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