Sitting around a large table full of delectable delights and filling your belly with a giant, juicy turkey is surely better than receiving an XBOX that\u2019ll become next year’s old model. In appreciation of this festivity let us explore Canadian history and review common Christmas recipes<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tourti\u00e8re:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n There are many different interpretations of meat pies across the globe, like Jamaican patties and Mexican empanadas. The Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois adopted the tourti\u00e8re. Tourti\u00e8re is a double-crusted pastry filled with deliciously seasoned sliced beef and pork. Depending on the region, the filling is replaced with chicken or it\u2019s layered with diced veggies and an assortment of meats or fish.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This savoury French Canadian dish originates from Qu\u00e9bec and is known to be served during r\u00e9veillon. R\u00e9veillon is a traditional feast particular to Catholic believers and is celebrated during Christmas Eve, after midnight Mass. It is especially important because for devout followers, the tourti\u00e8re is made only once a year for the special event.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The creation of tourti\u00e8re dates all the way back to the 1600s, when Quebec was first settled, but the first cookbook <\/span>La cuisini\u00e8re canadienne<\/span><\/i>, which is likely the first French cookbook published in Canada for tourti\u00e8re was written and released in 1840, offering the first rendition of the dish.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you head eastward, you\u2019ll see that the people living in the maritimes also have their own version of this French Canadian pie. It is known as Pat\u00e9 \u00e0 la viande, traditional to the Acadian people.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maple Pudding Ch\u00f4meur:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n These traditional dishes surpass just food, they’re also able to tie in with different cultural activities such as the art of film. A French film titled Poor Man\u2019s Pudding was named after this sweet dessert. Director Gilles Carle wanted to produce a satirical film on the topic of poverty. He was inspired by his sovereignist friends who believe that Quebec’s independence would solve social problems such as homelessness and unemployment, hence the movie’s name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n To wrap it all up, Christmas in Canada surpasses presents and decorations; it\u2019s a celebration of shared traditions and cherished meals that connect us to our history and communities. Whether it’s enjoying the savory bite of a <\/span>tourti\u00e8re<\/span><\/i> after midnight mass or indulging in a rich, gooey serving of <\/span>pouding ch\u00f4meur<\/span><\/i>, these classic dishes remind us of the stories, heritage, and love that make this time of year truly special.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sources:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Tourti\u00e8re:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca\/en\/article\/tourtiere<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Christmas in Qu\u00e9bec: the R\u00e9veillon – Great British Chefs<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Meat Pie Magic: The History of Tourti\u00e8re – Canadian Food Focus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Maple Pudding Chomeur:<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.foodnetwork.com\/recipes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.tasteatlas.com\/pouding-chomeur<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Notre histoire \u2014 BINERIE Mont-Royal (labineriemontroyal.com)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/A-Taste-of-Tradition-1-300x225.png\")
Ever since the rising popularity of this dish, people have put their own twists on the original recipe. While the originaltourti\u00e8re features hand sliced beef (giving the pie a unique texture),now\u00a0 for convenience of time, people use plain old ground beef, resulting in an entirely different texture.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/A-Taste-of-Tradition-2-300x200.png\")
Pudding ch\u00f4meur is a sweet vanilla cake-pudding topped with a simple sauce made of brown sugar, water and flour. But wait, the title says <\/span>maple<\/span><\/i> pudding ch\u00f4meur. Well, pudding ch\u00f4meur translates to \u201cpudding of the unemployed\u201d in french and like the previous recipe,originates from Qu\u00e9b\u00e9c. During the Great Depression, pudding ch\u00f4meur was an easy and affordable dessert to make. Female factory workers, being low on cash, would prepare this dish with stale bread and with the sauce recipe above. However, once the economy started to improve, families replaced it with the thick and gooey sauce we all know and love \u2013 maple syrup.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/A-Taste-of-Tradition-3-300x169.png\")
Dozens of restaurants have dedicated themselves to keeping Quebec culture alive through food. La Binerie Mount-Royal is an example of a family owned bakery founded in 1938. Aside from them featuring tourtiere and jambon toupie on their menu, they also sell their own pudding chomeur. Cochon Dingue, R\u00f4tisserie St. Hubert and many other restaurants also sell this special quebecois pudding.<\/span><\/p>\n