class:
Not every place will naturally harvest the same food sources, and even if transport and trade exists in your world, it's very likely that part of the population will still prefer naturally grown food. This is because what we eat is not only a source of nourishment, but a source of comfort too, which is why we still get nervous when trying out new dishes. However, just how available certain food types are will also limit the variety in your characters' eating habits, especially in certain time periods, or if they are part of a certain class in society.
If you set your story in a certain time period, food is a useful tool to reaffirm this to your reader, by showing them what kind of food your characters eat. There has always been trade in some capacity in human history, but keep in mind that trade has only become global in recent, human history. There are going to be time and places where the people are simply not aware of certain food types and dishes, especially at the civilian front, where new market items may take longer in becoming mainstream.
Therefore, it's important to research what kinds of food sources are cultivated in an area, at what time, and how much import trade is done, in order to give yourself concrete food samples to choose from. Not only that, but you need to determine just how accessible food is to what public.
Food can be used to illustrate a class divide, by, for example, showing that the upper-class has access to more variety in food, as well as foreign food, while the lower classes don't. In fact, showing scarcity in both the amount of food and the variety of food is a handy show-don't-tell way of displaying class differences.
This isn't just the case for stories set in the past, however. Even today, because certain food is cheaper than others, people with different incomes will be more inclined to buy food reflecting that income.
I have personally used this in my in-progress novel, where the characters the reader follows in the chapters are from a low-income household, and are therefore not used to a lot of luxuries when it comes to food.
So, when one of them goes to a bakery with her friends and is treated to a piece of cake, this is how I wrote it:
"Already swallowing down the saliva building in her mouth as she couldn't help but slightly bump her finger against the light softness of the cake point before her, only to then quickly pull the small plate with the yellow triangle towards herself. Adorned with a pristine white glaze and granulated chocolate, its sweet, fierce scent, mixed with the freshness of ginger fell over her face, allowing to let itself be breathed in and fill Rhoda's entire being with a sweetly tingling sensation."
-Chapter 9. Cutting Ginger
The description here is glorified, because, to Rhoda, this is something pretty much never gets to experience. So, be aware of the eating habits your characters will have, because the more used they are to eating certain dishes, the less impact they will have on them. In contrast, food that they are unfamiliar with will need a more exaggerated description, since the experience will be pronounced.
Scent, Season, and Comfort:
On a more personal level, the kind of food you describe, and how you describe it, can greatly add to the atmosphere you are trying to cultivate. Outside factors can influence this as well, such as the weather or time of year. This is either because certain food can only be available during a specific season, or because eating certain dishes is customary during holidays and festivals.
On top of that, people will associate a state of mind with the food they have eaten in that state of mind. For example: a warm bowl of soup after a cold rainy day or while being sick, a cool sorbet during summer vacation, or a particular flavour of cake for your birthday.
This means you can not only use food to add to your world building, but also add depth and information about your characters. Scent and taste are some of the most powerful instigators for memories and emotions, so having your character eat something that either brings out memories, or puts them in a particular mood, is a subtle way of conveying their inner thoughts, emotional state, and part of their history.
However, this doesn't just count for individual characters, but can be used in a group setting too. Meals are often shared with others, so describing the texture, scent and taste can add to the atmosphere you want to have between the people in the room. I did this by describing the breakfast in the Girl House, where most of my characters live.
"The air was a thick blend of the fragrances desperately fighting for space over the table, the cinnamon tea in particular being strengthened by the even more prominent cinnamon oil from the lamps. The coffee and lemon ginger tea were close seconds though, their heat rising above the table like a warm, sweetly spiced blanket over the less prominent, but still stuffy, seasoned smell of bean and potato porridge."
-Chapter 1. Morning Cinnamon
It takes place close to Midwinter, so the meal consists of warm vegetables found during that season, and tea made out of herbs also associated with colder times. On top of that, I made sure that the food would be something one could serve to multiple people, and had a texture that would associate it with comfort.
Having the scents mingle with each other, to me, indicates the chaotic nature of this breakfast, considering there are over twenty-five people sitting at the table.
The nature of the scents and tastes of the food are also ones I would associate with the warmth of home and family.
Different readers may have different associations with food than you, however, if you describe the character's inner thoughts and show how the taste and scent affects them, the readers will accept it, and be taken by the character's inner thoughts.
A good way to do this is to use positive connotations for food meant to be soothing, such as melting, fragrant, sizzling, fresh, crusted, creamy, and lingering.
For negative connotations, words you could use are slimy, bitter, numb, dry, flavourless, shattering, and splattering.
Food, whether present or not, is a part of daily life, and can therefore be used to illustrate concepts as broad as time period and society, or as small as a child's favourite piece of candy.
If there are any more questions or storytelling tools you would want me to talk about, please leave a comment.
I hope this was helpful and that you all continue writing!
Goodbye, lovelies!
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