Four Canadian Food Things

Though I live and breath most of my air in the United States of America, my true roots lie in the country upstairs: Canada. I am in the province of Ontario now, and I thought I'd share with you a couple of little food quirks of the country that you probably didn't know before.

NUMBER ONE: MILK 

Milk comes in bags here. I'm serious. Plastic. Bags. You buy milk in bags that are all bundled into another, bigger bag. When you get home, you put your milk bag in a jug and you cut the corner of the plastic bag off so you can pour your milk. Rules of the milk bag include #1, if you finish the milk, you must throw out the bag and replace it (which includes cutting the corner off), #2, if there's a teensy bit of milk left, don't put it in the fridge - just finish it. And those are only 2 of the many rules of milk bag etiquette.  

This is milk in a bag:

This is milk in a bag in a bag:

This is milk in a bag in a jug:

It's actually better for the environment because the bags use less plastic than jugs! In general, Canadian milk is a treasure to behold. If you don't believe me, watch this video. 

NUMBER TWO: POUTINE

What is Poutine, you ask? It's DELICIOUSNESS. Poutine = fries covered in gravy and cheese and DELICIOUSNESS! It's a signature Canadian dish and this is what it looks like:

 

Also, it's almost as common here to put vinegar on your fries as it is ketchup! When you go to McDonalds, they give you little plastic packages of malt vinegar as well as the usual fixin's. 

NUMBER THREE: BLUEBERRIES

Have you ever had a fresh wild blueberry when they're in season in the more Northern part of Canada? They're tiny and sweet and so delicious you could eat until you passed out from digestive exhaustion. YUM.

NUMBER FOUR: CANADIAN CANDY

Sometimes I feel sorry for my American friends who will probably never taste the divine sweetness of a Caramilk or an Aero Bar. Sadly, you will never bite down on the crunchy shell of a Cadbury egg or indulge in a Laura Secord chocolate. I heard a rumor that there are no Maynards down in the US. If this is the case... It's a sad day for us all. A sour cherry Maynard could turn your life around.