Kylie Cooks the World: Antarctica Hoosh

 

Hoosh, is a porridge or stew of pemmican and water, often thickened with crushed sledge-biscuits.  I learned much about the history of Hoosh and Antarctic cuisine from Jason C Anthony in his book Hoosh [2012].  In it, he says the British referred to it as “a meat stew of the ravenous.”  

 

I especially enjoyed learning of The Secret Society of Unconventional Cooks and their "championships".  Though a good cook, I feel I could belong to this crew; of course, we all make mistakes. One of my favorite household phrases when a mistake is made, an injury has occurred or a failure is experienced is, "It's the price of adventure."   I say it a lot in the kitchen.

Back to Hoosh… 

Recipes would really be based off rations at the time.  Throwing it all in a pot and heating it to boiling to serve as a hot meal, warm the body and provide nourishment.  It was not really meant for taste (nor did I read much about it over-achieving this mark and satisfying the culinary palate), but the heat and sheer warmth made it satisfying. 
 

So, if you're looking for simple experimental “travel” based off history and to have a little adventure, well here you go.  If you're looking for a dinner of delicacies for Thursday night that appeals to all—this may not be your best option.   Again, I went to CoolAntarctica.com for a suggested recipe, but offer a few extra ideas. 

 

Hoosh  [Serves 2] 

4 oz pemmican  

5 oz sledging biscuits  

1 c water, melted from snow or ice cubes if you wanna have a bit more fun  

 

Depending on your time and sense of adventure level…  

Boil the water, add the pemmican—breaking it up with a wooden spoon and crumble your biscuits into the pot.  Stir, as it again comes to a boil, and serve hot. 

 

Or, in The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, they tell of making Hoosh with tea instead of water.  I would use unsweetened as sugar was scarce, and doubtfully used except on a very special occasion if it were still available.  

 

You can also spark up your campfire skills and cook it over the fire outside or over your camp burner.  Couple it with a cup of hot (powdered) milk or cocoa to experience a treat these explorers had on special occasions.    

 

While we won't thicken our hoosh with seal's blood or seaweed or have to chisel frozen seal meat from the carcass leaving the camp in bloodied disarray, we can still have some fun aspects of the charm of these adventurous people.  

 

So, get out the cookbook and read and savor one single reading of a recipe discussing each person's idea to make that recipe better in a kitchen one day as the 22 men did on Elephant Island, anxiously awaiting to see if Shackleton had survived his escape and rescue attempt of the men (spoiler alert—he did in an amazing seventeen day battle with the seas, elements, and uncharted mountainous ice hikes all to get to a whaling station and make multiple attempts to save them for 100 days). 

 

Or bring out a canned food item and slowly read the label aloud due to no other reading material being available as they would on Nordenskjold’s Antarctic expedition.

 

Or you can sing songs or hum tunes as they would have for the excitement and anticipation of a meal after months of conversation was exhausted like the Northern Party led by Victor Campbell during their unplanned and unprepared for winter stay.  They were unable to make it on the Terra Nova from their separate assignment on Robert Scott’s expedition, and the six men survived in an ice cave they dug, approximately 12’x9’x5.5’.

 

Or you can scoop the hoosh in to dishes and play Shackleton’s psychological game of "Shut Eye" to assign each person their portion, as they sometimes did to avoid grumblings of favoritism in rations.  Scoop the ration into a dish, ask the blindfolded person to name who’s dish it is and hand them out so no one can say they are purposely getting shafted on their rations.

 

Whichever your choice, Go Big or Go Small, let’s at least go somewhere, even if we are only “travelling” in our kitchens! 

For more fun facts on Antarctica and food facts, check out this episode on my podcast "Miss Kylie's Peculiar Guide for Ladies (and Gentlemen) in the Art of Cookery and Household Management" https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/NvpOBW1SRyb

Kylie Cooks the World: Antarctic Sledging Biscuits

To make Hoosh, first we're going to need some authentic Sledging Biscuits. I got this recipe from CoolAntarctica.com and converted it from the metric system.  There are many variations you can find, but this seems to be a pretty authentic version from early the 1900s based off what was consumed on Scott's expeditions.  

 

It is said Roald Amundsen used whole meal flour and oats, and omitted baking soda which was thought to cut down on vitamins.  Sometimes powdered milk was added to increase protein, vitamins and minerals—so if you're interested, there are more versions to play with.  I selected this one because it's basic and seemingly authentic.  

Sledging Biscuits  

2 c all-purpose flour  

1 tsp baking soda  

1 tsp salt  

5 Tbsp butter, softened   

½ c water  

Preheat the oven to 375.   

Cut the butter in to the flour until it forms a consistent crumb.   

Add the baking soda and salt and mix well.   

Add a little water and knead into a soft pliable dough, adding a little water at a time—you may not need all the water.   

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to approximately ½ inch thick and cut it in to rectangles 2"x3".   

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and prick the surface of each biscuit with a fork.  

Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes.   

They will be pale and lightly golden on top.   

Let cool completely on a wire rack.  

Serving Options 

There are a few ways to dress it up—you can have the biscuits in a Hoosh [That recipe up next.] If you don't want to go to that much trouble but still want some authenticity, have the biscuits with a little butter on top, a thin slice of cheese, or a bit of Marmite--a dark, sticky paste made of yeast extract discarded from beer brewing. A very distinct taste; you’ll love it or hate it. It just depends on which polar expedition you want to look to for how authentic or historical you want to go.  

Bon appétit! 

For more fun facts on Antarctica and food facts, check out this episode on my podcast "Miss Kylie's Peculiar Guide for Ladies (and Gentlemen) in the Art of Cookery and Household Management" https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/NvpOBW1SRyb

Kylie Cooks the World: Antarctica

I'm so excited to say I've finally found my Antarctica recipe for Kylie Cooks the World.  It seemed like my biggest hardship was going to be finding something that met my standards for a traditional recipe.  There are no indigenous tribes in Antarctica, so I was unsure what I'd do.  I've reached out to chefs from the Amundsen-Scott Station and no real luck.  I thought I would do a recipe from explorers and many I found were made with penguin, skua, or seal, which is pretty hard to find right here in ol' Tennessee.    

Well, Mark and I were sitting on the front porch enjoying the Spring, listening to birds and Brood X, whilin' the day.  I have the book Hoosh: Roast Penguin, Scurvy Day and Other Antarctic Cuisine by Jason C Anthony sitting on my stack to peruse for an Antarctic recipe.  He's reading the true tale The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard [1922] about the author’s hardships on Robert Scott’s Terra-Nova Expedition in the years 1910-13. He tells me that inside this volume of struggle he's found a recipe for me.  

The explorers on the expedition ate what is called Hoosh, which is a meal of pemmican, melted snow and dried biscuits made into a stew. Honestly, I thought he was saying "pelican" and was wondering where I was going to buy pelican meat!

So all I needed to make hoosh is pemmican...but what's pemmican?  I'd never heard of it, Wikipedia helped me out.  A wee bit of research discovers that it's a Native American food made of dried meat, fruit (commonly berries) and tallow.  Tribes used it as a sustenance ration and it was adopted by explorers, especially polar explorers for its protein and fat content, and obviously it's transport qualities.  The polar explorers usually used beef pemmican instead of the wild game pemmican the tribes would have used, then compacted and measured into blocks for rationing.   

There is another version of pemmican stew I learned about called "rubaboo", which is pemmican, water, flour, wild onions or potatoes. Perhaps, another kitchen voyage. 

Online searches show pemmican can be ordered, so I have several varieties on the way.  Mark also has a recipe where he's going to make a homemade version, but for my first attempt at Hoosh—I'll be using some made by the Lakota tribe.  

[Incidentally--The Lakota word for pemmican is wasná, originally meaning "grease derived from marrow bones".  Mmmmm-mmmm—pass the wasná please!]  

Robert Peary of North Pole explorations used pemmican on his explorations for his men and dogs.  In his book from Secrets of Polar Travel [1917] he says "Too much cannot be said of the importance of pemmican to a polar expedition. It is an absolute sine qua non. Without it a sledge-party cannot compact its supplies within a limit of weight to make a serious polar journey successful."  

So, I am thrilled to present to you, Kylie Cooks the World: Antarctica Hoosh with Pemmican!  

Let's see if it's the sine qua non of front porch sittin' in Tennessee!  

For more fun facts on Antarctica and food facts, check out this episode on my podcast "Miss Kylie's Peculiar Guide for Ladies (and Gentlemen) in the Art of Cookery and Household Management" https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/NvpOBW1SRyb