Canada’s Lack of Cultural Food Identity
One of the things that we are most looking forward to here in India is sampling the food.
We have already enjoyed delicious meals unique to Indian Culture and their identity. Indian food has incredible flavour. Great care is taken into preparing their food.
As you read this, we are on a house boat cruising the backwaters of Kerala with our own private chef cooking the best of what India has to offer. The other night our hosts at Skylark Guest house in Varkala cooked us a traditional Kerala meal and it was incredible. Sanji spent all afternoon grinding coconut by hand, cooking banana’a for a delicious custard, we had an amazing vegetarian meal with shaved beets, potato curry, pineapple, grapes, a dish made out of the leaves from a tree in the back yard and so much more. Our banana leaves were alive with colour and as we scooped up mouth fulls with our hands, we enjoyed different rich flavours with each bite.
We have only been in India a week so we really cannot write a blog post about food yet. We aren’t experts and don’t know a lot about the cuisine of this country, but it will make for a great article later on in our trip.
Canada’s Lack of Food Identity
All of the amazing uniquely Indian food has made me think about Canada and our lack of food identity.
Nobody ever says, “Let’s go out for Canadian Food tonight.” And with good reason. We don’t have anything that really makes us stand out from the rest of the world. We tend to have an international mix of cuisine in Canada. You can find Thai, Vietnamese, French, Italian, Moroccan or even Ethiopian in our hometown of Toronto.
You name a country, we have the food. Even in small towns you will find a wide variety of international cuisine…So when you think about it, that is exactly what makes Canadian Food so unique. We are diverse in every aspect of life in Canada and food is no exception.
We do have a few favorites that the rest of the world may or may not know about, so I thought that I would share a list of foods that are unique to Canada.
1. Maple Syrup - What tourist doesn’t leave the country without a bottle in tow? The maple tree is a national symbol and the syrup that it produces is scrumptious. Come to Canada in the dead of winter and you can take a tour out to the woods and watch them tap a tree for fresh syrup. Bring it home and smother it over pancakes and french toast, sausage or bacon. Maple syrup makes anything taste better.
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2. Back Bacon – Speaking of bacon, Canadian back bacon is a famous. Even Bob and Doug Mackenzie (aka Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) sang about back bacon for their 12 days of Christmas spoof. It is part of our national identity.
3. Poutine - I think that the world is starting to adopt our little secret, but Poutine used to be a Canadian thing. French fries draped with cheese curds and gravy is sinfully delicious.
4. Beaver Tails - Head to any tourist destination and you can be sure to see people munching on Beaver Tails. No, they are not what you think they are, these delectable treats are made of fried dough shaped in the form of a beavers tail and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. They can also be topped with ice cream, whipped cream or jellies.
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5. Nanaimo Bars. Named after the town in British Columbia, this dessert made of chocolate consists of a wafer crumb-based with a layer of vanilla butter icing covered in anther layer of melted chocolate. They may be called a different name somewhere else, but rest assured, Nanaimo Bars were invented in Canada.
6. Butter Tarts. These are still a favorite desert of mine. If I go to a buffet and butter tarts on the table, you can be sure that I will grab a couple. Small pastry shells filled with butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and raisins creamed together to a delectable desert.
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I am seeing a pattern of very unhealthy foods here. Time to change gears a bit.
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7. Smoked salmon - Our airports are filled with boxes of the stuff and ooh, we just love the smoked sockeye salmon. Eat it on its own or add some capers and goats cheese on some crackers. Oh my mouth is watering as I write about it.
8. Lobster - Other countries eat lobster I know, but in the Maritime Provinces on Canada’s East Coast, Lobster is a way of life. And the lobster that comes from the East Coast of Canada is among the best in the world.
9. The Winnipeg Goldeye - O.K. I am grasping at straws for this one. I need 10 and hey, it is unique to Canada and we cannot neglect our Prairie Provinces. The Winnipeg Goldeye is a silver fish found only in Manitoba’s lakes and rivers that turns red when it is smoked. Smoked fish, is a very popular food source in Canada.
10. Beer - It is a meal where we come from! Canadians like to think that their beer is superior to their southern neighbour’s watery brew. As a matter of fact, we think that their beer is superior to everyone’s. Canadians just can’t figure out why the rest of the world doesn’t feel the same way.
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I really had to scramble to come up with 10 foods unique to Canada. But that is exactly what I love about my country. We are a land made up of immigrants and settlers making it a true melting pot of cultures and cuisine. Just like our national identity, our food is a blend of the best of every land on the planet.
When describing Canadian food, the only true distinguishing character is that there isn’t one and we like it that way.
Now, time for me to go out and enjoy the best of what Indian cuisine has to offer. Yum!
27 Responses to Canada’s Lack of Cultural Food Identity
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We are constantly asked, “So what is American food? Hamburgers?” While there are a lot of hamburgers consumed in the United States, after spending months in South America I’m convinced the per capita consumption here is much higher.
We usually explain that since the United States is a nation of immigrants, our food reflects that – like in Canada – so we can have a choice of Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Persian, Mexican, etc. People usually get very confused by that concept…so sometimes we just talk about Thanksgiving dinner as a traditional American meal.
Audrey and Akila, you are so right. Canada and the U.S. are so similar in the fact that we are made up of immigrants. I love having choice. We never get tired of eating. Good piece of information about South America. Who knew that others could eat as many hamburgers as we all do.
That is a fair assessment, but having researched the issue I wanted to add in my two cents… There is a very distinctive french canadian cuisine, which extends well beyond poutine. They are known for dishes such as pea soup (with lard), beans (with lard), pouding chômeur, tourtière (three ground meats: weal/pork/beef with savoury), tarte au sucre, as well as a vast array of venison dishes, from caribou sausages to rabbit ragout, all made with whatever happened to be available to the settlers when they first landed on the shores. Beyond Quebec, I think we canadians can claim blueberry pie as our own too…
Hi Nathalie, You are right. Not being from Quebec myself, I didn’t know a lot of the distinct foods, but thank you so much for adding them to the post. My parents love pea soup. We ate it all the time as kids. All of the food that you listed sounds delicious. Can’t wait for our next trip to Quebec. Cheers.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing your top 10 because I’m one of those people who has no idea what kind of Canadian food there are.
.-= Amy @ The Q Family´s last blog ..Legoland California With Kids =-.
From Quebec, I would also add Montreal-style smoked meat, Montreal-style bagels (both now getting a nod in NYC) and tourtière meat pies. Fun post, and makes me miss those deliciously Canadian specialties even more. Travel safe in India! Jodi
Hey LegalNomads, for sure Montreal smokes meat. Mmm mmm good and I agree, the bagels in Montreal are awesome. I haven’t had the tourtiere meat pies, but I will try one the next time I am there. Thanks for sharing.
I think our Canadian food identity is much like the local culture, a mishmash of multiculturalism and ethnicity.
I can venture out into the streets of Toronto or Vancouver and sample a countless number of cusines, and dishes, all amazingly delicious. Take a brief stroll down Toronto’s Yonge street and you’ll find North Chinese, South Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Caribbean, Western, Indian, Tamil,Italian, Greek and dare I say British culinary fare. What else would you expect from the World’s most multicultural city?
We are a nation of immigrants (dare I use the term cultural mosaic), and our national cuisine reflects the broad landscape of our immigrant population (and it sure is delicious).
Sam
Hi Sam, you are absolutely right. That is what I love about Canada, we get all of the best foods from around the world. I always say that people have brought the best from their country and left the not so good behind. So as Canadians, we get to sample delicious foods. I love Toronto for that exact reason also. Every night the question is what food do we feel like. And having traveled the world quite a bit, we find that it is always very authentic.
When I saw the title to this, poutine was the first thing that came to mind. Beer..got to love Molson and Moosehead among my favorites.
.-= Adam´s last blog ..Slaw Dogs at Hermans of Topton,PA =-.
Hey Adam, yep always about the beer eh?! Love the poutine, I love that we have poutine in Harveys another thing that the rest of the world doesn’t have. Harveys have great hamburgers.
Audrey, We get the same question all the time about what is American food. We try to explain that because America is a land of immigrants, we adapt others’ food to reflect American tastes. A good example of this is pizza because Chicago style and New York style pizzas are very different than Italian pizza. Similarly, Indian food made for Americans is quite different than Indian food made for Indians. We also point to steak and potatoes as a traditional American meal.
.-= Akila´s last blog ..milford sound (and the fury) =-.
Don’t forget “Pork” Pie from Nova Scotia. A favourite dessert, especially during the Christmas holidays. Yes, we said dessert. There’s actually no pork, just lots of dates. Folks do things differently in the Maritimes.
Here’s a recipe so your readers can make it at home:
http://www.desbarresmanor.com/dining/111507.html
Thanks Authentic Seacoast, Great to hear about other foods from Canada that we didn’t know about. Our country is so big, that we learn new things every day. It sounds heavenly.
I had my first beaver tail this summer in Ottawa! We don’t have them in NL. They were AMAZING. And I agree on all points about the beer.
P.S. Shared some link love with you on my new site.
.-= Candice´s last blog ..The Three Best Kept Travel Secrets in the History of the Universe =-.
Jodie the Legal Nomad brought poutine to my attention, and I think I’ll be trying it during my stay here in NYC. Hard to go wrong with potatoes, gravy and cheese.
.-= Dave´s last blog ..Friday Flashback – Bangkok =-.
Hi Dave, so true. How can you go wrong with that combination. Anything that is smothered in gravy and cheese is fine in my books.
I loved this post! I missed it when it first posted since I was in Mexico at the time, but this was so much fun to learn about a few foods I had not heard of (I am SO going to try that Pork Pie recipe!). We do have something similar to the Beaver Tails but down here it’s called Indian Fry Bread and you can find it at any fair or festival, at least in the west. Have to admit, I like the name “beaver tails” better though
Oh and I really love Canadian beer too – you’re right, it’s much better than what’s produced down here in the states….
.-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..eBook Review: Just What Works: Write Right Online =-.
Hi Trisha, thanks for the comment. Wow Mexico nice! I am not sure if our beer is better, but like I said, as Canadians we all like to think so:) Beer and hockey that is our National Pride:) I have to try that pork pie recipe myself. Sounds yummy!
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You forgot Nanimo bars.
Hi Cathy, Actually Nanaimo Bars are number 5 on our list. We love them!
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Good read. Just thought I’d mention, the beaver tails are actually a hungarian food known as langos
Hi Jen, thanks for the food lesson. Yes, that is what makes Canada, we take other people’s ideas and turn them into our own. Like I said, we have a lack of identity when it comes to our food
Not that berries are unique to Canada (but neither are lobsters so
), but people in B.C. and the Yukon are big blueberry/blackberry/cranberry/raspberry people 
I remember I used to live in a place where on the way to take the bus to Uni I could stop off and have a nice feast of blackberries…I hope no one owned the bush haha
Mmmm, I love berries. We used to have a strawberry bush in our backyard growing up.