Katniss Everdeen hunts groosling in the arena of the 74th Hunger Games. She shares the meat with her ally, Rue, who educates her about the bird. The meat of the bird is plump and firm. When cooked, groosling meat is greasy, fatty, and delicious.
Characteristics of Groosling
A groosling is a big slow bird similar to a turkey. It has fatty meat for which it is often hunted. Groosling usually travels in flocks. The size of a groosling is about that of a chicken. When eaten uncooked, the meat has a plump and firm texture. When cooked, the meat becomes fatty, greasy and delicious.
As Katniss has never encountered Groosling during any of her hunts in the woods, it can be concluded that Groosling is not found in District 12. It is possible that the bird is found in plainlands, as Rue mentions that a flock of groosling might sometimes wander into the fields. Groosling is, therefore, hunted and eaten in District 11. Although the meat of the groosling is fatty and delicious, it is not enough to satisfy people’s hunger.
“She recognizes the bird, too, some wild thing they call a groosling in her district. She says sometimes a flock will wander into the orchard and they get a decent lunch that day. For a while, all conversation stops as we fill our stomachs. The groosling has delicious meat that’s so fatty, the grease drips down your face when you bite into it.
“Oh,” says Rue with a sigh. “I’ve never had a whole leg to myself before.”
I’ll bet she hasn’t. I’ll bet meat hardly ever comes her way. “Take the other,” I say.
“Really?” she asks. “Take whatever you want.”
Katniss and Rue discuss groosling in ‘The Hunger Games’
Groosling in The Hunger Games
Katniss Everdeen goes hunting in the woods of the arena in the 74th Hunger Games after acquiring a bow and arrow. During her hunt, she comes across a wild bird that resembles a turkey. Although she does not know what the bird is, she judges that the bird is edible and shoots it. She decides to cook the meat in the evening over a small fire. Katniss thereafter cleans the meat and plucks the feathers. She discovers that the bird is as big as a chicken, and the meat is plump and firm.
“I easily take out a strange bird that must be some form of wild turkey. Anyway, it looks plenty edible to me. By late afternoon, I decide to build a small fire to cook the meat, betting that dusk will help conceal the smoke and I can quench the fire by nightfall. I clean the game, taking extra care with the bird, but there’s nothing alarming about it. Once the feathers are plucked, it’s no bigger than a chicken, but it’s plump and firm.”
‘The Hunger Games’
After forming an alliance with Rue, Katniss shares the bird with her. Rue then recognizes the bird as a groosling, which is common in District 11. After Rue helps to soothe Katniss’ tracker jacker stings, the two of them share the meat of the bird. Rue gets a whole leg to herself, and Katniss offers her a second leg as well.
Unable to finish eating the bird in one go, Katniss carries the rest of the bird around and continues to eat it whenever she gets hungry. She shares the bird with Rue until Rue’s death, after which she shares it with Peeta. Unfortunately, due to his illness and injury, Peeta is reluctant to eat anything, including the groosling.
Katniss makes a soup out of groosling meat and roots picked by Rue. The groosling lasted a couple more days before Katniss and Peeta decided to finish it off. Peeta is healthy once again due to the medicine from the feast, and the two of them finish the groosling meat between them.
“There’s not much left. Two pieces of groosling, a small mishmash of roots, and a handful of dried fruit. “Should we try and ration it?” Peeta asks. “No, let’s just finish it. The groosling’s getting old anyway, and the last thing we need is to get sick off spoiled food,” I say, dividing the food into two equal piles. We try and eat slowly, but we’re both so hungry we’re done in a couple of minutes. My stomach is in no way satisfied.”
‘The Hunger Games’
FAQs
What did Katniss eat in the Hunger Games?
Before the Hunger Games, Katniss would feast on Capitol delicacies to her heart’s desire, including rolls, hot chocolate, and her favorite lamb stew. In the arena, Katniss snacked on the food she found in her backpack: crackers and dried meat. After she ran out of these, she ate whatever she hunted with Katniss’ hunting bow, including groosling.
What food is served on the train in ‘The Hunger Games’?
The food served on the train includes delicious recipes that are very different from the gamey fare from her humble district. While Katniss and her whole family usually eat squirrel, raccoon, fire-roasted rabbit, mouse meat, and even wild dog in her forlorn home district, on the train, she is served a variety of dishes including French bread, dark chocolate cake, a bowl of plums, eggs, bacon drippings, and several delicious desserts.
What foods do they eat in ‘The Hunger Games’?
The foods eaten in the Hunger Games dystopian trilogy have inspired the book, ‘Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook’ by Emily Ansara Baines. The diverse cookbook recipes include instructions for the preparation of dishes that are seen in the Hunger Games movie, including cooking game meat found on the humble tables of Katniss to lavish banquets of the Capitol. The most common types of ingredients in the cookbook include onions, olive oil, butter, large eggs, flour, and potatoes.
What is Katniss’s favorite food?
Katniss’s favorite food in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy is the extravagant Capital lamb stew. Generally, Katniss and Gale hunt live game in order to supplement the handfuls of grain supplied by the Capitol. Peeta, on the other hand, is a professional baker, and Peeta’s family is knowledgeable of various district breads, including seaweed bread from District 4.
What is the role of food in ‘The Hunger Games’?
A recurring theme in the postapocalyptic fantasy series is food. Fans of the film have been busy writing unofficial recipes that reach fans’ kitchens from the big screen. A copy of the unofficial Hunger Games cookbook takes one on a gastronomic tour of the futuristic dystopian saga and is a treat for fans of the Hunger Games. It even offers substitute ingredients that folks can use to create recipes from their favorite series.
