Canadian food-isms

pnieuw
pnieuw Posts: 473
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
I've noted in my limited travels, and especially during some trips to the US, a few differences in foods Canadians eat compared to our neighbours to the south, and other parts of the world. I've posted a few here - perhaps my fellow Canadians can add a few of their observations?

Canadian Bacon - we don't call it Canadian Bacon in Canada. Back or peameal are the more common terms for it here. Call it Canadian Bacon, and we'll figure you out to be an American pretty fast.

Shreddies - the perfect breakfast cereal, not available in the US? Pity....

Pop, not soda

Tea is a hot drink. Cold tea is iced tea. Order just tea in any restaurant north of the 49th, and you'll get hot tea.

Donuts - Canadians eat more donuts per capita than any other country in the world.
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Replies

  • Aeliyah
    Aeliyah Posts: 247
    One word: POUTINE! Fries... with cheese curds (which I don't believe are made in the US), and covered in gravy. Curd can be substituted with shredded cheese if needed. So terrible for you.... but OH so delicious!
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
    salt and vinegar chips used to be unavailable in the states *L* ...but U.S. got lucky and has them now *L*

    butter tarts are another hard to find item there
  • Aeliyah
    Aeliyah Posts: 247
    Oh! And don't forget about our milk - it comes in BAGS! My boyfriend is American... and he gets SUCH a kick out of this!
  • McHeather
    McHeather Posts: 105 Member
    I'm Canadian, and I remember serving in a restaurant and quite often people from the States would ask if our iced tea was sweetened or not. I'd never heard of unsweetened iced tea before, and they thought our sweetened iced tea was gross. I now only ever drink homemade unsweetened iced tea because I can't stand the sugar aftertaste. (same goes for all sweetened drinks, coffee, pop etc.)
  • muitobem
    muitobem Posts: 436 Member
    I live in the south,but am from the Northern State of Michigan...close to Canada! lol

    I say pop....
    Tea here definitely is COLD and SWEET...You say tea, they say "sweet"?

    yeppers, Canadian Bacon is what I've always called it...

    Donuts!! YES!!

    Frosted Mini Wheats...the bomb!

    In the south: Fried pickles(my fav!), fried twinkies, fried oreos, fried watermelon...if it can be fried, it will be eaten!! LOL
  • McHeather
    McHeather Posts: 105 Member
    Bugels too! We can't get them in Canada anymore. Xmas Nuts and Bolts will never be the same.
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,347 Member
    I'm from Washington State and we say Pop too. I would go to Vancouver BC and they had Raisin Pie. Never seen it here. Love the Pacific Northwest which includes BC.
  • robinaddison
    robinaddison Posts: 232 Member
    Cheezies (which kick cheeto's butts to the curb and back), ketchup chips, Nanaimo bars, Coffee Crisp, Crispie Crunch and Aeros...
    On a slightly healthier side, cans of mixed beans...
    Decent tea in a restaurant...(I mean hot tea, if I meant cold tea, I'd specify it!!)
    Tim Hortons (which kicks Dunkin's butt to the curb and back too)
    ....hmmmm - might have to make a pilgrimage to the motherland soon!!

    ps - to the poutine fan - you can indeed buy cheese curd in the US - and very good cheese curd it is....now just to find a supplier for that brown gravy that every good greasy spoon uses on their fries...LOL
  • Caperfae
    Caperfae Posts: 433
    Mmmmm @ Poutine.
    Smarties . .here's they're candy coated chocolate and in the States that's what they call Rocket candy ( so I've heard).

    I have to agree that Timmy's is delicious ONLY because I haven't had Dunkin'. I have heard great things about it though, lol
  • merrycat
    merrycat Posts: 131 Member
    Quick question - is it true that they don't have kinder eggs down in the states?
  • robinaddison
    robinaddison Posts: 232 Member
    yes it is true - the toys are a "choking hazard" LOL
  • taem
    taem Posts: 495 Member
    In Canada, Mr. Big and Eat-More chocolate bars, in the US, it's candy bars.

    In Canada, there's a donut called Dutchie, a square shaped donut that's really a sugary bread (it is so good!)

    In Toronto, you go to a store and you can buy a Jamican beef patty with a buttered bread whereas in the US, you get hot dogs and taquitos.
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
    Tim Horton's!!!!!!!! I love it! :D:D
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
    ummm there ARE tim horton's locations in the states now btw *S* one right in downtown new york!
  • rkerr6
    rkerr6 Posts: 6
    Haha, brown gravy. I was describing poutine to an American friend, and she seemed more surprised that we'd put gravy on the fries than the cheese...and then asked if it was "white gravy" or brown! Um...gravy is brown. That white stuff you have is a cream sauce ;) Good, but not gravy. Just sayin' . lol!!
  • Ruchell
    Ruchell Posts: 236 Member

    In the south: Fried pickles(my fav!), fried twinkies, fried oreos, fried watermelon...if it can be fried, it will be eaten!! LOL

    I'm from Washington, but have lots of family in the south and fried pickles are yummmmmm!
  • sabified
    sabified Posts: 1,035 Member
    I've had fried pickles in Canada :) they are good! I've seen fried other stuff, but haven't tried too many different things... trying to get away from that kinda stuff! There was huge controversy here last year when they debuted "fried butter" at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition)... lol...

    we also don't have (very many? think I've seen a couple??) Krispy Kreme donuts here anymore... they're too unhealthy!

    hmmm oh, and our sausages! Appearently, along with "Canadian bacon" there's "Canadian sausage" here too... in the states breakfast sausages are like these lil patties.... and from the ones I've seen they tend to be greyish... EWWWW

    I think one of the biggest differences I've found is due to the different health regulations... Everything in the states is BIGGER... I was shocked when my lil cousin (he was 6 at the time) came up from NYC to visit, and he actually complained to his mom about how small the portion sizes were, when my sis and I SHARED the same meal he had and were STUFFED... and we're big girls!!
  • ma66ie72
    ma66ie72 Posts: 75 Member
    I’m an American and I met my British-Canadian husband while he was living in Brantford, Ontario. Long story short...I lived with him there for 6 months and became addicted to Tim Horton’s Coffee and Tetley’s Black Currant tea... both of which I order online and have delivered to me.... Oh yes and the Poutine, My Goodness!!! What a GREAT IDEA!! Yummy!
  • robinaddison
    robinaddison Posts: 232 Member
    @ rkerr - I had one of those episodes when I first moved to the states. I ordered chips (fries) and asked the guy behind the counter if he could put gravy on them. Oh how I love me some fries and gravy...
    So first of all he looks at me funny, then kind of shrugs and he hands over the plate with fries and this white gloppy stuff poured all over them - what is this I ask? "Gravy" he tells me! We then had a conversation about what was and was not "gravy", and I decided to go with ketchup (catsup!) instead!
  • karyngrace
    karyngrace Posts: 105 Member
    well im an aussie and over here, bacon is bacon (we dont care where its from as long as its on our plate next to the eggs!)
    pop or soda is called soft drink
    tea is always served hot unless you ask specifically for iced tea
    our chips or fries either come with gravy or tomato sauce( which is the same as ketchup)

    went to a cafe one day for breakfast and ordered canadian pancakes which came drowned with maple syrup and topped with bacon lol! weird combination......but oh so yummy!!
  • ma66ie72
    ma66ie72 Posts: 75 Member
    @ rkerr - I had one of those episodes when I first moved to the states. I ordered chips (fries) and asked the guy behind the counter if he could put gravy on them. Oh how I love me some fries and gravy...
    So first of all he looks at me funny, then kind of shrugs and he hands over the plate with fries and this white gloppy stuff poured all over them - what is this I ask? "Gravy" he tells me! We then had a conversation about what was and was not "gravy", and I decided to go with ketchup (catsup!) instead!

    Have you ever had sausage gravy? It’s a white ‘country gravy’ with chunks of sausage in it and OH SO GOOD!!! But, make sure you get it from someone from the deep south... the rest are just posers.

    There is also red eye gravy made with pan drippings and coffee... but you have to find a southerner to fix it for ya. :)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    well im an aussie and over here, bacon is bacon (we dont care where its from as long as its on our plate next to the eggs!)
    pop or soda is called soft drink
    tea is always served hot unless you ask specifically for iced tea
    our chips or fries either come with gravy or tomato sauce( which is the same as ketchup)

    went to a cafe one day for breakfast and ordered canadian pancakes which came drowned with maple syrup and topped with bacon lol! weird combination......but oh so yummy!!

    I'm an Aussie too and I think chips (fries) should come with salt, or with salt and vingegar (or if you are in Adelaide, with chicken salt).
    Chips and gravy says "British" to me!

    And I have never got my head around the pancakes with bacon and maple sysrup combo either. Seems odd to my taste.

    I had never heard of "sweet tea" until a few posts on this forum - I would just assume that meant a hot cup of tea with a couple of spoons of sugar, but I think I'm wrong :)

    I love all these different food-isms!
  • rkerr6
    rkerr6 Posts: 6
    @ rkerr - I had one of those episodes when I first moved to the states. I ordered chips (fries) and asked the guy behind the counter if he could put gravy on them. Oh how I love me some fries and gravy...
    So first of all he looks at me funny, then kind of shrugs and he hands over the plate with fries and this white gloppy stuff poured all over them - what is this I ask? "Gravy" he tells me! We then had a conversation about what was and was not "gravy", and I decided to go with ketchup (catsup!) instead!

    Have you ever had sausage gravy? It’s a white ‘country gravy’ with chunks of sausage in it and OH SO GOOD!!! But, make sure you get it from someone from the deep south... the rest are just posers.

    There is also red eye gravy made with pan drippings and coffee... but you have to find a southerner to fix it for ya. :)


    LOL! That's what I'm talking about! Country gravy...good for breakfast on a biscuit, but it's not what I dip my fries in. :) Oh, and vinegar. No little packets of vinegar to sprinkle on my fries either. My mom asked for vinegar in the States one time, got a funny look, and a bowl of vinegar (ours comes in nifty little sprinkle bottles) lol! I think the iced tea should come with a warning...I nearly choked the first time I had a sip of unexpectedly unsweetened iced tea. :)
  • dmgaloha
    dmgaloha Posts: 467 Member
    Mmmm, Smarties are so much better than M&M's! I do like the other M&M varieties (peanut, etc), but when it comes to plain M&M vs. Smarties? SMARTIES, please!! (do you eat the red ones last?)

    All this talk about chips / fries reminds me... I laughed the other day, when my Scottish mother-in-law invited us over for fish and chips, and my daughter said: "can we have fries too?" (in her world, chips = potato chips, or in british-speak 'crisps')
  • aj_rock
    aj_rock Posts: 390 Member
    American Timmies confused me! Apparently a Large coffee in Canada is only a Medium in the States! It scares me to think of the size of an American XL !
  • bookyeti
    bookyeti Posts: 544 Member
    One word: POUTINE! Fries... with cheese curds (which I don't believe are made in the US), and covered in gravy. Curd can be substituted with shredded cheese if needed. So terrible for you.... but OH so delicious!

    Ohhh.....I love poutine. It's my nemesis. Just one look at it and I can hear my arteries clogging. LOL. I will treat myself to it now and again - but very rarely!

    (I'm from Nova Scotia, Canada by the way.)
  • pnieuw
    pnieuw Posts: 473
    American Timmies confused me! Apparently a Large coffee in Canada is only a Medium in the States! It scares me to think of the size of an American XL !

    I found that out when I visited Maine, and stopped at a Tim's. Ordered my usual large regular, and got an XL. I even said to the Tim's employee, sorry, but I got the right size, and she just looked at me oddly. It was then I discovered that US Tim's don't even have a Canadian Tim's small, and medium is small, large is medium and XL is large.
  • hbrekkaas
    hbrekkaas Posts: 268 Member
    I never knew that there was anything different from the iced tea that I knew when I when I was litte. I thought all iced tea came from an almost pure sugar powder mixed with water....guess not! My MIL said something about "american" iced tea once and all I could thik was "who would want to drink tthat" LOL.

    The US misses out on ketchup chips, proper poutine, smarties (the chocolate kind) areos, coffee crisp, bacon is bacon, sausages are not flat grey patties, and pancakes, bacon and syrup is one of the best combos in the world. I always dip my bacon in syurp. Good thing we don't have it often!
  • minussam
    minussam Posts: 127 Member
    One word: POUTINE! Fries... with cheese curds (which I don't believe are made in the US), and covered in gravy. Curd can be substituted with shredded cheese if needed. So terrible for you.... but OH so delicious!

    Cheese curds are available in the US - actually had better ones there than in Canada

    agree with you on the Poutine - mmhhhh - could have some right now....
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
    We have poutine down here now. There's cheese curds from Wisconsin at the store now and I've gotten poutine at a few places while out. Soooo gooood.
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