Favorite food of the Chukchi 10 letters. Unusual food of the northern peoples

The diet of the coastal and reindeer Chukchi differed. Its basis among the nomadic population was deer meat, and among the sedentary population - products of sea hunting. True, as noted by V.G. Bogoraz, “the reindeer Chukchi have a great penchant for sea food. ... On the other hand, the coastal Chukchi and Eskimos also highly value reindeer meat and call it “the sweet food of reindeer herders” (Bogoraz, 1991. P. 126). Between the reindeer and coastal groups constantly exchanged the products of their crafts.

A feature of the diet of the coastal Chukchi was its diversity, which is typical for all Arctic peoples engaged in hunting: “In the societies of Arctic sea hunters, a traditional diet has developed, characterized by the highest variety of foods and dishes compared to the diet of other Arctic peoples” (Bogoslovskaya et al., 2007. P. 372). It is characteristic that the food of the sedentary Chukchi of the northern and Bering Sea coasts was somewhat different, which is explained by the peculiarities of climate and natural conditions, and the specifics of the fishing routine of both.

Among the food products of the coastal Chukchi, one of the main places was occupied by meat, fat and entrails of the walrus. The meat of walruses caught in the summer was cleaned of fat and placed in a special pit where water was poured. In such a pit, meat could be preserved until the onset of cold weather. A significant part of the summer walrus meat was dried, stored for future use. Dried meat was eaten in winter, usually pounded and mixed with fat. Walrus entrails were also stored for the winter. At the same time, the lungs and heart of the walrus were cut up and dried on hangers, and the kidneys were dried for the winter. Walrus entrails were often eaten raw. Raw liver was especially prized. It was considered a good remedy for restoring strength after major blood loss; it was used to treat stomach, intestinal and pulmonary diseases.

Most often, walrus meat was eaten pickled: " Kopalchen- pickled walrus meat - for the coastal Chukchi it was an indispensable dish for at least six to seven months a year... Kopalchen is eaten “like bread.” It is eaten on its own, as well as with fish and herbs. ... Copalchen is absorbed extremely easily. They do not chew it, but simply swallow it" (Afanasyeva, Simchenko, 1993. pp. 65-66). To prepare kopalchen, pieces of fresh walrus meat along with lard and skin were placed in special earthen pits, which were covered with turf on top. In such pits the meat fermented. Walrus fat, both subcutaneous and internal, was considered the most valuable food product. In fresh and fermented form, it was consumed as a universal food additive. Walrus fat was also used in the preservation of wild plants. It was stored in bags made of seal skins.

Equally important for the nutrition of the Chukchi were seal meat and fat. “Seals were caught all year round and in a variety of ways. Seal meat... was a constant ingredient in the menu of coastal hunters” (Ibid. p. 73). For many centuries, the population of coastal Chukotka used whale products for food. “The traditional cuisine of sea hunters of Chukotka includes more than 20 different dishes from meat, fat, skin, fins, tongue and entrails of bowhead and gray whales and beluga whales” (Bogoslovskaya et al., 2007. p. 375).

In the collection " Along the Bogoraz path" some recipes are given for dishes prepared by the Naukan Eskimos and the Uelen Chukchi from whaling products: "Whale skin with lard (man "tak") is traditionally eaten raw and boiled. It is prepared for future use by tightly placing Ivan-tea leaves (vevegtyt) in a barrel and filling it with water, then it has a pleasant Ivan-tea smell and retains freshness for a long time. This skin is eaten only in winter. In the fall, with the onset of severe frosts, bowhead whale mann "tak" is placed in large plates in a meat pit, where it is stored until spring. This is a good gift when traveling to visit reindeer herders in neighboring villages. In winter, raw manna is eaten “tak” before bed, and boiled manna is often consumed with a porridge-like mass made from the leaves of the knotweed (kyyugak). Hunters, going out to sea to fish, take manna “tak” with them as a supply of food. ...

Fresh gray whale blubber is eaten in summer with ground knotweed leaves. Fermented whale liver is eaten with fresh boiled skin and walrus lard (kahu). Fermented liver juice is drunk together with broth (k'ayuk) made from seal fat.

Fresh kidneys (takhtuk) are boiled before eating, and the kidneys “with flavor” are eaten raw, dipped in melted seal fat (mysek) (Tein et al., 2008, p. 177).

Among the nomadic Chukchi, the traditional diet necessarily included regular consumption of venison. Deer entrails (liver, kidneys, heart), as well as eyes, bone marrow, tendons, and nasal cartilage were eaten raw immediately after the animal was slaughtered. Meat was eaten mainly boiled and dried. About the process of drying meat by the Chukchi V.G. Bogoraz wrote the following: " In the spring, around mid-April, the reindeer Chukchi dry their meat in the open air; under the combined action of daytime heat and nighttime cold, even large pieces of meat are completely dried out, retaining their taste and tenderness. Dried meat is lightly smoked over the fireplace in the tent"(Bogoraz, 1991. P. 129).

The meat broth was drunk and used to prepare various dishes: “In the past, young and middle-aged reindeer herders significantly limited themselves in water consumption. It was believed that it was unacceptable for a person engaged in herding reindeer to drink raw water. Thirst was quenched exclusively with meat broth. The meat broth was given to infants children and older children. Meat broth was used in the preparation of plant foods" (Afanasyeva, Simchenko, 1993, pp. 88-89).

Blood soup was a daily dish. It was prepared with wild garlic - wild onions and sarana - kimchak. “Blood stew was an obligatory element in all rituals asking for well-being. It was splashed in all directions of the world, starting from the east, when such rituals were performed” (Ibid. p. 89).

The popular dish vilk'ril was also prepared from deer blood. To do this, finely excised cartilage, veins, films, as well as gastric juice, which was obtained by squeezing the green mass contained in the stomach of a slaughtered deer, were added to the blood. This whole blood mixture was fermented in deer stomach.

Among ritual meat dishes, a special place was occupied by sausage from the cecum - rorat. Such sausage “was an obligatory ingredient in all rituals without exception. They fed the fire with it, sacrificial parts were cut off from it to the supernatural forces of nature. It played the role of a kind of communion in all sacred acts” (Ibid. p. 92). One of the popular holiday dishes made from venison is tychgitagav. To prepare it, bone fat was added to the ground deer meat. Koloboks were made from the resulting mass and frozen.

In addition to the meat of domestic reindeer, the Chukchi also ate the meat of wild deer, bighorn sheep, hares, partridges, and waterfowl. The Chukchi have some prohibitions and restrictions related to animal food. So, according to V.G.Bogoraz, “the reindeer Chukchi abstain from the meat of wolverine and black bear, all types of wolves and most birds of prey” (Bogoraz, 1991, p. 130).

Both nomadic and sedentary Chukchi had a wide variety of fish dishes. They caught mainly salmon. Coastal Chukchi "summer fish were placed in ground pits lined with alder branches along the bottom and sides. The fish was placed in several layers and also covered with a flooring of alder branches and covered with turf or covered with earth. After some time, the fish fermented and froze with the onset of cold weather" ( Afanasyeva, Simchenko, 1993. P. 74). Frozen fish was eaten with copalchen and fermented fat.

Among the reindeer Chukchi, “the main way of preserving fish was to make yukola; yukola was made from any salmon. When cutting, they first cut the belly from the anus to the head and took out the insides with caviar and milt. The caviar was immediately hung up to dry...

Then the abdomen was cut off - the knife was led from the abdominal gills to the tail, separating both sides at once. The abdomen was the most delicious part. The fish bellies were collected and hung for smoking in a yaranga. Further processing consisted of dismembering the fish carcass into the yoke part itself and the spine with the head. ...Yukola consisted of two plates of meat connected at the tail. Yukola was hung out to dry with its tail up... Yukola was an obligatory ingredient in the diet of reindeer herders. She was not served at a rare meal. As a rule, they drank tea with yukola... (Ibid. p. 96).

A special dish was prepared from fish heads. To do this, “caviar, crushed and crushed between the palms, was placed in a bag made of seal skin, and fish heads were placed in it. This mass was allowed to sour for three to four days, after which the heads were eaten” (Ibid. p. 97)

Fish dishes were mandatory at many reindeer herding festivals, for example, at the autumn festival of herd meeting. Different groups of Chukchi had their own traditions of using and preparing edible plants for food. Some groups prepared herbal mixtures based on the “golden root” - arctic radiola; in others, the basis of plant preparations was the leaves of polar alder (willow). Supplies of plant food were constantly exchanged.

According to the observations of G.M. Afanasyeva and Yu.B. Simchenko, among the Bering Sea Chukchi, “the most common root is kuset, which is identified by modern Chukchi with potatoes... The leaves and flowers of this plant are collected and boiled in water - they make green porridge, which is eaten in winter as an addition to copalchen and fresh meat "(Ibid.).

The Bering Sea Chukchi also used the roots of swamp grass for food, which were taken from mouse holes: “The procedure for collecting plants stored for the winter by mice was strictly statutory. Women took plants only from those mice that lived in their traditional grass collection areas. Usually older women Every autumn they take the young wives of their sons and their own unmarried female descendants and lead them into the tundra to traditional lands. There they are shown mouse holes, which they do not look for again every time, and they open up long-known holes. They explain this by saying that that continuity is maintained between specific Chukchi families and mouse families... There are several immutable rules for the exploitation of mouse stocks, the violation of which automatically entails severe punishment.

This includes the ban on touching “other people’s” mouse holes. It is believed that if a woman disturbs mice not on her property, then her “own” mice will leave the traditional lands out of solidarity with their relatives. Another mandatory rule is to leave yukola or dried meat for the mice for the winter in appropriate quantities for the taken supplies.

Each woman carries with her a bunch of dried fish, which she distributes among the mouse pantries. The third rule is that it is strictly forbidden to take a quantity of mice supplies equal to half of it, or even more than half. For violating this rule, not only the violator herself, but also her family had to pay with various misfortunes. The fourth rule is to cut and turn away the turf layer above the hole carefully. Having taken the stored plants, you need to carefully place the layer on top as it lay. I had to see holes that were repeatedly visited by people, and the mice did not leave them.

The last important rule: you should strictly observe the time for collecting plants from mouse holes - a sufficiently long period before snow falls. According to Chukchi regulations, this was required to be done by aphids so that the mice had time to replenish the supplies of plants they needed... (Afanasyeva, Simchenko, 1993, pp. 69-70).

The berries were crowberry, cloudberry, lingonberry, blueberry, currant, and honeysuckle. The berries were eaten raw, as a delicacy, or they were an integral component of various fish and meat dishes: they were mixed with fish roe, crushed raw deer liver, and boiled fish liver. Mushrooms (except fly agaric) were eaten extremely rarely. They were considered deer food. Fly agaric was a ritual food. It was used to make a “journey” to other worlds, for fortune telling, and to maintain tone during heavy physical exertion.

The diet of the coastal Chukchi invariably included various products that were “supplied” by the sea. They ate seaweed raw and boiled. It was eaten with walrus meat and walrus blood.

From the beginning of contacts between the Chukchi and Europeans, flour products, sugar, bread, and seasonings began to occupy a significant place in their diet. V.G. Bogoraz wrote: “The Chukchi love to try “foreign food” and even get used to such cultural seasonings as mustard and pepper. They willingly sacrifice sugar, bread, etc., believing that spirits also love new types of food” (Bogoraz, 1991, p. 134). It is characteristic that “by introducing flour products into their diet, the indigenous inhabitants of the North significantly changed the methods of their culinary processing, adapting to the requirements of the Arctic environment. The traditional addition of blood or fish roe to baked goods, frying cakes in the fat of sea animals made it possible to maintain vitamin and microelement balance” ( Bogoslovskaya et al., 1997, p. 383).

There are many unique and interesting places on our planet, and in these places live no less interesting people, or rather entire peoples: Chukchi, Yakuts, Evenks, Khanty, Mansi, Nanais, Nenets, Selkups, Eskimos and many, many others.

The life of these people is very different from ours, because they live in extremely difficult climatic conditions. These people have their own culture, their own traditions and, of course, their own national cuisine. It should be noted right away that there is a constant process of mutual penetration of cultures in the world, including in cooking. What was previously eaten only by northern peoples (well, and maybe some of their more southern neighbors) is now eaten by non-northern people (stroganina), and vice versa. Well, for example, could the Chukchi two centuries ago imagine what rice, onions, bay leaves or dill were? In this case, of course, one must take into account the “local specifics” of national dishes: in one region, exclusively venison is used to prepare a certain dish, in another, seal meat is preferred.

So, about the “old” national dishes of the northern peoples.

1. Nuvkurak.

Among the Yakuts, this dish is prepared from boiled tongues.

Among the Chukchi it is whale meat prepared in a special way. First, it is dried in the open air until a weathered crust forms on top, but the inside remains raw.

Then heat treatment occurs; in other words, the dried meat is cooked. But even after this, they are in no hurry to eat the dish.

For the Chukchi, nukkurak is akin to our canned food and they prepare it for future use in order to survive the long, harsh winter. Fortunately, storing the product in almost permafrost conditions does not present any particular problems.

True, so that the meat does not freeze completely, it is rolled into barrels with a large amount of seal fat, and in this form it waits in the wings before getting to the table.

2. Iskeh alaadi.

By appearance and even by name, associations immediately arise with our Russian pancakes. In essence, this is true. It’s just that the products used are slightly different.

In addition to traditional flour and milk, Iskeh Alaadya includes ground red caviar, onions, salt and spices; the Nenets, along with water, knead blood into the dough, mainly from deer. Otherwise, they are prepared exactly the same as classic pancakes.

3. I'm chomping at the bit.

A fried dish of their beef liver and internal lard. The liver, cut into thin slices, is wrapped in a film of internal fat and fried in a frying pan with the addition of oil.

Those who have tried chohocha note the special subtle taste of this dish.

4. Dried duck (Even cuisine).

Pluck the duck, starting from the neck, being careful not to damage the skin. Then carefully remove the feather stumps. Carefully gut and wash the blood clots from the inside. Cut the bird carcass lengthwise along the breast into two parts, separate from large bones. Unfold the carcass and lay it on sticks to dry. It is better to dry it in hot weather, hanging it in a place that is blown from all sides. You should not add salt; salt retains moisture, which impairs the quality of the finished product. Store dried duck in a cool, dry place.

Chop into pieces, place in steep salted boiling water and boil for several minutes. This is a very tasty dish, can be served with pickles or other spicy side dish.
Other game birds are dried in the same way.

5. Khaan (blood sausage).

It is prepared from fresh beef or horse blood, filling the intestines (both large and thin) with it. Since ancient times, two types of blood sausages have been known: delicacy - subai and simple, so-called “black” blood. During slaughter, the blood is settled: the upper liquid part is subai, and the lower part is “black” blood.
Subaya sausage is tastier and softer, smoother, with a slight hint of shine, lighter. Black blood sausage is thicker, darker in color, and less tasty. The taste of blood sausage also depends on the composition: the amount of blood, the fat content of the intestine. Particularly appetizing is the sausage made from carefully processed blood injected into the colon. Horse blood sausage takes on a white or cream color after cooking.
Boil in a spacious saucepan. Frozen khaan needs to be thawed a little.
Any khaan is dipped in salted hot water and boiled over low heat. You need to constantly monitor the cooking. If it boils too much, it may burst, and then all the blood will fall out of the shell. Overcooked khaan may also burst.
The khaan must be carefully turned while cooking. Readiness is determined by pressing with your finger. If you feel thickening of the blood, you can lightly pierce it with the thin edge of a fork or knife. If it is not blood that flows out, but clear juice, you can pierce it in different places and deeper. It happens that some part is not ready yet.
After making sure that the khaan is fully prepared, immediately take it out, place it on a large dish, and cut off the string. The knives must be sharp, otherwise the shape of the sliced ​​circle will be destroyed.
Khaan is best cooked before serving.

6. Bear paw.

This dish is probably prepared by experienced hunters. Having singed the wool, stripped it and steamed it in hot water, the paw is wrapped in a rag and poured boiling water over it. After this, they are cleaned again and lowered into the cauldron to simmer over low heat for about five hours.

7. The tongues of crucian carp.

The indigenous peoples of the North believe that the most delicious part of crucian carp is the tongue. The taste is slightly reminiscent of boiled brains. Fatty and tender dish. A large crucian carp's tongue can be the size of a thumbnail.

8. Maktak (“muktuk”).
For peoples living in the Arctic, the ocean is the only source of food. Traditionally, people hunted whales and killer whales year-round. Maktak is a dish consisting of whale skin and fat.

It is considered a delicacy, especially if the maktak is made from polar whale, narwhal or beluga.

You can eat maktak fresh, fried, salted or pickled. The flavor is slightly nutty and the skin is a bit tough. Maktak contains a large amount of vitamin C, which prevents scurvy. Many Arctic cultures of Greenland, Canada, Siberia and Alaska eat maktak in their traditional form. Recently, this dish is rarely eaten due to environmental problems with the purity of sea water, as toxins are concentrated in the fish.

Now about the “specific” dishes of the northern peoples.

9. "Canned" venison.
This dish takes quite a long time to prepare. Deer meat is placed in a bag made of seal (walrus) skin, then a layer of deer bones, a layer of meat - a layer of bones - and so on layer by layer until the skin is filled to the top. It is tightly bandaged and buried in a pre-dug snow hole, digging it down to the ground.

The dish is prepared in the summer, but it will be ready for consumption only in the winter.

Surprisingly, no spices are used in the cooking process, not even salt.

After lying in such an improvised glacier for several months, the meat becomes salty and, according to the local population, very tasty.

10. Kopalkhen (kopalkhem, kopalkhyn, kopalgyn, kopalkha, igunak).

Each nation has its own unique national dishes. It’s hard to imagine Czech cuisine without pork knuckle, Italian cuisine without thin slices of carpaccio, and Spanish cuisine without jamon. But the national dish of the Nenets, Chukchi and Eskimos is called kopalkhen. It is prepared from fresh meat by fermentation under pressure. Due to the formation of cadaveric poison during the preparation process, the dish is deadly for representatives of most other nationalities.

Kopalchen is prepared from walrus, seal, deer (Nenets, Chukchi, Evenki version), duck (Greenland version), whale (Eskimo version).

If it is not a whale, the entire carcass of the animal is prepared; such a supply of food can be enough for an entire family for several weeks or even months.

The first stage of “preparing” copalchen is to properly kill the animal. If we are talking about a deer, then they choose the healthiest and strongest from the herd. Next, they take him away from the herd and keep him hungry for several days. This way, the deer’s stomach is completely cleansed naturally, and the animal can be sent for slaughter. A deer is killed by strangulation, being careful not to damage the skin so that there are no wounds left on the body. Next, the animal’s carcass is immersed in a swamp, covered with turf, and a mark is made at the place of its “burial.” It is interesting that in the Soviet years, pioneer ties were used as markings, which were clearly visible and did not fade in any weather.

The carcass is left under water for at least six months. Afterwards, in winter, they dig it up and eat it. During this time, the meat begins to decompose and cadaveric poisons are released, which is why an unprepared person should never try copalchen. And it’s unlikely that any tourists will want to taste carrion: copalchen has a specific appearance and smell that completely discourages appetite. Local people eat such meat with pleasure; for them it is a life-saving supply in the event that hunters fail to obtain food for a long time. Eskimos and Nenets have become accustomed to cutting frozen kopalchen into thin slices and seasoning them with salt before use.

Kopalchen has been known since ancient times. Such meat is high in calories, so just a few pieces are enough for an adult man to work in the cold all day without freezing or experiencing physical exhaustion.
To prevent consumption of copalchen from causing poisoning, children are taught to eat fresh meat from birth. Instead of a pacifier, babies are given a piece of meat or lard, and after the child has grown up, he eats kopalchen along with older family members. Kopalchen, by the way, is also used to feed sled dogs.

Each northern people has its own traditions. For example, the Nenets prefer to store deer meat for the winter, the Chukchi prefer walruses, and the Canadian Inuit prefer whales. Another version of this dish is seal stuffed with seagulls. The preparation method is similar: leave the skinned carcass for several months in permafrost, and then, after digging it up, eat it.

10V. Copalchem ​​is most often eaten cut into thin slices and sprinkled with salt.

For local residents, this was both a real salvation from starvation and a delicacy.

11. Kiwiak.

Somewhat reminiscent of the previous dish. Although here we are talking about cooking poultry - seagulls, guillemots (lik).

Kiwiak is a delicacy of the northern peoples living in permafrost zones. For example, you can try it in Greenland by going on a special tour. The recipe is simple: the head of a seal is cut off and stuffed with dead, unplucked gulls or guillemots. It is necessary to remove as much air as possible from the carcass and close all cavities of the seal carcass with lard. The prepared carcass is left in permafrost under a pile of stones. 6-7 months is enough for the birds to decompose inside and their enzymes have time to process the seal intestines. Ready kiwiak is dug up and eaten without any processing, preferably in the fresh air, because The smell can cause an ordinary person to lose consciousness. The taste is reminiscent of a spicy, sharp, over-aged cheese.

The Dolgan national dish is prepared in a similar way:

12. Goose (with a smell).
The cooked goose carcass is placed in a bag made of eider skin, the bag is tightly sewn up and lowered into a cellar hole dug in the permafrost. Geese remain in a natural refrigerator for 2–3 months. During this period, goose meat not only acquires a specific smell, but also becomes softer and more tender. It is used to make soup and roast.

13. Subcutaneous gadfly larvae.

The deer's worst enemy is the subcutaneous gadfly, which appears in late June and early July. The number of gadflies increases and reaches a maximum by the beginning of August, and from the second half of August it decreases significantly. Female gadflies lay eggs on the deer's hair that grows after molting. Each female lays several hundred eggs. They stick firmly to the deer hair. After 3–4 days, worm-like larvae 0.7 mm long emerge from the eggs, slide to the base of the hair, penetrate the skin and slowly move along the subcutaneous connective tissue.

After 3-4 months, the larvae are located under the skin in the back and lower back, where they make holes - fistulas. A connecting capsule is formed around each larva. The larvae stay here for about seven months, undergoing two molts during this time. In May-June, mature larvae fall to the ground through fistulous openings, burrow in the surface layer of soil and pupate. After 20–60 days, sexually mature individuals emerge from the pupae, which mate within a few hours, and the fertilized females go in search of deer. The cycle begins again.

The prevalence of deer with the subcutaneous botfly is very high. There were up to a thousand or more larvae on individual animals. Deer were sometimes so exhausted that they died.

Mature larvae of the subcutaneous gadfly reach a length of 30 mm and a thickness of 13–15 mm. This is three hundred thousand times more than the volume they had when leaving the egg. They are characterized by a very high protein and fat content.

Some indigenous peoples of the north eat mature larvae of the subcutaneous botfly raw. North American and Canadian Indians and the Chukchi fry them and classify this food as a delicacy. In this form, they are much tastier and healthier than Chinese dried grasshoppers.

14. Kanyga with berries.

This exotic northern dish is considered a delicacy among many indigenous peoples of the north. It is especially popular among the Chukchi, Koryaks, Indians, and Eskimos. As is known, domestic and wild reindeer feed mainly on various lichens, leaves of shrubs, green and winter-green herbs, and mushrooms, if available. These feeds serve as the main source of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, macro- and microelements for deer.

Kanyga is the semi-digested contents of the stomach of a reindeer. This mass is eaten with spoons, mixed with berries - blueberries, shiksha, lingonberries in arbitrary proportions.

A Russian may not appreciate this food either in smell or taste. However, for the aborigine, the smell of canyga evokes delight and appetite. This food promotes better digestion and absorption of fatty meat foods. At the same time, the native’s body is additionally enriched with vitamins, macro- and microelements.

15. Monyalo.

This is half-digested moss extracted from a large deer stomach. Monyal is not eaten as an independent dish. Various canned goods and fresh dishes are prepared from it. For example, monyalo in Chukchi: you need to boil water in a large container, add finely chopped meat, and after ten minutes add fat. Bring to half-cookedness, add blood, and monyalo. Cook until the meat is completely cooked. Spices were not usually used. Until the twentieth century, monyalo was the most common hot dish among the Chukchi.

16. Pickled salmon heads.

In mid-summer, during the first salmon run, the heads of these fish begin to ferment. First, they dig a hole by removing the turf from the ground. The volume of the pit is determined by the number of harvested heads. The bottom is covered with willow twigs or removed turf, on which fish ridges are laid, and heads are placed on these ridges. Then the heads are also covered with a layer of ridges, and turf is placed on them. The glacier is covered with earth and slightly compacted. Subsequently, as soon as the covered mound of earth sinks and becomes level with the surface of the turf, the heads are removed from the hole. The head pickling is done in such a way that they are ready by September, when those who have traveled far to work arrive.

17. Vilmulimul.

The deer's blood is drained into the cleaned stomach. Boiled kidneys, liver, ears, fried hooves (after removing the cornea) and lips are also placed there, berries and sorrel are added. The full stomach is carefully sewn up and lowered into the ketyran (glacier) for the winter. This high-calorie and vitamin-rich product is eaten in the spring.

18. Eyes of a deer.

The Evens are not averse to feasting on the raw eyes of a deer. For them it's like ordinary chewing gum.

19. Desserts and drinks.

For example, it serves as a dessert for Greenlanders. akutak– Inuit ice cream, which is made from berries, fish (usually salmon), sugar (great combination of ingredients, right?) and whipped fat (!!!). In fact, there are a lot of recipes for preparing akutak, but the above-mentioned one is the most traditional. The source of fat for this dessert comes from deer, elk and walruses.

19B. Among the drinks, representatives of the northern people preferred herbal decoctions, similar to tea, as well as animal blood.

Each nation has its own unique national dishes. It’s hard to imagine Czech cuisine without pork knuckle, Italian cuisine without thin slices of carpaccio, and Spanish cuisine without jamon. But the national dish of the Nenets, Chukchi and Eskimos is called kopalchen. The peoples of the North have been eating this meat delicacy since childhood, but unprepared people should not try copalchen, since the consequences can be disastrous.

Kopalchen is a northern “delicacy”, the description of which may seem disgusting to many. The dish is “cooked” most often from fresh venison, less often from walrus, seal or even whale. The entire carcass of the animal is prepared; such a supply of food can be enough for an entire family for several weeks or even months.

The first stage of “preparing” copalchen is to properly kill the animal. If we are talking about a deer, then they choose the healthiest and strongest from the herd. Next, they take him away from the herd and keep him hungry for several days. This way, the deer’s stomach is completely cleansed naturally, and the animal can be sent for slaughter. A deer is killed by strangulation, being careful not to damage the skin so that there are no wounds left on the body. Next, the animal’s carcass is immersed in a swamp, covered with turf, and a mark is made at the place of its “burial.” It is interesting that in the Soviet years, pioneer ties were used as markings, which were clearly visible and did not fade in any weather.

The carcass is left under water for at least six months. Afterwards, in winter, they dig it up and eat it. During this time, the meat begins to decompose and cadaveric poisons are released, which is why an unprepared person should never try copalchen. And it’s unlikely that any tourists will want to taste carrion: copalchen has a specific appearance and smell that completely discourages appetite. Local people eat such meat with pleasure; for them it is a life-saving supply in the event that hunters fail to obtain food for a long time. Eskimos and Nenets have become accustomed to cutting frozen kopalchen into thin slices and seasoning them with salt before use.

Kopalchen has been known since ancient times. Such meat is high in calories, so just a few pieces are enough for an adult man to work in the cold all day without freezing or experiencing physical exhaustion.

To prevent consumption of copalchen from causing poisoning, children are taught to eat fresh meat from birth. Instead of a pacifier, babies are given a piece of meat or lard, and after the child has grown up, he eats kopalchen along with older family members. Kopalchen, by the way, is also used to feed sled dogs.

Each northern people has its own traditions. For example, the Nenets prefer to store deer meat for the winter, the Chukchi prefer walruses, and the Canadian Inuit prefer whales. Another version of this dish is seal stuffed with seagulls. The preparation method is similar: leave the skinned carcass for several months in permafrost, and then, after digging it up, you can eat it.

The cadaverous poison contained in rotten meat will definitely lead to severe poisoning or death if a stranger decides to try such a dish, but for local residents this is a real salvation from starvation and a delicacy.

Of course, not all national dishes are as dangerous as copalchem. often become calling cards of different countries, and tourists, going on a trip, always try to taste them.

The harsh natural conditions of the Far North of Eurasia and America have developed a completely unique cuisine among the indigenous peoples. It is characterized by an exceptionally high content of animal fats and proteins in the diet, and an almost complete absence of fiber and dairy products. There are also very exotic dishes. Everyone is well aware of stroganina - heavily frozen fish, which is cut into small slices with a knife. But this is precisely the northern dish for which there are many hunters among Russians. True, many people prefer to fry this stroganina.

Deer breadwinner

Domesticated reindeer are the main breadwinner of the northern peoples. Literally everything from deer is eaten, not only meat, liver, kidneys, heart, lungs and bone marrow. Northern peoples also eat deer brains, eyes, ears, young antlers (antlers)... They prefer steamed venison - raw, freshly slaughtered deer, still warm. This passion is common to the Nenets, Khanty, Chukchi, and almost all peoples for whom reindeer breeding is the basis of their economy.

The northern peoples also cook parts of the deer that people of other nationalities are unlikely to voluntarily eat, unless they die of hunger. One of the delicious national dishes of the Chukchi, Koryaks and Eskimos is kaniga. This is the semi-digested stomach contents of a freshly slaughtered deer. It is eaten with spoons, like porridge, flavored for taste with fresh tundra berries - shiksha, blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries.

From this content, in those seasons when the deer feeds almost exclusively on moss, the Chukchi also prepare opanga. It resembles a thick soup. In opang, semi-digested moss from a deer stomach is supplemented with its blood, fat (sometimes walrus fat is used) and chopped intestines.

In the spring, when deer feed on fresh green grass, the Chukchi, Nenets and other peoples of the tundra eat their fresh feces. Deer feces are mixed with herbs and chopped deer liver. The liver must be thoroughly rotten before this.

Most peoples of the North eat gadfly larvae raw. The Chukchi prefer to fry them, as do most Canadian Indians. When fried, they say, gadfly larvae are remarkably tasty.

Deadly Copanina

All of the above is simply exotic, however, despite all the unpleasant taste and other qualities of these products for other people, there is no risk of fatal poisoning. The latter applies to another kind of food - “tundra canned food”.

This story is described by Andrei Lomachinsky in “Stories of a Forensic Expert.” A helicopter with a team of military topographers and a Nenets guide crashed in Taimyr. All six people survived the accident, but were left without food, without means of communication, and with two units of warm clothes. There is deserted tundra for hundreds of kilometers around. It is clear that, having lost contact with them, other helicopters have already been sent to search for them. But when will they be found?

You won't live long if you eat only mushrooms and berries. On the third morning, a local suggested finding kopalchem ​​- a gift from the Spirit of the Great Deer. The topographers did not understand what it was, but they approved the idea of ​​the Nenets to go in search of it. In fact, what difference does it make to a person dying of hunger what to eat? In the evening, a Nenets came to the camp of the tundra robinsons and brought with him a severed, half-decomposed leg of a deer. Despite the disgusting smell, unpleasant taste and unusual gelatinous consistency, the topographers ate. At first they felt pleasantly full and went to bed by the fire.

At night, everyone showed symptoms of severe poisoning, and by morning three of the five topographers died. The other two were unconscious. After they were discovered by a search party the next day, only one was saved, the other also died, already in the hospital. The most amazing thing is that the Nenets, who ate the most of this copalchem, did not show the slightest symptoms of malaise.

Kopalkhem (kopalchen), or kopanina, as the Russians sometimes call it, is the corpse of a specially prepared deer left to rot in a swamp. From time to time, the northern peoples sacrifice the leader of the reindeer herd to the spirits. The deer is first not allowed to eat for two days so that its intestines are cleansed, then they are taken to a swamp, strangled with a lasso so as not to damage the skin, immersed in the swamp, sprinkled with peat on top and left for as long as desired. The place is marked with some kind of markers.

There are many such “canned food”, many of which were prepared tens and even hundreds of years ago, scattered in the tundra. They often, as in the case described, served as a source of food for locals if they got lost in the tundra. When the temperature of swamp water in the tundra is close to zero, the process of rotting of the carcass occurs very slowly and in a peculiar way. Bacteria have almost no access there, while meat and fat go into a state for which the term “fat wax” was coined. With the decay of organic tissues, a huge amount of cadaveric poisons accumulates in the corpse, the most dangerous of which is neurotoxic neurin. Its lethal dose for humans (not northern peoples) is 11 milligrams per kilogram of weight.

Why do the aborigines of the North eat copalchem ​​without harming themselves? Where do they get such tolerance to cadaveric poison? This issue has not yet been thoroughly studied. It is usually assumed that the main role is played by the gradual development of tolerance to these poisons through the use of them in small doses starting in infancy. However, it is possible that the predisposition here is genetic.

In a similar way - putrefactive fermentation of meat under pressure - kopalchem ​​is also prepared among the Chukchi, Khanty, Nganasans, Enets and Eskimos. Eskimos also prepare kiviak, which is similar to it. Several hundred slaughtered, not plucked and not gutted auks (guillemots, puffins, etc.) are placed in a seal skin with uncleaned intestines, the air is released from the skin, sealed with lard and buried in the ground. A large stone is rolled on top and left there for a year and a half. During this time, the enzymes contained in the bird corpses manage to decompose the seal intestines. They claim that kiwiak is not as toxic as copalchem.

But some of our food is sometimes dangerous for northern peoples. They say that the famous Soviet Nanai singer Kol Beldy was once barely allowed out after he ate a salad of fresh herbs and cucumbers at a party.

Chukotka national cuisine. The national cuisine of each nation is specific; it is based on the ability of a person to extract a food product from the surrounding nature, from the world of flora and fauna. On Chukotka land they engage in reindeer husbandry, fishing, hunting sea and fur-bearing animals, and therefore the main diet is the meat of deer, sheep, elk, poultry, fish, fats and entrails. In preparing national cuisine, the indigenous people of Chukotka make maximum use of the entire arsenal of existing edible plants. It should be noted that the ritual of any traditional holiday is not complete without a dish of roots and leaves. Special attention is paid to summer collection of vegetation. A huge role in the transfer of rich experience in families belongs to the older generation - grandmothers. While collecting, they reveal secrets about the miraculous benefits of this or that recipe, introduce them to the surrounding world, nature, retell legends about the secrets of the mountains, the treachery of enchanted lakes and rivers, the healing power of green foliage, roots... The main food spectrum of the indigenous people of Chukotka: 1 .Deer (meat, blood, entrails); 2. Marine animals: seal, bearded seal, walrus, whale, beluga whale (meat, blood, entrails); 3. Poultry: wild geese, ducks and eiders of all kinds (meat, eggs), partridge (meat, egg), birds of the poultry market (egg); 4. Bighorn sheep (meat, blood, entrails), elk (meat); 5. Fish: chum salmon, broad white salmon, nelma, pike, burbot, catfish, grayling, herring, highlander, smelt and others. 6. Vegetation: leaves and bark of young shoots of polar willow, wild onion, several types of sorrel (rylkyt, vechovyt, rimavyt and others), tops and roots of plants (yyechavtyn, ypen, yyet, pupukyt, pelkumret, lemkut, ankavtyn), berries ( cloudberries, blueberries, red currants, bookberries, lingonberries, crowberries, rose hips), seaweed, starfish, crab, seashells. Now the range of plant foods has been expanded due to imports. Due to the specifics of national cuisine (cooking, seasonings, taste and smells), it may not be familiar to the body of an outsider. The peoples of Chukotka have a lot of fermented food in their diet (meat, marine fins, fish). When these foods sour, microelements decompose, so the food becomes easily digestible by the body, with a high return on calories and the development of immunity to many diseases. Broths of deer and sea animals quickly and easily restore physical strength and have medicinal properties. The tundra flora has no less vitamin content than plants in other regions rich in gardens and vegetable gardens. Prarem The buttock part of a deer carcass is well boiled. The meat is cut very finely, as if through a meat grinder, and mixed with warm rendered lard. As it cools, the mass quickly thickens, at which time the dish is given a round shape, it is frozen - this is how prairie is obtained. The prairie is topped with deer bone marrow and frozen, which gives it a specific taste. Praram serves as a kind of gift when traveling to distant camps. Children are especially happy with it as a delicacy - prairam is a national dish. Nanuve - elegit Washed, dried deer intestines turned inside out. They are used for ritual purposes if they are taken from a slaughtered personal deer. Dried nanuye and elegy are fried over a fire and used as a seasoning for preparing liquid hot dishes. The rendered lard from the intestines is eaten with meat or travelers take it with them for food on the road, so that they can “kill the worm” at any time. Mylkopat Yushka (broth) from boiling young sorrel leaves (rymavyt) is seasoned with dried deer intestines and boiled until boiling. After stirring, the brew is poured with a small mass of condensed deer blood, which is stored in a dark place and boiled over low heat. Add the vegetable, finely chopped seasoning p'opokalgyn, which cooks quickly. Kivlet Rorat - tripe or deer intestines - elgit, nanuye finely chopped. Boil with water. Afterwards, fresh deer blood is poured into the boiling brew. Stirring constantly, add pupukyt root and bring to a boil. The food is ready to eat. Alyagyepat Reindeer meat with lard is easily cut, the lard is beaten with a hammer. Then it is boiled with the addition of mig - mig or pupukyt roots, and is used as a seasoning. These roots are collected and dried in the summer during the flowering period, when the roots are at their juiciest. They are used to season food and broths, which add flavor and aromatic properties to the dish. Wilkitykit At the end of summer, fine-haired deer are slaughtered. This is the best time to ferment deer meat. The meat of an adult deer is tightly packed into leather bags, which are stored in a cool, dark place. The meat is ready for winter and frost. In winter they eat it as stroganina or boil it. They go hunting. Iner Raw or dried deer meat is fried over an open fire, hot coals. After frying, the meat is cut on a wooden tray kameny, eaten while hot with the fat of the sea animal or with leaves (lemkut) in the fat. Kykvatol - dried reindeer meat. Tevel – dried fish (yukola). On summer, sunny days, the breast, ham, subscapular and dorsal parts of the deer carcass are dried. This is a unique type of food preservation and one of the most effective ways to preserve the nutritional properties of meat and fish. Fish caught in the summer are separated from the bone and filleted with skin. Cuts are made on the fillet for quick drying. Meat and fish are dried (cured) for the winter for future use and in large quantities. Chiv'et - lyamkolgyn (mother - and - stepmother). Young leaves of lyamkolgyn (mother-and-stepmother) after collection are placed in leather bags pygpyg or walrus bladder along with the fat of the sea animal. The leaves are slowly soaked in fat and used as a seasoning for dried (dried) meat or fish and stroganina (frozen fish or frozen deer meat). Vilmullymul The hoof, antler and labial parts of the deer are well fried over an open fire. Once fried, well cleaned of fat and coals, they are placed in a bowl with cold water for 3 to 4 days to remove the bitter taste. Then boil over low heat to soften. The cooled brew, along with the liver and kidneys of the deer, is placed in a leather bag, along with fresh deer blood, and tied tightly. After a month, the dish is ready to eat. Yormat is the bark of young shoots of polar willow. The bark (ermat) is torn off and eaten in winter or early spring, when there is still frost. The bark is beaten off the branch's stem with a hammer, finely chopped together with frozen deer liver or frozen fermented blood (vilmullymul) and used for food. The dish is sweet and pleasant to the taste. Ypalgyn - melted reindeer fat. The meat of a well-fed deer after boiling gives a good nutritious broth and a lot of rendered lard. After the finished boiled meat has been removed from the hot broth, the rendered lard is collected in a separate bowl and served as a component of a low-fat dish hot. After each cooking of meat, a decent amount of rendered lard is collected. Melted hot lard is poured into a “rorat” - tripe or kelilen - a book and hung for a day in a non-smoky place. This dish is called kymkym. Rendered lard is also obtained from crushed (finely beaten) deer bones - taliapalgyn. Villegyt – pickled fins of a sea animal. The flippers of a seal, sealed seal or walrus are wrapped in grass and then kept in a fabric or leather bag. After some time, this process is repeated, only with a tighter closure (tie) of the bag and hung on the yaranga poles. In warm summer times, check the readiness of the dish after 3–4 days. If the outer skin of the flipper comes off easily, the dish is ready and is eaten with dried meat. Vytrelkyrel - “green porridge”. Young polar willow leaves are collected, beaten, and made into a paste. Add deer blood and any berries and mix thoroughly. The resulting dish is vytrelkyrel - “green porridge”. Stroganina from kidneys and liver After cutting and processing the carcass, the liver and kidneys are bled, cut into strips 5–6 cm wide, placed on clean snow, and then on a plywood board and frozen. After freezing, the liver and kidneys are finely crushed in a special vessel - takamanyolgyn, a kind of leather basin, inside - a rounded flat stone - elgykvyn, a hammer - rynen. Frozen sour blood and seasoning are added, for which they usually collected young leaves of polar willow, arctic sorrel, tundra sorrel, and knotweed, which were finely chopped and filled with fat. Felted duck Start plucking the duck from the neck, being careful not to damage the skin and carefully removing feather stumps. Carefully gut and wash. The carcass is cut along the chest, separated from large bones and, flattened, dried. It is better to do this in hot weather and in a place that is blown from all sides. You should not add salt, as salt retains moisture and this deteriorates the quality of the finished product. Store in a cool place. Other game birds are prepared in the same way. Kym - Kym meat bread Venison pulp with lard is boiled until completely cooked. Finely chop the cooked pieces or grind them in a meat grinder. Add palgyn (Chukchi oil) and mix everything very well. Fill the deer's stomach with prepared minced meat and refrigerate. When it hardens, cut with a knife like slices of bread. A dish of deer tripe. The lungs, intestines, heart, liver, and peritoneum of the deer are cleaned, washed and boiled until tender. Then cut into small pieces and add salt, pepper and other spices to taste. Drizzle with bone fat skimmed after boiling the chopped bones. Serve as a second course. Food can also be prepared from elk and mountain sheep tripe. Blood soup In a cauldron of boiling water, brew a flour mixture, add the holy blood, stirring thoroughly so that there are no lumps, and cook for 10 minutes. Blood sausage As soon as the deer is slaughtered, the blood is drained into a basin and allowed to stand for a day at room temperature. Then the serum is separated, the cleaned, washed insides of the deer (abomasum, intestines) are salted and filled with blood, the ends of which are pulled together. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes in salted boiling water. Wild edible plants Mother and stepmother. Lemkuk Mother and stepmother is a perennial herbaceous plant distributed throughout almost the entire territory of Russia. The medicinal raw materials are the leaves of the plant. After collection, the Chukchi and Eskimos season this plant with fresh fat from sea animals and store it in an enamel container in a cold room. When eaten, you can add round sorrel to it. Horse sorrel. Rymavyt Horse sorrel is a perennial herbaceous plant of the buckwheat family. Contains tannins, flavonoids, vitamin K, ascorbic and organic acids, essential oil, resins and iron. Antiscorbutic, hemostatic, hypotensive effects have been established. The Chukchi and Eskimos collect only the leaves, season them with fresh fat from sea animals and store them in a wooden barrel or enamel container in a cold room. In winter, the stock is well preserved. Eaten with dried boiled meat or sliced ​​meat. Ivan - fox tea of ​​this plant is harvested in early summer, before flowering, when it is still soft. After collecting, the leaves are boiled for about an hour, stirring evenly. Boiled Ivan - tea does not change color. Remove from heat, set to cool, and squeeze the boiled leaves vigorously. The prepared mass is placed in a wooden barrel, compacted, a wooden plank is placed on top so that it completely covers the plants, a weight (stone) is placed on top and a small amount of water is poured on top. At the same time, water does not seep inside, remaining at the top, and protects the harvested plants from rotting. Even in the summer, when harvesting this plant, boiled walrus flippers are placed in it. In winter, when eaten, they become very tasty and aromatic. The leaves of Ivan tea are consumed frozen in winter with frozen seal liver or fat - this is how a salad is prepared and served before eating hot food. Snake knotweed Chukchi and Eskimos collect winter knotweed in the summer in the tundra. It is not stored for the winter; it is eaten immediately after collection. The leaves, flower and root are edible. Golden root or radiola rosea. This plant is harvested in early or mid-summer. It is placed in a wooden barrel and filled with clean river water. They compact it very tightly, cover it with a plank, and place a load on top. Fermented golden root is stored in a cold room. They are eaten only frozen in winter. Willow Willow is a perennial branched shrub. The Chukchi and Eskimos collect willow leaves in early and mid-summer, fill them with clean river water in a wooden barrel, compact them well, cover the top with a plank and place a load. They are eaten with the fat of sea animals, frozen seal or bearded seal liver. Shiksha The Chukchi and Eskimos eat shiksha with the fat and fresh blood of a deer. When preparing shiksha porridge, fat, blood and “rymavyt” leaves are used. Swamp blueberries In the traditional cuisine of the Chukchi and Eskimos, blueberries, seasoned with fresh fat from sea animals, are eaten with dried and boiled meat. Cloudberry squat In winter, cloudberry is a good source of vitamins and microelements, organic acids and pectin substances. Among the Chukchi and Eskimos, it is customary to eat cloudberries with the fat of sea animals and the blood of deer. Wild potatoes - pupud Wild potatoes were washed in clean water and boiled in fat. Wild greens enrich dishes with vitamins, microelements and other beneficial substances. Therefore, the Chukchi and Eskimos never suffer from scurvy, and the old people, who eat their traditional food, have better teeth and health than the young.