Canadian Foods Trivia

1. Many a Nova Scotian looks forward to spring which brings this unusual vegetable dish on to the menu. What is it?

From Quiz The Canadian Cuisine Tour

Answer: Buttered fiddleheads

While Atlantic Canadians are fond of a snack called dulse (dried seaweed), I don't know if they eat a lot of seaweed salad, and pine nuts aren't a spring thing. There are lots of apples grown in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, but I made up apple blossom puree. No, the delicacy that Nova Scotians look forward to is tender, green fiddleheads, the tops of young ferns. They're so called because their shape resembles the head of the neck of a fiddle. (Makes sense, eh?) They're very popular in Nova Scotia (and other provinces in Atlantic Canada). They're best served fresh, although nowadays transplanted Nova Scotians can enjoy this down-home delicacy straight from the supermarket freezer. However, frozen is never as good as fresh! If you can lay your hands on fresh fiddleheads, try this traditional recipe. Ingredients: 750g-1 kg (1-1/2 to 2 lbs) fresh fiddleheads; boiling water for steaming; 1mL (1/4 tsp) salt; 45mL (3 tbsp) melted butter; 10 mL (2 tsp)lemon juice. Method: Wash the fiddleheads thoroughly in several changes of cold water until there are no brown shreds of the papery covering left. Steam over boiling water until tender (approx. 10-15 minutes). Combine melted butter and lemon juice. Sprinkle the steamed fiddleheads with salt, place them in a preheated serving dish, and pour butter/lemon juice over them. Serve hot.

From Quiz Native Nosh: Northern Canada's Classic Cuisine

Answer: whale skin and blubber

Muktuk (spelled in a variety of ways) is a traditional food of the indigenous people of the Arctic including Northern Canada and Greenland consisting of whale skin and blubber. It comes from the bowhead whale, although the beluga and the narwhal are also a source of the same food. It is usually consumed raw, but can also be eaten frozen or cooked or pickled. The skin must be cut otherwise it is too rubbery to eat. Traditionally muktuk is consumed like a snack while the rest of the whale meat is prepared. On occasion muktuk can be prepared in various forms such as boiled (then called unaaliq) finely diced, breaded, or deep fried. It has become quite common to serve it with sauces from the outside world. Soy sauce is readily used in a variety of Inuit dishes and HP sauce, a commercial spicy sour sauce from the UK is occasionally a muktuk accompaniment. While whale meat is available via hunting by indigenous people, it is not available commercially in Canada and indeed it is only available in this manner in Norway, Iceland, and South Korea. The Inuit have a ritual based on respect which is performed after a whale is caught but before any part is consumed. This question was prepared and served by Phoenix Rising team member JAM6430.

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Butter tarts

This tasty little dessert that is associated with Canada consists of butter, sugar, egg and syrup. Those ingredients are baked in a flaky pastry shell and there are variations on ingredients included in the filling. Some people include raisins, pecans or walnuts and some adventurous cooks include ingredients such as bacon or pumpkin. Although they were common in pioneer cooking, the very first published butter tart recipe can be traced back to a lady named Mary Ethel MacLeod of Barrie, Ontario.

From Quiz The Canadian Cuisine Tour

Answer: Stale bread soaked in milk or water

Newfoundlanders traditionally use hard tack (aka ship's biscuits) to make their favourite dish called Fish and Brewis. Brewis nowadays is stale bread soaked overnight to soften it. If you'd like to sample Fish and Brewis, use this recipe and invite five friends over. Ingredients: Four loaves of stale bread; 900 kg (2 lbs) salt cod; six to eight potatoes, peeled and diced; There are two traditional toppings from which to choose: a) Scrunchins' - 250mL (1 c) salt pork, finely diced; 500 mL (2 c) finely diced onions. b) Gravy - 50 mL (1/4 c) butter; two medium onions, chopped; 30mL (2 tbsp) flour; 250mL (1 c) water. Method: Soak hard bread overnight in cold water and soak cod overnight in a large pot of water as well. When ready to prepare the meal, change the water on the cod, add the potatoes to the cod in the pot and simmer gently until cooked (about 20-30 minutes). Remove from heat and drain. Meantime, heat soaked bread until it comes to a boil, then drain. Combine cod, potatoes and bread and mash them together. Scrunchin's Topping: Place salt pork in frying pan and cook over medium heat until grease is drawn from the pork. Add diced onions and cook until pork is crisp and onions are tender. Spread on top of fish/potato/bread mixture. Gravy topping: Melt butter in pan, add chopped onions and fry until onions are soft. Add water and bring to boil, then add flour to thicken the gravy. Pour over the fish/potato/bread mixture. Enjoy!

From Quiz Traditional Newfoundland Nosh and Libations

Answer: seal flippers

Flipper pie is indeed, made with seal flippers! It is more of an occasional meal, but NFLD is famous for its flipper pies.

From Quiz Native Nosh: Northern Canada's Classic Cuisine

Answer: confit

Somehow, the confit ptarmigan seems at odds with more traditional techniques used by the people of Northern Canada to prepare or preserve native foods. Confit is a method of food preservation where food is cooked slowly in fat, oil or syrup over a long period of time at low temperatures (usually about 90°C or 200°F). Modern usage of confit is less about preservation and more about preparation. Drying (including the creation of jerky), smoking and grilling are all traditional methods of food preparation. Drying traditionally made use of sun and open air: removing water inhibits growth of bacteria, yeasts and moulds. Smoking also dries foods, adding flavours to meat and fish which are browned and cooked by smoke. Grilling is a fast method of cooking which uses high amounts of direct heat for short periods of time to produce distinctive flavours. Phoenix Rising's psnz recommends *not* writing and researching food questions before a meal because of the Pavlovian response induced.

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Bannock

Bannock is a type of flat quick bread that is usually round and cut into pieces for eating. It is not only associated with Indigenous cooking as it also has a tie to Scotland however it is a universally cooked dish of various tribes throughout Canada. It is cooked with white or whole wheat flour, baking powder, sugar, lard and water or milk. It can be combined with spices or dried fruits and can be fried, baked or cooked on a stick.

From Quiz The Canadian Cuisine Tour

Answer: Potatoes

Every Stompin' Tom fan knows that PEI is the home of Bud the Spud. PEI's rich, red soil produces fine potatoes, and who doesn't like potatoes? You can boil 'em, steam 'em, roast 'em, bake 'em, fry 'em, deep-fry 'em and serve them mashed, hashed, sliced, diced, whipped, in soup or salad, a la Lyonnaise or Duchess-style and so on and so on. You can even make pancakes, bread, cakes, doughnuts, and scones with the humble potato. At our house we like potatoes in all their guises, but one of the favourites is Potato and Bacon Soup. Try it, you'll like it. Ingredients: Two large potatoes, peeled and diced; one large onion, coarsely chopped; 15mL (1 tbsp) vegetable oil; 125mL (1/2 c) bacon bits*; 500mL (2 c) vegetable stock; 250 mL (1 c) whipping cream**; salt and pepper to taste. * I use soy bacon-flavoured bits because my husband is a vegetarian. ** You can substitute light cream if the whipping cream violates your dietary requirements. Method: Boil or steam potatoes, drain. Saute onions in heated oil until they are golden-brown. In large saucepan or soup kettle combine potatoes, onions, bacon bits, stock, salt and pepper, cover and bring to a rolling boil. Puree and return to pot. Add cream and heat through. Serve (it's great with pumpernickel bread). This recipe makes two hearty helpings. Double up if your family is larger than mine.

From Quiz Traditional Newfoundland Nosh and Libations

Answer: the raisins

Raisins are the figgy part of Figgy duff. Figgy Duff is a kind of bread/bun that is a favorite with many Newfoundlanders.

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Split pea soup

The yellow split pea soup is a popular version of split pea soup that originated in Quebec and is enjoyed throughout Canada. It is typically made with whole yellow peas, salt pork, and herbs. This soup has been popular in Quebec for more than four hundred years, its origins with the settlers who needed a hearty and healthy soup to help them get through the tough Canadian winters.

From Quiz The Canadian Cuisine Tour

Answer: Pork and potatoes

Poutine is generally understood by Canadians to mean the chips/gravy/cheese curd concoction that's a fast food favourite in Quebec, but poutine rapee is nothing like that. It's a traditional Acadian New Brunswick treat that is usually served up on high days and holidays like Christmas and Easter. Although it has a French name (Acadians, after all, are French - remember 'Evangeline'?) it is descended from a German potato dumpling recipe brought to Acadian New Brunswick in 1765 by Pennsylvania Dutch settlers following the expulsion of the Acadians ('Evangeline' again). There's a similar treat in Acadian Nova Scotia called rapure (rappie pie in English), but rather than being dumpling shaped, rapure is served flat. Ingredients: 450g (1 lb) minced or cubed salt pork*; 10 potatoes, peeled and grated; 4 potatoes, boiled and mashed, seasoned with salt and pepper. *If you use salt pork, soak it in cold water overnight to remove the excess salt, and cube it just before making your poutine rapee. Method: Extract the water from the grated potatoes by squeezing them in a cloth. Mix the grated potatoes with the mashed potatoes, adding more seasoning if necessary, and form them into balls about the size of your fist. Using your thumb, make a hole in the centre of the potato ball and spoon 15mL (1 tbsp) pork into the indentation. Close up the pork-filled hole with the potato mixture and gently lower the poutines into a large pot of salted boiling water. Keep the water boiling and simmer the poutines for two to three hours. Serve hot with butter, salt and pepper, or as sweet treat with brown sugar or molasses. They're also good with mustard.

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Ketchup chips

The history behind Ketchup flavored chips is that they were invented in the 1970s in Canada. Hostess chip company thought that fruit flavored chips would be a good idea and bet on grape and cherry flavors. This didn't go over well but what did result from that experiment was chips using tomato flavors and Ketchup chips became a flavor. They were a very Canadian snack but are now available south of the border as well to those who can stand the taste.

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Nanaimo bar

Nanaimo bars are the best! They are three delicious layers that includes a base of wafer, a nut and coconut. The middle layer is custard and the top is chocolate. This delicious dessert requires no baking and is named after the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. The first printed copies of the recipe started showing up in the 1950s and in 2019 the dessert was featured on a stamp. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosted President Obama and Nanaimo bars were on the menu.

From Quiz Great Canadian Treats

Answer: beaver tail

BeaverTail is actually the brand name of this treat in Canada. The company was started in Ottawa in 1980 by Grant and Pam Hooker when they began selling their homemade treat at a small stand in the Byward Market. Though there are now locations across Canada and internationally, the BeaverTail is often still considered an Ottawa tradition. It is the signature snack of the annual Winterlude festival held in the National Capital Region, and almost no one I know can resist stopping at the BeaverTail stand located on the Rideau Canal when they go skating! In addition to the plain cinnamon-sugar Tail, the company also makes the following flavours: Killaloe Sunrise (cinnamon, sugar and lemon), Chocolate Hazelnut, Apple Cinnamon, Maple Butter, Banana Chocolate, Maple Walnut, Triple Trip (chocolate, peanut butter and Reese's Pieces), and the Avalanche (cream cheese and Skor bits).

From Quiz Traditional Newfoundland Nosh and Libations

Answer: bakeapples

Bakeapples are a wonderful treat, and grow native in the swamps of Newfoundland and Labrador.

From Quiz Native Nosh: Northern Canada's Classic Cuisine

Answer: Scotland

The first known reference to bannock was in Scotland in the 8th century. Its ingredients are basic: water, flour, baking soda, and lard. Sugar, salt, or fruit can be added, depending on whether it's served as dinner or dessert. Most northerners will tell you that bannock tastes best when cooked over an open fire. Bannock was popular with hunters and trappers in the north due to the no-fuss recipe and easy availability of the ingredients. Today, gourmet bannock making is big business and a staple at many indigenous restaurants. (Warning: delicious bannock may result in guests refusing to leave the dinner table!) This question was baked into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member Chiroman.

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Pouding chomeur

Pouding chomeur is quite simple. It consists of cake batter that is covered with either hot syrup or caramel before it is baked. It was created by women who worked in factories in Quebec during the Great Depression. When the depression got particularly bad, the cake batter was replaced by stale bread. The literal translation of pouding chomeur is unemployment pudding (also known as poor man's pudding).

From Quiz Great Canadian Treats

Answer: maple syrup

The Canadian Car Bomb is a variation on the more popular Irish Car Bomb cocktail. The Irish Car Bomb involves filling a shot glass part way with Bailey's Irish Cream, and then filling the rest of the shot glass with a good Irish whiskey. The shot glass is then dropped into a pint of Guinness and consumed all together. For the Canadian Car Bomb, Molson Canadian beer is usually used, with a Canadian whiskey, and the maple syrup replaces the Baileys.

From Quiz Native Nosh: Northern Canada's Classic Cuisine

Answer: Labrador and Newfoundland

Labrador tea is the common name of a group of evergreen plants which grow throughout northern Canada and in boggy soils to the south of the country. Other names for these shrubs include Hudson's Bay tea and Indian tea. The names refer to both several related plant species (genus Rhododendron) and the resulting spicy herbal teas which are popular amongst First Nations and Inuit peoples. Aside from their use as beverages, infusions are also used to flavour meat dishes. Concerns have been expressed that excessive consumption of Labrador tea can lead to health effects from its toxicity, while others feel its use has medicinal benefits. Phoenix Rising's psnz brewed this question for the quiz.

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Tourtiere

Tourtiere is a meat pie with its origins in Quebec. It is a traditional Christmas Eve and New Years Eve meal in Quebec, it's popular in New Brunswick and is available throughout Canada. It is made from minced pork, veal or beef and potatoes. The type of meat varies depending on the region. For instance, in Montreal, Quebec it is typically made with ground pork. In Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean it is made with potatoes and cubed meats.

From Quiz The Canadian Cuisine Tour

Answer: Saskatoon

I haven't checked my atlas, but I've never heard of cities named Loganberry and Mulberry in Saskatchewan. There is a place called Batoche. However, it's not named for a berry but for one of the original settlers, a fellow named Xavier Letandre. His nickname was Batoche, a corruption of Baptiste, (and no, I don't know how they got Batoche from Baptiste). The berry in question is the saskatoon, the anglicized version of the Cree misaskwatomin (which means - surprise! - saskatoonberry.) Saskatoons were used in the making of pemmican, a mixture of meat, suet and berries that formed a dietary staple of the aboriginal people. Nowadays saskatoons, which grow wild and can also be cultivated, are used to make pies, jams, jellies, wine, cider, beer and are often dried and used in cereals and trail mixes. If you can lay your hands on some saskatoons try making these Saskatoon Muffins (if saskatoons are not available, I suppose you could substitute blueberries). Ingredients: 125mL (1/2 c) rolled oats; 125mL (1/2 c) orange juice; 375mL (1-1/2 c) flour; 125mL (1/2 c) sugar; 5 mL (1-1/4 tsp) baking powder; 2mL (1/2 tsp) salt; 125mL (1/2 c) canola oil*; 1 beaten egg; 250 to 375 (1 to 1-1/2 c) saskatoons. Topping: 30mL (2 tbsp) sugar; 1mL (1/4 tsp) cinnamon. *If canola oil isn't available, use any vegetable oil. Canola, by the way, is another Saskatchewan agricultural product. Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Soak rolled oats in orange juice and set aside. Mix dry ingredients together (except for 30mL sugar and 1mL cinnamon - they're for the topping). Combine oil and egg. Add rolled oats mixture and the saskatoons and stir. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold together, taking care not to overmix. Spoon muffin mix into 12 large muffin cups. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over top of each muffin. Bake at 375 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes.

From Quiz Native Nosh: Northern Canada's Classic Cuisine

Answer: beaver tail

Made from yeasted whole wheat dough and then extruded and deep fried, beaver tails are named from the extruded shape which resembles... a beaver tail! After removal from the fryer, the chewy beaver tail is then covered with whatever sweet topping is desired. Popular choices include Nutella, cinnamon and sugar, lemon and sugar, and whipped cream with sliced banana, but there are many variations! Perhaps the nearest equivalent are deep fried donuts? Beaver tails are a relatively recent culinary addition and started with the Hooker family in Killaloe, Ontario in 1978. Two years later they were selling them in Ottawa and they very quickly became extremely popular. They were served to visiting US President Barack Obama in 2009. This question was sieved and moulded by Aussie MikeMaster99 who developed a taste for fine Canadian cuisine (and beaver tails!) while living in Calgary.

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Tire d'erable sur la neige

This sweet treat is Canadian maple syrup taffy. Made by boiling maple syrup and that is poured on snow, it will harden and can be picked up and eaten. It is best consumed fresh. In Quebec, this treat is made at a cabane a sucre (which translates to sugar cabin) and served along with other traditional Quebecois dishes. It's also popular in Manitoba and in New England.

From Quiz Great Canadian Treats

Answer: Caesar

A Caesar is very similar to a Bloody Mary. In fact, the only difference that I can discern is that a Bloody Mary is made with plain tomato juice, and the fact that you can use other spicy ingredients, whereas the Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce are considered essential for a Caesar. The drink was invented in 1969 in Calgary, AB by a bartender at the Calgary Inn. The original drink used plain tomato juice and mashed up clams, until clamato juice was widely available. The Motts company printed the recipe for the drink on cans of clamato juice sold in the US, but it didn't really catch on. In 2002, Motts started making pre-bottled Caesars; now you can buy the drink ready-to-go at your local liquor store.

From Quiz The Canadian Cuisine Tour

Answer: Over 60%

Alberta is ideal cattle ranching country, with rolling hills leading up to the foothills of the Rockies, and prime beef cattle is Alberta's number one agricultural product. More than 60% of all the beef eaten in Canada comes from Alberta, where there are more cattle than people (as of 2007, the human population was just over three million and the beef cattle population was five and a half million. That's a lot of steak and rump roast on the hoof.) While Alberta, like the rest of Canada, is a multi-ethnic society with a cuisine to match, there's nothing more essentially Albertan than a barbecued steak dinner. Gone, however, are the days of steak with a little pepper and salt grilling on the barbecue. Next time you have friends over for a barbecue, try this Grilled Steak with Mushroom-Wine sauce recipe. Ingredients: Four 230g (8-oz) steaks (loin T-bone, porterhouse, or filet mignon), at least one inch thick; 45mL (3 tbsp) butter; 230g (1/2 lb) mushrooms, sliced; 50mL (1/4 c) white wine; 30mL (2 tbsp) minced parsley; 2mL (1/2 tsp) dried tarragon, crushed; 1mL (1 tsp) instant beef bouillon granules. Method: Lightly oil the grill and fire up the barbecue with mesquite charcoal briquets to medium-hot (that's when the edges of the briquets turn white). Slash any fat around the edges of the steaks, every four inches, and grill 8 to 10 minutes on each side (this will give you medium rare steak which any Albertan will tell you is the way steak should be cooked. If you grill the steaks for any longer than 10 minutes, you start to lose moistness and flavour.) While the steaks are grilling, melt the butter in a large skillet and saute mushrooms over high heat for about one minute or until they are tender. Add wine, parsley, tarragon and beef bouillon granules and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Serve the steaks on warmed plates with the sauce poured over. Add baked potato and Caesar salad for a perfect meal.

From Quiz Traditional Newfoundland Nosh and Libations

Answer: salt beef, potatoes, turnips, pease pudding and greens

Salt beef comes in a bucket of brine. You soak it over night, have a boil up, and mmm mmm what a tasty dinner!

From Quiz Canadian Cuisine Eh?

Answer: Peameal bacon

Peameal bacon is a type of unsmoked back bacon that is found typically in the province of Ontario, Canada. The name peameal bacon comes from the practice of rolling the loin in ground yellow peas in order to extend the shelf life. The creation story of peameal bacon is pretty interesting. William Davies, who moved from England to Canada, is in part credited with creating it in the 1850s. He sent a side of loin back home to relatives in England and cured it in yellow peas so it would last the trip. It's not certain if he was actually the first to do this but it was well received. He set up a stall in the iconic St Lawrence Market in Toronto, Ontario and his William Davies Company expanded. It became so big that it processed nearly half a million hogs per year and contributed to the Toronto nickname "Hogtown."

From Quiz Great Canadian Treats

Answer: Nanaimo, BC

Mmm, nanaimo bars are a favourite of mine! The origins of this treat are unconfirmed; some say a housewife invented them and submitted the recipe to a magazine in the 1950s, others say they were around in the 1930s, and some even say the bars were available in the 19th century! It is easy to make variations of this recipe; simply add a flavour to the custard/icing filling (mint and peanut butter are not uncommon), or use a different type of chocolate on top.

From Quiz Traditional Newfoundland Nosh and Libations

Answer: a Newfie tradition involving alcohol and a codfish

When you go into a bar in Newfoundland, you may be asked to "kiss the cod". You will then take a large swallow of screech, and actually kiss a codfish!

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