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Happy birthday to our Home and Native Land! Oh Canada!
From EyeCandyTO
Here is a photo of one of our National Dishes: Poutine.
According to Wikipedia, Poutine is a Canadian dish, originating in the province of Quebec, made with French fries and cheese curds topped with a light brown gravy. This fast-food dish is typically found across Canada and in some places in the northern United States, less often elsewhere and is still considered ‘exotic’ in such places. In Canada, it is sold in small “greasy spoon” type diners and pubs, as well as by roadside chip wagons and in hockey arenas. National and international chains also sell mass-market poutine in Canada.
In the basic recipe for poutine, French fries are covered with fresh cheese curds, and topped with brown gravy. In a traditional Quebec poutine:
- French fries: Usually of medium thickness, and fried (sometimes twice) such that the inside stays soft, while the outside is crispy.
- Cheese curds: Fresh cheese curds are used to give the desired texture. The curd size may vary but is usually slightly smaller than bite-sized. Poutine cheese curds are different from regular ones in that they are not produced by cheddaring (weighting and pressing to squeeze out whey and to firm them). Instead, poutine‘s “squeaky” cheese curds are cooked, then allowed to cure to develop tanginess.
- Brown gravy: Traditionally a light and thin chicken, veal, or turkey gravy, somewhat salty and mildly spiced with a hint of pepper, or a sauce brune which is a combination of beef and chicken stock, a variant originating in Quebec. The gravy should be substantial, but still thin enough to easily filter down into the mass of fries and cheese curds. These sauces typically also contain vinegar or a sour flavouring to balance the richness of the cheese and fries. Many places also offer vegetarian gravy as an option to cater to vegetarians.
Heavy beef or pork-based brown gravies are rarely used. To maintain the texture of the fries, the cheese curd and gravy are added immediately prior to serving the dish. The hot gravy is usually poured over the room-temperature cheese curds, so that the cheese is warmed without completely melting. It is important to control the temperature, timing and the order in which the ingredients are added, so as to obtain the right food texture which is an essential part of the experience of eating poutine.
Many new variations are now available around Canada, but the basics are the same.
Go out there and have a bowl of delicious poutine!
EyeCandyTO 