Poutine Will Keep You Warm Throughout Winter

Marion

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 01:58:14 GMT

Hi truly great blog! Very inspiring. Used to travel a lot with the same attitude, cook books ALWAYS my preferred souvenir :-) Now with two small kids your blog still allows me to travel. GREAT! And from my time on Montreal I can assure you: les quebecois aiment leur poutine !

Valmi

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:40:36 GMT

Now living in France, it became urgent that I seriously consider what cheese may be appropriate cheese to use instead of the curds. As of the chips and the sauce, I found that there is no possible substitute for making them at home, but making cheddar curds is trickier. After many tests, my girlfriend and I agreed that the closer we can get in terms of taste is by using a very young grated Cantal cheese. But you lose the texture of curds. Nothing is perfect.

Charles

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:20:25 GMT

A great honor to see our beloved poutine featured on your website. But, if I may add my personal opinion, I would declare that the best poutine in the northern hemisphere can be found not in Montr�al but in Qu�bec city, the capital; particularly in a small restaurant chain called Ashton, which for 40 years has kept our arteries fully clogged and our palates no less enthralled.

Janna

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:46:37 GMT

I noticed you have alot of Canadian east coast and west coast specialties. On the prairies of Alberta and Saskatoon we have bannock and prairie oysters. While the praire oysters are common in parts of the western US, I still think they have a large niche in Albertan history. I"ve been to cattle brandings where families get together and serve these deep fried calf testicles fresh from the calf. Canadian bannock is different from American and Scottish as it is unleavened wheat flour and is fried or cooked over a campfire.

fx

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:01:37 GMT

Kai, would you use yogurt as a starter culture to make cheddar curds?

fx

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:41:30 GMT

Biffy, I hope I can try poutine in Montreal too!

Biffy

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:30:47 GMT

I miss poutine, I miss Montreal!

The best poutine has to be from La Banquise on Rachel, at 2am. :)

Kai

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:57:34 GMT

I think for real cheese curds, you essentially follow the process for making a cheddar cheese up to the point where the whey is drained, and then the un-cheddared curds are salted and eaten immediately. You know they"re fresh if they squeak when you bite into them; they lose this after about a day. So if you"re set up for home-cheesemaking (wih rennet) you should be able to make these.

fx

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:14:39 GMT

Mais c"est le cholest�rol qui nous aide � traverser l"hiver!

chas

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:58:52 GMT

ayoille ..... :-)
mais...le cholest�rol ..... :-(

fx

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:20:51 GMT

Indeed it is, but they have a seriously cold winter season over there, they deserve it!

Jenny McCullough

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 05:07:55 GMT

This is a heart attack on a plate!

fx

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:04:42 GMT

Geoff, I don"t mean to use paneer but paneer curds, which is just curdled milk.

Geoff Ball

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:13:16 GMT

I don"t think paneer would do it.

A desription from Wikipedia about cheese curds :

"Their flavor is mild with about the same firmness as cheese, but has a springy or rubbery texture.

Fresh curds squeak against the teeth when bitten into, which some would say is their defining characteristic. Cheese curds are sometimes referred to as "Squeaky cheese." They are sometimes somewhat salty.

The American variety are usually yellow or orange in color, like most American cheddar cheese. Other varieties, such as the Qu�b�cois and New York variety, can be roughly the same color as white cheddar cheese"

All the poutine I"ve had, has had white curds.

If I was going to substitute a different cheese it would be a fresh/soft mozzarella, for it has the same sort of rubbery texture and saltiness.

fx

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:20:55 GMT

Geoff, it is not so common to find cheese curds around here, would it work with freshly made paneer curds?

Geoff Ball

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:24:24 GMT

Great Article and photographs as per usual.

Poutine should and must be made with cheese curds, or it will be just cheesy-fries. Many fast food restaurants offer it but very, very few will use actual cheese curds, or real gravy.

If you are in Canada, you might want to ask what the place you are in uses to make poutine. Could be that liquid nacho cheese goop with pre-made vegetable gravy.

Seal flipper pie, cod tongues, Molasses on toast, fried baloney steaks are all eaten by Newfoundlanders.

Surf and Turf is another luxury eaten on the East Coast on occasion Boiled Lobster and Steak!

fx

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 14:47:15 GMT

Tina, I think poutine made from proper potatoes and real gravy, not some crap out of a gallon jar, is very serious food indeed.

Choosy Beggar Tina

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:47:14 GMT

I can"t believe that I missed this article!! It may look vile and calorie laden (which it is) but there is NOTHING like poutine. The chewy, melting curds....salty thick gravy, slightly sweet fresh cut fries...mmmmmmm

fx

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:02:25 GMT

Ruth, I think you might be able to revive these cherished memories in a less virtual manner. Pea soup is easy, just look at my article, you can make a better soup than at any restaurant right in your kitchen. As for poutine, you could make your own curds in under an hour, and serve fries with homemade gravy and fresh curds - where in the world could you buy that? Good luck and thanks for visiting!

Ruth Yancey

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:39:44 GMT

Grew up in Montreal and when I left some 50 years ago I had never heard of poutine. Sounds good. I think the Nanaimo bar is what my mum called Dream Cake, which I"ve been making for years. Good food: Habitant pea soup (in a can, unfortunately), Oxo, maple sugar candies, spruce beer(Is it still available??) Nothing like that in San Diego. Thanks for the memories.

Ruth

fx

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:10:05 GMT

Michelle, I"d love to have pictures of beaver tails like those of poutine, let me know if you can arrange this! Oh, and could you send me a hot beaver tail by email?

Michelle

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:59:08 GMT

Fabulous to see poutine on your site - yum! Just be sure to pronounce it poo-tsin, not poo-teen as many do.
Add the Beaver Tail to your list of Canadian specialties - a treat here in the Ottawa area, especially during our winter festival. It"s basically a deep fried whole wheat dough shaped like a beaver tail, slathered with butter and a variety of toppings (my favourite is the one topped with cinnamon sugar and freshly squeezed lemon). Serve hot.

fx

Thu, 22 May 2008 15:49:19 GMT

Luci, thanks for your tips, I hope I"ll find some Canadian foodie with a camera that can send me good pictures for another article!

Luci

Tue, 20 May 2008 21:31:12 GMT

Hi again FX,

Just got back from Montreal and remembered to answer your question re: national Canadian dishes for the next time you"re in the country:

Montreal Bagels - boiled in honey water and baked in a wood-burning oven
Maple Syrup, especially frozen on a bed of snow and rolled up on a popsicle stick!
Donuts - a national dish easily accessed from a favourite Canadian chain, Tim Hortons

Hope you enjoy!

fx

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:41:50 GMT

William, thanks for visiting! This may sound like a curious question from a Swiss living within eyesight of France, the self-professed "land of the 360 cheeses", but what is a European equivalent of the poutine cheese curd?

william pociengel

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:55:05 GMT

Well the best cheese curds come from Ellsworth WI in the US. They have the best curds in Wisconsin and Wisconsin has the best curds in the US. I think my colesterol has gone up just looking at those photos. Yumm ;-)

fx

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:55:05 GMT

James, thanks for this enlightening parallel with the cheesy chips!

James

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:11:42 GMT

Great article, reminded me of something we in the north of England have been eating for many, many years - Cheesy chips!

Like the poutine, it uses those utter travesties of a "chip" that are known as french fries, smothered in grated cheddar cheese, then blasted in a microwave to create a gooey, sticky, artery furring mess of starch and fat. We only eat this after enough alcohol to kill your taste-bud"s has been consumed. Usually at about 2 a.m on a friday night/saturday morning.

fx

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:05:05 GMT

Toasty, thanks for your visit! I am sure some Qu�b�cois must be selling poutine in the US somewhere already ...

Toasty

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:46:59 GMT

A plea to the Quebecois: please emigrate and export this to the backwoods nation south of your border.

fx

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 15:20:27 GMT

Alex, it is the sorry fate of deep-fried cheeseburgers to have no constituency, so I could give them a tongue lashing without fear of retaliation. But poutine is so essential to the Qu�becois identity that I would never have dreamed of saying anything disrespectful about it!

Alex

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 14:06:28 GMT

You have made all of Quebec proud by not trashing poutine the way you did deep fried hamburgers.

Luke

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:20:25 GMT

Y"know, going through these comments, a lot of Canadian specialties mentioned parallel food you"d find in New England. Go figure.

Luke

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:13:40 GMT

Cheese on top? Oh hell yeah! Cheaper places slather on canned nacho cheese, but nothing compares to a stringy mound of melted cheddar or colby. As for the chili, most anything works provided that it"s just a bit on the saucy side. The fries need to be thick enough to handle the chili, but at the same time can"t hog the spotlight. Any potato that has a buttery character and fries well from raw will do. Many variants and alternatives (like bacon cheddar ranch fries) do exist, so feel free to get creative.

fx

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:00:43 GMT

Michael, I"m glad my choice of poutine meets with your approval. But check my deep-fried atrocities section if you feel poutine is unhealthy!

fx

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:57:26 GMT

Martin, thanks for your tips! Did I mention I love Canada and of course especially Qu�bec. The show with Jos�e di Stasio and Daniel Pinard is one of the my favorite food shows in the world. Lovely people and lovely accent!

fx

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:38:38 GMT

Luke, I"ll have to try to make a home version using my own chili and some homemade fries. Do they add any cheese on top?

Michael

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:17:17 GMT

Fresh cut fries are something that is so very special. Restaurants that go that extra mile to prepare the fries at a moment"s notice is the mark of a good meal. Poutine is something that everyone should have at least once in their life... and for health reasons... ONLY once!

Martin

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:00:07 GMT

Some other typical Canadian treats: butter tarts (a bit like Southern U.S. pecan tarts without the pecans), Nanaimo bars (a very sweet layered bar cookie), fiddleheads (young fern fronds), and some very local specialties like hawberry jam from Manitoulin Island. And dill-pickle potato chips. To me, though, the hallmark of Canadian food is mixing and matching ethnic comfort food. That"s a product of our wide-ranging immigration, and results in such interesting hybrids as perogies stuffed with kimchi.

Luke

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:10:54 GMT

Oy, there is no Mecca that I am aware of. The chili cheese fry is something of an underdog, as far as North American fast food goes. It does, however, enjoy a wide cult following. Large cities, university towns, and popular beaches are good bets. They"re also not uncommon among smaller fast food chains, but it"s seldom as good as the mom n" pop variety. Of course, long gone are the days when one actually had to mingle with the locals; Google can hook you up on your next trip across the pond.

fx

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:54:19 GMT

Jacqui thanks for visit and for your article about Canadian food! I spent half an hour looking through flipper pies and oreilles de christ. Sounds amazing! Hope to see you back on my blog!

Jacq

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:49:27 GMT

Thrilled to see Poutine featured here. As a Canadian living abroad it"s something I miss a lot! When I was living in Bristol, UK, one day I spied a new dish on a local greasy-spoon menu, chips with cheese and gravy! While they didn"t do it with curds, it was a satisfactory substitute (the gravy was homemade so that was a plus)! I asked the owner and he said he"d discovered Poutine in Montreal and it had been selling well. Now in Ireland, my kitchen in the only place I"m ever served Poutine, but when I go home, I make a bee-line to the fish and chip shop!
Thanks so much for this article, and all your articles, I enjoy them so much.
Jacq

fx

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:40:57 GMT

Alys, you are right that there is more to Canadian food than poutine, of course! I am myself a fiend for maple syrup since you mention the many fine produce made in Canada. But which other spectacular recipes are there such as poutine that is uniquely canadian and which people consider part of their identity?

fx

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:37:41 GMT

SC you are right that there are many good places to eat poutine in Montr�al and most people will never dream of eating it anywhere but at their favorite shop. I think the Foie Gras Poutine might warrant another article someday!

fx

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:36:43 GMT

Luke, where is the Mecca of Chili Cheese Fries? Is this a regional specialty?

fx

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:18:35 GMT

Thanks Allen I"ll try the nanaimo bar with my next gallon of poutine!

fx

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:13:35 GMT

Susie, thanks for visiting and for trying to drown broccolis. I hope I"ll see those seal flippers one day!

fx

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:12:21 GMT

B. Pitcher, thanks for visiting! Who would have thought that Canadians and Americans would unite over their love for French fries? Let me know how the cheese curds work for you.

Alys

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:23:18 GMT

St Hubert"s chicken gravy is the basic - not bbq sauce, that is a special case.

Canadian food, eh?
How about some of our West (and East) coast specialities:
fresh oysters and scallops,
dungeness crab, lobster,
grilled salmon,
fresh corn (green maize to you I think) grilled in the husk,
salmonberries (they are blooming right now on the West coast), saskatoon berries, blueberries, and more.
:-) All good

SC

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:57:22 GMT

The poutine at RdO does not look bad but many people seem to prefer the poutine at La Banquise in terms of their variety. In my opinion, the prize for the best poutine definitely goes to Au Pied de Cochon for their foie gras poutine, granted it is a lot more expensive than the other poutine joints.