How do you make Oolichan grease?

Asked by: Erika Person

How is oolichan grease made?

Eulachon grease is made by putting the fish in what’s called a stink box, where the blood drains into cedar boughs laid on the bottom. The eulachon ferment for several days until their eyes turn red before they’re moved to another box for cooking at a precise temperature that releases the grease.

What is oolichan grease?

Oolichan grease, a dietary fat prepared from smelt-like fish, is highly prized by north Pacific coast aboriginal cultures. The composition of oolichan grease is unclear, with one report indicating a high 22:6n-3 content consistent with cold-water marine oils, but another reporting a much lower value.

Can you eat Candlefish?

Whitebait is a catch-all term for a number of species, including surf smelt, night smelt, and the fatty eulachon. The latter is so rich the Indians used them for making candles, thus their common name “candlefish.” Frozen smelt are widely available in supermarkets.

Why is the oolichan called the Saviour fish?

For us, it is a life-saving fish. It’s the first fish that comes in the New Year arriving as winter supplies are dwindling. The Nation has always held complete control over the area’s oolichan run, providing them a source of wealth and power.

Why is oolichan oil valuable?

Indigenous peoples valued oolichan as a food source
For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples along the Pacific Coast have valued oolichan as a food source, for their high oil content, and as an important ceremonial and trade item.

Are hooligans and smelts the same?

Hooligan—hoolie for short—is the local sobriquet for longfin smelt. Longfin smelt (also known by their traditional Lummi name ‘Tiokowe’) are a small forage fish, and the Nooksack is the only river in the Salish Sea that anyone knows of that hosts a significant breeding population with an associated fishery.

Are smelt and hooligan the same thing?

The real name for these little critters is eulachon. They have lots of other common names in in the Northwest – in our part of Alaska we call them hooligan, or even ‘hoolies’. They’re a type of smelt, and their numbers vary quite a bit from year to year.

What was eulachon oil used for?

‘Salvation Fish’ That Sustained Native People Now Needs Saving. Also known as candlefish, eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) are so oily that they can ignite when dried. Traditionally, eulachon were used at times as lights by Nisga’a people.

What are candlefish used for?

They are related to smelt, and are used primarily as a food fish. But candlefish also have another unique use by Alaskan and north west U.S. Native Americans. The fish are so oily that a thin strip of bark can be inserted into the dried fish and used as a candle or torch.

Why is the Eulachon fish disappearing?

So What Happened? The National Marine Fisheries Service determined the main threats to this species are changes in ocean and river conditions due to climate change. Changes in ocean conditions are the most significant threats to eulachon and their habitats.

What is the meaning of eulachon?

eulachon in American English
(ˈjuːləˌkɑn) noun. a small, edible, smeltlike fish, Thaleichthys pacificus, of northwestern coastal waters of North America, being so oily that when dried it can be used as a candle; candlefish.