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Muktuk (transliterated in various ways, see below) is a traditional food of the peoples of the Arctic, consisting of
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
skin and blubber. It is most often made from the bowhead whale, although the
beluga The beluga whale (/bɪˈluːɡə/) (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the wh ...
and the narwhal are also used. It is usually consumed raw, but can also be eaten frozen, cooked, or
pickled Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called ...
.


Methods of preparation

In Greenland, muktuk (''mattak'') is sold commercially to fish factories, and in Canada (''muktaaq'') to other communities. When chewed raw, the blubber becomes oily, with a nutty taste; if not diced, or at least serrated, the skin is quite rubbery. One account of a twenty-first century indigenous whale hunt describes the skin and blubber eaten as a snack while the rest of the
whale meat Whale meat, broadly speaking, may include all cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and all parts of the animal: muscle (meat), organs (offal), skin (muktuk), and fat ( blubber). There is relatively little demand for whale meat, compared t ...
is butchered ( flensed) for later consumption. When boiled, this snack is known as ''unaaliq''. Raw or cooked, the blubber and skin are served with
HP sauce HP Sauce is a British brown sauce, the main ingredients of which are tomatoes and tamarind extract. It was named after London's Houses of Parliament. After making its first appearance on British dinner tables in the late 19th century, HP Sauce ...
, a British sweet and sour condiment. Muktuk is occasionally finely diced, breaded, deep fried, and then served with soy sauce.


Nutrients and health concerns

Muktuk has been found to be a good source of
vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...
, the epidermis containing up to 38 mg per . It was used as an
antiscorbutic Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
by British Arctic explorers. Blubber is also a source of
vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...
. '' Proceedings of the Nutrition Society'' stated in the 1950s that: Contaminants from the industrialised world have made their way to the Arctic marine
food web A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Another name for food web is consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one o ...
. This poses a health risk to people who eat "country food" ( traditional Inuit foodstuffs). As whales grow, mercury accumulates in the liver, kidney, muscle, and blubber, and
cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...
settles in the blubber, the same process that makes
mercury in fish The presence of mercury in fish is a health concern for people who eat them, especially for women who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children. Fish and shellfish concentrate mercury in their bodies, often in the form of ...
a health issue for humans. Whale meat also bioaccumulates carcinogens such as
PCB PCB may refer to: Science and technology * Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant * Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics * ...
s, chemical compounds that damage human nervous, immune and reproductive systems, and a variety of other contaminants.


Spellings

Transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
s of "muktuk", and other terms for the skin and blubber, include: *Ikiilgin, Chukchi *Maktaaq (ᒪᒃᑖᖅ),
Siglitun ''Sallirmiutun'' (formerly Siglitun) is the dialect of Inuvialuktun spoken by the Siglit, an Inuit group of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is mainly used in the Inuvialuit communities of Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour and Tuktoyaktuk. Sallirm ...
, Kivalliq, Aivilik,
North Baffin North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
, East Baffin, South Baffin *Maktak (ᒪᒃᑕᒃ), Inupiat, Siglitun, North Baffin *Maktaq,
Inuinnaqtun Inuinnaqtun (; natively meaning ''like the real human beings/peoples''), is an indigenous Inuit language. It is spoken in the central Canadian Arctic. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and some scholars, such as Richard Condon, believe ...
, Natsilingmiutut ( Inuvialuktun) *Mattak,
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
,
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
*Mangtak, Alaskan Yup'ikJacobson, Steven A. (2012)
Yup'ik Eskimo Dictionary, 2nd edition
. Alaska Native Language Center.
*Mungtuk, Siberian Yupik *Kimaq, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq In some dialects, such as Inuinnaqtun, the word ''muktuk'' refers only to the edible parts of the whale's skin and not to the blubber.


See also

*
Nalukataq Nalukataq (, ''naluk-'' 'to throw it underhand; to toss it up' + ''kataq'') is the spring whaling festival of the Iñupiat of Northern Alaska, especially the North Slope Borough. It is characterized by its namesake, the dramatic Eskimo blanket t ...
, spring whaling festival * Marine mammals as food * Chukchi cuisine


References


External links

* {{Portal, Food Inuit cuisine Chukchi cuisine Yakut cuisine Whale dishes Animal fat products Canadian cuisine