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2/5/2011

Last night we had a potluck at the school.  It was my first opportunity to try some of the traditional Yup’ik foods.  Two of the ladies from the village brought Akutaq, which is also, know as Eskimo Ice Cream.  I had heard of Akutag since arriving in Alaska but had never had the opportunity to see it or taste it.  People told me about the ingredients and to be frank, I was not sure I wanted to try it (see recipe below).  There were two different Akutag served last night.  One looked sort of like cottage cheese with berries in it and the other looked like Crisco with berries in it.  I took a sample of both:  They did not taste as sweet as I thought they would, nor did they taste as greasy/lardy as I thought they would.  Each was sort of bland tasting with red and black berries mixed in.  Some of the berries were sour, really sour but other were sweet.  The biggest difference between the two was the consistency.  They were a good introduction to Akutag, I enjoyed them both and would eat it again.  Another food we had last night was rabbit soup.  The lady that made it told me she had Peter Cotton Tail in the pan over there.  I scooped out a bowl of it and got plenty of rabbit, noodles, and rice.  The taste was great and the rabbit, dark meat, was so tender you could just suck it off the bones.  By the end of the bowl, I was wearing part of it since I was using my fingers to hold the slippery bones and ka-plop, right back into the soup a piece went.  Additional dishes included moose and salmon with pasta along with the Gussak (white man) foods like burritos, curry, beef stroganoff, and lots of good deserts.  

1 cup solid vegetable shortening*
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water, berry juice, or 2 cups loose snow (optional)
4 cups fresh berries, (blueberries, cloudberries, cranberries, salmon berries, or blackberries)

* Crisco solid vegetable shortening is preferred

In a large bowl, cream vegetable shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add water, berry juice, or snow and beat until well combined.

Fold in berries, 1 cup at a time, until blended.

Place in freezer to firm up before serving.reduce the heat so it won’t bo