Lol … this reminds me of a survival drink my culture has out in the wilderness.
You make a batch of extra strong orange pekoe tea (you basically boil the tea bags for ten minutes) … the tea is more like strong coffee … then mix it with lard, flour and sugar.
Back then when people traded in wilderness posts, the main items you stocked up in was … Tea, flour, lard and sugar … so when you’re out in the cold, around a fire and you have no time to cook or break camp, you made this survival drink because these are the foods you always carried.
It’s call Tea Ploss … and yes it tastes absolutely horrible … but when you’re cold hungry and tired, it’s delicious.
If I drink it at home, I’d probably puke… but leave me out in the bush for a day and around a fire in the cold, it feels good and reminds me of my parents and my old family.
Tea Ploss is a relatively new invention that came with trading with Europeans … it was something done out of necessity and something you built a taste for over time
Pemmican is thousands of years old … it’s absolutely delicious when prepared properly. And there are an endless variety of it depending on the region, dialect, environment and animal used … my old family way up in Hudson Bay used smoked arctic char mixed with berries. The mix of salty smoked fish with a bit of sugary berries is unbelievable. No one makes it any more but as a kid I remember having it and it was like candy. When I think about it, it was like modern protein energy bars … its filling, tastes sugary but with subtle tastes.
I have relatives and friends in far northern Canada in Inuit territory … they enjoy raw fish and whale oil stuff and blubber … those are definitely things you have to build a tolerance for.
This comment thread is just setting off memories for me like crazy today
My parents were born in the 30s in the bush way up in northern Ontario. They remember living through famines in the late 40s and early 50s. Yes in modern Canada, there are people who still remember surviving famines in the wilderness … some of those survivors are still alive today. My late father said he remembers coming across families in the wilderness that boiled their moccasins to make a kind of soup to try to eat something. Women were so malnourished, they weren’t able to produce breast milk, so they resorted to feeding babies fish broth, when they could get some.
So you are right … when times are desperate … shoe leather is actually delicious.
Wow. I was being a little flippant, sorry. I didn’t really consider that it might literally be true for some people.
Those are some amazing stories / memories. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for your parents and others. Even thinking straight can be difficult when you don’t have food. Add bitter cold to that (right?) and I’m impressed that they survived.
No need for apologies … these silly conversations help us to connect and remind us of our human family.
I share my stories … but it’s also amazing to read the endless variety of other stories from so many other people in so many other situations in so many other times and places.
Lol … this reminds me of a survival drink my culture has out in the wilderness.
You make a batch of extra strong orange pekoe tea (you basically boil the tea bags for ten minutes) … the tea is more like strong coffee … then mix it with lard, flour and sugar.
Back then when people traded in wilderness posts, the main items you stocked up in was … Tea, flour, lard and sugar … so when you’re out in the cold, around a fire and you have no time to cook or break camp, you made this survival drink because these are the foods you always carried.
It’s call Tea Ploss … and yes it tastes absolutely horrible … but when you’re cold hungry and tired, it’s delicious.
If I drink it at home, I’d probably puke… but leave me out in the bush for a day and around a fire in the cold, it feels good and reminds me of my parents and my old family.
Pemmican always sounded awful to me. This sounds worse.
Tea Ploss is a relatively new invention that came with trading with Europeans … it was something done out of necessity and something you built a taste for over time
Pemmican is thousands of years old … it’s absolutely delicious when prepared properly. And there are an endless variety of it depending on the region, dialect, environment and animal used … my old family way up in Hudson Bay used smoked arctic char mixed with berries. The mix of salty smoked fish with a bit of sugary berries is unbelievable. No one makes it any more but as a kid I remember having it and it was like candy. When I think about it, it was like modern protein energy bars … its filling, tastes sugary but with subtle tastes.
I have relatives and friends in far northern Canada in Inuit territory … they enjoy raw fish and whale oil stuff and blubber … those are definitely things you have to build a tolerance for.
Can confirm. I sometimes have this when I smoke salmon.
Your talk of the far north has my imagination humming. I would love to visit up there someday.
Ok pemmican isn’t that bad. I never got all the sissies, it works like a charm out in the bush.
When you’re cold hungry and tired shoe leather is delicious.
This comment thread is just setting off memories for me like crazy today
My parents were born in the 30s in the bush way up in northern Ontario. They remember living through famines in the late 40s and early 50s. Yes in modern Canada, there are people who still remember surviving famines in the wilderness … some of those survivors are still alive today. My late father said he remembers coming across families in the wilderness that boiled their moccasins to make a kind of soup to try to eat something. Women were so malnourished, they weren’t able to produce breast milk, so they resorted to feeding babies fish broth, when they could get some.
So you are right … when times are desperate … shoe leather is actually delicious.
Wow. I was being a little flippant, sorry. I didn’t really consider that it might literally be true for some people.
Those are some amazing stories / memories. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for your parents and others. Even thinking straight can be difficult when you don’t have food. Add bitter cold to that (right?) and I’m impressed that they survived.
No need for apologies … these silly conversations help us to connect and remind us of our human family.
I share my stories … but it’s also amazing to read the endless variety of other stories from so many other people in so many other situations in so many other times and places.
Thanks for sharing, really lovely to hear the stories!