Last week you could read about my first encounter with Canadian cuisine, but I’ve not stood still and kept discovering new foods since then. I tried my best to find healthy, nutritive snacks, but did not really succeed until now. However, there is definitely some tasty stuff around here. Here is part 2 of typical Canadian foods!
Butter tarts
Butter tarts are little pastries that are typically Canadian. The crust of the pie is often unsweetened, but the inside is nothing but sweet and contains butter, sugar syrup and eggs. They are quite popular plain, but you can find them in different flavors like pecan, maple syrup or with a strawberry / vanilla topping.
Cheese curds
You might recognize this cheese from the poutine that I talked about last week; this is the cheese that is used to make it. Cheese curds are made with pasteurized cow milk, which is clotted and then shortly cooked, resulting in these little cheese balls. From a Canadian insider I learned to pay attention to the squeaky sound the cheese makes in your mouth: the louder the squeak, the better (and fresher) the cheese curds are. You can use it to make poutine, but you can also just eat them as a snack, or on a sandwich.
BeaversTails
No, this delicacy is not really the tail of a beaver, it just looks like one! ‘BeaverTails’ (‘QueuesdeCastor’ in French) are deep-fried pastries, that can be topped with about anything sweet. I think they taste a bit like donuts, and they remind me of the Dutch ‘appel beignets’. I got a simple sugar and lemon one (very tasty), but you can also opt for chocolate, whipped cream or crumbled cookies.
Kraft Dinner
Although Kraft Dinner is eaten in the U.S. as well (under a different name), this dish is eaten 55% more in Canada and can therefore be called a true national Canadian dish. Originating from 1937 (yes, I’ve done my research), this mac-and-cheese dish is immensely popular and can be found in every supermarket. This comfort food is totally to my taste despite of the somewhat synthetic aftertaste. The best mac & cheese however is found at local restaurants en bistros.
