Southern Food vs. Canadian Food

A while back I promised this entry, and I got sidetracked by frogs, lists and children, so here it is.

Being a Canadian living in the southeastern United States has posed some interesting challenges for me: accents, a reeeeeally slow pace of life, and food. The food is really different, but I love it nonetheless. So I got to thinking about some of my favourite foods and how they might stack up against each other in a to-the-death cage match.


Pecan Pie vs. Butter Tarts

This was a toughie for me, as I happen to love both of these almost equally well. Truth be told, they're almost the exact same thing, really. They're both sugar based pies, but where pecan pies have (duh!) nuts, butter tarts have raisins. I love butter tarts. I grew up eating these with a cup of tea on the side (heavy on the milk). While I like pecan pie, I don't think I could gorge myself on it the way I can with butter tarts. The crust is different, more like shortbread. And I like mine just a touch runny. And of course, I can't buy them here, so I have to bake them myself. Oh, and for Americans who have no idea what a butter tart is, here's a linky, although I take issue with Wikipedia's ingredient list. I've never seen these made with nuts before.

Winner: BUTTER TARTS.




Greens vs. Boiled Cabbage

Um, okay, no brainer on this one. Greens, be they collard, mustard, or turnip win this one hands down for me. I grew up eating very English food: bangers and mash (sausages and potatoes) with a side of boiled cabbage was a regular weekly occurrence. It's filling, it's tasty, and it's cheap. I've got nothing against boiled cabbage, especially when it's laced with a ton of butter and salt and pepper. But there's something about biting into tender greens, simmered for an hour with a couple of ham hocks or smoked turkey wings, and seasoned with pepper vinegar that just does it for me. And, if I do say so myself, I make some kick-ass greens.

Winner: GREENS



Sweet Tea vs. A Cup of Tea

I can't drink southern sweet tea. Goodness knows I've tried in order to preserve family harmony (and because a lot of times, there's nothing else to drink). But in my opinion, it's like trying to suck watered down corn syrup through a straw. A word of wisdom to my Canadian friends: be careful if you ever come down here and order tea thinking you're going to get a steaming mug. You'll get a tall, ice filled glass covered with the sweetest beverage known to man. I almost choked the first time I tried it. I now order it "unsweet" and risk the hostile stares from other restaurant patrons. For my Southern friends, if you order tea up north, you're likely to be brought a small stainless steel tea pot filled with boiling water and a couple of tea bags tucked in a mug. Just so you know.

Winner: Cup of Tea


Grits vs. Poutine

Okay, my American friends, here's a quick lesson in strange Canadian foods. Poutine (not to be confused with Russian leader Vladimir Putin) originated in Quebec in the 1950's. It consists of french fries, covered in cheese curd, and then topped with brown gravy. I tried to think of something as weird on the southern side, but instead I came up with my favourite divisive food, grits. Poutine is certainly an acquired taste, so is grits. But I've never been able to wrap my head around cheese curds and gravy. I love fries, I love gravy, and I like cheese curds. I even like gravy on fries. But I can't eat them all together. I think it looks gross. Sorry, but I'll take a hot bowl of buttered and salted grits any day. Regular readers know how I love my grits (see some of my earlier posts if you're new here), so I don't think there's any competition.

Winner: GRITS



So I guess I'm really a half and half mixture now of Southerner and Canadian. Do you guys have foods you think I should have compared? The only other thing I can think of that's really uniquely Canadian is ketchup flavoured chips, which you can't buy in the States. If you haven't tried them, they are yummy, and my friend Jill brings them to me whenever she visits. And Jill, we're out of chips, okay?