Now that could be interesting.

I collect and use juniper berries, Spruce buds not so much even
though there's black spruce in my back yard. There are several
grasses called sweetgrass but the famous one, the sacred smudging
herb, doesn't grow up here. (I wonder which one that chef was
introduced to because James Bay has baxically the same soil
conditions (Canada Shield glaciated rock and muskeg swamp) and
climate that we do here.)

The one I'm most familiar with (in its role of flavoring
alcohols) is also called buffalo grass. Of course, there are
many plants that go under the one name and/or the other, and
it's a bit of a confusion.

Bannock on a stick has been done elsewhere, too. One
wonders whether there was slow but sure interchange of
information or the clever idea was independently hit
upon in different places

It's certainly common throughout all the tribes from the Atlantic
coast through to the Rocky Mountains, especially north of corn
country. And meat on a stick has been a thing for at least 35,000
years everywhere, so bread dough on a skewer is not a huge leap.

I'm wondering which came first. Bannock on a stick is so
mainstream that the Boy Scouts do it, and meat on a stick
is common to Chinese, Japanese, Turks, Indians, Lebanese,
Greeks, Moroccans, Argentines, in fact any place where
people don't like so much to burn their fingers.

The fur traders certainly spread new ideas and commodites
around and the Natives were always highly mobile compared to
Europeans. A Native guy could hop in a canoe and go freely where
ever he wanted to, learn a new language, be accepted into a
different tribe, and marry a local girl if he chose to while a

Semi-nomadism has its benefits. I know.

European serf was tied to his master's estate and never travelled
outside his home county unless sent on some silly and possibly
deadly crusade or other foreighn war somewhere.

In the last cases, there was some fairness in that the
bosses were at least as likely to get killed off; the
serfs were in danger of further enslavement, but it most
likely wouldn't be much worse than their previous condition.

Flavouring fish with juniper is popular in Scandanavia too,
especially strong flavoured, oily fish like herring and salmon.
This recipe is from Finland ...
Title: Herring with Juniper Berries
15 Juniper berries (dried)
10 Allspice berries

I wonder where the allspice came from and what that
combination is like. Another potentially peculiar
flavor mix:

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v7.07

Title: Potato Pancakes With Juniper
Categories: Side dish, Vegetables
Servings: 6

1 1/2 lb Potatoes
Salt & pepper
1 Orange (grated zest only)
6 Juniper berries (or more)
Butter or oil

Peel and grate the potatoes. Season with salt, pepper, the finely grated
orange zest and the pulverized juniper berries. Divide into six flattened
heaps and fry in batches in a mixture of butter and oil until
golden-brown
and crisp on both sides. Drain on crumpled kitchen paper and keep the
pancakes hot (uncovered) in a low oven while you cook the rest. Source:

Philippa Davenport in "Country Living" (British), November 1988.
Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

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