Canadian cuisine

Although certain dishes may be identified as "Canadian" due to the ingredients used or the origin of its inception, an overarching style of Canadian cuisine is more difficult to define. Some Canadians such as the former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark believe that Canadian cuisine is a collage of dishes from the cuisines of other cultures. Clark himself has been paraphrased to have noted: "Canada has a cuisine of cuisines. Not a stew pot, but a smorgasbord."[1]

While the immense size of Canada and diversity of its inhabitants compounds the difficulty in identifying a specific Canadian food identity, Hersch Jacobs acknowledges that the lack of a hegemonic definition does not preclude the existence of a Canadian cuisine.[2] Lenore Newman argues that there is a distinctly Canadian creole cuisine. She identifies five key properties that together define Canadian cuisine, namely its reliance on seasonality, multiculturalism, wild foods, regional dishes, and the privileging of ingredients over recipes.[3]

Indigenous food in particular is considered very Canadian. Métis food is especially so, since the Métis people played a particularly important role in the origin of Canada and Canadian cuisine. Foods such as bannock, moose, deer, bison, pemmican, maple taffy, and Métis stews such as barley stew are all either traditional Indigenous foods or originated in Canada with roots in Indigenous cuisines, and are eaten widely throughout the country. Other foods that originated in Canada are often thought of in the same overarching group of Canadian food as Indigenous foods, despite not being so, such as peameal bacon, cajun seasoning, and Nanaimo bars. There are also some foods of non-Canadian origin that are eaten very frequently. Pierogies (dumplings of Central and Eastern European origin) are an example of this, due to the large number of early Ukrainian and Polish immigrants. There are, however, some regional foods that are not eaten as often on one side of the country as on the other, such as dulse in the Maritimes, stews in the Territories, or poutine in the Francophone areas of Canada (not limited to Québec). In general, Canadian foods contain a lot of starch, breads, game meats (such as deer, moose, bison, etc.), and often involve a lot of stews and soups, most notably Métis-style and split-pea soup.

A 1908 photo of an Ojibwe woman tapping for tree sap, which is made into maple syrup.

Canadian food has been shaped and impacted by continual waves of immigration, with the types of foods and from different regions and periods of Canada reflecting this immigration.[2]

The traditional Indigenous cuisine of Canada was based on a mixture of wild game, foraged foods, and farmed agricultural products. Each region of Canada with its own First Nations and Inuit people used their local resources and own food preparation techniques for their cuisines.

Maple syrup was first collected and used by aboriginal people of Eastern Canada and North Eastern US. Canada is the world's largest producer of maple syrup.[4] The origins of maple syrup production are not clear though the first syrups were made by repeatedly freezing the collected maple sap and removing the ice to concentrate the sugar in the remaining sap.[5] Maple syrup is one of the most commonly consumed Canadian foods of Aboriginal origins.

Dried meat products such as pânsâwân and pemmican are commonly consumed by the indigenous peoples of the plains. In particular, the former was a predecessor for North American style beef jerky, with the processing methods adapted for beef.[6]

In most of the Canadian West Coast and Pacific Northwest, Pacific salmon was an important food resource to the First Nations peoples, along with certain marine mammals. Salmon were consumed fresh when spawning or smoked dry to create a jerky-like food that could be stored year-round. The latter food is commonly known and sold as "salmon jerky". Whipped Soapberry, known as sxusem (sk-HOO-shum, "Indian ice cream") in the Interior Salish languages of British Columbia, is consumed similarly to ice cream or as a cranberry-cocktail-like drink. It is known for being a kidney tonic, which are called agutak in Arctic Canada (with animal/fish fat).

Sliced and prepared muktuk

In the Arctic, Inuit traditionally survived on a diet consisting of land and marine mammals, fish, and foraged plant products. Meats were consumed fresh but also often prepared, cached, and allowed to ferment into igunaq or kiviak. These fermented meats have the consistency and smell of certain soft aged cheeses. Snacks such as muktuk, which consist of whale skin and blubber is eaten plain, though sometimes dipped in soy sauce. Chunks of muktuk are sliced with an ulu prior to or during consumption. Fish are eaten boiled, fried, and prior to today's settlements, often in dried forms. The so-called "Eskimo potato" (Inuit: oatkuk: Claytonia tuberosa)[7] and other "mousefoods" are some of the plants consumed in the arctic.

Foods such as "bannock", popular with First Nations and Inuit, reflect the historic exchange of these cultures with French fur traders, who brought with them new ingredients and foods.[8] Common contemporary consumption of bannock, powdered milk, and bologna by aboriginal Canadians reflects the legacy of Canadian colonialism in the prohibition of hunting and fishing, and the institutional food rations provided to Indian reserves.[9] Due to similarities in treatment under colonialism, many Native American communities throughout the continent consume similar food items with some emphasis on local ingredients.

Settlers and traders from the British Isles account for the culinary influences of early English Canada in the Maritimes and Southern Ontario (Upper Canada),[2] while French settlers account for the cuisine of southern Quebec (Lower Canada), Northeastern Ontario, and New Brunswick.[2] Southwestern regions of Ontario have strong Dutch and Scandinavian influences.

In Canada's Prairie provinces, which saw massive immigration from Eastern and Northern Europe in the pre-WWI era, Ukrainian, German, and Polish cuisines are strong culinary influences. Also noteworthy in some areas of the British Columbia Interior and the Prairies is the cuisine of the Doukhobors, Russian-descended vegetarians.[2]

The Waterloo, Ontario, region and the southern portion of the Province of Manitoba have traditions of Mennonite and Germanic cookery.

The cuisines of Newfoundland and the Maritime provinces derive mainly from British and Irish cooking, with a preference for salt-cured fish, beef, and pork. Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia also maintain strong British cuisine traditions.

Jewish immigrants to Canada during the late 1800s played a significant culinary role within Canada, chiefly renowned for Montreal-style bagels and Montreal-style smoked meat. A regional variation of both emerged within Winnipeg, Manitoba's Jewish community, which also derived Winnipeg-style cheesecake from New York City recipes. Winnipeg has given birth to numerous other unique dishes, such as the schmoo torte, smoked goldeye and "co-op style" rye bread and cream cheese.

Much of what are considered "Chinese dishes" in Canada are more likely to be Canadian or North American inventions, with the Chinese restaurants of each region tailoring their traditional cuisine to local tastes.[2] This "Canadian Chinese cuisine" is widespread across the country, with great variation from place to place, from Calgary Ginger beef,[10] to Montreal peanut-butter dumplings[11] and Thunder Bay bon bons.[12]

The Chinese buffet, although found in the United States and other parts of Canada, had its origins in early Gastown, Vancouver, c.1870. This serving setup came out of the practice of the many Scandinavians working in the woods and mills around the shantytown getting the Chinese cook to put out a steam table on a sideboard.

Compared to other cultural contributors, South Asia was a very recent influence to Canadian cuisine due to their late prominence in post-1960s immigration era.[13] Indian food is particularly popular in Canada, deriving mostly from Northern Indian cuisine. It is characterized for its use of bread, curry, and use of yogurt and cream for meat-based dishes; it also draws inspiration from South Indian cuisine in its use of sour and spicy combinations.[13]

Contributions from Southeast Asia to Canadian cuisine includes a style of medium-thick crust pizza Margherita in Toronto. An example of fusion cuisine, the pizza is topped with garlic and basil oil topping, combining an Italian pizza with the Vietnamese tradition of using herbed oil toppings in food.[14]

Although there are considerable overlaps between Canadian food and the rest of the cuisine in North America, many unique dishes (or versions of certain dishes) are found and available only in the country. Some are more commonly eaten than others.

Traditional Nanaimo bars

Butter tarts

• Beaver tails — also known as elephant ears, moose antlers, dog ears, whale tails, or simply fried dough
• Bumbleberry pie — bumbleberry is a mixture of fruit, berries, and rhubarb
• Butter tarts – said to be invented in Eastern Ontario around 1915. The main ingredients for the filling include butter, sugar and eggs, but raisins and pecans are often added for additional flavour.
• Candy apple — also known by the British term "toffee apple", candied apples are far more popular than in the United States, where the caramel apple is common
• Cinnamon buns (known as Cinnamon roll outside of Canada).[23][24][25]
• Date square aka Date Crumblies aka Matrimonial cake — date filled desserts
• Figgy duff – a pudding from Newfoundland
• Jam busters — prairie jelly doughnuts
• Flapper pie – wafer pie in Manitoba; a custard pie popular in Western Canada
• Grandpères — dough dumplings boiled in maple syrup
• Maple syrup — especially tire d'érable sur la neige or "maple toffee", also as flavouring, for example in maple leaf cream cookies
• Moosehunters — molasses cookies
• Nanaimo bars – most common in British Columbia
• Nougabricot — a Québécois preserve consisting of apricots, almonds, and pistachios.
• Persians — somewhat like a cross between a large cinnamon bun and a doughnut, topped with strawberry icing, unique to Thunder Bay, Ontario
• Pets de sœurs — pastry dough wrapped around a brown sugar and butter filling
• Pouding chômeur
• Saskatoonberry pie — pie made from saskatoonberries
• Sucre à la crème — Québécois sweet milk squares
• Sugar pie

Canadian bread is heartier than regular white bread, and has a thicker consistency. In Canada, it is just known as white bread. This example is from an American brand.

Coffee Crisp Mocha

• Canadian pizza — typically includes tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, bacon, pepperoni, and mushrooms; variations exist.[26] The recipe is also known internationally by this name.[27] The classic preparation, however, is often referred to in the province of Quebec as pizza québécoise.[28]
• Candy
  • Bridge mixture (bridge mix)
  • Chocolate bars: Coffee Crisp, Mr. Big, Caramilk, Big Turk, Cherry Blossom, Crunchie, Crispy Crunch, Aero, Pal-O-Mine, Eat-more Chocolate bar,[29][30] Canadian Smarties.[31][32][33]
  • Glosette pieces (peanut, raisin, or almonds)
• Baby food
  • Pablum[34]
• Cereal
  • Red River Cereal
  • Shreddies
• Coffee — Canada is the 10th-highest coffee consumer, per capita, in the world.[35]
  • Nabob Coffee
  • Second Cup Coffee
  • Tim Hortons
• Cows ice cream
• Honey dill sauce
• Kraft Dinner (also a proprietary eponym)
• Non-alcoholic drinks
  • Bagged milk
  • Brio chinotto
  • Canada Dry ginger ale
  • London Fog
  • Red Rose Tea
  • Spruce beer — bière d'épinette, non-alcoholic soft drink from Quebec
• Snacks
  • Ketchup, salt and vinegar, dill pickle, and "all dressed" flavoured potato chips
  • Hawkins Cheezies
  • Hostess Potato Chips
  • Ringolos and Humpty Dumpty Party Mix
  • Nuts and Bolts aka Chex Mix
  • Tiger tail ice cream — black licorice and orange flavoured ice cream, once popular throughout Canada

• Alcohol Global 94%
• Canadian beer
  • Ice beer
  • Cream Ale
• Canadian whisky, "rye" whisky
  • Crown Royal
  • Canadian Club
• Canadian wine
  • Ice wine
• Ice cider
• Newfoundland Screech
• Yukon Jack — a Canadian liqueur made of whisky and honey

• The Caesar, originally called the Bloody Caesar, is a cocktail made from vodka, clamato juice (clam-tomato juice), Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce, in a salt-rimmed glass (table salt or celery salt), and garnished with a stalk of celery, or more adventurously with a spoonful of horseradish or a shot of beef bouillon. The Caesar was invented in 1969 in Calgary, Alberta, by bartender Walter Chell, to mark the opening of a new restaurant, Marco's.[36]
• Caribou — a mix of red wine, maple syrup, and Canadian whisky; consumed during winter festivals in Quebec
• Maple liqueur — sold bottled as Sortilege, this drink combines Canadian whisky and maple syrup
• Moose Milk — a cream and spirit (usually rye whisky and dark ru.) drink served and consumed at celebratory events of the Canadian Armed Forces
• Rye & Ginger — Canadian whisky and ginger ale

While most major cities in Canada (including Montreal, in a pilot project) offer a variety of street food, regional "specialties" are notable. While poutine is available in most of the country, it is far more common in Quebec. Similarly, sausage stands can be found across Canada, but are far more common in Ontario (often sold from mobile canteen trucks, usually referred to as "fry trucks" or "chip trucks" and the sausages "street meat"). In Western Canada, a version of the Ukrainian garlic-pork sausage, referred to as "Kubasa" (a corruption of the Ukrainian sausage "Kobasa")[37] is widely available and celebrated.[38] The term "smokies" or "smokeys" may refer to Kubasa rather than frankfurters. Fusion cultural foods are constantly evolving, such as the Japadog, which tops a hot dog with traditional Japanese ingredients such as wasabi, teriyaki, shredded daikon radish, or bonito (fish) flakes.

Each Canadian region has street specialties which reflect regional cultural influences. Montreal food trucks offer shish taouk, the Montreal hot dog, and dollar falafels. Although falafel is available in Vancouver, Asian-influenced offerings are much more widespread including sushi, Vietnamese banh mi subs or Pho soup, Filipino offerings, and various Japanese and Chinese cuisines. In Victoria, British Columbia, vegan and vegetarian burgers are on offer, as are various seafood take-aways and Mexican influenced street food. Pizza slices are a common street offering. Shawarma is quite prevalent in Ottawa and Windsor, while Halifax offers its own unique version of the döner kebab called the donair, which features a distinctive sauce made from condensed milk, sugar, garlic and vinegar. Ice cream trucks can be seen (and often heard due to a jingle being broadcast on loudspeakers) nationwide during the summer months. Winnipeg has a famous line up of food truck vendors on Main street. Since 2007, the city of Toronto has encouraged vendors to sell street food from a wider variety of cuisines.[39]

• Chinese smorgasbord (see #East Asian)
• Lumberjack's breakfast, aka logger's breakfast, aka "The Lumby" — a gargantuan breakfast of three-plus eggs; rations of ham, bacon and sausages; and several large pancakes. This was invented by hotelier J. Houston c.1870, at his Granville Hotel on Water Street in old pre-railway Gastown, Vancouver, in response to requests from his clientele for a better "feed" at the start of a long, hard day of work.[40][41]