pemmican

American  

[pem-i-kuhn] / ˈpɛm ɪ kən /

Or pemican

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.

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pemmican British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of pemmican

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

Example Sentences

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

From Salon

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.

From New York Times

“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.

From Washington Post

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

From Washington Post

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

From Washington Post