A Taste of Alaska: Memories of Favorite Comfort Foods

Tastes of comfort foods bring back delicious childhood memories. Crowberries and fish pie reflect the Alaskan food culture of today’s contributor.

Here at The Food Memory Project, we spend a lot of time talking about food’s unique ability to transport us to other places and times. All it takes is one bite of a certain dish, and suddenly you’re back in your grandparents’ kitchen, on a trip around the world, or at your favorite hometown restaurant. It’s cheaper than buying a plane ticket and easier than building a time machine!

One of the most fun parts of this blog is learning about food traditions from all over the United States (and hopefully all over the world someday… we’re dreaming big!). Food is such a great way to learn about different regions and cultures and experience places we haven’t been able to visit yet.

Alaska Comfort Foods

It may be a while before we make it to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, but thanks to Anita of Vancouver, Washington, we’re getting a virtual taste! She has several memories of dishes that her mother and grandmother would make for their family while she was growing up in The Last Frontier:

“My mom would make crowberry pie, 6 loaves of bread, aladiks-fry bread, and biscuits. Also she would make fish pie – with halibut on Good Friday plus other days during the year. Tuna patties is another recipe.”

“I enjoyed this food when I was growing up in St George Island, AK. I make those recipes for my kids as they were growing up and now I’m making it for my grandkids. We all grew up on an island in Alaska. These are our comfort foods. It brings back great memories when I make these. I can see my mom or grandma making these recipes. I feel nostalgic when I make fish pie or crowberry pie.”

All of those dishes sound delicious to us, and many of them are pretty common in Alaska. Fry bread is a traditional recipe among Alaska Natives, and fish is one of Alaska’s major exports.

There was one food Anita mentioned that we were totally unfamiliar with: crowberries. We had to research this one a little bit!

Crowberries are small, round berries that almost look similar to blueberries. They grow best in colder climates, which makes them perfect for Alaska. In addition to pies, crowberries can also be used in jams, jellies, juices, wine, and liqueur.

We’d love to try these sometime!

Thank you for sharing your memory with us, Anita! We are so glad to hear you are keeping your family’s food memories alive for future generations.

Grab your free download of our guide, 9 Ways to Record Your Family’s Culinary History. You’ll be glad you did!