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Even though its name stems from the French boudin—a word that usually refers to the pudding-like fillings of sausages—this soppy treat originating from the French Canadian province of Quebec consists of french fries drowned in a thick, brown gravy dotted with clumps of pale, soft, semi-creamy cheese curds.
The potatoes are more coarsely cut than regular fries, and they are sometimes even fried twice so that the exterior remains crispy while the interior remains soft, whereas the cheese does not melt but just softens, adding that special squeakiness to the dish, and the gravy is made with either beef or chicken stock with the addition of vinegar.
MOST ICONIC Poutine
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A local delicacy in the cuisine of the Midwestern United States and Canada, deep-fried cheese curds are made from curds that form before cheeses like cheddar are formed into blocks or wheels and left to age. Fresh curds have a rubbery texture and squeak slightly when bitten into, which is why they are sometimes referred to as squeaky cheese.
The squeak is a sign of its freshness, and after about twelve hours, the curds begin to lose their squeak, so they should be eaten on the day they are produced. Since there are many cheese factories and dairies in Wisconsin, the best and freshest cheese curds are produced in that state.
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Beaver tails are sweet, flat, and thin Canadian pastries made from whole wheat flour. The dough is hand-stretched and shaped to look like a beaver's tail - unsurprisingly, one of Canada's national symbols. The shaped dough is fried (a technique referred to as float-cooking) on canola oil and smothered with butter and a variety of different toppings.
Beaver Tails originated from a recipe created by Grant Hooker's family and have been served commercially since 1978. It is believed that the pastry evolved from a yeasty, wheaty dessert made from excess dough that was first made on early Canadian and American farms.
MOST ICONIC Beaver tails
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This bagel variety came to Montreal with the wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants during the early 1900s. There are varying theories about the creator of the first Montreal-style bagel – some claim it was a baker named Isadore Schlafman, while others say it was Hyman Seligman from Dvinsk, who sold them from a horse-drawn carriage.
Before baking, these bagels are boiled in kettles of honey water. Unlike New York-style bagels, these contain no salt and are less dense, with a slightly sweeter flavor. They are rolled and cut by hand and have a large hole in the center. Because Montreal bagels are wood-fired, it results in a crispy exterior and a chewy interior of the dough.
MOST ICONIC Montreal-style bagel
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Butter tart is a humble food that achieved iconic status in early 20th-century Canada. The filling is traditionally made with a combination of walnuts, eggs, brown sugar, butter, and white vinegar, and it's then placed into small, flaky, deep or shallow tart shells before baking.
Early versions of the recipe, dating back to 1915, suggest that currants and raisins should also be included in the mixture. There are lots of theories about the origin of the tart – some say that it is related to pecan pie, which was brought to the country by American slaves, some say it evolved from Quebec's sugar pie, while others say it's linked to Border Tarts from southern Scotland.
MOST ICONIC Butter tarts
View moreMaple slaw is a Canadian version of coleslaw, a salad that consists of cabbage, onions, maple syrup, and seasonings. It is typically served as a dessert or a snack. There are many version of the salad with added apple cider vinegar, celery seeds, mayonnaise, cheese, cereals, and even chocolate.
Maple slaw can also be used as a condiment in a variety of sandwiches and burgers, and it can often be found at potlucks and picnics.
Long before beef jerky, there was pemmican, a Native American snack with a high fat content that was originally used as travel food. The word pemmican (pimîhkâ) comes from the Cree tribe and is derived from the word pimi, meaning fat or grease.
It's made from a mixture of fat and lean meat of buffalos. The meat is thinly sliced, dried, and ground into a powder to make beef jerky, which is later mixed with fat to make pemmican. The flavor is creamy and salty, and pemmican bars are considered an outdoor tradition, useful for hunters, fishermen, and campers alike, as it provides tons of energy in a small package and it also has a very long shelf life.
MOST ICONIC Pemmican
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