Canadian Ingredients

[cabrales]

Cabrales, when it comes to Canadian Icewines there’s Inniskillin, which was awarded Le Grand Prix d'Honneur at Vinexpo, Bordeaux, in 1991.

Two different liquor stores in Vancouver have advised that 2000 was an excellent year for Canadian ice wines. Inniskillin, even though is not located in British Columbia, was highly recommended by local vendors.  Mission Hill appeared to be another good producer.  

Inniskillin offers ice wine made from each of riesling (more conventional), vidal (purchased by me for later consumption), and, surprisingly, Cabernet franc.   The price of a bottle of Inniskilin vidal 2000 was approx C$52 (approx. US$ 35). Inniskilin riesling was several dollars more expensive.

[anil]

Inniskillin offers ice wine made from each of riesling (more conventional), vidal (purchased by me for later consumption), and, surprisingly, Cabernet franc.   The price of a bottle of Inniskilin vidal 2000 was approx C$52 (approx. US$ 35). Inniskilin riesling was several dollars more expensive.

First time I had Inniskillin, it was reisling based. Next time it was

vidal - Either it was the company I was with, but I was soooo

impressed by the wine, that I was nearly floored consuming the whole bottle  

Ice wines are Yet-Another-Secret of Canada  

[stevenk]

Another BC based (okanagan) ice wine I would recommend is the Pinot Noir Ice Wine from Summerhill Estates.  It's pricey at CDN $100 per bottle but well worth it.  A good way to serve seems to be in dark chocolate cups.

FYI Inniskillin also has a winery in the south okanagan near Penticton.

Also, speaking of old Dutch snacks.  It appears there is a secret addictive ingredient in them.  When my cousin in L.A was pregnant with her first child she had me ship down several boxes of their Salt and Vinegar chips.  I am also partial to the popcorn twists heron.

[Junior]

As Steven Shaw points out in his trip through Canada, Saskatchewan has alot of Saskatoon berries.  We also have several varities of mushrooms ( chantrelles, morels, boletus, and several others) We are also the largest producer of wild rice in the world, we also export 90 % of our mustard seed to you guessed it; Dijon France.  Long considered the bread basket of the world, largest producer of various wheats, barley, canola, and canaryseeds.  Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries are very abundent in the north.  We are also blessed with 100,000 lakes or so, so you can find artic grayling, pickeral, trout, walleye, northern pike, and perch. You can also find large herds of deer and we also have several buffalo, elk, boar, deer farms.  Wild gamebirds and ducks are ever present here as well.  Some of the animals listed can be found across Western Canada and the US.  

As for Old Dutch, I am pretty sure that you can only get these chips in the Western part of the country, I can remember long ago my uncle who lives in Ottawa, asking my mother to send him cases of these chips to him once a year.

[Jinmyo]

I'm in Ottawa, Junior. I have never seen Okd Dutch chips (crisps).

[JSD]

Lesley, tinned seal meat. Nor that seal is "a good choice for our aging population". What company sells it?

edit: Okay, I've done a Google search. Here is a site concerning this: clicke.

I went to the web site.  Their slogan is "Naturally Beneficial for everyone".  For everyone but the seals, I guess!  Yes, they had a few pictures of canned seal, and a seal pepperoni pizza, but more pictures of coats, purses, slippers, etc.

[Junior]

Jinmyo

I guess then I should be sending you some of these chips for your dining pleasure.  If I'm not mistaken you have a specfic brand of chip that we can not get in Western Canada.  

Seal ? No thank you ! A little adventurous but no thanks

[DavyBoy]

Beavertails

Mmmmm :) I beavertails :D

[Gourmando]

All of the suggestions so far are excellent. I'm a Beavertail lover myself!

No-one has mentioned the Macintosh apple, which goes particularly well with a chunk of 3-year-old Balderson cheddar cheese: Both are Eastern Ontario originals! I'm also a fan of the chevres of Woolwich (Ontario) and Floralpe (Quebec); a well-placed lardon; and Brome Lake duck.

I never have been able to figure out scruncheons, though!

[guru]

Hello everyone, it's kind of funny that nobody mentionned Quebec beers.

I know it's sometimes not seriously considered but they have won a lot of prizes in

Europe. Don't you agree Lesley.

[Lesley C]

Yes, of course.

I'm not a beer drinker myself but Quebec beers such as La Maudite and Blanche de Chambly are renowned -- certainly far more than Quebec wines (which BTW are getting better and better).

[Alexander]

Manitoba:

apart from Old Dutch Chips we have

perogies

farmer sausage (that expatriates get shipped to them,

berries (our strawberries are small but packed with intense flavour. And red all the way through)

Manitoba lamb is the best in the world, big and juicy, I don't care what those saltspring people say

Beef, Alberta has lots of beef, but Manitoba beef tastes good.

Lentils (Manitoba and Saskatchewan produce %60 of the worlds lentils)

pickerel cheeks, gold eye, tullibee,

northern pike

Arctic Char

trout (we have a great smoked steelhead trout, puts BC lox to shame)

elk

Fruit wine

canola and sunflower oil

sunflower seeds

hemp oil and seeds

and of course, Bison (Bison is the hot new meat, low fat, low colestrol, naturally raised and oh so tasty.)

the list goes on, don't you wish you lioved here too?

thanks for listening

Alexander

[Jinmyo]

No, Alexander, it doesn't. Too flat.

Welcome to eGullet.

I've never had elk. Have you?

[Lesley C]

Welcome Alexander!

Tell me, do you know if you can still get foot-long hotdogs at Lankey's in Grand Beach?

[cabrales]

Alexander -- When you have a chance, please consider discussing the differences in taste you might perceive between Manitoba and Alberta beef.

[Rail Paul]

Manitoba:

farmer sausage (that expatriates get shipped to them,

and of course, Bison (Bison is the hot new meat, low fat, low colestrol, naturally raised and oh so tasty.)

Alexander - thanks for posting.

Would you describe this sausage? It sounds interesting, and I've been previously unaware that Manitoba made a distinctive sausage.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article this past week on the blowout of the US bison industry. An explosion of supply (lots of bison) and an implosion of demand (few buyers) has led to widespread bankruptcies among farmers. I hope the Manitoba growers escape this trend.