Eating authentic Alaskan food

When traveling, it’s enjoyable to try local cuisine because it’s usually fresh and delicious. Alaska is unique in that the environment is relatively unspoiled, so you can find a lot of fresh foods you just can’t find anywhere else. In today’s blog, we explore various Alaskan foods so you can plan the perfect breakfast, lunch, and dinner when you visit Skagway.

Alaska is more than just salmon

You may think that Alaskan food choices start and end with seafood but you couldn’t be more wrong. Not only are there many lumps of meat to enjoy, but the local plant life can also be quite tasty. Have you ever wondered about the people way back when who discovered berries and mushrooms that were poisonous? It makes you wonder if they just went around eating anything they came across.

Alaska plants you can eat

Alaska is full of plants. They grow just about everywhere. If you go on a hike while you’re on your cruise, you could run into any of these plants. Just make sure they’re not poisonous before shoving them in your maw because someone already did that so you don’t have to.

• Fiddleheads – When these ferns are just tiny rolled-up buds, they are quite tasty. You can find fiddleheads during the spring just when deciduous trees are starting to turn green with new leaves. I like my fiddleheads lightly sauteed in butter.
• Salmonberries – You will find these berries in the late summer and fall while you’re in Ketchikan. They look like a cluster of salmon eggs, which makes you wonder why they’re not called salmoneggberries. I like to shove handfuls in my mouth while I’m fishing.
• Blueberries – You already know what these are but they’re plentiful in Alaska. Just make sure to keep an eye out for bears as you feast or you could end up on the menu.
• Devil’s Club – In the early spring, the tiny shoots on these plants can be eaten. Some people love them but I find that they are a little hard to swallow. They are full of ginseng, so be sure to down a handful if you have a hot date planned.

Alaska mushrooms you can eat

Mushrooms are great but there are some exotic species in Alaska that will make any mycologist act the fool.

• King Bolete – These savory morsels are also known as porcinis. They are plentiful in the late summer months and absolutely delicious. I like to eat mine with freshly caught trout because I am a good fisherman.
• Shaggy mane – These guys pop up during the summer, oftentimes in people’s yard. You want to get them when they’re young and eat them right away. If you leave them out overnight, the following morning they will have turned into a puddle of black ink. Weird stuff.
• Morels – These mushrooms are found in the early spring and are often considered the best in the world. You can find truckloads of them in forested areas that burned the year before because life… uh… finds a way.

Alaska animals you can eat

I don’t really know of many poisonous animals. Jellyfish I guess. So, don’t eat jellyfish. You can eat all of these critters.

• Caribou – Also called reindeer by people that don’t understand the difference, you can find caribou on many Alaskan menus. They are quite tasty but I wouldn’t eat one on Christmas Eve or you could make Santa really mad.
• Sea urchin – The Japanese call them uni, and they are plentiful in Alaska. I eat these things all the time. You just cut them open with a pair of scissors and scoop out the yellow bits. Those are the sea urchin’s gonads but it’s best not to think about that.
• Whale blubber – Also called muktuk, you can find this stuff in some remote native villages in Alaska where they hunt whales to subsist. I’ve never eaten it and don’t plan on it.
• Arctic Grayling – This is a pretty fish in the salmonid family that you can catch all over Alaska in freshwater streams and lakes. I like to catch them, fry them up, and eat them with fresh king bolete mushrooms. In fact, there isn’t a fish I won’t eat and there isn’t a fish that can escape my fishing hook.

There are many other things to eat in Alaska. I’ve tried many of them and can tell you that I plan on eating many more.