Canadian Food is characterized by baked preparations made with fresh or preserved, all-time or seasonal ingredients, mostly flesh of hunted animals. Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding(an Anglo-Canadian Sunday special), Montreal smoked meat, Bannock( Canadian quick bread), Bouilli, Ginger Beef( a Chinese-Canadian fusion dish) and Canadian roast Turkey are some of the most popular Canadian Recipes.
Classification of Canadian Cuisine
Canadian food comprises of foods from various cuisine styles of the country which may be broadly classified into two main types the English-Canadian and the French-Canadian. The English-styled Canadian cuisine includes a number of recipes from British and American cuisines. The French influenced cuisine is mostly developed by fur traders of the region. The Asian influence on Canadian food is predominantly Chinese. The vegetarian cuisine of the Doukhobors(Canadians of Russian ancestry) is an interesting feature of the Canadian cuisine. Western Canadian foods are mostly influenced by various European cuisines, namely, the Italian, Scandinavian, German, Ukrainian and Polish. The Ontarian cuisine is influenced by the Mennonite and British culinary cultures. The Canadian food of the Arctic region mostly comprises of preparations made from the meat of hunted animals, the game animals being mostly the partridge and the ptarmigan.
History of Canadian Cuisine
Canadian food of the primitive inhabitants of the country consisted of the meat of game animals. Roasted polar bear, boiled reindeer, boiled porcupine and dried buffalo meat were some of their preparations. But the contemporary Canadian cuisine has these items replaced with more civilized food such as Belon Oysters, Matane Shrimp and Atlantic Lobster. The modern cuisine finds significant usage for olive oil and vinegar from the European and American cuisines. The contemporary Canadian cuisine is replete with usage for other items like cheese and seafood, apart from meat.
Ingredients and Methods of Cooking of the Canadian Cuisine
Canadian Food, of the ancient age, included the meat of game animals as one of the major ingredients. A variety of breads (locally known as bannocks, toutins, or bagels) seasonal vegetables and seafood such as mussels and salmon constitute a major portion of the contemporary cuisine. The modern cuisine also finds extensive usage of oka cheese, cheese curds and wild rice. Wild berries, fiddle ferns and greens, Caribou, Saskatoon berries, indigenous wines and Eiswein (commonly known as ice wine), and beer are some of the most typical ingredients of the Canadian cuisine. Cooking methods most commonly used in Canada include baking. Grilled, poached, roasted, microwave, en papillote, steamed and sautéed Canadian food is not uncommon in the cuisine. Especially, the Canadian fish and seafood are cooked in a number of ways.
Traditional/Modern/Festive/Fusion/ Everyday Canadian Recipes
- Traditional - All the different sub-cuisines have their own unique traditional dishes maple sugar pie, Nanaimo Bars, and Wild Rice with Salmon(British Columbia region), Yellow Pea soup(from the French Canadian cuisine) and Fish Cheeks and Cod cakes ( from the Newfoundland region). Posole Stew, Frypan fork bread, Maple Fudge and Cornmeal pudding are some of the other typical dishes of the Canadian cuisine.
- Modern - The modern Canadian cuisine includes pierogies and craft beer
- Fusion - Canadian Food of the modern era is typically influenced by the Asian cuisine apart from the Western cuisines. The Chinese and Indian cuisines had a lot of influence on the present day Canadian cuisine. A lot of these dishes are made by the stir-frying method and curried dishes are quite popular in the region today.
- Festive Food - The festive food of Canada consists of dishes that are served everyday. But the quantity of servings differs.The festive menu consists of a number of items and people choose to eat small servings of each type. Potluck meals in particular are the ones where people join together with meals prepared at their houses. The purpose is not about the attractiveness of the food in question but about the concept of caring and sharing. For Thanksgiving, the some of the most typical dishes would include beet soup. Brussels sprouts, Cornbread stuffed Roasted turkey with cranapple relish , mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Canada Day cake is a special cake made with yellow cake mix and strawberries.
- Everyday - Poutine ( gravied cheese potato fries), and Tourtière ( a meat pie) are everyday favorites. Other dishes include meat preparations made from pork, lamb and beef. Pork chops, hot dogs, steaks and burgers are everyday favorites of most Canadians.
- Gourmet - The premier Canadian food consists of a number of delicious preparations which include Apple Glazed Ham, Cajun Birch Shrimp, Maple Pumpkin Panna Cotta, and Cajun maple glazed pork with garlic.
Popular Meals of Canadian Cuisine
Canadian food is consumed as breakfast, lunch and dinner. A typical Canadian breakfast would include eggs, ham bacon sausages and a variety of pancakes. The Chinese Smorgasbord and Jiggs Dinner( comprising of salt beef and other courses like cabbage, Pease Pudding and papri ) are popular meal conpcets and dishes of the country. Fish and Brewies( also popular as Fisherman’s Brewies is a favored meal dish made of cod.) Rappie Pie (a potato pie meal) is one of the much-liked traditional meals.
Places Famous for Canadian Recipes
- Montreal - for Poutine and bagels, apart from bistros.
- Toronto - for its unique blend of food from a lot of cuisines and especially Greek food.
Famous Chefs of Canadian Cuisine
The Canadian cuisine has many famous chefs. Some of them are :
- Greg Brooks - chef and restaurateur, famous as Peppermaster.
- Andrew George Jr. - chef and author of cookbook Feast! : Canadian native cuisine for all seasons.
- Jamie Kennedy - a very famous chef who owns the Jamie Kennedy Kitchens in Toronto
- Sarah Kramer- a vegan chef and author of vegan cookbook How It All Vegan, The Garden of Vegan and La Dolce Vegan
- Bronwen Weber - famous cake decorator and pastry chef
