Cooking Schools: Guide to Native American Recipes
Native American recipes include many dishes influenced by the traditional diet and the foods brought by European settlers. Much of the information about the traditional Native American diet has been lost to history, mostly due to the strong oral culture and lack of written recipes. Historic accounts, however, have identified a few key staples in the Native American diet throughout history that remain important today. Anyone hoping to understand Native American cuisine is sure to recognize a few key ingredients and preparation trends.
Students, researchers, enthusiasts, and interested cooks can celebrate the Native American cultures by cooking traditional foods and learning about how those foods have changed over time. As part of a collection of culinary resources, these Native American recipes represent an important part of the American food culture.
Overview
Traditional Native American diets typically included foods that grew well in the climate in which tribes lived. For instance, cultures in an area with many oak trees would depend on yearly acorns for many recipes. As cultures developed across the continent, flavors became identified with certain cultures, such as the addition of many types of peppers to Native South American recipes.
More modern recipes such as fry bread, on the other hand, are based on necessity. When European settlers and more modern societies forced Native American populations out of their homelands, food was often scarce or poorly distributed. This led to a great deal of rationing and hardship, but also led to the development of recipes which suited the situation. Today’s Native American recipes often include traditional and modern elements as a result.
The Three Sisters
The Three Sisters include maize, beans, and squash. This combination of foods is prevalent in many Native American diets. These three ingredients were often seen together because of farming methods that often included all three crops grown in the same field with an interdependent relationship. Beans climb the tall maize stalks, and fertilize the soil throughout their lives. Squash covers the ground between maize stalks, protecting the bean and maize roots. This historic relationship means that many traditional and modern recipes include these three foods.
- This Three Sisters Casserole includes many modern elements like frozen and canned vegetables. Fresh ingredients may boost the flavor.
- Three Sisters Soup combines hominy, beans, squash, and potatoes to make a hearty soup. This recipe is ready in 45 minutes.
- Three Sisters Stew includes many additional ingredients and significant spices like fresh hot chilies. As a stew, this recipe has a considerable preparation time.
Fry Bread
Fry bread is common to many Native American cultures, though its presence is complicated by its origin. This food first began to appear when Native Americans were forced to relocate from regions which supported their traditional foods and instead rely on flour, shortening, and oil. Still, fry bread remains an important staple of Native American cuisine today. Due to its simplicity, fry bread often accompanies meals though it may also be eaten by itself.
- Many variations exist for this food, depending on region and tribe. Everything from the frying oil used to the serving methods changes.
- Fry Bread is quite simple, including just flour, salt, baking powder, water, and shortening. Recipes often include different types of flour or additives.
- Fry Bread Tacos combine traditional and modern Native American cuisine elements. Taco toppings are just one example of the prevailing use of fry bread.
Wild Rice
As a naturally occurring plant throughout much of the continent, wild rice was often an important staple food in North American tribal diets. Many traditional cultures harvested wild rice by paddling up to a collection of plants and dislodging the seeds from the flowering head. The recipes that include wild rice are often basic, since the cooked seeds are quite nutritious on their own. Many other recipes include wild rice as an additive to another food item.
- Wild rice recipes include basic boiling, casseroles, and rice cakes. Additional recipes using wild rice often include meat or vegetables.
- The International Wild Rice Association offers this collection of wild rice recipes. In addition to many soups and stews, the list contains cakes, salads, and meatloaves.
- Traditional wild rice recipes often include wild rice added to meat or vegetables like the Three Sisters. Native Americans living in Minnesota have been harvesting this grain for centuries.
- Wild rice usually requires a substantial cook time. Most recipes will take 60 minutes or more before being edible.
Venison
Traditional Native American recipes often include the wild game most prevalent in a tribe’s region. Venison from the significant deer population in North America, for instance, is often used in soups or as a main dish.
- Venison stew combines many traditional vegetables in addition to the venison. Many stews prepared by Native Americans would have used more locally plentiful foods..
- Venison chili puts the meat at the center of the meal, and makes for a hearty lunch or dinner. Many Native American venison recipes include a similar variety of spices and additives.
Pemmican
Pemmican is a combination of various rendered fats which originated with the Cree tribe. The main benefit to this food is the high fat and protein content. Many North American tribes eventually used pemmican as a dietary staple, especially for long journeys or over the winter months. Eventually, European settlers discovered pemmican and began to make it on their own.
- Pemmican recipes usually include some kind of suet, dried meat, fruit, and nuts. These recipes can be preserved for several months.
- A bulk pemmican recipe would have been used for warriors or hunters who needed a high energy food. Much like trail mix, pemmican provided plenty of energy even when nothing else was available.
Additional Resources
There are so many tribes with so many recipes that many resources are available containing hundreds of recipes. Various breads, stews, and meat dishes exist across the continent, inspired by the ancient traditions and prepared using modern methods. Despite the fact that many of the traditional preparation methods are not well known, many of the favorite foods of Native Americans still survive today.
- Allrecipes.com contains many user-submitted Native American recipes from both traditional and modern cookbooks. Many recipes are derived from standard Native American methods.
- A list of Native American recipes often specifies the tribe with which a particular dish originated. Many recipes come from North and South America.
- NativeTech contains hundreds of recipes based on traditional Native American foods. Recipes here include those using all indigenous ingredients as well as those using contemporary ingredients.
- An extensive blog of Native American recipes contains rarely seen recipes like roast squirrel. Though unsorted, the list hosted here is exhaustive.
