Also known as aqutuk, ackutuk, or Eskimo Ice Cream. Not the creamy ice cream as we know it, but a concoction made from reindeer fat or tallow, seal oil, freshly fallen snow or water, fresh berries, and sometimes ground fish. Air is whipped in by hand so that it slowly cools into foam. It is eaten as a desert, a meal, a snack, or a spread. Traditionally it was made for funerals, pot latches, celebrations of a boy’s first hunt, and any other celebration where food is brought. Today it is usually made with Crisco shortening instead of tallow and with raisins and sugar sometimes added.

Alaska Natives have thrived on this delicacy for thousands of years. The region lived in usually determines what berry is used, and each family usually has their favorite recipe. It is said that your choice of berries used is a lifetime decision. If it okay to eat any flavor made by others, but if you are caught making more than one kind, you will lose all social standing.