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.
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
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