On Fri, 29 May 2009 19:48  william wrote:

>Keith Thomas wrote:
>
>> It appears that the North American Indians dried the meat for their
>> pemmican in the sun or over a fire. But as I read Stefansson quoting
>> Peary, they combined this dried meat with fresh, un-rendered fat by
>> pounding the two together - probably using something like a pestle
>> and mortar. In the absence of a metal pot I guess that's what they'd
>> have to do. However such a process does not enable the removal of
>> moisture - which we do to inhibit bacteria-caused decay.
>>
>> Any comments?
>
>It will go rancid, still it would be edible for a while, someone would
>have to experiment to see how long.
>
>William

Excellent answer - I have to remind myself not to expect an answer
that's perfect by 21st century industrial/retail food standards. Thanks!

Keith