pemmican

[Man of Tanith]

Does anyone know where i can buy pre made pemmican?
its on the cards to make some from scratch but at the moment i've not got the time and my google fu isn't working tonight

[Jared]

Ah I've seen an online site that sells it... now just got to remember where

[Man of Tanith]

please mate would appreciate it

[Jared]

Ah was here.

http://www.martinsjerkedmeat.com/osC...roducts_id=187

Seems they only have a veggie version...

[Man of Tanith]

nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not veggie
thanks mate nice one

[Man of Tanith]

ah ha the same site has a historical section with chippewa pemmican recipe in it whoop whoop
thanks mate great stuff

[torc]

This German site sells the stuff, http://www.pemmikan.de/epages/613055...jectID=1815400.
Sorry, I can't vouch for them or their product.

Happy trails...torc.

[Tengu]

Ive had martins.

its great, sweet as well as savoury and delightfully greasy.

[Man of Tanith]

gonna give the veggie and the historical ones a go

[Gagnrad]

ah ha the same site has a historical section with chippewa pemmican recipe in it whoop whoop
thanks mate great stuff

It's a nice idea in theory, and credit to the company for having a go.

I am a bit sceptical, however. They say:

This pemmican is made from locally reared venison and venison fat combined with cranberry's, blueberries and other mixed dried fruits, nuts, seeds and honey then formed into balls the recipe is an original Chippewa Indian recipe that goes back hundreds of years ...

If it's got all that stuff in it, the recipe unlikely to go back for "hundreds of years".

The most reliable historical surveys tend towards the opinion that Native Americans probably didn't add berries for their own use, but that that was done when selling to Europeans. The Indians would probably have avoided adding them, because this was a food preservation method, and berries would have introduced moisture, which would not help the keeping properties. Pemmican made straight would keep for -- literally -- years.

However, adding fruit in effect it made the mix more like a pudding, to which Englishmen were used. (Meat puddings with dried fruit in are an old delicacy in England and are the origin of mince pies.)

Here's Stefansson's famous writing on pemmican and related subjects:

http://owndoc.com/pdf/The-fat-of-the-land.pdf

And this interview with Dr. Steve Phinney -- MP3 or transcript -- is good, too:

http://www.meandmydiabetes.com/2010/...ic-in-2-weeks/

The recipe you link not only has cranberries but "other" -- what the heck is "other"? -- dried fruit ... and nuts ... and seeds. It sounds more like "trailmix" from Holland and Barrett than pemmican! It also includes honey. Well, the honey-bee seems not to have been around in pre-contact North America. Apparently, escaped bees, that had got away from white settlers, were moving around about 100 miles in advance of the frontier and the Indians came to dread their approach, knowing what it portended. They called them The White Man's Fly:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/America-Expl...dp/0486260313/

To be honest, this "pemmican" does sound like a bit of a carb-fest -- which, of course, the original pemmican was anything but.

Fresh cranberries and blueberries are actually fairly low-sugar fruit and good nutrition. But fruit when dried delivers a far higher glycemic load and is often packaged with additional sugar, too. The anonymous dried fruit -- "other" -- is likely worse so far as glycemic index goes. And how much honey's in there?

[rik_uk3]

I can get some sent from Canada perhaps but postage would not be cheap.

[Chris the Cat]

Watching this with interest, good stuff chaps!
da C.

[Shewie]

What is pemmican anyway, I've always thought it was a cross between an oxo cube and a tin of corned beef?

[rik_uk3]

What is pemmican anyway, I've always thought it was a cross between an oxo cube and a tin of corned beef?

Basically it fat with bits added for flavour. I'm not sure but a good lump of smoked Speck bacon comes pretty close in food value and tastes a dam sight better. Just my opinion. Lot of Arctic/Antarctic campers use a lot of butter these days instead.

[santaman2000]

It's a nice idea in theory, and credit to the company for having a go.

I am a bit sceptical, however. They say:



If it's got all that stuff in it, the recipe unlikely to go back for "hundreds of years".

The most reliable historical surveys tend towards the opinion that Native Americans probably didn't add berries for their own use, but that that was done when selling to Europeans...

So why would it not be "hundreds of years old?" Europeans first invaded the Americas (in large numbers) over 520 years ago and began colonizing over 470 years ago. The Norse probably before that.

[Laurentius]

Well this is going back a bit now but I think the "Swallows and the Amazons" were content with corned beef washed down with lashings of ginger beer

[rik_uk3]

Well this is going back a bit now but I think the "Swallows and the Amazons" were content with corned beef washed down with lashings of ginger beer

??? I thought it was the 'Famous Five'

[Man of Tanith]

it arrived the other day haven't sampled it yet
it looks erm interesting to put it one way.

[Adrian]

I haven't had pemmican for years. I used to love it (along with the dried lifeboat ration packs you used to be able to pick up in the old YHA store in John Adam Street), but the calorie content was pretty high! Let us know how you like it Sam.

[Man of Tanith]

its been sustaining me on night shifts well
the peanut butter one is particularly tasty

[John Fenna]

Well this is going back a bit now but I think the "Swallows and the Amazons" were content with corned beef washed down with lashings of ginger beer

Ahhh - "Grog"!