Original Local facts for kids
 |
|
| Author | Heid E. Erdrich |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Native American cuisine |
| Genre | Cookbook |
| Publisher | Minnesota Historical Society Press |
|
Publication date
|
October 2013 |
| Media type | Book |
| Pages | 264 |
| ISBN | 978-0873518949 |
Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories and Recipes from the Upper Midwest is a unique cookbook filled with recipes, stories, and memories. It was written by Heid E. Erdrich and came out in October 2013. The book was published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Heid E. Erdrich is a member of the Ojibwe people from the Turtle Mountain Band in North Dakota. She is also part German. Her book dives into Native American cooking and uses ingredients that have been important to Indigenous people for a long time. It also shares personal stories and fun facts.
Discovering Native Foods and Stories
Original Local was created because of a movement called "locavore." This movement encourages people to eat food grown close to where they live. Heid noticed that many people in the Midwest were excited about local food, but they didn't know much about the Indigenous origins of these foods.
She started working with the Minnesota Historical Society Press to share this important knowledge. This project grew into the complete book you can read today. Other books and projects also focus on healthy Indigenous eating. These include Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions and The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen. There was also a TV show called 'Seasoned With Spirit: A Native Cook's Journey'. Groups like Native Seeds/SEARCH also work to protect traditional seeds and farming methods.
Exploring Indigenous Cuisine
This cookbook is special because it mixes old traditions with new ideas. Erdrich includes modern ingredients and cooking styles, showing that food traditions can grow and change. The book features many different Indigenous groups, like the Ojibwe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Potawatomi, and Mandan people. It also brings in cooking styles and ingredients from other parts of the world.
One important ingredient Erdrich writes about is mandaamin, which is corn. She also explores real wild rice, called manoomin by the Anishinaabe people. This is very different from the hard, black rice you might see in stores. Erdrich explains that real wild rice has tastes that range from "astringent and grassy to smoky and nutty."
Another interesting ingredient is Sumac. Erdrich says, "Sumac is a great seasoning or you can make drinks from it – Indian Kool-Aid, they call it." She loves it on popcorn. She suggests making a seasoning from sumac and maple sugar to use on many different foods.
Erdrich also talks about how the environment affects the food. For example, when discussing freshwater fish, she mentions how changes in climate and water pollution affect fish like Muskie (Ginoozhii), Walleye (Ogaa), and Whitefish (Adikamig). This shows the deep connection between the Ojibwe people and these fish species.
A Unique Book Format
Heid E. Erdrich comes from a family of writers, including her sister, Louise Erdrich, who is a famous Native American writer. Heid herself is mainly a poet. Because of this, Original Local is not just a regular cookbook. Its chapters are organized by food groups, but the content inside is more like a collage.
Each recipe has a special introduction written in Heid's poetic style. The book also includes essays, interviews, and cooking tips. Erdrich says that "Writing about cooking is a lot like poetry to me." She finds it interesting, emotional, and full of meaning, just like cooking itself.
