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INDIAN CARROT or False Caraway, Perideridia gairdneri (H. & A.) Mathias Indian Sawwictk, Umatillas call it Sa-hwet; Utes call it yam-pa. |
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INDIAN CARROT or False Caraway, Perideridia gairdneri (H. & A.) Mathias Indian Sawwictk, Umatillas call it Sa-hwet; Utes call it yam-pa. |
This root, known as "wild carrot" on the reservation, is washed and put through a food chopper with skin intact. Using thumb and three fingers the pulp is shaped into the "three-finger" or "palm" cakes similar to those previously discussed for luksh. In this case the cakes are called "saw-wictke-me." If the pulp is dry, a little water is added for shaping. These cakes are then placed on mats made of dried cattail stems connected with twine or on clean cloths to dry. They are placed in the hot sun and turned daily so that they will dry evenly and thoroughly, then stored in air-tight cans. Before the day of the food chopper or grinder, the roots were beaten into a pulp with stone mortar and pestle. This root grows in the same places as camas. "Wild carrot" also can be eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable when fresh.
The carotene (provitamin A) content of Indian carrots is considerably less than that of true cultivated carrots, but it would make a contribution to the requirement for this vitamin. The amount of iron present is high, one cup containing about one-half the Recommended Dietary Allowance for men or one-third the allowance for women, but again availability of iron from plant sources is variable. Vitamin C is present in similar proportions to the other roots, one cup providing between one-third and one-half the adult Recommended dietary Allowance in the fresh product with a decline to almost zero in the dried cakes.
