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Alaska's Vanishing Arctic Cuisine

Alaska's Vanishing Arctic Cuisine i n v e s t i g a t i o n s | zona spray Alaska’s Vanishing Arctic Cuisine GASTR O N O M I CA Barely a handful of people know that Alaska’s Arctic cuisine is disappearing. But then, few people know it exists. That we know so little about Eskimo1 food preparation is not surprising—subsistence diets are rarely explored, apart from listing specific foodstuffs and their dietary statistics. Cooking methods are usually of no concern. We look askance at diets filled with foreign substances, such as gobs of quivering blubber. Documentaries serve to fuel aversion by showing Eskimos eating raw meat, blood smeared across their smiling faces. No matter that Eskimos eat uncooked or chemically unaltered meat only in rare instances; the image still haunts us. On the surface Eskimo food appears too primitive for culinary investigation. However, native women created an extensive and complex repertoire of dishes, preparing hundreds of indigenous foods according to specific techniques. In investigating traditional Eskimo food, I was lucky to have both a considerable knowledge of food and an understanding of the culture. Born in Shungnak, Alaska, prior to World War ii, I am considered an elder by http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Gastronomica University of California Press

Alaska's Vanishing Arctic Cuisine

Spray, Zona
Gastronomica , Volume 2 (1) – Feb 1, 2002
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References (3)

Publisher
University of California Press
Copyright
Regents of the University of California
ISSN
1529-3262
eISSN
1533-8622
DOI
10.1525/gfc.2002.2.1.30
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

i n v e s t i g a t i o n s | zona spray Alaska’s Vanishing Arctic Cuisine GASTR O N O M I CA Barely a handful of people know that Alaska’s Arctic cuisine is disappearing. But then, few people know it exists. That we know so little about Eskimo1 food preparation is not surprising—subsistence diets are rarely explored, apart from listing specific foodstuffs and their dietary statistics. Cooking methods are usually of no concern. We look askance at diets filled with foreign substances, such as gobs of quivering blubber. Documentaries serve to fuel aversion by showing Eskimos eating raw meat, blood smeared across their smiling faces. No matter that Eskimos eat uncooked or chemically unaltered meat only in rare instances; the image still haunts us. On the surface Eskimo food appears too primitive for culinary investigation. However, native women created an extensive and complex repertoire of dishes, preparing hundreds of indigenous foods according to specific techniques. In investigating traditional Eskimo food, I was lucky to have both a considerable knowledge of food and an understanding of the culture. Born in Shungnak, Alaska, prior to World War ii, I am considered an elder by

Journal

Gastronomica – University of California Press

Published: Feb 1, 2002

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