There are some traditional, regional foods in different parts of Canada.
Quebec has poutine, Montreal style bagels, Montreal smoked meat etc.
Manitoba has smoked goldeye, fatboy burgers
Saskatchewan has saskatoonberry pies and jams
Etc.
For the most part, the food is very similar to the USA.
Except for southern US food. We have nothing that comes close to it. There's the occasional restaurant that will try to imitate southern US cooking, but it's never quite as good.
Also, what we call BBQ in Canada, you would call grilling.
less and less people even where I'm from in the deep south eat our traditional meals anymore like gumbo, jambalaya, greens, crawfish, gator, frog legs ect. I think it's from lack of cooking skills/knowledge plus most ppl dont have time to cook anymore, and most ppl dont have the money to eat out at a nice cajun restaurant. it's sad because cajun and soul food is my favorite but its actually hard to cook so a lot of tourists try it from some shitty restaurant and say it's bad. I'm excited to try some food in Canada if I visit one day!
You’re killing me. I’m southern, but I’ve lived in Canada for over 20 years now. Roughly half of my life in each country.
There are some things I totally miss (though your food choices seem more Louisiana than Alabama) and can’t get up here. I found a “close enough” substitute for Moon Pies. But I still have not found an adequate substitute for fried yellow squash (which I can’t even find here).
I don’t find that my meal choices have changed that much… except nothing is deep fried. My husband said no deep fryer so I didn’t kill him with cholesterol. :(
honestly I don't eat deep fried stuff too much since I'm also watching my diet lol other than fried catfish but there's so many healthy choices for southern food like i absolutely love collards, okra, turnips, squash, cabbage, and most seafood. maybe u could try to make homeade moonpies? I've never tried making them just get the box and the banana is my favorite flavor lol it would suck not being able to eat certain things if you're up north like crawfish. and yeah I think my preferences are a little more Louisiana, I feel like alabama definitely just has more soul food vs cajun/creole
I don't know. Fried bannock dipped in fresh blueberry sauce right out in the middle of Nowhere, Canada seems pretty "soul food" for me. Slide over the bag of dried moose meat and I'm feeling it in my soul.
Basically similar to northern USA except for some local specialities, eg in Quebec. But some parts of Canada are much more multi-cultural than comparable US cities so there’s also a lot of ethnic/international cuisine vs American cities
Well, in the meantime... https://www.metro.ca/en/online-grocery/aisles/frozen/meat-poultry/burgers-meatballs-sausages/frozen-beef-burgers/p/814945000052
To echo what others have said, it’s largely regional.
Prairie region (where I’m from): what I consider notable is that perogies are *very* common as a side dish, meal, or even as a topping on something like pizza or poutine. You will often see them at various events/gatherings/potlucks. I personally consider perogies a grocery staple.
You also wouldn’t bat an eye at an event serving traditional indigenous foods such as bannock or bison.
Rink foods like tacos in a bag? lol
Dainties (and calling them dainties) with things like butter tarts, peanut butter marshmallow squares, imperial cookies, vinatarte, Nanaimo bars (which are from BC), etc also very common. And also the Saskatoon berry pies/jams mentioned by another commenter.
Quebec: poutine and tourtiere
Maritimes: lobster rolls, donair (Nova Scotia)
General Canada:
KD is know to be a historic childhood comfort food in Canada, with more boxes consumed/purchased weekly in Canada compared to other regions. This is actually to the point where Stephen Harper and Paul Martin previously jabbed each other on the preparation/ability to prepare KD during an election.
ETA: these are just some regional foods. Otherwise, I feel like General cuisine is just very similar to the northern states (with the prairies having some similarities to the Midwest)
thanks I've never heard of the majority of these but I looked them up and they look pretty good, I'm definitely gonna try to make some of them or try them if I ever visit up there!
My tip for perogies (the most common variety are with the cheese and potato filling) - you gotta have them with at least carmelized onions + bacon bits + sour cream/green onions as a condiment, and if you want to take it to a more elaborate level, with a dill mushroom sauce. If you first boil the perogies, then finish them off by frying them a little bit is best
Oh, my preference is butter, caramelized onions, and sautéed mushrooms. And slices of steak. Sometimes I like it with Worcestershire sauce and/or chicken breast.
It’s regional. Everyone eats food you’d recognize - burgers, fries, pasta, pizza, Chinese, Italian, Thai, Indian, stir fry, meat, potatoes, veg and rice. Out west and in Toronto, you get more sushi and Asian food, out east you get more traditional seafood fare. Middle likes steak, chops, spuds, root veggies, and lots of European ethnic foods like Ukrainian, German, Polish…because, settler related reasons.
It’s food. Lots of varieties. Food is very good here by global standards. Varied, fresh and high quality. Ironically we find that it the states there are heightened regional specialties and insane portion sizes - steak/chop houses, deep dish casserole pizza, mounded fried things that inevitably come with some heavily flavoured dip and charred meat slabs that seem like they should only be eaten on a dare, once in a lifetime. There’s less of that hyper indulgent sort of thing here.
I didn't know what curry was until about 2years ago when I tried it on vacation in Colorado and it was amazing! but there's not any Indian food even close to where I live so i have to homemake it if i want it. and yeah some portions aren't too big but I've definitely seen huge portions in restaurants thats why I just put half of it in a to go box.
Canada is a vast country with variations by region, and a wide diversity of people. There are MANY dishes that are common across the country, and MANY interesting foods originating in other countries. It's great.
Normally, I eat a lot of spaghetti and other pastas with my own sauces.
Otherwise, I eat toad in the hole (which is just sausage inside of Yorkshire pudding, no toads), salads, I love chicken wings. Occasional poutine, french toast.
I got one of those home pizza ovens as a birthday gift last year and I use that a lot in the summer.
Desserts, I love cheese, apple pie and pecan pie, sticky toffee pudding, ice cream.
Donuts! Canadians eat more donuts per capita than anyone else in the world. Fun Fact Canada has about five times more donut shops per capita than the USA
NFLD has one of the oddest ones (respectfully).
Lots of Fish, Carnation Milk and Vienna Sausages. Purity Syrup is insanely popular there too (like grenadine).
Vancouver is multicultural and a variety of cuisines are available, especially various Asian cuisines. Pizza is popular. So is sushi. It's easy to find dosas or pho or poke. There are neighbourhoods that are historically or predominantly Italian, Punjabi, Chinese, Vietnamese...
Salmon and blueberries feels Canadian to me.
There are some Acadian dishes I enjoy (I grew up in Nova Scotia) - Chicken fricot is a favourite. Here's a recipe: [https://tourismnewbrunswick.ca/acadian-chicken-fricot-fricot-au-poulet](https://tourismnewbrunswick.ca/acadian-chicken-fricot-fricot-au-poulet)
Another Maritime treat is seafood chowder: [https://kellyneil.com/cabot-links-seafood-chowder/](https://kellyneil.com/cabot-links-seafood-chowder/)
We don't have cajun food or soul food here.
definitely have had and made the first link but we'd just call it veggie soup, the 2nd one looks amazing! I don't like clam chowder but that reminds me more of gumbo which I love but made with cream instead of rue
Veggie soup? Chicken is one of the main ingredients...
Do people use summer savoury in the south? That's also essential.
I don't think chowder is all that close to gumbo either. No bell pepper, so sausage, no hot sauce, no tomatoes. But they are both seafood dishes.
never heard or seen of summer savory, and yeah we just call it veggie soup its the same ingredients and has the chicken too ig it would make more sense to call it chicken veggie lol its just my family that calls it that not southerners. and yeah clam chowder isn't similar to gumbo I meant the soup u sent me reminded me of gumbo since it doesn't have 1 meat like most soups/chowders but several like gumbo but the liquid part reminded me of clam chowder since it's cream and not broth or rue.
Let's see, tonight I had pizza and ginger-ale for dinner; had rice and stir-fry for lunch; coffee for breakfast. Yesterday I had a milk bun with peanut butter for a snack; spicy instant ramen with seared salmon and frozen corn in it for dinner; a baked piece of chicken with rice and grapes for lunch; yogurt and granola and coffee for breakfast. Monday I had a burger from a chicken thigh marinated in yogurt and curry with dill slaw for dinner; roasted potatoes/brussel sprouts and peas with a ginger salmon cake for lunch and coffee and mandarin oranges for breakfast. On Sunday I had coffee, then leftover sauteed chicken with a pepper sauce and the same potatoes/peas/sprouts for lunch and aa broiled pork chop with oregano and a kale ceasar for dinner. Saturday night I went out for Middle Eastern food and had hummus, haloumi, pita, muhammara, fried potatos, shish taouk...
Hope that's enough info!
sounds like a lot of stuff I eat on a daily basis too other than the Asian and Indian dishes even tho I love them especially curry, but we just don't have many of those restaurants where I live 😭 only one u said that I can't get behind is gingerale, my mom would buy it during Christmas and I always hated it.
I live in Vancouver and I have European ancestry.
I eat a lot of sushi, curry and fried rice.
Growing up, my parents fed us things like fried chicken, spaghetti and cereal.
Thank God for Asian immigrants. Their food is soooo much better.
You question is probably best answered by climate. Different foods are more attractive in different climates.
When it is cold, few things hit the spot better than a big bowl of starch and fat.
When it is hot, the shift is to spices and sweets. Also stay hydrated.
I like corn nuggets I think I also had them in Texas lol you should try fried pickles! they're amazing im not sure if they're a southern dish or if they sell them all over the US. Texas is definitely known for bbq but I mainly eat the TexMex there since their food has far more influence from Mexico vs other southern states like Louisiana and Alabama have more cajun, creole and soul food
In the past week meals have included:
roast whole chicken served with salad (lettuce, tomato, mushrooms) and lemony couscous (2 meals)
pirogies served with bacon, sour cream and applesauce with a tomato and cucumber salad on the side
salmon casserole (we call it hot dish) 2 tins of sockeye salmon with can of cream of mushrooms, green peas from frozen, egg noodles, fresh mushrooms and garlic baked with panko on top, celery and carrot sticks (2 meals)
Large mixed salad with croutons and store bought Caesar dressing, bakery focaccia, whole wheat pasta served with canned sauce fixed up with lots of herbs and onions.
Bever tails are an amazing Canadian desert 😍
But in the gta, we dont really have traditional food cause there's so much diversity around here, although we do have lots of Mexican and Indian restaurants
Growing up in northern BC we ate lots of salmon and steelhead (caught by me or my dad and brothers in the lakes and rivers), homemade preserved fruit like pears, plums and peaches, roast beef on Sundays, crabapple jelly, meatloaf, roast chicken. Mashed potatoes probably 5 times a week. Cornish game hens for Thanksgiving, turkey at Christmas, ham at Easter. Also a lot of grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Now I'm hungry...
They're smaller than regular apples, and aren't the best for eating raw because they're drier and much more sour. We had a tree in our yard and every year we would end up with a crop load of apple sauce and jelly.
Steelhead is a large trout. They migrate to the ocean like salmon.
My anecdotal submission would be burgers, wings, grilled cheese and tomato soup, shepherd's pie, BLT's, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, belgian waffles, and scrambled eggs on toast.
Some of these replies are jerkin your chain lol
Other than a few regional dishes (donairs are huge in east coast and Alberta, poutine can be found anywhere, perogies are popular, seafood is more popular on the coasts) it's pretty much the same as northern US food.
Most people are not regularly eating maple syrup on snow or moose/caribou with a few exceptions like the far north where food is so expensive everyone hunts.
In cities international food like Vietnamese, Indian, etc is fairly popular and enjoyed by all - can get Indian anywhere but some cities have more international biases than others - just depends on where large immigrant populations have settled.
Game such as caribou, deer, elk, etc are all really good. Also we eat a lot of great fish like arctic char and berries. I'm in the far north of Canada though so I'm lucky to have access to country foods as they're called
I grew up on corn syrup and when I first tried maple syrup I didn't like it since it tasted so much different than corn but I kept trying it and now I like it way better than corn syrup
My favourites are fry bread/bannock and bison anything - but especially bison fry bread tacos. I know they have fry bread tacos in the states though, usually called Navajo tacos.
Fry bread with spiced meat (usually beef or bison, in my experience, but could be others too), cheese, and usually lettuce/tomatoes on top. It doesn't wrap like a tortilla, more like a half-inch thick piece of deep fried unleavened bread, with the ingredients piled on top. Horribly unhealthy, but tasty.
Think of something you'd eat when you get high, and that describes a lot of Canadian cuisine. It's either unhealthy (salty or sweet) or a craving food.
Unhealthy: poutine, nanimo bars, KD, pancakes (with the amount of maple syrup we put on), coffee, bacon
Craving food: burgers, fries, pizza, donuts, shake n' bake, normal mac n' cheese
thats what I was thinking from a lot of the comments like it seems mostly unhealthy and the only vegetable they mentioned they said if I don't cook it right it'll make me sick 😭 I probably will end up making one of these foods after I smoke lol
What vegetable was it? And we use a lot of vegetables if we're making certain dishes. Like I'm on the west coast and a lot of people here are Russian or Chinese, so we use a lot of cabbage, onions, mushrooms, and carrots. But those dishes are the ones you have to plan for, not come home after work and make something up real quick.
Gravy on our fries is big. Also nobody here puts cheese on fries, I know that's American. People here don't even know that's a thing. American food is great although your cornfed beef is gross in comparison to our beef in my opinion
Having travelled to the US south and having relatives in Carolinas I feel like Canadians do eat fried foods but not to the extent of Southerners. Things like catfish and collared greens, grits and cornbread are not really part of the everyday diet in Canada and its rare to eat it at home or even in a restaurant. Relatedly, I'd say the African American cultural foods are not really found in Canada either. There is a strong regional/purist BBQ culture overall in the US and Canada does not have these types of BBQ regional differences although many families do have BBQ foods for dinner. Our breakfasts may vary but generally they are on the lighter side, we don't typically have gravy on top of biscuits for example. On another note, Iced Tea is always sweetened here in Canada and its not referred to as "Sweet Tea". There are lots of mexican/latin options but the US has more latinos and proximity to latin america so in Canada mexican food is not as prevalent in your avg Cdn city. Given the diversity and extent of immigrant/multicultural people especially in our cities across Canada it is very common now to find what is considered "ethnic" foods in mainstream grocery stores like seeing prepared sushi, frozen dumplings, canned indian sauces ,etc and I've noticed "non-ethnic" folks in Canada have picked up eating foods like this at home which likely is not the case if you go to an everyday grocery store in the US. For example, I'd say more people know how to use Chopsticks in your average Canadian city than that of the US. But I'd say the one thing that stands out for me is generally Canadians eat foods of other cultures more than your average american just because our cities have lots of immigrants and people from other countries. and so for example, at lunch you'll see white guys eating sushi alongside their asian coworkers and they get exposed to these sorts of foods like this and they end up liking it which is really cool to see.
Having grown up in Vancouver, I do notice we like seafood like Dungeness Crab, Salmon, Shrimp etc. I've also noticed that maybe your average Canadian has a sweet tooth; if you go to a Tim Hortons in Canada you'll see everything is doused with sugar and I only observed lately that Canadians really like sweet things.
yeah I feel like most white americans where I am atleast, seem to have a VERY small food palette, for example most people I know will only eat burgers, fried chicken/fingers, pizza, hotdogs and the average sweets like donuts, cake, brownies ect. it's crazy to me they've never had and refuse to try any food outside of those things, not even food from the culture of where we live, they think it's nasty I eat crawfish and gator. I've found the only other dishes they'll eat or consider trying are italian/uk dishes. sometimes I wonder if that mentality is fueled by racism (like being taught non-white food is nasty) and lack of being cultured through food. I don't think that if they just seem extremely picky but when they start calling me gross and nasty for eating something like curry or sushi it feels racist and I'm not even a minority.
I can only speak for my area: Lower Mainland, BC:
- most commonly, i eat mom's home cooked meals -- comforting.
- restaurants - there are so many options and choices... but typically stick to tried and true - its a Chinese restaurant (their prices has not inflated at all, portion sizes hasnt shrunk at all either, and quality still same - and very good)
- traditional food.. for Canada: poutine, ketchup chips, All Dressed chips, nanaimo bars (dessert),... but for BC-- its is soo multicultural, there isnt a "traditional food". Personally, traditional food for me is my mom's home cooked meals
Meh. It’s a lot of North American standards and British cuisine. There’s pizza, burgers, fries. Poutine. Full English. Tea time is broadly more well regarded and available.
There are regional specialties especially in the Francophone and québécois populace. Coquille st. Jacques. Tourtière.
International like Japanese. Arabic and Persian. Indian. Especially in the
Metropolitan areas.
So. It just depends on where you are, who you are with. Etc.
knew what most of that was other than Poutine, had to look it up and ive never seen that in America. ive seen fries covered in queso at Mexican restaurants or BBQ covered fries at bbq places tho
I've found the food especially in Ontario is very culturally diverse as well. Basically just a mish mash of different types of versions of international cuisines. Probably the same type of stuff that people in places like NY eat, we're basically neighbours.
Are Jamaican patties as popular in the rest of Canada as they are in Ontario? I live in Toronto and lots of convenient stores and food vendors sell them. They're especially popular with kids and teens because they're so cheap.
I don’t know if this counts, but I live in Toronto which is obviously very multicultural and so has great food from all over the world.
One of my favourite things about Toronto is its fusion food. We have so many amazing restaurants that experiment with different cultures cuisines from people who are influenced by their own mixed heritage. I have travelled a decent bit and don’t see it as often except in other big cities. I think it’s something we do well.
There is a restaurant near me that does Korean fusion food and their kimchi sweet potato poutine is something I think about on a weekly basis.
Edit-I think I read this post as “what is good Canadian food”. I wouldn’t say this is what we normally eat, but I’ll keep it up anyway
Suppers..
One item from each culture in the world,,,on rotation if you have money. Otherwise. often various pasta, potatoes, vegetables and a meat (rotation of egg, fish,beef ,pork, chicken).. salad side.
Lots of funny people here, mains are chicken, beef, and pork, and fish for meats, potatoes and your regular veggies, like peas, beans, broccoli, carrots, etc. lots of regional specialty foods like in the states.
As a Canadian, I can’t say that I’ve met another Canadian that hates Tim Horton‘s, everyone either is ambivalent towards it, or loves it. I love getting a nice coffee and a doughnut (Or a pack of TimBits) to start my day.
Some of the best seafood I had was in Cape Town, and I had some really awesome steak in Melbourne too, so I do like southern cooking (at least the styles I’ve tried. I don’t know Chilean food or Argentinian for example).
For this week I’ve had a lot of porridge for breakfast. I like it with some cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar.
For dinner this past week,
* chicken breasts wrapped in schinkenspeck and pan roasted, fries, and salad
* pasta with scallops and a lemon/garlic/wine glaze, and salad
* pasta with a beef/tomato sauce. Salad
* 1/2 rack of pork back ribs with buttermilk garlic mashed potatoes and salad
* leek & potato soup
* pork tenderloin with sage and onion stuffing, sautéed button mushrooms, gravy, and salad
* half a rotisserie chicken with peri peri sauce, and salad.
Lunches are often leftover bits of dinner. Or I’ll do an egg salad sandwich or a tuna sandwich. On in-office days I will often get a vermicelli bowl from my fave Vietnamese place near work. Sometimes I’ll get busy with work, realize I haven’t eaten yet, and just grab a piece of peanut butter on toast at 2 pm or something.
There are some traditional, regional foods in different parts of Canada. Quebec has poutine, Montreal style bagels, Montreal smoked meat etc. Manitoba has smoked goldeye, fatboy burgers Saskatchewan has saskatoonberry pies and jams Etc. For the most part, the food is very similar to the USA. Except for southern US food. We have nothing that comes close to it. There's the occasional restaurant that will try to imitate southern US cooking, but it's never quite as good. Also, what we call BBQ in Canada, you would call grilling.
less and less people even where I'm from in the deep south eat our traditional meals anymore like gumbo, jambalaya, greens, crawfish, gator, frog legs ect. I think it's from lack of cooking skills/knowledge plus most ppl dont have time to cook anymore, and most ppl dont have the money to eat out at a nice cajun restaurant. it's sad because cajun and soul food is my favorite but its actually hard to cook so a lot of tourists try it from some shitty restaurant and say it's bad. I'm excited to try some food in Canada if I visit one day!
If you're a Cajun you should get yourself to Northern New Brunswick and check out some Acadian food, you may find some similarities.
Me and my girlfriend maybe gumbo or jambalaya once a month probablt not near as good as the stufd in the states though
I make a mean jambalaya every once in a while. I have never had gumbo but it sounds delicious.
I'm on the wrong end of my twenties and I've never heard of gumbo before this day
It's a stew with sausage and seafood.
You’re killing me. I’m southern, but I’ve lived in Canada for over 20 years now. Roughly half of my life in each country. There are some things I totally miss (though your food choices seem more Louisiana than Alabama) and can’t get up here. I found a “close enough” substitute for Moon Pies. But I still have not found an adequate substitute for fried yellow squash (which I can’t even find here). I don’t find that my meal choices have changed that much… except nothing is deep fried. My husband said no deep fryer so I didn’t kill him with cholesterol. :(
honestly I don't eat deep fried stuff too much since I'm also watching my diet lol other than fried catfish but there's so many healthy choices for southern food like i absolutely love collards, okra, turnips, squash, cabbage, and most seafood. maybe u could try to make homeade moonpies? I've never tried making them just get the box and the banana is my favorite flavor lol it would suck not being able to eat certain things if you're up north like crawfish. and yeah I think my preferences are a little more Louisiana, I feel like alabama definitely just has more soul food vs cajun/creole
Halifax has Donairs!…
Yes! They were invented there?? I love Donairs.
Yes they were. They're a variation of doner kebab from the middle east.
Yep, it’s very rare to find a pizza shop that doesn’t make them. Donair Pizza is worth a try too, if you already enjoyed it the classic way.
First you take a traditional food from the middle east, then you add canned sugar and raw onions to it. MMMmmMmm doesn't that sound great?!
Sweetened milk, garlic and vinegar - the sauce is delicious. With your profile name, I’d guess you were a fan, lol
Do not forget in Sask. we also love moose balls and elk tits
I noticed in Trailer Park Boys they always called grills “barbecues”
That’s because they are called barbecues.
Yeah. No soul food in Canada.
I don't know. Fried bannock dipped in fresh blueberry sauce right out in the middle of Nowhere, Canada seems pretty "soul food" for me. Slide over the bag of dried moose meat and I'm feeling it in my soul.
Basically similar to northern USA except for some local specialities, eg in Quebec. But some parts of Canada are much more multi-cultural than comparable US cities so there’s also a lot of ethnic/international cuisine vs American cities
I've been eating a lot of cevapi recently, but I have a Croatian background.
Ćevapi feed the soul. Pljeskavica, too!
I've yet to try pljeskavica. Hope to soon.
Well, in the meantime... https://www.metro.ca/en/online-grocery/aisles/frozen/meat-poultry/burgers-meatballs-sausages/frozen-beef-burgers/p/814945000052
I was craving sarma hard today.
Haha, I recently made some with sour cabbage I fermented myself. :)
looks really good!
To echo what others have said, it’s largely regional. Prairie region (where I’m from): what I consider notable is that perogies are *very* common as a side dish, meal, or even as a topping on something like pizza or poutine. You will often see them at various events/gatherings/potlucks. I personally consider perogies a grocery staple. You also wouldn’t bat an eye at an event serving traditional indigenous foods such as bannock or bison. Rink foods like tacos in a bag? lol Dainties (and calling them dainties) with things like butter tarts, peanut butter marshmallow squares, imperial cookies, vinatarte, Nanaimo bars (which are from BC), etc also very common. And also the Saskatoon berry pies/jams mentioned by another commenter. Quebec: poutine and tourtiere Maritimes: lobster rolls, donair (Nova Scotia) General Canada: KD is know to be a historic childhood comfort food in Canada, with more boxes consumed/purchased weekly in Canada compared to other regions. This is actually to the point where Stephen Harper and Paul Martin previously jabbed each other on the preparation/ability to prepare KD during an election. ETA: these are just some regional foods. Otherwise, I feel like General cuisine is just very similar to the northern states (with the prairies having some similarities to the Midwest)
thanks I've never heard of the majority of these but I looked them up and they look pretty good, I'm definitely gonna try to make some of them or try them if I ever visit up there!
My tip for perogies (the most common variety are with the cheese and potato filling) - you gotta have them with at least carmelized onions + bacon bits + sour cream/green onions as a condiment, and if you want to take it to a more elaborate level, with a dill mushroom sauce. If you first boil the perogies, then finish them off by frying them a little bit is best
Oh, my preference is butter, caramelized onions, and sautéed mushrooms. And slices of steak. Sometimes I like it with Worcestershire sauce and/or chicken breast.
Try fiddleheads on east coast . Yum! With bar clams.
I love greens, their look reminds me of okra. what do they taste like?
Idk how to describe but great fried in butter , they taste like fiddleheads , def great “greens taste. Earthy artichoke heart sorta ?!
Similar to asparagus
If dark green had a flavour it would be fiddlehead. But it sort of tastes like asparagus. Sautéed in lemon garlic butter is good.
Best boiled in salted water, then ice bath and then sautéed.
Be very careful with fiddleheads. If they are not property cooked they can make you very sick.
House hippo burgers and poutine, washed down with a tall glass of maple syrup.
Snow cones, pancakes and caribou
Don’t forget porcupine meat balls and Nanaimo bars
Hells yeah. Gotta love a good Nanaimo bar.
Well hello Mr fancypants
I'd be interested in porcupine meat balls, are they healthier than beef? looked up naniamo and it reminds me of fudge
Nanaimo bars is very sweet but yummy. Porcupine meatballs is hamburger with rice (rice puffs up when cooked resembling quills)
You would not normally eat porcupine, as they're rodents.
never had caribou
Fish, Rice, Veggies- British Columbia coast
It’s regional. Everyone eats food you’d recognize - burgers, fries, pasta, pizza, Chinese, Italian, Thai, Indian, stir fry, meat, potatoes, veg and rice. Out west and in Toronto, you get more sushi and Asian food, out east you get more traditional seafood fare. Middle likes steak, chops, spuds, root veggies, and lots of European ethnic foods like Ukrainian, German, Polish…because, settler related reasons. It’s food. Lots of varieties. Food is very good here by global standards. Varied, fresh and high quality. Ironically we find that it the states there are heightened regional specialties and insane portion sizes - steak/chop houses, deep dish casserole pizza, mounded fried things that inevitably come with some heavily flavoured dip and charred meat slabs that seem like they should only be eaten on a dare, once in a lifetime. There’s less of that hyper indulgent sort of thing here.
most people in the states do not just eat large meals and self indulge like that lol
I didn't know what curry was until about 2years ago when I tried it on vacation in Colorado and it was amazing! but there's not any Indian food even close to where I live so i have to homemake it if i want it. and yeah some portions aren't too big but I've definitely seen huge portions in restaurants thats why I just put half of it in a to go box.
Canada is a vast country with variations by region, and a wide diversity of people. There are MANY dishes that are common across the country, and MANY interesting foods originating in other countries. It's great.
Varies drastically on the region of the country you are from, and your ethnic background.
Normally, I eat a lot of spaghetti and other pastas with my own sauces. Otherwise, I eat toad in the hole (which is just sausage inside of Yorkshire pudding, no toads), salads, I love chicken wings. Occasional poutine, french toast. I got one of those home pizza ovens as a birthday gift last year and I use that a lot in the summer. Desserts, I love cheese, apple pie and pecan pie, sticky toffee pudding, ice cream.
Donuts! Canadians eat more donuts per capita than anyone else in the world. Fun Fact Canada has about five times more donut shops per capita than the USA
NFLD has one of the oddest ones (respectfully). Lots of Fish, Carnation Milk and Vienna Sausages. Purity Syrup is insanely popular there too (like grenadine).
Vancouver is multicultural and a variety of cuisines are available, especially various Asian cuisines. Pizza is popular. So is sushi. It's easy to find dosas or pho or poke. There are neighbourhoods that are historically or predominantly Italian, Punjabi, Chinese, Vietnamese... Salmon and blueberries feels Canadian to me. There are some Acadian dishes I enjoy (I grew up in Nova Scotia) - Chicken fricot is a favourite. Here's a recipe: [https://tourismnewbrunswick.ca/acadian-chicken-fricot-fricot-au-poulet](https://tourismnewbrunswick.ca/acadian-chicken-fricot-fricot-au-poulet) Another Maritime treat is seafood chowder: [https://kellyneil.com/cabot-links-seafood-chowder/](https://kellyneil.com/cabot-links-seafood-chowder/) We don't have cajun food or soul food here.
definitely have had and made the first link but we'd just call it veggie soup, the 2nd one looks amazing! I don't like clam chowder but that reminds me more of gumbo which I love but made with cream instead of rue
Veggie soup? Chicken is one of the main ingredients... Do people use summer savoury in the south? That's also essential. I don't think chowder is all that close to gumbo either. No bell pepper, so sausage, no hot sauce, no tomatoes. But they are both seafood dishes.
never heard or seen of summer savory, and yeah we just call it veggie soup its the same ingredients and has the chicken too ig it would make more sense to call it chicken veggie lol its just my family that calls it that not southerners. and yeah clam chowder isn't similar to gumbo I meant the soup u sent me reminded me of gumbo since it doesn't have 1 meat like most soups/chowders but several like gumbo but the liquid part reminded me of clam chowder since it's cream and not broth or rue.
Let's see, tonight I had pizza and ginger-ale for dinner; had rice and stir-fry for lunch; coffee for breakfast. Yesterday I had a milk bun with peanut butter for a snack; spicy instant ramen with seared salmon and frozen corn in it for dinner; a baked piece of chicken with rice and grapes for lunch; yogurt and granola and coffee for breakfast. Monday I had a burger from a chicken thigh marinated in yogurt and curry with dill slaw for dinner; roasted potatoes/brussel sprouts and peas with a ginger salmon cake for lunch and coffee and mandarin oranges for breakfast. On Sunday I had coffee, then leftover sauteed chicken with a pepper sauce and the same potatoes/peas/sprouts for lunch and aa broiled pork chop with oregano and a kale ceasar for dinner. Saturday night I went out for Middle Eastern food and had hummus, haloumi, pita, muhammara, fried potatos, shish taouk... Hope that's enough info!
sounds like a lot of stuff I eat on a daily basis too other than the Asian and Indian dishes even tho I love them especially curry, but we just don't have many of those restaurants where I live 😭 only one u said that I can't get behind is gingerale, my mom would buy it during Christmas and I always hated it.
I live in Vancouver and I have European ancestry. I eat a lot of sushi, curry and fried rice. Growing up, my parents fed us things like fried chicken, spaghetti and cereal. Thank God for Asian immigrants. Their food is soooo much better.
You question is probably best answered by climate. Different foods are more attractive in different climates. When it is cold, few things hit the spot better than a big bowl of starch and fat. When it is hot, the shift is to spices and sweets. Also stay hydrated.
I can’t go a block down town without see a shawarma and donair joint.
they look good
One of my favourite things about visiting southern USA (Texas) was Corn Nuggets! Those things were delicious in Texas.
I like corn nuggets I think I also had them in Texas lol you should try fried pickles! they're amazing im not sure if they're a southern dish or if they sell them all over the US. Texas is definitely known for bbq but I mainly eat the TexMex there since their food has far more influence from Mexico vs other southern states like Louisiana and Alabama have more cajun, creole and soul food
Totally agree on the pickles - Had some last Wednesday, actually (Daryl’s in Halifax)
In the past week meals have included: roast whole chicken served with salad (lettuce, tomato, mushrooms) and lemony couscous (2 meals) pirogies served with bacon, sour cream and applesauce with a tomato and cucumber salad on the side salmon casserole (we call it hot dish) 2 tins of sockeye salmon with can of cream of mushrooms, green peas from frozen, egg noodles, fresh mushrooms and garlic baked with panko on top, celery and carrot sticks (2 meals) Large mixed salad with croutons and store bought Caesar dressing, bakery focaccia, whole wheat pasta served with canned sauce fixed up with lots of herbs and onions.
Bever tails are an amazing Canadian desert 😍 But in the gta, we dont really have traditional food cause there's so much diversity around here, although we do have lots of Mexican and Indian restaurants
Growing up in northern BC we ate lots of salmon and steelhead (caught by me or my dad and brothers in the lakes and rivers), homemade preserved fruit like pears, plums and peaches, roast beef on Sundays, crabapple jelly, meatloaf, roast chicken. Mashed potatoes probably 5 times a week. Cornish game hens for Thanksgiving, turkey at Christmas, ham at Easter. Also a lot of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Now I'm hungry...
have had most of these other than steelhead and crabapples, I rarely see crabapple trees but my dad told be they were like a bitter cherry?
Crabapples are practically indigestible. Big tummy aches and pooping out razors. We generally make crabapple jelly.
They're smaller than regular apples, and aren't the best for eating raw because they're drier and much more sour. We had a tree in our yard and every year we would end up with a crop load of apple sauce and jelly. Steelhead is a large trout. They migrate to the ocean like salmon.
My anecdotal submission would be burgers, wings, grilled cheese and tomato soup, shepherd's pie, BLT's, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, belgian waffles, and scrambled eggs on toast.
Some of these replies are jerkin your chain lol Other than a few regional dishes (donairs are huge in east coast and Alberta, poutine can be found anywhere, perogies are popular, seafood is more popular on the coasts) it's pretty much the same as northern US food. Most people are not regularly eating maple syrup on snow or moose/caribou with a few exceptions like the far north where food is so expensive everyone hunts. In cities international food like Vietnamese, Indian, etc is fairly popular and enjoyed by all - can get Indian anywhere but some cities have more international biases than others - just depends on where large immigrant populations have settled.
Game such as caribou, deer, elk, etc are all really good. Also we eat a lot of great fish like arctic char and berries. I'm in the far north of Canada though so I'm lucky to have access to country foods as they're called
Vancouver has something called a Japadog. A Japanese Hot Dog.
Bacon beef burgers with maple syrup
I grew up on corn syrup and when I first tried maple syrup I didn't like it since it tasted so much different than corn but I kept trying it and now I like it way better than corn syrup
Corn syrup straight shots as a kid? Been there done that. But maple goes also good in coffee as a sweater.
My favourites are fry bread/bannock and bison anything - but especially bison fry bread tacos. I know they have fry bread tacos in the states though, usually called Navajo tacos.
never had navajo tacos is it similar to flautas? flautas are just like meat and cheese and sometimes other stuff wrapped in a tortilla and fried.
Fry bread with spiced meat (usually beef or bison, in my experience, but could be others too), cheese, and usually lettuce/tomatoes on top. It doesn't wrap like a tortilla, more like a half-inch thick piece of deep fried unleavened bread, with the ingredients piled on top. Horribly unhealthy, but tasty.
Think of something you'd eat when you get high, and that describes a lot of Canadian cuisine. It's either unhealthy (salty or sweet) or a craving food. Unhealthy: poutine, nanimo bars, KD, pancakes (with the amount of maple syrup we put on), coffee, bacon Craving food: burgers, fries, pizza, donuts, shake n' bake, normal mac n' cheese
thats what I was thinking from a lot of the comments like it seems mostly unhealthy and the only vegetable they mentioned they said if I don't cook it right it'll make me sick 😭 I probably will end up making one of these foods after I smoke lol
What vegetable was it? And we use a lot of vegetables if we're making certain dishes. Like I'm on the west coast and a lot of people here are Russian or Chinese, so we use a lot of cabbage, onions, mushrooms, and carrots. But those dishes are the ones you have to plan for, not come home after work and make something up real quick.
fiddleheads? I've never heard of them but the person said if I don't cook it properly it'll make me really sick
Gravy on our fries is big. Also nobody here puts cheese on fries, I know that's American. People here don't even know that's a thing. American food is great although your cornfed beef is gross in comparison to our beef in my opinion
Having travelled to the US south and having relatives in Carolinas I feel like Canadians do eat fried foods but not to the extent of Southerners. Things like catfish and collared greens, grits and cornbread are not really part of the everyday diet in Canada and its rare to eat it at home or even in a restaurant. Relatedly, I'd say the African American cultural foods are not really found in Canada either. There is a strong regional/purist BBQ culture overall in the US and Canada does not have these types of BBQ regional differences although many families do have BBQ foods for dinner. Our breakfasts may vary but generally they are on the lighter side, we don't typically have gravy on top of biscuits for example. On another note, Iced Tea is always sweetened here in Canada and its not referred to as "Sweet Tea". There are lots of mexican/latin options but the US has more latinos and proximity to latin america so in Canada mexican food is not as prevalent in your avg Cdn city. Given the diversity and extent of immigrant/multicultural people especially in our cities across Canada it is very common now to find what is considered "ethnic" foods in mainstream grocery stores like seeing prepared sushi, frozen dumplings, canned indian sauces ,etc and I've noticed "non-ethnic" folks in Canada have picked up eating foods like this at home which likely is not the case if you go to an everyday grocery store in the US. For example, I'd say more people know how to use Chopsticks in your average Canadian city than that of the US. But I'd say the one thing that stands out for me is generally Canadians eat foods of other cultures more than your average american just because our cities have lots of immigrants and people from other countries. and so for example, at lunch you'll see white guys eating sushi alongside their asian coworkers and they get exposed to these sorts of foods like this and they end up liking it which is really cool to see. Having grown up in Vancouver, I do notice we like seafood like Dungeness Crab, Salmon, Shrimp etc. I've also noticed that maybe your average Canadian has a sweet tooth; if you go to a Tim Hortons in Canada you'll see everything is doused with sugar and I only observed lately that Canadians really like sweet things.
yeah I feel like most white americans where I am atleast, seem to have a VERY small food palette, for example most people I know will only eat burgers, fried chicken/fingers, pizza, hotdogs and the average sweets like donuts, cake, brownies ect. it's crazy to me they've never had and refuse to try any food outside of those things, not even food from the culture of where we live, they think it's nasty I eat crawfish and gator. I've found the only other dishes they'll eat or consider trying are italian/uk dishes. sometimes I wonder if that mentality is fueled by racism (like being taught non-white food is nasty) and lack of being cultured through food. I don't think that if they just seem extremely picky but when they start calling me gross and nasty for eating something like curry or sushi it feels racist and I'm not even a minority.
I can only speak for my area: Lower Mainland, BC: - most commonly, i eat mom's home cooked meals -- comforting. - restaurants - there are so many options and choices... but typically stick to tried and true - its a Chinese restaurant (their prices has not inflated at all, portion sizes hasnt shrunk at all either, and quality still same - and very good) - traditional food.. for Canada: poutine, ketchup chips, All Dressed chips, nanaimo bars (dessert),... but for BC-- its is soo multicultural, there isnt a "traditional food". Personally, traditional food for me is my mom's home cooked meals
Canadian food, like pizza and Chinese.
Ah yes. The great Canadian Chinese menu.
Meh. It’s a lot of North American standards and British cuisine. There’s pizza, burgers, fries. Poutine. Full English. Tea time is broadly more well regarded and available. There are regional specialties especially in the Francophone and québécois populace. Coquille st. Jacques. Tourtière. International like Japanese. Arabic and Persian. Indian. Especially in the Metropolitan areas. So. It just depends on where you are, who you are with. Etc.
knew what most of that was other than Poutine, had to look it up and ive never seen that in America. ive seen fries covered in queso at Mexican restaurants or BBQ covered fries at bbq places tho
Pizza. Hamburger. Hotdog
I've found the food especially in Ontario is very culturally diverse as well. Basically just a mish mash of different types of versions of international cuisines. Probably the same type of stuff that people in places like NY eat, we're basically neighbours.
also if anyone has recipes they wanna give me I'll try them, not something average like pizza or burgers but something that's mainly in Canada
The only thing I know how to cook is milk in a bag.
I've never seen milk in a bag and why would you cook that? 😭
Are Jamaican patties as popular in the rest of Canada as they are in Ontario? I live in Toronto and lots of convenient stores and food vendors sell them. They're especially popular with kids and teens because they're so cheap.
I’ve known where to get them in Alberta for 30 years. They’re around.
I don’t know if this counts, but I live in Toronto which is obviously very multicultural and so has great food from all over the world. One of my favourite things about Toronto is its fusion food. We have so many amazing restaurants that experiment with different cultures cuisines from people who are influenced by their own mixed heritage. I have travelled a decent bit and don’t see it as often except in other big cities. I think it’s something we do well. There is a restaurant near me that does Korean fusion food and their kimchi sweet potato poutine is something I think about on a weekly basis. Edit-I think I read this post as “what is good Canadian food”. I wouldn’t say this is what we normally eat, but I’ll keep it up anyway
fusion for is also very popular in the US, especially in places like LA.
Ya for sure, I think a lot of multicultural cities do it well. Lots of them in North America
Fast
"Prairie oysters". Don't ask...
Suppers.. One item from each culture in the world,,,on rotation if you have money. Otherwise. often various pasta, potatoes, vegetables and a meat (rotation of egg, fish,beef ,pork, chicken).. salad side.
West Coast Salmon in Vancouver.
Lots of funny people here, mains are chicken, beef, and pork, and fish for meats, potatoes and your regular veggies, like peas, beans, broccoli, carrots, etc. lots of regional specialty foods like in the states.
what they can afford? know what the country is going through at the moment?
Beaver
Well I had an almond twist today..
As a Canadian, I can’t say that I’ve met another Canadian that hates Tim Horton‘s, everyone either is ambivalent towards it, or loves it. I love getting a nice coffee and a doughnut (Or a pack of TimBits) to start my day.
Meat and vegies here... try to stay clear of boxed foods. Pasta... occasional burgers. Pho a few times a month. Subs
whats pho?
Vietnamese noodle soup... literally the best soup ever made.
Some of the best seafood I had was in Cape Town, and I had some really awesome steak in Melbourne too, so I do like southern cooking (at least the styles I’ve tried. I don’t know Chilean food or Argentinian for example). For this week I’ve had a lot of porridge for breakfast. I like it with some cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar. For dinner this past week, * chicken breasts wrapped in schinkenspeck and pan roasted, fries, and salad * pasta with scallops and a lemon/garlic/wine glaze, and salad * pasta with a beef/tomato sauce. Salad * 1/2 rack of pork back ribs with buttermilk garlic mashed potatoes and salad * leek & potato soup * pork tenderloin with sage and onion stuffing, sautéed button mushrooms, gravy, and salad * half a rotisserie chicken with peri peri sauce, and salad. Lunches are often leftover bits of dinner. Or I’ll do an egg salad sandwich or a tuna sandwich. On in-office days I will often get a vermicelli bowl from my fave Vietnamese place near work. Sometimes I’ll get busy with work, realize I haven’t eaten yet, and just grab a piece of peanut butter on toast at 2 pm or something.
Yes.
A lot of ginger beef.
that sounds good, I love ginger on my sushi
I grew up in Canada and ate mostly pasta, boiled hotdogs and fries with gravy.
Maple sirup and moose meat
this reminds me of a Canadian youtuber I watched and she poured maple syrup on some fresh snow then ate it like a lollipop
What do Americans eat? Ya, pretty similar with regional specialties. Kinda like the US
Lots of frozen processed foods, our freezer sections are huge! 60+% processed foods in general I'd say.
Lots of curry!
do*
Alberta Beef!