"The only seasonings that the and other rice gatherers traditionally used with wild rice were , berries, and animal fat—any or all of which might be added during cooking. ... Precontact Indian people had their own way of cooking: deer tallow mixed with bear grease was an effective shortening, and ashes were used in place of for baking bread. The absence of salt, a comparatively recent introduction, was often remarked upon in early sources; for example, an explorer at in 1857 found rice cooked with a welcome relief from foods seasoned with salt. Minnesota Ojibway began to acquire a taste for salt only in the mid-nineteenth century."