Pulverized dried meat or fish mixed with hot fat and dried berries and/or other dried fruit into a thick paste, and then formed into loafs or small cakes. Some regional variations of pemmican use parched corn instead of dried meat. This food originated with North American Indians as a nutritious, spoilage-resistant food good for traveling. Pemmican, which can be eaten out of hand or added to hot water to make a soup, was adopted by early American pioneers, hunters and others on the move.