What do Eskimos eat?

Have you ever lay awake at night wondering about the dietary contents of the native people of the Arctic Circle? Of course you have, and now to help you get a good night’s sleep here’s a list of the most common foods eaten by Eskimos. Please note that Eskimo is not the same as Inuit and there are various other names for the native people of the far northern arctic circle. The word Eskimo is a blanket term invented by the US and given to all people who live this arctic lifestyle.

Anyone living in such an extreme climate generally has access to the same foods, no matter which country they are in as the environment greatly restricts the crops they can grow, forcing them to turn to other sources.

Reindeer / Caribou

Often herded in huge groups sometimes numbering in the thousands, these animals are not only prized for their meat, but their pelts are the number one choice to make clothing from. Their skins have been designed to withstand the harsh arctic weather and converting these skins into clothing provides the best level of protection possible. The animal doesn’t contain a great deal of fat for its size but the sinews from their legs are incredibly strong, and provide all the stitching material they need.

Seal and walrus

Both these animals produce a very dark red meat that’s said to not be the tastiest out there, but the animal contains a huge amount of fat which is a premium product in this type of environment. Larger grazing animals or fish are the preferred choice when it comes to meat, but every now and then it almost becomes necessary to go after a seal just for its fat. Adding chunks of fat to any dish to increase the calories is commonplace within Eskimo cooking, and after the whale, the seal and walrus produce the most fat.

Whale

The most commonly caught whale is the bow-head whale, probably because it can feed a village for an entire year, and produces enough fat and oil to keep their lamps going for just as long. Hunting such huge creatures is only done by certain communities due to the large costs and amount of effort involved, but upon bringing home one of these enormous creatures their food worries disappear for months.

Fish

Fishing is mostly done through holes in the ice using a method called “jigging” which involves using a fake fish as bait and moving it up and down in the water to attract something large enough to eat it. When something bites it is quickly pulled out of the water onto the ice and killed. The types of fish vary depending on where the fishing is taking place, but since there are no poisonous or particularly dangerous fish that live in sub-zero waters anything caught is normally eaten.

Plants

Vegetables and fruit have always been massively lacking in the diet of an Eskimo, mostly because they can’t be grown there, and the few types of plants that grow in the area naturally are hard to find and in small amounts. Roots from various tundra plants and seaweed are the only naturally found vegetables, crowberries come from a berry-producing type of heather which is the most common type of fruit and pretty much the only one that can be gathered in any real amount.

Musk ox

This large arctic cow only appears in certain areas and is more often culled from a controlled herd than hunted in the wild. During the mating season, the males produce a very strong odor which is the cause behind their name. The meat is very high quality and they produce a good amount of fat, but the skins are much too thick and heavy to make clothing out of. The pelts are either sold or made into leather goods like bags and belts.

Birds and eggs

There is no type of bird that can be found in the far northern Arctic circle that isn’t edible, and with this in mind, anything that flies is on the menu. Birds are more commonly sought after for their eggs as opposed to their meat, and apart from the goose all the others contain a quantity of meat that’s not even worth spending the energy to hunt in the first place.

Other foods

With the increase in transport and the availability of long-distance ordering, regular foods from milder climates are bought in large quantities during the summer when the sea ice is thinner and can be delivered by ship. This has led to a decline in the amount of hunting and also the skills required to do so. Buying a snowmobile and hunting rifle comes with a huge set-up cost, and all for the “chance” you may get something, which makes buying a load of food online much more appealing.

The Eskimo diet is almost entirely meat-based which has led to an overall shorter life expectancy than people in milder climates, but even with the chance to move to a more friendly environment the people of the Arctic Circle stay there out of choice. The communities there cannot be found in any other region of the world, with a focus being on taking care of each other and sharing. After a hunt everything is shared out amongst the whole village and no one goes hungry.

Living this way has also led to some interesting recipes such as Igunaq. This unusual dish is started in summer and consists of producing a number of steaks which are then buried in the ground, over the rest of summer and autumn the steaks ferment in the soil and are then frozen over the winter. The next year during the spring the steaks are dug up and eaten, which may sound like a health risk but Igunaq is considered a delicacy within Eskimo communities and considered quite valuable.