About Apache Recipes
Apache Indian tribal recipes emphasize foods native to the southwestern U.S. high-desert country: large and small game animals, fruit and nuts and a limited amount of vegetables.
Despite a harsh environment, the Apache people devised ways of finding and preparing food which helped them prosper.
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History
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Historically the Apache Indians were hunters and gatherers, and mostly nomadic. Living in the southwest, they mainly hunted buffalo, antelope, deer, and small game animals and birds such as rabbits and pheasants. They also gathered fruit, such as grapes and banana yucca, seeds and nuts. The Apache people traded for corn and this also was a main part of their diet. During part of the year certain segments of the tribe stayed in one place and farmed vegetables.
Geography
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The Apaches migrated to the southwestern U.S. from Canada in the 1500s or 1600s, and eventually settled mainly in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Food variety was limited in the high-desert mountains and the weather could be extreme.
The Apaches survived by hunting animals and planting vegetables. Their nomadic ways kept this hunting and farming sustainable as they tended not to stay in one place long enough to decimate the animal or plant populations. -
Features
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Meat was often dried and made into jerky so that it would last for many weeks. The Apaches also made pemmican out of lean meat, where the meat was dried and then pounded into powder and mixed with melted fat. Dried berries could be added. Pemmican is sometimes used today by survivalist campers and backpackers as an emergency high-protein food. You can buy "energy bars" marketed as "pemmican" but they are a long way from the original.
The Mescalero Apache Indians of southeastern New Mexico used the mescal plant, or agave as a food staple. Today people think of agave in relation to tequila, but the Apaches utilized leaves and stalks which were roasted in large cooking pits and eaten, or pounded into cakes and dried in the sun for later meals.
Some segments of the Apaches tended gardens in the summer for squash, corn, pumpkins and beans.
Significance
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Eating habits of the Apache have changed a great deal over the years. The Apaches survived and prospered in the rough high desert terrain, while avoiding disruption of the ecosystem.
Today, with the advent of supermarkets, traditional meals are not so common on the Apache reservations, but do make ritual appearances at tribal festivals and dances.
For example, in Carlsbad, New Mexico, you can attend Mescal Roast put on by the Mescalero tribe each year in May.
The four-day event includes gathering and roasting mescal using traditional methods, along with presentation of the Apache War Dance and the Mountain Spirit Dances, which are the most traditional dances performed at the Mescal Roast. These dances are actual blessing ceremonies and not just re-enactments.
Types
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If you search on-line, you can find a multitude of recipes for Apache dishes using only indigenous ingredients, such as acorn stew, fry bread, gesatho and nopalitos. Below is a traditional acorn stew made from elk meat and ground sweet acorns.
Acorn stew
3 pounds elk meat or venison, cut into bite-size pieces
(steak can be used for the less adventurous!)
1 cup ground sweet acorn flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 quart waterPlace the meat and water in a heavy pot and bring water to a boil. Simmer until meat is cooked (about three hours), and add salt as meat becomes tender. Remove the meat and chop it on a flat stone until it is shredded, while continuing to simmer the broth. Mix the meat with the flour and then add this mixture back to the broth, simmering until the broth is creamy white.
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