The Ojibwa Indians are from the Lake Superior area and the surrounding territories. The Ojibwa are also known as the Chippewa. They are the third largest Native American nation. Given their relationship with nature and values, the majority of the foods come directly from the land they live on and lack a complicated preparation procedure.
Fry Bread
Fry bread is a traditional food of the Ojibwa Indians. It was favored because of its simplicity of preparation and its duration. This versatile dish can be a dessert or the main staple of an evening meal. While some recipes vary, the main ingredients for Ojibwa fry bread are water, milk, baking powder, lard and flour. You fry the bread in the lard and you can choose to either make bread balls or fry flat bread. Another version of this dish is to cook the bread with sausage inside, making it look like a corn dog.
Hominy
Hominy is a dish made from corn kernels without the germ. It is also sometimes called samp. Before preparation, you must soak the kernels in diluted lye until they puff up. You can serve the actual corn whole or in a ground-up paste. The end product is usually served as a vegetable or a cereal. Another way to eat it is to ground up the soaked kernels and make patties out of them, then fry the patties to make sandwiches or eat as is.
Maple Syrup
The Objiwa regularly cultivated maple syrup from tree sap. They traditionally gathered the syrup in spring and then boiled it, making enough to last until the following spring was usually made. One of the uses of syrup was to sweeten vegetable dishes such as squash. They glazed some meats with it to add flavor. Maple syrup also served as a preservative to keep food edible through harsh seasons. The Objiwa also made raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.
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