Local tradition of food in the Izhma Komi

The most northern ethnographic group of the Komi - the Izhma people - was finally formed in XVII-XVІІІ centuries. Migrants to the Izhma river area found themselves in the ecologically admissible zone for advancement to the North without basic change of traditional system of nature management. They found a way out of a crisis situation having included in the traditional economic complex a new branch - the reindeer breeding adopted from the Nenets. So they included the tundra zone in territory of development and began to use its natural resources along with resources of the forest zone.Traditional practice of food preparation and intake in the Izhma Komi with traditional system of nature management, and the reindeer breeders who developed the tundra zone differs that is caused by their way of life. Nevertheless, for all Izhma people hot meals are characteristic, food products and dishes are similar on structure and composition. The settled way of life predetermined the existence of family three hot meals a day, cooking was done in the Russian stove. The nomadic way of life made its correctives: in tundra hot food was cooked in open flame, later they began to use iron stoves, raw food diet was included in food ration.Use of taiga and tundra natural resources predetermined the composition of rawfood materials. In the Izhma people food products can be divided in three layers depending on time of their inclusion in food ration. Meat and milk and fish dietis connected with the main occupations. Wild plants providing a vitamin component and variety of food make a substrate layer connected with rudiments of theprevious system of living. The third layer, superstrate, is presented by productsobtained through a distribution network. What is especially characteristic of the Izhma Komi and what differs their causine from that of other ethnographicgroups of the Komi (Zyryans) is the inclusion of venison in food ration and also using fermentation at laying of fish products for long storage.