Canada’s culinary contributions range from centuries-old savoury meals to rich desserts. If you love delicious foods and exploring international cuisine, you will enjoy our list of the top 5 truly Canadian foods and where to find them. Don’t miss out on our video at the end of the article for even more facts!
5. Ketchup Chips:
Who doesn’t love chips? Whole chips or crushed up, this salty and sweet crunchy snack is addictive, and unique to Canadian identity.
Ketchup-flavoured seasoning has coated millions of potato chips since the 1970s. Plenty of brands in Canada offer them, but choosing the best flavour is a hot topic here. Try the ketchupiest of the ketchups with Herr’s or the crispiest of crisps with Lays. Please, don’t waste a crumb!
Where to find them in Toronto and Vancouver:
Lay’s Ketchup Potato Chips or Herr’s Ketchup Potato Chips – Try Walmart, Metro, Loblaws, No Frills.
4. Peameal Bacon:
Also known as Canadian or Back Bacon, it is made from lean boneless pork loin, trimmed fine, wet cured, and rolled in cornmeal. The name “Peameal” comes from the fact that decades ago cured pork loins were wrapped in ground dried yellow peas. Whenever you go out to a restaurant for breakfast ask for it, instead of regular ham. You won’t regret it!
Where to find it in Toronto:
TuckShop Kitchen: They cure their own peameal and their sandwiches are considered some of the best in town! Try their “House Cured Peameal Bacon” made with wilted greens, marinated celeriac, orange cheddar, and a dijon aioli. ($7.75)
Paddington’s Pump: Summer is coming, enjoy their “Peameal Bacon Sandwiches” at the patio located on the west side of the famous St. Lawrence market. ($6.45)
Where to find it in Vancouver:
Café Zen On Yew: a cozy place famous for its variations on eggs Benedict and selection of omelettes. Choose their Peameal Bennies; poached eggs on English muffins with hollandaise sauce served with hash browns.
Edible Canada: a lively bistro using local products. Enjoy their wonderful Canadian eggs Benny; peameal bacon, hollandaise sauce, grilled sourdough, fried smashed potatoes, and grilled tomato. ($17)
3. Tim Hortons’ Double-Double:
The Double-Double ™ is a Canadian term associated to Tim Hortons. It describes a coffee with two teaspoons of sugar and two creams. Let out the Canadian inside you, go to Tim Hortons and order: “a double-double, please”.
Where to find the closest Tim Hortons to ILAC:
Toronto: 1769 Yonge St Toronto. ON M4W 2G4
Vancouver: 130 West Pender St Vancouver. BC V46 4A4
2. Maple syrup
If you’ve never heard of maple syrup, you’ve never been in Canada! This delicious sweetener is made by partially boiling down the sap of maple trees. Medium, Amber, Dark, there’s one all tastes. In Canada, you can find maple in almost everything: ham, bacon, ice cream, butter, corn flakes, candy, tea, cookies, to mention some. There are even maple candles, enchanting scent! Nowadays, Canada produces about eighty-five percent of the world’s supply of everyone’s favourite pancake topper. Pretty sweet isn’t it?
Where to find it in Toronto:
St. Lawrence Market: the right place to buy a bottle of maple syrup and offer to your family as a memory. They have plenty of brands such as Aunt Jemima, Citadelle, Canadian Heritage Organics, and more.
Astarté Fresh Yogurt Bar: get the maple syrup and pecan yogurt. A perfect treat during the summer, as it fresh, delicious, and healthy!
Where to find it in Vancouver:
Granville Island Public Market: a peninsula and shopping district where you can find the finest maple syrup.
Délices Érable & Cie: it’s not a market, a restaurant, a café or a boutique, but rather a place where you can find the kind of gourmet discoveries that make a food lover’s day. Let’s have a gourmet experience and taste something different but delicious such as maple mustard!
1. Poutine
There are many variations of Poutine, but the best and traditional consists of fresh French fries generously slathered in gravy and cheese curds. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? And that’s Canadian! The first Poutine was invented in Quebec in the 1950s. Classic, authentic, rich in flavour (and calories), you can’t leave Canada without trying it.
Where to find it in Toronto:
Poutini’s House of Poutine: Succumb to The Poutini Florentini; crispy fries, fresh cheese curds, veggie gravy, spinach sautéed with shallots and garlic, topped with poached eggs, smothered in a béchamel sauce. Vegetarian and gluten-free options available. ($11.50)
Where to find it in Vancouver:
La Belle Patate: a quick-serve Canadian eatery. There, it’s all about the cheese curds. Bring a friend with you to share their poutine or be brave and try the All-You-Can-Eat option. Yep, that exists. We heard you wish, poutine eaters!
Watch our video for even more facts!
Vocabulary of the Day:
Cuisine: a style or method of cooking, especially as characteristic of a particular country, region, or establishment.
Crush something up: press or grind something with great force until it is reduced to something smaller.
Don’t waste a crumb: eat all the small fragment.
Gourmet: fine food and drink.
Slather: to spread or apply thickly.
Written by Marine Gas
