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Wojapi
wozapi · wojapi berry sauce · chokecherry wojapi
Wojapi is a cooked berry sauce of the Lakota and Dakota peoples of the Northern Plains, traditionally made from pounded chokecherries and today most often made with blueberries and a starch.
What it is
Wojapi is a cooked berry sauce, thick enough to spoon over food and sweet enough to serve as a dessert sauce. Its traditional form uses chokecherries, a wild fruit of the Northern Plains, which are pounded and simmered until they form a pulpy sauce. The modern form most often uses blueberries.
The name is a Lakota and Dakota word, and the sauce is associated with those peoples. It is served with frybread and sometimes with pound cake.
Sources for this section
Traditional preparation
The traditional sauce was made by combining cooked and pounded chokecherries with flour made from roots. The root flour thickened the berries as they cooked. The research sources differ on the root used: one university recipe collection names prairie turnip (timpsila), and the source used for the method does not name it.
Chokecherries were gathered in season and were often dried before use, so the traditional sauce did not depend on fresh fruit.
Sources for this section
Modern versions
The modern recipe on the United Methodist page crushes washed blueberries, covers them with water, brings them to a boil and holds them just below a boil for about 10 minutes. Cornstarch mixed with water may be stirred in for about 5 minutes to thicken, and sugar or agave is added to taste.
Modern recipes use starch and sweetener as adaptations. They are not the traditional method, and this record keeps them separate from the historical preparation.
Sources for this section
Notes
The sources give no dated origin for wojapi and no storage limit for the sauce. Community-specific sources should be consulted before any more detailed traditional method is written.
Sources for this section
History
Historical accounts describe wojapi as made from cooked, pounded chokecherries combined with flour made from roots. The source says the modern recipe commonly uses blueberries. A university recipe collection reports prairie turnip (timpsila) as the thickener; the Lakota-focused page used for this record does not state that, so the thickener is reported with its attribution. The sauce has no dated origin in the sources.
Ingredients
Scaling: the modern recipe gives no yield; scale by eye from the berries.
Chokecherries, dried and pounded (traditional)Traditional preparation; the modern recipe uses fresh berries.
Quantity not given
Root flour (traditional thickener)Flour from roots, as described for the historical preparation.
Quantity not given
BlueberriesWash, and crush in a bowl (small berries may be left whole).
946 mL4 cup as recorded
Modern version; chokecherries are the traditional berryWater
Amount not stated
Enough to cover the berriesAgave syrup or sugar (optional)
To taste
Cornstarch (optional)Mixed with 1/4 cup water, added to thicken.
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
OptionalMethod
- Rinse the berries and crush them in a bowl. Small berries such as Maine blueberries may not need crushing.
- Cover the berries with water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to keep them just below a full boil for about 10 minutes.
- If thickening, add the cornstarch and water mixture and stir for about 5 minutes.
- For a sweeter sauce, stir in the agave or sugar to taste.
Conditions
Active time20 min
Places
Northern Plains, United States
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceThe sauce is associated with the Lakota and Dakota; the source gives no dated attestation.
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Sources
United Methodist CommunicationsMethod · History · Uses
Wojapi (Berry Sauce)Modern recipe: 4 cups blueberries, water to cover, agave or sugar to taste, optional 1/4 cup cornstarch in 1/4 cup water; boil then simmer about 10 minutes; thicken about 5 minutes.
Wojapi comes primarily from the Dakota and Lakota; the original was cooked, pounded chokecherries with flour from roots; served with frybread or pound cake.
Cited in: What it is; Traditional preparation; Modern versions; Notes
University of Nebraska Medical CenterHistory
Recipes from Lakota SiouxReported in research as naming dried, powdered timpsila (prairie turnip) as the thickener; this record cites it only for that attributed claim.
Cited in: Traditional preparation