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The Food that Makes us Canadian
No, I don't want this to go into Tilted Cooking, as this is a very Canadian-specific question:
And I did use the search button, but found little relevant results. Please advise if this is a re-post My goof buddy from the states is coming to town, and he asked me "You will have to show me some of that 'Canadian Quisine'..." Um.. Okay. I like all kinds of food, and the Vietnamese place I go to is so good it makes you want to run into the back and shoot the chef. Wait a second... that is Vietnamese, not Canadian! I don't live in Ottawa, so BeaverTails are off the list. We have a large Ukranian population here, but again, not Canadian... I have wild meat in the freezer, like deer and elk, some moose and a whole bunch of Jack and Pickerel, but does that describe "Canadian" quisine? I don't think so. I am going to take him to the First Nations cultural centre here, and we will try Bannock and Buffalo, but is that "Canadian" enough? I asked him what "American" quisine was, since there are all those different cultures down there like us, and he said things like hotdogs at a ballpark, Hamburgers and Barbeque. Hmmm. I want to leave a lasting impression, and I want something that says Canada! My buddies (in real life) suggested the wild game dinner, and then to take him fishing and treat him to a "Shore Lunch". I guess they don't do that in the US, and when they come up to fish they find it a real treat. I don't know if we will have enough time to do that. What do the Canuck TFP'ers think? Is it worth the time and effort to find "Canadian Quisine" or should I just tell him that we steal all the best foods from different cultures and put them on one big multicultural menu? Suggestions please! :icare: |
Pancakes? Maple Syrup? out here in Newfoundland, it might be moose steaks and fried bologna, but maybe that's too cultural for you..
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Take him to Quebec and have poutine! (not sure of the spelling, but i think you know what I mean).
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The part of Canadian eating that is Canadian is the hospitality.
If that doesn't work... here are some dishes that are a bit haute but I consider to be Canadian in spirit: Grilled Alberta Striploin Digby Sea Scallops Bison Tenderloin BC Halibut i.e. stuff grown or raised in Canada. The only foods I can point to that are Canadian or are consumed by a lot of Canadians: Poutine Beaver Tails Saskatoon Berry Pie Sugar Pie Tortierre |
Bacon and a cup of Tim's.
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BigBen, it's "cuisine" (same as French), not "quisine". As for specifics, I think Charlatan pretty much cornered them, aside from Tourtičre, which isn't actually made of tourtes, which were hunted to extinction, but rather or ground beef or chicken. Basically, it's a meat pie, but a lot of people still call it a tourtičre.
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Man, I haven't heard of people eating beaver tail for many years...people still do that? Ick.
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As far as I know, only people who eat things like bear would eat things like actual beaver tails. The rest of us can still eat the glorified donuts. |
i can't believe nobody has said beer yet.
i'd say we do alot of lake trout up here too. |
What about a good ole great Alberta bull steak? Or even a 2 pound burger that's juiced with thick sauce?
Ya can't beat that one bud |
When I was out east (in the atlantic provinces) I saw Donairs advertised everywhere.
I have no idea what they are. If they are not Canadian I am sure that the term Donair is canadian. Canadian Cuisine - Canadian Bacon - Tim Hortons Coffee - Salmon - Softwood lumber oops slipped on the last one |
A Donair is a middle eastern sandwich... it's a lot like a gyro. The gyro is greek and the donair is, I think, Lebannese in origin.
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Donairs are like gyros sandwiches (i.e. sliced processed meat from a skewer on a pita with toppings - usually garlicy & yoghurty) tastey, but the first time that I had one was on the Left Bank in Paris. I think they are of mediterranian/ The Levant origion.
I've had Beaver Tails in Quebec City, and at the Toronto Zoo. Same company that does them in Ottawa. Get them with lemon juice squirted on top... amazing when hot. Butter Tarts are apparantly very Canadian (is this the sugar pie Charlatan?) as are Nanaimo Bars. But then, the Yanks probably have a version of these that they call their own as well. How about KD??? with ketchup? mmmm And BigBen, when you feed your buddy bacon, make sure it's normal side bacon. This 'Canadian Bacon' myth is just plain annoying. |
oops, you got it Charlatan... fast
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Beaver Tails, while popularized in Ottawa, especially on the canal in winter, come from the Ottawa Valley. Specifically the little town of Killaloe. Which is very close to where my wife's family is from and where we now have a cottage.
Leto rightly points out that the Killaloe Sunrise (a beaver tail sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and a squirt of lemon juice) is the best of the bunch. The coolest thing was discovering a Beaver Tail franchise operating in Singapore. That was weird. Sugar Pie is, as Leto points out, a butter tart but on the scale of a pie rather than a tart. A better way to envision it is a pecan pie but with no peans. They are popular in Quebec. But now that you mention it, Butter Tarts are a good one too. I love Butter Tarts. And Nanaimo Bars are definately a Canadian thing... any American version is just a pretender to the original... |
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I still think that I am right on this one. Do a Google search on Donair the first 20 pages (that is as far as I went) lists recipies and restaurants all from Canada and some from the US. I am sure that you are right about the origins of the food, but the name the way it is spelled must be Canadian. I could be wrong. |
Apple Fritters, and as has been mentioned, beaver tails, poutine, pemeal or Canadian bacon,
and of course, actually good beer. |
Don't restrict yourself to "local" canadian cuisine.
So, a list of "Canadian" food: Beaver tails. Tortiere (nutmeg spiced meat and potatoe pie) Carabou Arctic Char (nummy!) Bannock Poutine (use real curds!) Saskatoon Crisp (/drool) Beer, Good Steak (Alberta -- best beef in the world) Nanaimo Bars (city in BC) Butter Tarts (with or without Raisins) Perogies (num num) French Fries with white Vinigar Hamburger with Steak Sauce and Mayo Pizza with 10 toppings Maple Syrup mead Belgian Waffle with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on top, Bananas and drizzled with Maple Syrup |
I am what I consider to be quintessentially Canadian, i.e. I was born in Thunder Bay (Port Arthur) of German & Scots parents. I've lived in many parts of Ontario, but specifically Kingston/Welland/Barrie and now, since 1986, Toronto. I've also lived in Vancouver.
So... I thought that I would survey this list and see what my life has exposed me to when it comes to Canadian cuisine, just to see how representative my upbringing was: Quote:
So, from this excercise, I can see that I have some exploring to do, plus one addition to canadian food: Cheese Curds! oh, and pickled eggs. These are beer accompanyments. I should get some for the Leafs/Sens game this Wednesday.... |
Tell him to keep his fork.
There's pie. |
Take him for a bloody Caesar! I always get these in Canada (no one in the States seems to know what I'm talking about, except at airport bars). Personally I like mine garnished with a dill pickle...this is how they seem to do it at most bars I've had them at.
Mm, now I want one. Personally, all my favorite Canadian foods are junk foods--Ruffles All-Dressed, Smarties, Aero bars...and anything maple flavored. |
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I am going to take him to the mall, and there is a food court there... NY Fries, (Poutine) Donairs, Pizza (all dressed) And the Beer and Steaks will be at my place. Saskatchewan beef. It's like Alberta beef without all of the "Look at me, I'm Alberta Beef! I'm not taxed!" asshole personality. I am getting some butter tarts from my aunt. She loves making them .995 times as much as I love eating them. |
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Btw... I need an aunt like yours... I love butter tarts. |
Ben, I'll pay for some of those butter tarts!
I just scored some home-baked ones this morning, as Enbridge is having a United Way bake sale in its lobby... mmmm. Note on American chocolate bars: I hear that they don't have (or didn't have until very recently) the classic Coffee Crisp or Crispy Crunch ones. Weren't these made by Rowntree Mills??? what happened, did they get bought by Nielson? |
Speaking of Maple Syrup, have you ever compared all the different grades? I've had #1 light, #2 medium, and my favourite; #2 Amber . I saw #3 Dark in a health food store the other day and am dying to try it. The thicker, sweeter and maplier the better.
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alright, I grew up in the states, washington so Ill let you guys know what I have had living there, and what is actually canadian. I now live in Calgary, so let me know what is just regional
it seems Yakk has the biggest list so i just use his... also my tastes are somewhat similar so I have heard of things, but never had em. correct me if i have just heard of it since ive been in Candada Quote:
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*laugh*. Just because you 'merkins eat something, doesn't mean it isn't canadian.
I mean, you eat Canadian Bacon. =) There was a eastern Canadian pizza chain which decided to expand into the USA. They rolled out huge, tossed out ads, and got lots of business. Within the year, the entire chain was bankrupt. The problem was, they didn't pay enough attention to where they got profits. Their pricing model was a cheap base pizza with cheese, and they nearly reaped all of their profits via selling toppings. Their average American consumers where mostly purchasing Pizzas with 0 to 2 toppings -- meanwhile their average Canadian consumer was purchasing significantly more toppings. Which meant those crowded American stores where not making any profit on their pizza. Together with expansion costs (real estate, ads, etc) bled the company dry. I don't have much to substantiate it -- this was just a tale told by an economics teacher as an example of the kind of market differences you have to watch out for when expanding. ;) Canada is a multicultural nation. I figured tossing in contributions from some of our larger immigrant communities would be polite. Hence, Perogies! (which, as a bonus, are nummy) |
tim horton's "timbits" would be my vote for the most authentic of all canadian cuisine!
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and just because you canuks eat something doesn't mean it is canadian. ;) pizza with lots of toppings strickly canadian? maybe moreso than commonly found in the states.... but no it is not strickly canadian. |
When I was in Quebec they made this dessert by pouring maple syrup in the snow and then you roll it in a popsicle stick. One of the best foods I've ever had.
Also.... Alberta beef..... you could not go wrong there. Large glass of wine from a vineyard in the Okanagan. Potatoes from Prince Edward..... Lobster from out East. Incorporate something from Canada. |
I remember an old joke that Canada's national spice is Arrowroot. I like to think that it's no longer the case. Parsely?
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just drooled on my keyboard. that is the meal right there! |
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Maybe the reason Americans weren't buying the pizzas with toppings was because the no topping ones were cheaper. We're frugal like that. |
This too, isn't associated with any one nationality. I buy pizza based on price. if I can get a two large with three toppings for under $30 then I will do so. If I have to sacrifice a topping or two, i will.
If not, I will default to the local cheap Chinese for takeout (like I did last night - $28 quick fix to feed a family of 5) Economic rationalism... |
The whole sugaring-off feast is quintessentially Québécois, imho.
It is usually followed by (sometimes even preceeded by!) the Maple-taffy-on-snow, which was mentioned and drooled over above. The feast usually includes: Mountaineer's Pea Soup Farm-Style Crusty Bread Canadian Salted Back Bacon Québécois Maple-Smoked Ham Wood-Fired Baked Beans, Farm-Style Omelette Traditional Meatballs Stew Country-Style Sausages Old-style Mashed Potatoes Meat Pie from Quebec's Beauce Region Homemade Fruits, Ketchup & Pickles. and for Dessert: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Sugar pie, tea and coffee All served family style, usually at long picinic type tables, in a barn like setting, like you'd imagine an outdoor Oktoberfest in Hamburg. I pulled this menu off of a web site for an awesome Cabane ŕ Sucre. If you're ever near one in the late fall...don't miss it. As was also mentioned, the poutine, which is a french fry, cheese curd, and gravy concoction, is devine. I also remember my mother's pâte chinoise, which is our families version, Quebec style, of a shephard's pie. -bear |
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Anybody know why shepherd's pie is called pâte chinoise in French? I heard that it comes from the railroad building days back at the turn of the century, when most of the cooks in the construction camps were Chinese. They would often concoct a hearty meal using whatever was at hand (veggies, meat, onions etc) and cover it with mashed potatoes. And since a lot of RR workers were French Canadian too, they called it pâte chinoise, after the Chinese cooks... Can anybody verify? |
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She did mention two other things: 1. It's spelled pâté chinois, since pâté is masculine. This fact changed my google results significantly, but still nothing definative. 2. Chinoiserie is a mixture of things...which is in essence what a pâté chinois is. Of course, this begs the question, which came first Chinoiserie or pâté chinois? :crazy: I suspect the actual answer will be very similar to why they call it "Shephard's Pie" in English. :thumbsup: -bear |
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http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/c1/chinoise.asp chinoiserie Related: Design (shēnwäzrē´) , decorative work produced under the influence of Chinese art, applied particularly to the more fanciful and extravagant manifestations. Intimations of Eastern art reached Europe in the Middle Ages in the porcelains brought by returning travelers. Eastern trade was maintained during the intervening centuries, and the East India trading companies of the 17th and 18th cent. imported Chinese lacquers and porcelains. Dutch ceramics quickly showed the influence of Chinese blue-and-white porcelains. In the middle of the 18th cent. the enthusiasm for Chinese objects affected practically every decorative art applied to interiors, furniture, tapestries, and bibelots and supplied artisans with fanciful motifs of scenery, human figures, pagodas, intricate lattices, and exotic birds and flowers. In France the Louis XV style gave especial opportunities to chinoiserie, as it blended well with the established rococo . Whole rooms, such as those at Chantilly, were painted with compositions in chinoiserie, and Watteau and other artists brought consummate craftsmanship to the style. Thomas Chippendale, the chief exponent in England, produced a unique and decorative type of furniture. The craze early reached the American colonies. Chinese objects, particularly fine wallpapers, played an important role in the adornment of rooms, and especially in Philadelphia the style had a pronounced effect upon design. Bibliography: See study by H. Honour (1961). |
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