Platetrotter
Discovering the world one bite at a time
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • COUNTRY GUIDES
  • GOURMET BREAKS
  • PRESS
  • ABOUT

Canada Try

18/1/2012

10 Comments

 
If anyone asked me to name food associated with Canada before I visited the country a couple of years ago, I don't think I could have come up with anything more than maple syrup. To be fair, Canadian food does seem to have an unhealthy preoccupation with the cloyingly sweet but surprisingly addictive stuff, but a bit of pre-trip research and actual wandering on Canadian soil did turn up a few other treats. 

I managed to eat some of them, but it was a short trip so I didn't get to sink my teeth into everything I wanted to. Still, in the interest of raising common knowledge on Canadian food  - and in the hope that any friends travelling to that part of the world will return with some goodies :) - here's my list of  top Canadian foods to try:
 
EATEN 
Maple Butter
 
Ok, so it is maple syrup-related but you can’t really escape that in Canada. It’s 
still one of my favorite Canadian finds. This creamy spread is made by cooking down maple syrup to a consistency very much like butter frosting. Maple butter is perfect on hot pancakes, with maple bacon and – you guessed it – more maple syrup. Just think of it as the base for an experiment in flavor layering.
Picture
Maple syrup that feels like butter. Could there be a more perfect pancake topping?
Ice Wine
All you connoisseurs may tut in disapproval but I love a sweet wine and they don't come any sweeter than Canada's famed ice wine. Pressed from grapes that are picked and crushed while frozen, ice wine is highly concentrated and almost syrupy, yet surprisingly crisp and refreshing on account of its high level of acidity. Most of the world's ice wine comes from Ontario, Canada with many pretty vineyards in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area. Despite it being a jam-packed trip I was lucky to get a chance to drive through the Canadian wine country and stop off at one of the vineyards on a jaunt to Niagara Falls. It's since been one of my top wine discoveries.
Picture
Each drop of this fruity dessert wine is squeezed out of a frozen grape
Poutine
Canadian poutine is regularly featured on American lists of the world's weirdest foods. I really don't know why as it's just French fries topped with cheese curds and meat gravy. (Sorry America, but I'm sure there are weirder foods down in any North American China Town). But seeing it on some of these lists did get me to try it I guess. This Quebecois creation roughly translates to 'mess' or 'hodgepodge' and very much looks it. It's tasty enough but felt a bit like  glorified chips with brown sauce to me. Maybe I need to try some of the gourmet versions smothered in caviar, goat cheese, camembert or foie gras the next time. Still, worth a try as it’s a classic Canadian dish.
Picture
Poutine is also called a heart attack in a bowl. With all that grease, cheese and gravy, it isn't hard to see why
NOT (YET) EATEN
Butter tart
Any regular readers of my blog will begin to see a pattern when it comes to the sort of food I hunger after on my travels. Sweet tarts feature quite high on the list and I was very keen to sample a Canadian butter tart - made primarily from butter, eggs, sugar and syrup baked into a flaky crust. Sadly, a busy business
trip doesn't offer too many opportunities to hunt for pastries so had to give this
a miss, but that's definitely on my Canadian wish list the next time I head to
that part of the world.
Picture
Butter + tart = has to be good :)
BeaverTails 
No, not real beaver tails (although apparently you could eat those too), BeaverTails refer to sweet dough hand-pulled into the shape of a beaver tail, fried and served with butter and various sweet toppings like chocolate, cream, powdered sugar, bananas and of course maple syrup. Sounds perfect for a cold Canadian day and also high on my list of must-eats if there ever is another trip north.
Picture
No animals were harmed in the making of this BeaverTail
Oreilles de Crisse
This is a dish that would probably not go down too well on Middle Eastern menus. (Oreilles de Crisse are deep-fried smoked pork jowls and the name translates into Christ's Ears with 'Crisse' being a particularly Quebecois way to swear). But let's not dwell on the name, they look like stacks of crackling which can't ever be a bad thing. Oreilles de Crisse were what I most wanted to try in Canada but never got the chance. They are traditionally served in the maple-making season drowned in syrup and are definitely a reason for me to seriously consider organising a cross country ski trip through sugar shack country at some point in the future.
Picture
Deep fried pork snacks. Reason enough to brave the Canadian cold
Related posts:
Picture
O Porto!

Picture
My Top 4 South American Picks

10 Comments
Ally Crighton
18/1/2012 02:04:56 pm

Any dish that includes the words words "fried", "pork" and "deep" cannot be at all bad.

Reply
Rana
18/1/2012 08:27:24 pm

great as usual! I tried the Poutine for the first time on my first week in Singapore... I have to say it wasn't worth the whole fuss!!

Reply
Radhina
18/1/2012 08:41:39 pm

Yeah, poutine's a bit underwhelming

Reply
Sally - My Custard Pie link
28/1/2012 02:45:18 pm

Icewine is fabulous. Seriously expensive outside Canada because of all that concentrated fruit. So glad to find your lovely blog, great name and concept.

Reply
Radhina
28/1/2012 07:03:35 pm

Thank you Sally, love your blog too :) really makes me want to cook at home more often

Reply
Minecraft link
12/7/2012 08:05:30 pm

You could certainly see your skills in the function you write. The world hopes for far more passionate writers like you who aren�t afraid to say how they believe. At all times follow your heart

Reply
Serwis laptopów wrocław link
17/7/2012 12:32:34 pm

Very intriguing details!Perfect just what I was looking for!

Reply
Ray Ban Sunglasses Sale link
13/8/2012 10:50:12 am

I really enjoyed this post, to see what you were talking about without even having to leave the article. Thanks for your free articles. I like this site very much.

Reply
Tiffany and Co Outlet link
13/8/2012 10:50:27 am

I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to understand. your blog is very informative and it helps other also.

Reply
sims 4 skill cheats link
16/7/2020 12:03:28 am

Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. With intersting game we also celebrate internation women's day. coming now

Reply



Leave a Reply.


    Named Best Blog for Food & Travel
    Picture
    Top 10 UAE Food Blogs in UAE
    Picture
    Featured in
    Picture
    Picture
    ExpatsBlog.com - Where Expats Blog
    Picture
    Picture
    Contributor on
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Follow me on Instagram

    RSS Feed

    Countries

    All
    Austria
    Azerbaijan
    Bahrain
    Bosnia And Hercegovina
    Brazil
    Bulgaria
    Cambodia
    Chile
    Croatia
    Cuba
    Cyprus
    Ecuador
    Egypt
    England
    Finland
    Germany
    Hong Kong
    India
    Indonesia
    Ireland
    Italy
    Japan
    Jordan
    Kosovo
    Kyrgyzstan
    Lebanon
    Macedonia
    Malaysia
    Maldives
    Mexico
    Montenegro
    Mozambique
    Nepal
    Oman
    Peru
    Philippines
    Poland
    Portugal
    Romania
    Russia
    Scotland
    Seychelles
    Singapore
    South Africa
    Spain
    St Kitts & Nevis
    Switzerland
    Taiwan
    Tanzania
    Thailand
    Turkey
    Uae
    United Kingdom
    United States Of America
    Vietnam
    Wales

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • COUNTRY GUIDES
  • GOURMET BREAKS
  • PRESS
  • ABOUT