Good Eatin'

"The Inuit people of Alaska have a distinct version of ice cream. It's not creamy ice cream as we know it, but a concoction made from reindeer fat or tallow, seal oil, freshly fallen snow or water, fresh berries, and sometimes ground fish. Air is whipped in by hand so that it slowly cools into foam. They call this Arctic treat akutaq, aqutuk, ackutuk, or Eskimo ice cream. . . .

Akutaq can also be made with moose meat and fat, caribou meat and fat, fish, seal oil, berries and other Alaskan things. Women traditionally made akutaq after the first catch of a polar bear or seal. [I]t was always made for funerals, potlatches, celebrations of a boy's first hunt, or almost any other celebration. It is eaten as a dessert, a meal, a snack, or a spread."

For a modern recipe, click here.

The first person who . . .

1. Makes akutaq
2. Provides photographic proof that he/she made it AND ate it
3. Doesn't throw up in the process

. . . will win a special prize! (No offense to the Inuits. I'm in awe of any people tough enough to eat a dessert made with reindeer fat.)