Canadian Cusine

[ronandannette]

Help me out here...we're throwing a big party next weekend for a dear friend that has just received Canadian citizenship (formerly American). Are there any foods that spring to mind when you think of Canada? I'm looking for perceptions here, not whether something might actually be of Canadian origin, so that the "theme" will be pretty easy for the guests to recognize.

Naniamo bars and butter tarts, clichéd as they are, will definitely be on the menu. Don't suggest moose meat please; I've got no way to hunt and kill one before next Saturday! TIA

 

[Tink42]

Poutine

 

[Skywalker]

Make sure there's Tim Horton's coffee and donuts lol.

 

[LBIJim]

Tim Horton's!!! (Although it's available in some parts of the USA.)

Poutine, ketchup-flavoured potato chips, and "Canadian bacon" are probably the big three Canadian foods in the minds of Americans.

And you MUST serve something that's maple-flavoured.

Moosehead or Molson beer would be de rigueur, of course. Not so much for Labatts.

 

[Gigi22]

Play on words for dessert-- maple mousse! Also, speaking of Timmy's, CoffeeMate has a liquid "double double" flavor, if you can stand CoffeeMate. And of course, beverages are no problem.

 

[Lilliputian]

I had to cook something Canadian once for school, so I called my Canadian grandmother. She told me to make rice pudding.

 

[minnie mum]

Tourtiere? Too eastern Canadian?
Maple anything. But especially fudge.
PEI mussels, NS lobster, BC salmon
Back bacon
And yes, poutine.

 

[JanaDee]

Tourtiere? Too eastern Canadian? Maple anything. But especially fudge. PEI mussels, NS lobster, BC salmon Back bacon And yes, poutine.

Maple fudge?

 

[tvguy]

Fruitcake for sure.

I checked with my cousin in Calgary, he says Canadian Rocky
Mountain Ranch will have Elk and Buffalo if you are looking for wild game meat. No moose though.

 

[SirDuff]

Fruitcake for sure.

I checked with my cousin in Calgary, he says Canadian Rocky
Mountain Ranch will have Elk and Buffalo if you are looking for wild game meat. No moose though.

Do Americans really consider fruit cake a Canadian thing? I've never heard that (and, most certainly, do not consider it Canadian). I know that there are things that Canadians do not consider Canadian, but are thought of as Canadian by Americans (and others), but I've never heard of fruitcake on that list!

OP - sugar pie might be too close to butter tarts, but it yummy.

My cousin (who now lives in the US) asks us to send her PC white cheddar macaroni and cheese.

Not really Canadian, but you could make strawberry shortcake (or just vanilla cake with strawberries) made to look like the Canadian flag.

Kindereggs - not Canadian, but banned in the US.

Smarties (the chocolate type), Coffee Crisp and other chocolates that are not readily available in the US.

 

[NAB]

Help me out here...we're throwing a big party next weekend for a dear friend that has just received Canadian citizenship (formerly American). Are there any foods that spring to mind when you think of Canada? I'm looking for perceptions here, not whether something might actually be of Canadian origin, so that the "theme" will be pretty easy for the guests to recognize.

Naniamo bars and butter tarts, clichéd as they are, will definitely be on the menu. Don't suggest moose meat please; I've got no way to hunt and kill one before next Saturday! TIA

I find it funny a Canadian is asking about Canadian food.

Poutine was the first thing to come to mind for me too. Or anything with maple syrup.

 

[cjbcam]

Hawkins Cheesies I've never seen then in the states.

 

[tvguy]

Do Americans really consider fruit cake a Canadian thing? I've never heard that (and, most certainly, do not consider it Canadian). I know that there are things that Canadians do not consider Canadian, but are thought of as Canadian by Americans (and others), but I've never heard of fruitcake on that list!

OP - sugar pie might be too close to butter tarts, but it yummy.

My cousin (who now lives in the US) asks us to send her PC white cheddar macaroni and cheese.

Not really Canadian, but you could make strawberry shortcake (or just vanilla cake with strawberries) made to look like the Canadian flag.

Kindereggs - not Canadian, but banned in the US.

Smarties (the chocolate type), Coffee Crisp and other chocolates that are not readily available in the US.

Well, I have gotten flamed for the Canadian-Fruit cake comments in the past. In my defense, almost every Canadian bakery promotes their "Traditional Canadian Wedding Fruit Cake" on their websites....something you don't see U.S. bakeries do. I have never been to a wedding in Canada that didn't have fruit cake. But a former co-worker who is from Regina put it, fruit cake is not a requirement at a Canadian wedding, but it certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see it. Sort of like unity candles, and jumping the broom and breaking a wine glass, traditions with cultural roots, but not a requirement.

Oh, and I agree, anything Maple. Although it think many others in the U.S. might consider that more a Vermont or New Hampshire tradition.

And Naniamo bars too, although I have never heard that name before. My aunts all made them when we visited but they just called them Coco bars.

 

[SirDuff]

Well, I have gotten flamed for the Canadian-Fruit cake comments in the past. In my defense, almost every Canadian bakery promotes their "Traditional Canadian Wedding Fruit Cake" on their websites....something you don't see U.S. bakeries do.

Not a single Canadian bakery website I've ever been on has had such a thing.
I've just checked a few bakeries that I frequent (you'll note that not a single one promotes a "Traditional Canadian Wedding Fruit Cake"). Not sure any of them even have fruit cake.

http://www.bobbetteandbelle.com/index.html
http://www.cobsbread.com/local-bakery/leaside?bakery=Leaside
http://hotovenbakery.com/index.html
http://www.dufflet.com/home.asp
http://www.mabelsbakery.ca

How many websites have you looked at that you could possibly make a claim that "almost every Canadian bakery" does anything?

OTHER AMERICAN DISers - is this a universal thought? Or is it just a TVguy thing to think that all Canadian weddings have fruitcake and that fruitcake is typically Canadian?

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

Not a single Canadian bakery website I've ever been on has had such a thing.
I've just checked a few bakeries that I frequent (you'll note that not a single one promotes a "Traditional Canadian Wedding Fruit Cake"). Not sure any of them even have fruit cake.

http://www.bobbetteandbelle.com/index.html
http://www.cobsbread.com/local-bakery/leaside?bakery=Leaside
http://hotovenbakery.com/index.html
http://www.dufflet.com/home.asp
http://www.mabelsbakery.ca

How many websites have you looked at that you could possibly make a claim that "almost every Canadian bakery" does anything?

It scares me to lend some credence to tvguy (), but I do know that fruitcake was the traditional wedding cake for my parents' generation in Ontario. I get the impression that his relatives in Canada are elderly (based on different observations tvguy has shared about their beliefs, attitudes, etc) , so they may actually think that this tradition is still being followed.

I haven't seen it at any Canadian wedding I've been at in the last thirty years though!

 

[cjbcam]

Well, I have gotten flamed for the Canadian-Fruit cake comments in the past. In my defense, almost every Canadian bakery promotes their "Traditional Canadian Wedding Fruit Cake" on their websites....something you don't see U.S. bakeries do. I have never been to a wedding in Canada that didn't have fruit cake. But a former co-worker who is from Regina put it, fruit cake is not a requirement at a Canadian wedding, but it certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see it. Sort of like unity candles, and jumping the broom and breaking a wine glass, traditions with cultural roots, but not a requirement. Oh, and I agree, anything Maple. Although it think many others in the U.S. might consider that more a Vermont or New Hampshire tradition. And Naniamo bars too, although I have never heard that name before. My aunts all made them when we visited but they just called them Coco bars.

I'm definitely not flaming you just making a comment... I have only been to one wedding and this was when a was very young, that had fruit cake. I live in Canada and have been to many weddings. It may have once been popular to have fruit cake but it is not anymore.

 

[SirDuff]

It scares me to lend some credence to tvguy (), but I do know that fruitcake was the traditional wedding cake for my parents' generation in Ontario. I get the impression that his relatives in Canada are elderly (based on different observations tvguy has shared about their beliefs, attitudes, etc) , so they may actually think that this tradition is still being followed.

I haven't seen it at any Canadian wedding I've been at in the last thirty years though!

Fair enough, but he keeps talking about now.

OP - Not sure if you're looking for drinks but…Caesers.

Beavertails (not sure about making those at home though).

 

[riverbend]

Another vote for poutine.

Kindereggs - not Canadian, but banned in the US

You're taking me back to my childhood! My family used to take mini vacations to the now-defunct Wheels Inn in Chatham, Ontario almost every summer when my sister and I were kids. We'd always pick up some kinder eggs while we were across the border.

 

[meowser]

Poutine and Tim Horton's. Molson XXX or Molson Ice (do they still make that?). Crown Royal. I would say maple syrup, but that's also Vermont to me.

I've never associated fruitcake with Canada.

 

[marlynnp]

Not a single Canadian bakery website I've ever been on has had such a thing.
I've just checked a few bakeries that I frequent (you'll note that not a single one promotes a "Traditional Canadian Wedding Fruit Cake"). Not sure any of them even have fruit cake.

http://www.bobbetteandbelle.com/index.html
http://www.cobsbread.com/local-bakery/leaside?bakery=Leaside
http://hotovenbakery.com/index.html
http://www.dufflet.com/home.asp
http://www.mabelsbakery.ca

How many websites have you looked at that you could possibly make a claim that "almost every Canadian bakery" does anything?

OTHER AMERICAN DISers - is this a universal thought? Or is it just a TVguy thing to think that all Canadian weddings have fruitcake and that fruitcake is typically Canadian?

Not a universal thought.
I think it's his thing to pretend to be an authority on all things Canadian because he has some relatives there...