Researchers In 1984 Consumed A 50,000-Year-Old Bison In Stew, And It Had A "Strong Pleistocene Aroma."

Rachael is an expert in animal behaviour, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment. She received her degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton.

The Blue Babe bison has two lives. First, a lion killed the steppe bison (Bison priscus), which had been roaming throughout Ice Age Alaska for 50,000 years, when scientists discovered its immaculately preserved carcass in the permafrost of Alaska, where it had been frozen since that ancient day, its second life began, millennia later.

As the sole known specimen of a Pleistocene bison recovered from the permafrost, the exceptionally well-preserved bison was first found by gold miners in 1979 and turned over to experts as a rare find. However, this did not deter researchers with an interest in food from making a dish of bison neck stew from the Pleistocene.

"Powerful Pleistocene Fragrance"

Dale Guthrie, a palaeontologist who played a key role in the recovery of Blue Babe from the environment, would host the unique dinner party at his house in Alaska. The remains of the bison were thought to be about 36,000 years old based on early tests of its collagen, but more recent studies have determined that they are actually 50,000 years old.

Because Blue Babe quickly transformed into a Pleistocene popsicle when it died, its muscular tissue was stored in a manner similar to that of beef jerky, complete with fat and bone marrow. With so much available, the research team chose to incorporate a little portion of the findings into an evening meal, just like the Russian scientists who had done so before them.

Guthrie said of the occasion, "We had a bison stew dinner for him and for Bjorn Kurten, who was giving a guest lecture, to climax and celebrate Eirik Granqvist's [the taxidermist] work with Blue Babe." "A tiny portion of the mummy's neck was chopped and cooked in a pot with vegetables and stock."

"Blue Babe was our dinner choice. The stew had a strong Pleistocene scent from the well-aged but somewhat tough meat, but no one there would have dared miss it.

Stew for the Neck

Guthrie explained to Atlas Obscura that they chose stew because "making neck steak didn't sound like a very good idea." "However, we could add a lot of spices and vegetables, and it wouldn't be too bad."

Nothing could be done to resurrect the contents of Blue Babe's abdomen, which had clearly spoiled before the animal first froze all those tens of thousands of years ago, but a little culinary magic would have saved the flavour. Where tooth fragments remained in Blue Babe's neck, there was evidence of lion predation. However, because the bison's neck musculature had been cut, the tissue there froze rapidly, so even 50,000 years later, when it thawed, it was rather fresh.

When it thawed, it released a distinct fragrance of beef that was not bad, along with a hint of the ground it was found in and a hint of mushroom, according to Guthrie. "On April 6, 1984, about a dozen of us got together to eat bison priscus stew."

It appears that their constitutions fared well after consuming beef that was 50,000 years old, in case you were wondering.

A few fortunate visitors met at palaeontologist Dale Guthrie's Alaskan home one evening in 1984 to enjoy stew made from a once-in-a-lifetime treat: the neck flesh of an old bison known as Blue Babe that had just been unearthed.

The dinner party was in keeping with Alaskan customs: local specialities like caribou stew are not available at restaurants since the state legislation forbids the purchase, bartering, and sale of game foods. Hunters adore those foods when they have a party. However, the moose population—rather than a conserved piece of biological history—is typically their supply of meat.