Todd Moody wrote:
> Also, the warm fat begins to cool instantly when added to the dried
> meat. Indeed, if you wanted to hasten this, I suppose you could
> refrigerate the dried meat first.
The risk is of destroying enzymes, which make pemmican IMO qualify as food.
> One reason why it tastes like candle wax is that candle wax is, in
> fact, mainly stearic acid. Same for crayons, a traditional
> grade-school treat. You can buy bulk stearic acid from chemical supply
> companies. It's very cheap. It comes in granules or flakes.
Aha! So it's something that nobody experiences as food. The fog lifts.
> The more liquid a fat is, the more unsaturated it is. Kidney fat is
> hard at room temp because it's so saturated. The more unsaturated a
> fat is, the more prone to oxidation spoilage it is. For the native
> Americans, the whole point of pemmican was that it was a food that
> could be made in bulk and stored for the winter or for long overland
> travel in the warm seasons, without fear of spoiling. If you use more
> muscle fat, it might be a good idea to keep the pemmican refrigerated
> until you eat it.
The modern instructions for making pemmican include rendering the fat at
250°F and keeping it there for several hours. I assume that this would
drive off the water and maybe whatever else makes it likely to spoil; if
true, muscle fat could be used.
>
> As others have pointed out, muscle fat is a symptom of obesity. You
> wouldn't find much of it in wild animals. Subcutaneous fat, kidney
> fat, hump fat, are a different story.
The local (W Quebec) aboriginal Americans are supposed to have used bear
fat when they made their pemmican. Much fat on a fall bear.
Farther west there were older buffalo/bison; old ones should have had
enough hide fat.
>
> A reason why cold-water fish are so high in PUFA is that if they
> weren't, the cold water temperatures would cause their bodies to harden.
>
>
Hm. I wonder if that might apply to us. If so I will have to change my
opinion of L. Cordain.
Thanks for the illuminating reply.
William
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