Savor Some Alaskan Treats

One of the special joys of traveling is that you have the opportunity to sample local cuisines. From Thuringian Sausage in Germany to savory sates in Malaysia, you can literally taste your way around the globe.

Just by traveling across the United States, you can sample a wide array of local cuisines. Whether it’s digging into hot steamed crabs in Baltimore, Maryland or sipping the wines of Sonoma County, California, you can literally taste your way across the country.

While I’ve been fortunate to sample the local cuisine in a number foreign countries and many of the continental states, I’ve yet to make it to Alaska to sample the local specialties there. Fortunately, I have a dear friend, Jay, in Anchorage who regularly provides me with culinary care packages that showcase the foods of Alaska. The salmon he sends me, it goes without say, is superb. And the latest Salmon treat is Yummy Chummies, dog treats that are so tasty that our little Sweetie Pie, a fiesty Shiba Inu will do anything to get a fix. When a package arrives from Akaska, she goes beserk until it is opened and she has sampled the contents. (Arctic Paws, P.O. Box 244365, Anchurage, AK 99524-4365 home.gci.net/~yummychummies)

Jay’s latest package included an 8-ounce bottle of 100% natural Alaska Salmonberry syrup. No, it’s not syrup made from salmon, but the wild Alaskan salmonberry, which, according to the label, is made from “a large delicate berry cousin to raspberries, but visually reminds us of salmon eggs.” Don’t be turned off by the salmon name and description that it resembled “salmon eggs.” Forget all this hard-core Alaska talk. Just taste it for what it is—delicious.

“Salmonberry plants were and are today a symbol is prestige among Indian tribes,” the label reads. “The origin of the Salmonberry name has many legends, but one from the Chinook Tribe says that the Coyote was instructed to place these berries in the mouth of each salmon it caught in order to make sure of future good fishing.”

The berries of this syrup have been hand-picked from the rich wilds of Kodiak Island, Alaska, juiced and filtered to make a unique, colorful toping for breakfast, desserts and special holiday treats. No artificial coloring, flavorings or preservatives have been added to this ruby red festive-looking syrup.

Open a bottle and the bouquet wafts upward to stimulating your taste buds and make you want to immediately drizzle it over pancakes or ice cream. And I can’t wait to pour a dollop into Champagne flutes for what I will call Salmonberry Alaskan Royal. For more information, Alaska Wilderness Gourmet (P.O. Box 29, Ester, AK 99725.)

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