Native American Foods: Technology and Food Sources: Seasonings

Native Americans had access to numerous flavorings, and it is likely that their food was not dull. Most flavorings were vegetative and specific to one part of the plant. Examples include the berries of juniper and red sumac (lemonlike), the root and bark of sassafras and birch, the roots of wild ginger, the leaves of alliums, the flowers of Oswego tea, the fruiting bodies of chilies, and the seeds of roasted pumpkin. Nuts also were a major source of flavoring. Nuts were used as they came from the shell or were roasted, pounded, or boiled into nut milk and oil. The Iroquois fancied acorn nutmeats boiled and ground or nut oil mixed into cornbread and pudding.