Ben & Jerry got nothing on these guys.

August 13, 2005 10:36 PM

Eskimo recipes from the students of the Shishmaref, Alaska Day School in 1952.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies (17 comments total)

Most of those recipes are still used today. Though now agutak (eskimo ice cream) is often made with a substitution of Crisco for the animal fat. Pretty gross, actually.
posted by rhapsodie at 10:48 PM on August 13, 2005

Almost nothing concerning cooking, e.g: frying, boiling, baking, sauteing, broiling, etc.

Just various ways to mix or preserve calorie-dense ingredients.





Why do I see my future in this?
posted by sourwookie at 12:24 AM on August 14, 2005 [1 favorite]

Inuit, please.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 12:49 AM on August 14, 2005

I remember seeing a documentary several years ago in which an anthropologist in Africa was studying eating habits. One tribe he was staying with held grubs and maggots as staples, and the people thought nothing was more delicious. So he tried an experiment and made a plate of spaghetti. Just some noodles and a simple tomato sauce. It took a long time for this one guy to get up the nerve to eat it, and when he finally did, he ate only half as he threw it all up, the spaghetti being the most disgusting thing he'd ever tried. Presumably he went back to his grubs and maggots.

It's interesting how what you're exposed to as a child and what societal norms are affect what you can and can't eat.
posted by zardoz at 1:38 AM on August 14, 2005 [1 favorite]

This is so interesting -
posted by growabrain at 1:46 AM on August 14, 2005

I just googled Shishmaref and found that the island is crumbling into the sea due to global warming.
posted by D.C. at 5:15 AM on August 14, 2005

Almost nothing concerning cooking

Half of these recipes called for boiling water.
posted by sleslie at 5:57 AM on August 14, 2005

"I'll take a bowl of your clam soup and maybe some salmonberries for dessert. Intestines? Oh no, they sound delicious, but I just couldn't. I'm on a diet."
posted by kozad at 9:18 AM on August 14, 2005

Add seal oil slowly while beating with hand.

I'm just not clear on this - should I beat the oil or the seal? Sounds like a Far Side cartoon - Eskimo with a bowl in one hand, beating a seal with the other.
posted by TTNoelle at 10:25 AM on August 14, 2005

This is great, a very cool snapshot. Thanks, DeepFriedTwinkies.
posted by mediareport at 11:27 AM on August 14, 2005

That is nice, thanks!
posted by carter at 2:01 PM on August 14, 2005

I hope my comment didn't come across as racist as I now think it might.....I found the image hysterical, and of course forgot that sadly there are people who would mean that in the most negative way possible. Replace the "Eskimo" in my comment with "child following a cookbook" and I still think it's funny though.
posted by TTNoelle at 4:45 PM on August 14, 2005

Interesting about the amount of fat in the diet.

Intestines? Oh no, they sound delicious, but I just couldn't. I'm on a diet." - posted by kozad

Intestines can be really good. Polish Flaki, Chinese chili-tripe (the dimsum), French Tripes à la mode de Caen, tripe and beef tendon in Vietnamese pho, &c.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 5:56 PM on August 14, 2005

Thanks. Interestin'. Yeah.

I can now never ever eat another Eskimo Pie®
posted by hal9k at 6:27 PM on August 14, 2005

Intestines can be really good. Polish Flaki, Chinese chili-tripe (the dimsum), French Tripes à la mode de Caen, tripe and beef tendon in Vietnamese pho, &c.

Um, tripe is stomach lining, not intestine.

Agreed: tripe can be darn tasty.

/PedantFilter
posted by sacre_bleu at 6:50 PM on August 14, 2005

Everything on there sounds so damn gamy; no onions, no garlic, no spices. Just boiled wildlife with salt. Yuck. Yeah, I'm ethnocentric when it comes to food. I don't think Persians ever prepare beef, lamb, or chicken without onions and spices.
posted by Devils Slide at 7:52 PM on August 14, 2005 [1 favorite]

Here in Detroit,we use intestines to hold in sausage meat. Delicious. Natural casing hot dogs are so much better than the other kind.
posted by QIbHom at 1:32 PM on August 15, 2005