Mmm...Canada: A wee bit of inspiration

Jennifer and I have received great response from people who've found out about Mmm...Canada, both savoury and sweet--and we're looking forward to reading about how Canada tastes to them.

At the same time, I've received notes from people who'd like to participate, but because they've never visited Canada, they're not sure what "Canadian food" is.

Well, you know...there are Canadians who aren't sure they can answer that question, so don't get too stressed about it (okay, I don't expect anyone to get stressed about it...this is supposed to be fun, and hopefully tasty).

Here's where I'll try and offer a bit of guidance. Instead of only giving you links to sample dishes, I'll just give you some raw ingredients...all Canadian-grown...All you need to do is be creative in how you use them. This by no means is a complete list, so if you know of something that I'm missing or you think would be a good addition, please leave a comment...

Dairy & Eggs

• You probably don't need me to tell you about eggs, cheese, cream, milk, sour cream or yoghurt...and not all dairy products are made with cow's milk
• You should know that we've a rich cheesemaking history.

Fish & Seafood:

• Cod
• Dulse (okay, it's a veg, but still)
• East Coast Diver's Scallops
• Halibut
• Herring
• Lobster
• Manitoba Gold Eye
• Pacific oyster
• Pickerel
• Prawns
• Salmon
• Trout
• Whitefish

Fruits

• Apples: Cortlands, crabapples, Crispins, Empires, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Idareds, McIntosh, Northern Spy, Red Delicious, Spartans
• Berries: blackberries, blueberries, cloudberries, cranberries, currants, elderberries, gooseberries, raspberries, saskatoon berries (or service berries), strawberries
• Mellons: muskmellons, watermellons
• Pears: Anjou, Bosc, Clapp, Bartletts
• Stonefruits: apricots, cherries, chokecherries, nectarines, peaches, plums
• Grapes
• Rhubarb
• Tomatoes

Grains

• Barley
• Buckwheat
• Oats
• Rye
• Wheat

Meat & Poultry

• Beef and Veal
• Berkshire Piggies (and other breeds)
• Bison
• Caribou
• Chicken
• Duck
• Foie gras
• Mutton and Lamb
• Pork
• Turkey
• Venison

Sweet Things

• birch syrup
• honey
• maple syrup
• molasses
• sugar (from sugar beets)

Veggies

• Asparagus
• Aubergines (eggplants)
• Beans and Peas
• Broccoli and cauliflower
• Corn
• Courgettes (Zucchini), Cucumbers
• Fiddleheads
• Globe onions, green onions, leeks, ramps
• Leafy things: cabbages, Chinese cabbage, lettuces, mustard greens, radicchio, rapini, spinach, celery
• Morels
• Peppers: sweet and hot varieties
• Potatoes: sweet potatoes, Yukon Gold
• Pumpkins and squashes: acorn, buttercup, butternut, hubbard, pepper, spaghetti
• Root veggies: beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes, rutabaga
• Sprouts

Other things that I wasn't sure how to classify

• Beers, wines, spirits
• Canola oil
• Garlic
• Mustard
• Red River Cereal
• Soy

Miscellaneous association, and government websites--I've tried to keep the list to "noncommercial." If anyone has a link for foods from the any of the territories, I'd be very happy to know.

• Beef Information Centre
• BC Tree Fruits
• CanolaInfo.org
• Chicken Farmers of Canada
• Dairy Farmers of Canada
• Foodland Ontario's Seasonal Availability Guides and Recipes
• Growing Alberta Recipes
• NewBrunswick.net Recipes
• Ontario Cheese Society
• Québec Wines (in English)
• Prince Edward Island Visitor's Guide about island food
• Société des Fromages (Quebec cheesemakers, in English)
• Taste of Nova Scotia Recipes

cheers!
jasmine

Related Post: Invitation: Mmm...Canada