When Brussels Airlines launches their flights at the end of March to Toronto, will Ugandans and Rwandans be able to extend their experience of ‘Savoir Vivre’ in the air to the ground, when exploring unusual food items special to Canada. Courtesy of www.mariaismyname.com here comes another interesting article, of course aimed to raise interest in travel to Canada and needless to say traveling with Brussels Airlines, soon coming five times a week to Entebbe and Kigali.
Five Unusual Canadian Foods
(Posted 19th February 2016)
Canadians are an interesting lot, with foods all our own.
We fuel up on double-doubles and timbits, while fantasizing about our next
poutine fix, and searching for the nearest BeaverTails location. And by the
way, how far in Nanaimo?
With the melting of snow comes spring, a time when we begin to make plans
for the family road trip. It’s the time of year we dream of roaming this vast
country in search of the best food on the planet. Not ordinary food mind
you, that’s too dull. I’m talking about interesting made-only-in-Canada food.
So if you’re up for a culinary adventure, head across this great country of
ours and fill up on some of the more interesting Canadian foods. From east
to west, here’s a list of five not-so-mundane Canadian foods.
Cod Tongue
 |
| image via en-corporate.canada.trav |
This is not exactly tongue, but rather a gelatinous bit of flesh from the fish’s
throat. If you’re from Newfoundland, you know what it’s all about. For
everyone else, these are little morsels, which grew out of necessity – a tiny
bit of fish that could be had for nothing, by anyone willing to remove it from
the many discarded fish heads lying about on the fish docks. But times have
changed, and today, cod tongue is a coveted delicacy served not just in
mom and pop dinners, but also in high-end restaurants across the province.
Cod tongues are usually battered and fried, and served with an array of
toppings, including scrunchions, salted pork fat which has been cut into
small pieces and fried. And everything tastes better with pork fat on it, I say!
Blueberry Grunt
 |
| image via novascotia.com |
This sounds like something that would talk back to you. In fact, it’s
something to talk about, indulge, then talk about it some more because it is
a scrumptiously delicious treat. This is a sweet Nova Scotian dessert that
dates back to the earliest settlers. It’s made by gently simmering together
blueberries, sugar and water. Then, top the mixture with homemade
dumplings; wait 15 minutes, dig in and enjoy. I’m not sure if the ‘grunt’
comes from the sound of blueberries bubbling away in sugar, or the sound
you make after the satisfying event of eating this dessert.
BeaverTails
 |
| image via pintrest.com |
BeaverTails, or Queues de Castor in French, are deep fried, crispy, tasty
goodness shaped to resemble a beaver’s tail. Once removed from the hot
oil, they are dusted with sugar and cinnamon. Several other toping options
are available, like chocolate and whipped cream. These true Canadian
delicacies gained world-wide attention in 2009, when U.S. President Barack
Obama visited Ottawa and stopped by ByWard Market with the sole
purpose of indulging in a beavertail.
Prairie Oysters
 |
| image via en.wikipedia.org |
A well-known dish in the Canadian prairies, these delectable tidbits are not
oysters at all, but rather a testament to your culinary explorations—calve,
bull or buffalo are castrated (there are reasons for this, but that’s another
story). The removed testicles are then peeled and membranes are removed.
They are sliced, breaded, fried and voila. Pop them in your mouth and don’t
even think about how they landed on your plate.
Nanaimo Bars
 |
| image via tourismnanaimo.com |
A dessert that is sweet, delicate, delish and requires no baking. Where do
you find it? Nanaimo, British Columbia of course. There are different varieties
or flavours of the Nanaimo bar, but the basic version consists of a wafer
crumb-based layer, topped with a layer of light vanilla or custard flavoured
butter icing, which is then covered with melted chocolate. This luscious
dessert is now popular around the world, and when you see them in Laos,
be sure to wave your Canadian flag.
What’s your favourite Canadian food?
