Technically, maple syrup was invented by indigenous people long before Canada even existed. The sweet liquid is inextricably linked to the province of Quebec, which is the largest producer of maple syrup in the world, thanks to its huge population of sugar maple trees. In Canada maple syrup is most commonly used on pancakes or waffles, but can also be found in meat marinades, cocktails, baked goods or salad dressings.
Peanut butter is a favourite spread of people around the world, but few know it was originally patented by a Canadian. In 1884 Montreal pharmacist Marcellus Gilmore Edson created a peanut paste candy that could be enjoyed by people who couldn’t chew other treats. Today peanut butter is a staple of the Canadian diet, although the popularity of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a school lunch has faded over concerns about childhood peanut allergies.
The origin of Ketchup-flavoured crisps is somewhat disputed, but the most common story is that they were first developed by the Canadian brand Hostess (which has since been acquired by Lay's) in the 1970s. Today most Canadian snack brands produce a ketchup-flavoured crisp and while some brands in the United States and elsewhere do as well, they’re nowhere near as ubiquitous as they are in Canada. Tangy, with a tomato flavour, the bright red crisps leave a telltale red stain on eaters’ fingers.
There is perhaps no pizza topping more controversial than pineapple and we collectively have a Canadian to thank for that. Sam Panopoulos first put pineapple on a ham pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Ontario in the early 1960s and it eventually caught on elsewhere in Canada and then around the world. The original Hawaiian pizza used canned pineapple, but these days chefs often use fresh grilled pineapple for a more gourmet version.
New York bagels may be the standard for Americans, but in Canada Montreal-style is king. A gift from Montreal’s substantial Jewish population, the Montreal bagel is far more than a bun with a hole in the middle. Denser and thinner than a New York bagel, Montreal bagels also have a bigger hole, but the real difference is the dip in boiling honey water that Montreal bagels get before being baked, leaving them with a golden exterior and chewier crust.
The cousin to the Montreal bagel is Montreal smoked meat, a rich and fatty deli meat made with cured beef brisket. Kind of a cross between pastrami (which is dry-cured only) and corned beef (which is brined), Montreal smoked meat has its own spice profile, making it different to New York-style deli meats. It’s best enjoyed in a sandwich, preferably with mustard on rye bread with a side of pickles.
Perhaps the most iconic dish in traditional Quebecois cuisine, tourtiere is a rustic double crust meat pie that is most typically enjoyed at Christmas. Every family seems to have its own recipe, but a classic tourtiere consists of a flaky pastry crust filled with spiced ground pork or beef (sometimes both), with the possible addition of potatoes. The filling should be solid enough that the slices stand tall – a good tourtiere should not collapse on the plate.
To the naked eye, a Caesar cocktail looks a lot like a bloody mary, but is made even more savoury by swapping in Clamato for regular tomato juice. The drink was famously invented in Calgary in 1969 by a bartender named Walter Chell, who based it on his favourite dish, spaghetti vongole. Still outrageously popular with brunch, restaurants and bars try to outdo each other with wacky Caesar toppings like pepperoni sticks, mini-corndogs and tiny grilled cheese sandwiches.
BeaverTails is the commercial name for large flat fried pastries that can typically be purchased in Canada’s most high-traffic tourist areas. The company started selling its whole wheat pastry treats at a fair in Ottawa in 1978 and had expanded across Canada by the 1990s. A classic BeaverTail is flavoured with just a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon, but customers can go for more opulent toppings like chocolate hazelnut spread or apple pie filling.
If there’s one distinctively Canadian invention that is embraced by people from coast to coast, it’s the butter tart. Recipes for flaky pastry tarts filled with a mixture of butter, sugar, syrup and egg first appeared in the early 1900s, but likely have their roots in French desserts dating back much earlier. While its Canadian-ness is not up for debate, many Canadians disagree about the inclusion of pecans, raisins or currants.
Quebec is famous for its artisanal cheese, most of which is not available outside of the province, but Oka brand cheese (based in Oka, Quebec) has become a household product across Canada. The cows' milk cheese’s history goes back to a French monk who settled in Quebec in the late 1800s. Oka’s core product remains a favourite because of its creamy semi-firm texture and mild taste.
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Little is conclusively known about the origin of the Nanaimo bar, other than that it comes from the Vancouver Island city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. The unique dessert squares consist of a crumbly chocolate and coconut base topped with a layer of yellow custard and a chocolate topping. Nanaimo bars are available in bakeries across Canada, but they’re best enjoyed right on Vancouver Island, where visitors can do a self-guided tour of the Nanaimo Bar Trail.
Another delicacy from the province of Quebec, split pea soup has been a mainstay of the hearty Canadian diet for around 400 years. Dried split peas are the primary ingredient, but vegetarians should be warned that ham hock is another essential element of an authentic split pea soup. When made properly, the soup should be more than enough for a meal on its own, especially if it’s served alongside a crusty hunk of bread.
Kraft Foods is not a Canadian company and it sells versions of its boxed macaroni 'n' cheese in countries around the world, but the name and popularity of Kraft Dinner is a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. Kraft Dinner, or “KD” as most Canadians call it, is a pantry staple in Canada, enjoyed by children, college students and anyone else looking for a cheap and easy meal. KD sold in Canada is even made domestically at a factory in Montreal.
For millions of Canadians the answer to the question “how do you like your coffee?” is “I like it crisp,” a reference to a classic TV ad for the Coffee Crisp candy bar. Even though the treat was originally formulated in the UK as Rowntree's Wafer Crisp, by the 1940s it was known as Coffee Crisp, becoming one of Canada’s favourite snacks. Today the bar is only manufactured in Toronto and in 2017 Nestle named it “a local Canadian gem” in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday.
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Chinese food has a long history in Western Canada — early Chinese immigrants were not permitted to enter most professions in Canada, leaving them to open restaurants, tweaking Chinese recipes to better appeal to Western tastes. The sweet and sticky deep fried strips of breaded meat known as ginger beef are part of this phenomenon. Developed at the Silver Inn in Calgary in the 1970s, the dish still appears on most Chinese menus in southern Alberta.
Saskatoons are small purple berries that pack a sweet and nutty flavour. Native to North America, the name of the berry isn’t capitalised because the berry isn’t named after the city of Saskatoon. Rather, both come from a Cree word that means “the fruit of the tree of many branches”. Saskatoons are used in everything from salad dressing to ice cream, but they’re most commonly found baked into a flaky double-crust pie.
While seafood is obviously abundant in Canada’s Maritime provinces, there’s another food that is quintessentially East Coast: the donair. The Canadian version of the traditional Turkish donair kebab was developed in the 1970s by Greek immigrant Peter Gamoulakos, the restaurateur behind Halifax’s King of Donair. Gamoulakos swapped out tradition tzatziki for a sweet sauce and the wrapped sandwiches quickly became Halifax’s most beloved street food.
One of Canada’s most enduring chains of casual restaurants, Swiss Chalet opened its first location in Toronto in 1954. While the restaurant’s specialty is rotisserie chicken, it is most famous for the “chalet sauce” served alongside the chicken and French fries. Not quite barbecue sauce or gravy, Canadians tend to either love or hate the tangy herbal flavour, but those who love it often flock to Swiss Chalet over the Christmas or Thanksgiving seasons for its holiday specials.
Bannock is a fry bread that is most commonly associated with Canada’s indigenous peoples, but it’s widely believed it wasn’t actually adopted until after European settlers arrived. Oat-based bannock is a Scottish tradition, but after Scottish explorers arrived in Canada, indigenous communities began making it with corn flour. Now it’s typically made with wheat flour and is often served alongside other indigenous cuisine.
Drive through the Canadian prairies and you’ll see field upon field of yellow canola flowers, all grown for canola oil production. Canola was developed by Canadian scientists after the Second World War as a more food-appropriate variation of rapeseed – the “can” in the name actually refers to it being a Canadian invention. Canola is now a staple in most Canadian pantries, prized for its healthy fats and versatility in the kitchen.
Just like Scotch, Irish whiskey or bourbon, Canadian whisky has its own distinctive flavour and makeup. The Canadian whisky industry blossomed during American Prohibition with a product usually is made with a grain blend that includes at least some percentage of rye. Brands like Canadian Club, Crown Royal and Alberta Premium are known for their light character and notes of toffee, cinnamon and toast.
There’s no consensus on when or where flapper pie originated, but it’s been a Canadian prairie classic for generations, likely due to the steady availability of its ingredients even in the dead of winter. It’s a very simple pie consisting of an egg-rich vanilla custard in a Graham cracker crust topped with either meringue or whipped cream. The pie is not as popular with home cooks as it once was, but is still available in some diners across the prairie provinces.
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Icewine isn’t a Canadian invention (it’s been produced in Germany for some time) but given Canada’s cold climate, it’s a perfect fit. The wine is made by letting grapes freeze on the vine, allowing the sugars to concentrate to create a very sweet dessert wine that’s best enjoyed like a liqueur. The Canadian icewine industry started in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, but Ontario’s Niagara region tends to get colder weather and has since become the largest icewine producer in the world.
Instant mashed potatoes aren’t exactly embraced by most food lovers, but these boxes of flaked potatoes can be very handy to those with limited cooking skills or equipment. Chemist Edward Asslbergs invented dehydrated potato flakes while working for the Canadian Department of Agriculture in the early 1960s. While most of us wouldn’t choose instant flakes over a proper mash, the product remains a stand-by of campers and others in need of a convenient starch.
With the exception of seafood, no consumable product has a greater connection with Newfoundland than Screech rum. Rum has a long tradition in Newfoundland: local fishermen would ship salt fish down to Jamaica and the boats would come back full of Jamaican rum. The spirit in Screech still comes from Jamaica, but is bottled and blended in Newfoundland. It’s become famous through the tradition of “Screeching in” newcomers to the island, which involves gulping a shot of Screech before kissing a cod.
Canada Dry ginger ale comes by its brand name honestly – the soft drink was indeed invented by a Canadian. Toronto-based pharmacist and entrepreneur John McLaughlin spent the latter part of the 1890s and early 1900s perfecting his formula, patenting Canada Dry Pale Dry Ginger Ale in 1907. A cross between spicier ginger beer and flavourless club soda, ginger ale became particularly popular during American Prohibition as its flavour would mask the harsh taste of illegally made alcohol.
There is some dispute about the origin of the California sushi roll, but the most commonly accepted story has it being invented by Hidekazu Tojo, a Japanese chef who immigrated to Vancouver in the 1970s. Realising that most Canadians were not used to the taste and texture of raw fish or seaweed at the time, Tojo created a roll with the seaweed on the inside, filled with crab, avocado and mayonnaise. His invention was such a hit, it’s now a standard roll at sushi restaurants around the world.
If there’s any one food that people love to associate with Canada, it’s the magical concoction known as poutine. The concept is simple: French fries topped with savoury gravy and squeaky cheese curds that melt slightly under the heat of the sauce. There’s some disagreement about exactly where and when poutine was invented, but it’s been a presence in Quebec since the 1950s and has slowly gained popularity throughout the rest of Canada.
What the rest of the world calls “Canadian bacon” is usually called “back bacon” in Canada. It’s much like ham in consistency and flavour and is cut from pork loin, unlike streaky bacon (known in Canada simply as “bacon”), which comes from pork belly. The bacon is often rolled in pea flour or cornmeal, earning the name “peameal bacon”. Canadian bacon is typically eaten for breakfast or brunch, often as an essential element of eggs Benedict.
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