Rubaboo Explained

Rubaboo
Alternate Name:	Rubbaboo
Country:	Canada
Region:	Rupert's Land
Type:	Porridge/Stew
Served:	Hot
Main Ingredient:	Peas or corn, fat (bear or pork), bread or flour, pemmican
Variations:	Rubaboo

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] Sometimes, It is occasionally spelled Rubbaboo. Other sources describe it as consisting primarily of boiled pemmican, with thickening agents added when available.^[6]

Origins

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 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]

See also

• Métis
• Métis in Canada
• Kama (food)
• List of porridges
• List of stews
• Roux
• Coureur des bois

Sources

• Arts, A. A. (2009, January 1). About Us. Retrieved 22 November 2019 from http://albertaaboriginalarts.ca/
• Barkwell, Lawrence J.; Dorion, Leah; Hourie, Audreen (2006). Métis Legacy (Volume II) Michif Culture, Heritage, and Folkways. Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications Inc. and Saskatoon: Gabriel Dumont Institute. .
• Gordon, Irene Ternier (1 February 2011). A People on the Move: The Métis of the Western Plains. Heritage House Publishing Co. p. 20 Retrieved 21 November 2019.
• Weaver, S. M., Brockway, R. W., & Blue, A. W. (1982). Book Reviews. Canadian Journal of Native Studies, Vol. 2, Pp. 395–414., Vol. 2, 395–414.Retrieved 22 November 2019 from https://iportal.usask.ca/index.php?t=display_solr_search&having=4303766&sid=168308311
• PEMMICAN.(1961). Nutrition Reviews, 19(3), 73–75. Retrieved 23 November 2019 from https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article-abstract/19/3/73/2672002?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Notes and References

1. Book: Manitoba: Past and Present : Hands-on Social Studies, Grade 4. Jennifer. Lawson. Linda. McDowell. Barbara. Thomson. 9 June 2019. 186. Portage & Main Press. 9 June 2019. Google Books. 9781553790341.
2. Weaver, S. M., Brockway, R. W., & Blue, A. W . Book Reviews . Canadian Journal of Native Studies . 1982 . 2 . 2 . 395–414 . 22 November 2019.
3. Book: Gordon, Irene Ternier. A People on the Move: The Métis of the Western Plains. 1 February 2011. Heritage House Publishing Co. 20. 10 November 2019. Google Books. 9781926936123.
4. Weaver, S. M., Brockway, R. W., & Blue, A. W . Book Reviews . Canadian Journal of Native Studies . 1982 . 2 . 2 . 395–414 . 22 November 2019.
5. Book: Bryce . George . The Romantic Settlement of Lord Selkirk's Colonists The Pioneers of Manitoba . 2005-12-19 . 1 . 20 November 2019.
6. Nute, Grace Lee.The Voyageur. Minnesota Historical Society,, p. 55
7. Web site: Cree, Assiniboine, Ojibwa and Michif: The Nehiyaw Pwat Confederacy/Iron Alliance in Montana - Blackfoot Confederacy (165 views). Scribd.com. 13. 9 June 2019.
8. Web site: Naboob (Ni) | the Ojibwe People's Dictionary. https://web.archive.org/web/20151101065729/http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/naboob-ni. 2015-11-01.
9. Pemmican . Nutrition News Journal . 19 . 3 . 1961 . 73–75 . 10.1111/j.1753-4887.1961.tb01895.x . 252701647 . 22 November 2019.