Rubaboo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Alternative names | Rubbaboo |
|---|---|
| Type | Porridge/stew |
| Place of origin | Canada |
| Region or state | Rupert's Land |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Peas or corn, fat (bear or pork), bread or flour, pemmican |
| Variations | Rubaboo |
| Part of a series on |
| Canadian cuisine |
|---|
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Rubaboo is a common stew or porridge consumed by coureurs des bois and voyageurs (French fur traders) and Métis people[1] of North America. This dish is traditionally made of peas and/or corn, with grease (bear or pork) and a thickening agent (bread or flour) that makes up the base of the stew.[2] Pemmican[3] and maple sugar were also commonly added to the mixture.
Rubaboo that is made by the Plains Métis is often made with pemmican, rabbit, prairie chicken or sage hen and a wide variety of wild vegetables such as wild parsnip (lii naavoo) onion, turnip, and asparagus that can all be added to the food with preference.[4] The thickened mixture was later re-served as “rowschow” (re-chaud).[5] Other sources describe it as consisting primarily of boiled pemmican, with thickening agents added when available.[3][6]
The etymology of the word is a blend of the French word roux (a thickener used in gravies and sauces) with the word for soup ("aboo") from an Algonquian language,[7] such as Anishnaabe ᓇᐴ naboo.[8] Although pemmican can be added to the stew, Rubaboo and pemmican remain separate dishes, but are culturally linked closely to each other in Metis history.[9]
