Talk:Canadian cuisine/Archive 1

Where is all the salmon?
BC smoked salmon? candied salmon (also known as Indian candy), BC roll (sushi, varies but involves salmon skin and often salmon roe)? These are pretty important parts of our regional cuisine - and candied salmon definitely seems like a regional delicacy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.103.199.92 (talk) 22:29, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

Unique to or originate in Canada
Is a Donair really distinctive from a, um, donair? I grew up in Winnipeg and have never heard a Pogo™; isn't it just a regional name (which region?) for a corn dog? These may be interesting footnotes, but they don't sound like they belong on a list of unique or original Canadian foods. Anyone object if I remove them? —Michael Z. 2005-08-11 21:32 Z 

Pogo is a brand name here in Ontario,, thats where the name comes from. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.15.196.236 (talk) 15:34, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

This whole section is completely off. Poutine is available all across the country, of course, and Pierogis most definitely did not originate in Canada. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.189.199.9 (talk) 19:03, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Past deletion
The following was deleted by an anonymous vandal (User:69.169.40.156) on March 13 2006. See. I put it back here so as not to disrupt the work by User Delire, but it probably should be reintegrated into the article. Luigizanasi 06:16, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

Canadian Food
A variety of dishes are uniquely Canadian, or have a distinctive Canadian style.


 * Poutine, a French-Canadian fast-food dish consisting of French fries, cheese curds, and gravy.
 * Caesar cocktail, sometimes the bloody caesar, and usually just ordered as a "caesar", is made from vodka, clamato juice (clam-tomato juice), Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, in a salt-rimmed glass, 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"
 * Chinese smorgasbord - although found in the U.S. and other parts of Canada, this term and concept had its origins in early Gastown, c.1870 and resulted from 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, so they could "load up" and leave room on the dining table (presumably for "drink").
 * Lumberjack's Breakfast aka Logger's Breakfast, a gargantuan breakfast of three-plus eggs, ham, bacon and sausages plus several large pancakes. Invented by hotelier J. Houston c 1870, at his Granville Hotel on Water Street in old pre-railway Gastown in response to requests for his clientele for a better "feed" before starting a long, hard day of work.
 * Butter tart, a tart invented about 1915 in northern Ontario. The main ingredients for the filling includes, butter, sugar and eggs, but raisins and pecans are often added for additional flavour.
 * Tourtière, a meat pie originating from Québec traditionally made from ground or shredded pork, onions, celery, and may utilize rolled oats as a thickener.
 * Ginger beef, a candied strip of beef, deep fried and served with a sweet and spicy ginger sauce. Created in Calgary, Alberta in the 1970s and now available in most Canadian Chinese restaurants.
 * The Nanaimo bar, a chocolate dessert taking its name from Nanaimo, British Columbia.
 * Pea-meal bacon, a pickled back bacon rolled in cornmeal. Generally called Canadian bacon outside of Canada. This so-called "Canadian bacon" is usually simply un-pickled back bacon.
 * Oka cheese, a popular semi-firm cheese made by Trappist monks in Oka, Quebec
 * Egg Custard typically is made with maple syrup as opposed to corn syrup in the United States.
 * Donairs, a variation on the Middle-Eastern Döner kebab, are a street food originated in Halifax: they consist of slices of roast processed meat (made from spiced ground beef rather than lamb), and a sauce consisting of condensed milk, vinegar, sugar, and garlic powder. They are served on a pita loaf with diced onions and tomatoes.
 * Pogo, a hot dog sausage fried in batter, and served on a stick. Americans call them "Corn-Dogs"
 * Beaver Tail A large flat round of fried dough, sprinkled with powdered or cinnamon sugar.  Also known as an Elephant Ear or a Moose Antler.

Reintegrated Now
I merged in as much of this information as was missing and seemed useful. I added a Meals subheading to accomplish this, and threw another meal type in, Cabane au Sucre breakfasts, to supplement the new category. Any Quebecois eds appreciated on this!

West Coast Fusion
Surprised there's nothing here so far on "West Coast Fusion"; can't quite call it Cuisine of BC because it's shared with Seattle and points south; although California Fusion tends to be quite different. I'm not a haute-cuisine guy but it does strike me as a major feature of the dining-out, and even home-cooking, experience, in BC (at least on the Coast if not so much in the Interior).

Also what's overleaf is turning into an annoying list in some ways; do we really need to know Canadians eat this or that; what's cuisine, and what's food, is the point. Foodstuffs are not cuisine; and uniquely Canadian dishes, or cuisines that have developed in Canada, seem more to be the point. Similar problems with loose definitions have plaged Canadian Chinese cuisine, where simply because something is served in Canada by people who have Canadian passports it's supposed to make it "Canadian Chinese"; but the term and its variants ("Chinese and Western" as it used to read on cafe signs) was a distinct set of dishes not found in China, and not expected to be found in "authentic Chinese food" places, egg foo yung, chop suey etc. But now every fancy dish imported from Sichuan and Beijing is listed, just because you can get them on the menu in Ottawa's or Agincourt's Chinatowns; the roots of the Canadian-Chinese food experience are in the gold rush and the frontier towns and Chinese camp-cooks of the resource industry; not in what is served in the plethora of new Chinese restaurants in the "new Chinatowns" and their spinoffs. But again, in Vancouver, the influence of Chinese cooking, along with Japanese, Indonesian, East Indian/South Asian, Middle Eastern, French, Thai, Mexican, Hawaiian and other "Pacific Rim" cuisines is remarkable and unique; throw in local native foodstuffs (salmon of course, but other native stuff too....looks like eulachon grease is going to get fashionable too, if they can catch enough eulachons ("grease" is horribly expensive because it's so rare and the prep is complicated/time-consuming). I'll see who I can enlist to contribute on this; and I may just have to resort to transmuting restaurant/menu reviews from the dining-out pages of the Georgia Straight and mainstream papers to give this page a bit more meat...er, veggies, er.....Skookum1 18:42, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Reply...no its not unique...

Its happening throughout major Canadian and American cities...probably in the UK and Australia, and Ireland...Ireland has been taking in immigrants for a while now...like any country that wants to survive the baby bust, cemetery overcrowding that's going to be happening soon.69.165.153.200 (talk) 21:22, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

Kraft Dinner?!?
Since when did Kraft Dinner become Canadian in origin? I fear this may be an act of vandalism. Rigbyl7 20:33, 15 June 2007 (UTC)


 * As far as I know, James L. Kraft was born in Canada, and partly because of this, the prepared meal is called "Kraft Dinner" in Canada, and "Kraft Macaroni & Cheese" in the United States. Perhaps the name is more Canadian than the meal, but it's certainly a Canadianism & food, and thus Canadian cuisine. According to Kraft Dinner, "Canada has always been the world's largest per capita consumer of Kraft Dinner, and despite its American origins, the product has become a part of Canadian culture." - TheMightyQuill 04:36, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

More Photos Please
This article makes me hungry for more pictures. Wiki can serve (lol) a unique function here. If I go elsewhere on the Internet, I can't be sure that the pictures are representative. Instead, I would expect most Internet food pictures to: 1) Illustrate a particular author or restaurant's interpretation of a dish, or 2) Illustrate a recipe which has been modified to be low-fat, low carbs, use lots of Brand X, etc.

The point of this article, and what pictures would illustrate well, is how typical Canadian dishes appear. If you take the photographs yourself, make 'em high resolution, please. That would also be an improvement over typical Internet cuisine shots. Even just a few more would be nice. (These guys are getting there...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_fin_soup and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi (look at the first pic Sushi blowup)) Alpha Ralpha Boulevard 06:56, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

Caribbean influences???
Have they taken hold yet in Canadian cuisine or not?? Just curious.
 * I can't speak of the rest of Canada, but there are a bunch of Jamaican/caribean restaurants in Vancouver these days, and there is a lot more Caribbean immigration to Ontario/Quebec, so if anything, it's probably more obvious there. And damn to I love Jerk chicken. -- TheMightyQuill 01:14, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Fish & Chips
Yeah, that's really Canadian. Originated in Canada and found nowhere else.209.29.94.72 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 05:55, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Mr. Tube Steak
Another classic. What you get at Mr. Tube Steak, Canadians eat with Mrs. Beaver Tail.209.29.94.72 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 06:01, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Redundancy in Wild Game section
Do Canadians eat something called "buffalo" that is distinct from bison? Also, the terms "deer" and "venison" are redundant (and some might argue that both "venison" and "deer" cover "elk" and possibly even "moose" and "caribou," but I believe that most U.S. readers use the terms for smaller deer like whitetails). Maybe some of these terms have different connotations in Canada, so I won't edit the page yet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Emmastaffron (talk • contribs) 03:44, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Chinese smorg citation & Lumberjack's Breakfast
Both are mentioned, I think, in Alan Morley's Vancouver: From Milltown to Metropolis, which I don't ahve a copy of currently so can't provide a page cite; also in Major Matthews' Early Vancouver but again I don't have a copy; the Lumberjack's Breakfast may be in Chuck Davis' "Vancouver Book" and it's certainly "on the menu" at the Thunderbird Drive-In in North Vancouver (just off Marine Drive near Cap Road...or is taht the Totem?); by "on the menu" I don't just mean you can order it, I'm pretty sure it's one of the restaurant's brags, though they say that they invented it.....Skookum1 (talk) 19:34, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

3-2 beer and real beer, not a myth
Sorry, Quill, I've lived in the US and drank lots of their stuff; while we DO ahve lite beers now, was a time when you couldn't find anything lower than 4% here, usually 5%, and while High Test (O'Keefe's Extra Old Stock, "High Test" as it's called in BC) used to be the strongest, and we have ridiculous 8% beers now, there was a BIG difference between a Blue or Brador and any American beer; most states legislated 3.2% alcohol (especially high-altitude ones) and there wasn't a Canadian beer that weak. It's not a myth, though you might think it is now; the difference between five beer in a bar in Abbotsford and 5 beer in a bar in Sumas WA was a big difference. And Miller and Schlitz and Olympia ("It's water, stupid" was a play on their "it's the water" slogan) were and are just plain weak-tasting. New brewwery methods and marketing ahve changed all that....mabye. But what do you mean Americans measure alcohol differently? 3.2% is 3.2% period, unless the value of a percent in the American system is somehow different than in the metric system. Do you mean proof??Skookum1 (talk) 22:34, 1 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Percentage is not just percentage -- there's a difference between alcohol by weight and by volume. Don't worry you're not the only one... I believed this for a long time too. "Since Canadian beers use ABV and American beers were using ABW, many thought Canadian beers were stronger." http://www.fermentarium.com/content/view/291/56/ http://www.worldofbeer.com/brightbeer/canbeermyth.html Labatt Blue, Molson Canadian, Bud and Coors all have the same alcohol content. Yes, if you look, you can get 8% craft beer in Canada, but you can get it in the states as well. Major brands, however, are roughly equal. From the looks of it, this used to be included in the Canadian beer article, but has since been (accidentally?) removed. - TheMightyQuill (talk) 15:20, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Percentages or not, what was true was that Canadian beer was stronger-tasting; maybe it's all changed now, but there was no mistaking Oly or Schlitz or Pabst vs your typical Canadian beer. American tastes have changed, and likewise there are Canadian lite-flavoured beers now (irrespective of alcohol content).  In fact, one of the things Americans used to relish about coming to Canada was that we had better beer.  It wasn't just our brag....Skookum1 (talk) 16:30, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

Candy bars re "Sweets"
There are certain Canadian-only candy bars, or Canadian-invented ones; I'm not famliar with the full list but I believe it includes Mars bars, Coffee Crisp, and Crunchies; this maybe is a large marketing issue but when something like Mars bars comes to occupy an iconic place, thanks to Nancy Greene, it should certainly be mentioned.Skookum1 (talk) 17:14, 15 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Of the three bars you listed, only Coffee Crisp is Canadian. Mars Bars and Cadbury Crunchie are both British in origin and very easily available (and popular) outside of Canada.  Neither one really forms an integral part of the "Canadian identity" and therefore shouldn't be listed as a Canadian food.  If you were to call things "Canadian" just based on who did endorsements of them, then Nike would be Canadian for their endorsement deal with Canadian baskeball pro Steve Nash.  Opendestiny (talk) 13:42, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

Red Rose Tea
Something of an icon in its own right, thanks to its slogan "Only in Canada you say? Pity...", it's still a reminder that the wider prevalence of tea-drinking across Canada vs the US, particularly among older generations, should be mentioned. that it's also with lemon and/or sugar rather than a big whack of milk, as is served in the UK, also needs inclusion.Skookum1 (talk) 17:14, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

Chocolate Bars and Chips
Mars bars were originally created in the UK and are very widely available outside of Canada. Aero was also created in the UK by a British confectioner Rowantrees, and can be easily found all over the world, or at least in the UK, Ireland, and most of Western Europe. Shreddies are also of a UK origin, and are widely available outside of Canada... Salt and Vinegar chips are common outside of Canada as well, and were one of the original flavours of chips developed by the Tayto crisp company in the 1920's in Ireland, where they are still popular, as well as in the UK. Glossette raisin/almonds/peanuts/etc are also from the UK. It seems a lot like people have just put in items that just aren't easily found in the USA and so they've labelled them as "Canadian", even though they're easily available outside of Canada and are not of Canadian origin or an integral part of Canadian identity.Opendestiny (talk) 13:33, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

Clodhoppers
The ultimate Canadian snack - Clodhoppers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clodhopper_(candy)

This needs to be added into the sweets section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.209.209.129 (talk) 17:28, 4 September 2010 (UTC)

Commercially Prepared food and beverages
This sections just ends up being a section for marketing products. Might as well throw in there, a moose and a live beaver.

Also

Also what exactly is Canadian food....its actually a very small catagory because a lot of those things also belongs to the Northern U.S. most Canadians eat INTERNATIONAL FOOD...like the rest of the western WORLD, ...well as least the English speaking ones USA, UK, AUSTRALIA.69.165.153.200 (talk) 21:05, 17 September 2011 (UTC)
 * By the same token, Southeastern French food is functionally indistinguishable from Northwestern Italian. One could cite hundreds of similar examples. Nevertheless, there is a constellation of food products which, when taken together, constitute elements of dominant and/or traditional Canadian cuisine. Obviously 'Canadian cuisine' as a thing is largely the same as "White and/or French Canadian cuisine," but the fact remains that it does exist.


 * As for 'Canadian food' (as in products or dishes unique to Canada), the article is full of them: poutine, tourtiere, bannock, etc. Maple syrup (despite its prevalence in the US northeast) is inextricably associated with Canada, as is the eating of salmon. Caribou, of course, is fairly uniquely Canadian. I could go on, but I'd be running the risk of simply quoting the entire article.


 * In many ways, Canadian cuisine is fantastically emblematic of Canada as a whole: British & French basis, with elements of First Nations cuisine (dishes and ingredients) mixed or substituted in, and then over the last half-century or so (probably more but I'm talking about widespread public consciousness) that fantastic explosion of ingredients and concepts from around the world. → ROUX   ₪  21:16, 17 September 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm Nit Picking ....but its nice to know that Americans don't eat salmon...as well as the Nordic countries...totally alien to them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.165.153.200 (talk) 21:32, 17 September 2011 (UTC)


 * How about you dial back on the attitude just a wee bit, eh? Of course the Nordic countries eat salmon--duh, gravlax--but salmon is pervasive in Canadian diets in a relatively unique way in the West; it does not crop up in American menus with the same kind of frequency. → ROUX   ₪  21:41, 17 September 2011 (UTC)


 * You also won't see barbecued salmon in Scandinavia, or baked for that matter......they also don't have spring salmon or sockeye etc.....quite a different fish, taste-wise, from ATlantic salmon....Skookum1 (talk) 07:31, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

Bacon from the Yukon?
I appreciate that the pic that bears this caption was served up in the Yukon....but it makes it sound like hog farms are part of the local food industry....sure you can raise hogs up there, poor things having to deal with the cold, but it's not like bacon is FROM the YukonSkookum1 (talk) 07:29, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

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Maple Syrup
The article states that maple syrup was originally made by freezing, but the citation is a (mostly) broken link. It's not practical to make maple syrup from sap by freezing without strictly controlled laboratory conditions and highly sensitive thermometers since the freezing point of maple sap is -0.1 C (in other words, you'd have to maintain the sap between -0.1 C and 0.0 C noninclusive to achieve a concentration effect, something not possible with pre-conquest indigenous technologies). Either a working citation is needed or the false fact should be removed. See https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/103403/acer-saccharum-sugar-maple-sap-freezing for a discussion on the physics behind the practicalities of using the ice process to concentrate maple sap. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.65.73.219 (talk) 17:56, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
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