Whistling Lentils

"SQUEAL! Goes the Whistling Lentil
boiling over open flame.

POP! Goes the Whistling Lentil
cooked for my ma'am, my girl, my dame."

-an old Nirkhumish nursery rhyme, circa CY 400s

A Whistling Lentil is a particularly hardy lentil grown in and around the Coronet Highlands in Thur Nirkhum. Though most legumes grow best in mediterranean climates like those found around Necluda and Sakha, Whistling Lentils grow best in harsh mountainous regions. It is widely considered a staple food for rural Nirkhumish Humans, who primarily subsist off of the Lentils and Frosttip Wheat (which is cultivated primarily in the Schneespitze Tundra). Though these communities are not strict vegetarians, Whistling Lentils contain more protein than most regional game and livestock. Thus, their diets are substantially more plant-based.

Whistling Lentils derived their name from the sound that they make when they're boiling in salted water or broth. When a Lentil is finished cooking, the hull (or shell) will suddenly burst, emitting a sound not unlike a whistling teapot. Some Nirkhumish traditions have developed specialized woven sieves that automatically separate the legume from the split hull while straining them from the boiling water.

The city of Schönberg puts on the "Festivilentil" every year in early Horsebow Moon, where they celebrate this staple crop for three days. Cooking competitions are held, as are lentil-eating contests and other legume-related events.