pemmican

Or pem·i·can

[pem-i-kuhn]

noun

1. dried meat pounded into a powder and mixed with hot fat and dried fruits or berries, pressed into a loaf or into small cakes, originally prepared by North American Indians.

pemmican

/ ˈpɛmɪkən /

noun

1. a small pressed cake of shredded dried meat, pounded into paste with fat and berries or dried fruits, used originally by American Indians and now chiefly for emergency rations

Word History and Origins

Origin of pemmican¹

1735–45; < Cree pimihka·n, derivative of pimihke·w he makes pemmican (mixing together the grease and other ingredients), he makes grease < Proto-Algonquian *pemihke·wa, equivalent to *pemy- grease + *-ehke· make

Word History and Origins

Origin of pemmican¹

C19: from Cree pimikân, from pimii fat, grease

Example Sentences

Some tribes still make pemmican today and even market a commercial version.

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It’s no surprise that Roald Amundsen, on his 1910-12 journey to the South Pole, packed snow knives, a sledge meter, snowshoes, mittens, skis and pemmican.

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“Energy bars” of pounded berries mixed with dried deer meat and fat — called “pemmican” — were traded with fur traders and highly prized for their nutritional value.

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There was food, too, including a hunk of unappetizing pemmican.

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European fur traders learned and eventually adopted pemmican as a great trail food.

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