Pemmican

[crockett]

Been re-reading Wah to Yah. I always thought that pemmican was made combining pounded up jerky with rendered fat (marrow bone) and dried fruit. That was the NDN recipe. BUT I was told the acids in the dried fruit shortened the shelf life so if you want to keep it a long time, leave out the dried fruit.
IAE...in said book it sounds like dried cherries, etc. were kept "as is" and then mixed with the fat and meat right before use. No worry about shelf life. Interesting. The other thing was the time of year of a buffalo hunt and for picking cherries was often different. The cherries were pounded into a pulp and dried in the sun.

 

[satx78247]

I doubt that pemmican was kept for a long time after being prepared. Instead it was mixed/packed/hauled & then eaten within a few days "on the march".

Otoh, your comment about fruit & jerky being collected at different times is also likely correct. = I suspect that ingredients were dried, pulverized & stored until the pemmican was NEEDED for "hunting-trip or warpath rations".

yours, satx

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Actually, pemican (or pimîhkân in Cree) is most commonly made for long term storage of dried, pounded meat and rendered fat. The British found in the late 19th century in South Africa that it would often "keep" for decades.

Although a lot of places mention dried fruit added to it, there seems to be some problems with documenting it being done by native peoples for long term storage..., it may be that pemican with fruit added was strictly for winter use, with the cold temperatures helping the preservation, OR that as it was popular on polar expeditions, that fruit was added to their pemican to ward off scurvy, and again the cold would prevent any spoilage.

LD

 

[satx78247]

I don't know what the Cree nation did with pemmican
OR
what was used in South Africa
BUT
southern Native peoples used the product for warpath rations & hunting trip rations and evidently made it up as needed for those journeys.
(In the Southland dried/salted/smoked & fresh meat, fish & vegetables were available the vast majority of the year.)
I suspect that our warmer weather made that "prepare, carry & eat soon" practice necessary.

yours, satx

 

[Rod Lassey]

Although chokecherries seem to be thought of as part of pemmican, most references I've found are for just dried meat and fat. I make mine from deer, and dry the meat with heat (late hunting season, it wouldn't dry otherwise) which adds a nice smokey flavor. I use kidney fat, the hard waxy stuff. Kept dry, the stuff keeps indefinitely. Originally, it was put up in buffalo hide sacks, called taureaux by the French.

Isaac Cowie, HBC factor of Ft. Qu'Appelle, in his book "Company of Adventurers" tells of being taken by an Indian trading pemmican. Some time later, he needed some food, opened the taureaux, and pulled out some rags, an old shirt, and various other stuffings. He couldn't help but laugh about it.

Rod

 

[Alden]

When I was young I ate fruit pemmican that was quite aged. Nowadays that kind of product seems to have become a fad. In any case, my understanding of it usually being meat-based with fruit was dispelled when I went to make my own and found, as mentioned above, the fruit thing was wholly misguided...

 

[Claude Mathis]

When I was young I ate fruit pemmican that was quite aged. Nowadays that kind of product seems to have become a fad.

It's my understanding that "fruit pemmican" was just a name applied to a modern day product that had nothing to do with real pemmican.

"Meatless" http://sunnyinla.com/Pictures/Food-I-Eat/bear-valley-pemmican-carob-cocoa.html

 

[George]

An interesting historical pemmican interlude... by David Thompson, the famous explorer.

Thompson 1810 at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan: On the west side of these alluvials is Cumberland Lake, on the east bank of which is situated Cumberland House in Latitude 53° . 56' . 45" N Longitude 102 . 13 West. This House was the first inland trading post the Hudson's Bay Company made, remarkably well situated for the trade of fine Furrs: it serves as the general Depot for all the dried Provisions made of the meat and fat of the Bison under the name of Pemican, a wholesome, well tasted nutritious food, upon which all persons engaged in the Furr Trade mostly depend for their subsistence during the open season; it is made of the lean and fleshy parts of the Bison dried, smoked, and pounded fine; in this state it is called Beat Meat: the fat of the Bison is of two qualities, called hard and soft; the former is from the inside of the animal, which when melted is called hard fat (properly grease) the latter is made from the large flakes of fat that lie on each side the back bone, covering the ribs, and which is readily separated, and when carefully melted resembles Butter in softness and sweetness. Pimmecan is made up in bags of ninety pounds weight, made of the parchment hide of the Bison with the hair on; the proportion of the Pemmecan when best made for keeping is twenty pounds of soft and the same of hard fat, slowly melted together, and at a low warmth poured on fifty pounds of Beat Meat, well mixed together, and closely packed in a bag of about thirty inches in length, by near twenty inches in breadth, and about four in thickness which makes them flat, the best shape for stowage and carriage. On the great Plains there is a shrub bearing a very sweet berry of a dark blue color, much sought after, great quantities are dried by the Natives; in this state, these berries are as sweet as the best currants, and as much as possible mixed to make Pemmecan; [Service berry, June berry, Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.] the wood of this shrub, or willow is hard, weighty and flexible, but not elastic, and wherever it can be procured always forms the Arrow of the Indian, the native name is Mis-sars-cut; to which mee-nar is added for the berry; we call it by the native name, but the french who murder every foreign word call the Berry, Poires, and Pim-me-carn; Peemittegar. I have dwelt on the above, as it [is] the staple food of all persons, and affords the most nourishment in the least space and weight, even the gluttonous french Canadian that devours eight pounds of fresh meat every day is contented with one and a half pound per day: it would be admirable provision for the Army and Navy. It is at Cumberland House all the Pimmecan, and dried provisions of all kinds procured from the great Plains are brought down the Saskatchewan and deposited here, and which forms the supply for the furr Traders going to, and coming from, all the trading Posts;

Spence

 

[Rod Lassey]

Great quote, Spence, and an interesting use of Juneberries. I knew he couldn't be talking about chokecherries when he said they were sweet, if you've ever had chokecherries, you know what I mean, they are good but tart.

I should clarify in my above post that I don't mean that Indians never added fruit to pemmican, they clearly did, but it varied as to place and time, & individual. Here on the northern plains, it seems to be an even split between fruit added or not, there are refences to both--which may have something to do with the time of year the pemmican is being produced. Also, the local tribes in this area often pounded and dried berries, which could be eaten on their own, or along with pemmican. End use may be a factor as well, with straight meat/fat pemmican being more suited for reconstitution in soups and stews than that with berries, which may be better for just eating out of hand.

One thing I like to point out to folks is to not get too wrapped up in the "they did it this way, this must be the only way it can be done" sort of mentality. In truth, there were just as many recipes for pemmican as there were Indian women who made it. Everyone had their favorite recipe or way of doing things, passed down from their parents & grandparents. As long as a person stays within the historical parameters, and has done the research to have a good grasp of the historical mindset of the persons they are trying to emulate, I don't think one can go far wrong.

Rod

 

[tenngun]

:thumbsup:

 

[crockett]

For some strange reason I always associated pemmican as more of a Northern/Canadian area food and not so common in the southern plains/Rockies. I myslef don't add fruit but read that the NDN's often did. What was interesting in what was written in Wah to Yah (I thought) was that the dried fruit was apparently kept seperate and then mixed in right before eating. In the book the author said the pemmican was rolled into little balls and immediately eaten.
IAE, this was the first time I ever came across that method. If fruit was to be added I always thought it was mixed in at the beginning.
On the fat, the fat inside large bones- works really well.

 

[satx78247]

As I mentioned "warpath rations" earlier, I cannot resist telling everyone what NAA'TAH, my friend who is the Principal Chief of the White Mountain Apaches, said about "feeding the warriors" during the TX Revolution.

He said that while the Mexican Army had little food (that was worth taking) from about the time that they crossed the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo) River, that the Mexicans did have many horses that were NOT difficult for "warriors to run off".
He further said that those horses which were suitable as riding horses or for hauling things were kept for use or sale.
The rest were slaughtered and eaten.

The Chief chuckled & said, "It's always convenient when your enemy feeds your people."

yours, satx

 

[Sean Gadhar]

As a kid (11 or 12) I tried my hand with dried roast beef, bacon fat & burnt( tried to dry them in the oven) blue berries.

I was gona live on it for a week.....made it 2 1/2 days :barf: :haha:

 

[Alden]

Sean, thanks for that true, brief, and actually interesting story.

:barf: indeed!

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Sean, thanks for that true, brief, and actually interesting story.

:barf: indeed!

If ya like that one, there's a story about Ute "prairie cakes". Here's a hint, there are katydids in both the story and the cakes :wink:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Cultures all over the world all seemed to have discovered dried meat with rendered fat as a long term food. It's still a staple in some places. Khlii is still consumed in places like Morocco.

LD

 

[jferguson]

Actually, pemican (or pimîhkân in Cree) is most commonly made for long term storage of dried, pounded meat and rendered fat. The British found in the late 19th century in South Africa that it would often "keep" for decades.LD

As fat goes rancid in any lengthy storage, I've never thought this kind of statement made much sense. How can this be? This is a good forum to finally have this question answered . . . . .

 

[Sean Gadhar]

As fat goes rancid in any lengthy storage, I've never thought this kind of statement made much sense. How can this be? This is a good forum to finally have this question answered . . . . .

As we all know we can put fat into/onto leather in small amounts. And as I have eaten jerky (with some fat to it) that was in my pack for a year & was months old when I put it in the pack.
**speculation only*** Does the dry lean meat act as a medium in which small amounts of fat can be stored for long periods?

Secondly todays Idea of "inedible" is a far wimpy cry from the idea of yesteryear! Just try getting a 20 year old to "just cut the moldy part off, the rest is fine" and watch them :barf:

 

[satx78247]

Fwiw, my "little sister of the heart" (Sarah) about 3 years ago threw out a VERY expensive (about 30.oo) 2+ pound piece of REAL Roquefort cheese, as it as "moldy & spoiled-looking". = I was NOT very happy with her, though she was just trying to keep me healthy.
(When someone does something like that "out of ignorance of facts", it's easier to laugh than cry. - I tried to explain that "good Roquefort" is ALWAYS "moldy looking" but Sarah wasn't convinced. = She IS a woman, after all - CHUCKLE.)

yours, satx

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I'm not sure my Mom paid for cheese unless it had a spot and was in "the bin"

The old Muley hunters here in western Colorado would "twice skin deer"...skin it, wet it, hang it....wait until it was covered in a film of mold & skin the mold off then AND ONLY THEN was the meat fit to eat.