Canadians are used to feeling surprised by American food habits. But most of us don’t realize how unusual our culinary customs are to our southern neighbours, especially those dishes that we treat as everyday meals.
Here are twelve Canadian food customs that many Americans think are quite strange. Which of these dishes is your favourite?
Poutine as a menu staple.
Most Canadian restaurants have poutine on their menus in the same way that other places might include fries or soup. You can get poutine at highway diners & big-city pubs. The dish has quite a long history that started in Québec and later spread across the nation.
But most Americans don’t know about its history. They simply see us treating curds & gravy as a normal side dish, and it makes them feel confused.
Tim Hortons dominance
Tim Hortons is so popular here that we all understand what it means to “grab a Timmies.” There are approximately 3,520 Tim Hortons locations across the country, and the brand actually says it operates across all provinces & territories.
Americans have their fair share of huge coffee chains. But none of them compares to a good old-fashioned Timmies.
All-dressed or ketchup-flavoured chips
There are some unusual chip flavours in America. Yet Canadians have a love for ketchup & all-dressed flavours that our neighbours in the United States don’t quite understand. Ketchup chips are relatively rare over there, and Lay’s all-dressed only hit American shelves quite recently.
Americans aren’t used to seeing our flavours of chips, and many of them are confused about how it became such a normal snack over here.
Ordering gravy with everything
We tend to expect gravy with a lot of our meals, rather than treating it as an add-on. Canadians pour it over fries, chicken, turkey and meat pies. You can even get it on dressing in “fries, dressing & gravy,” a comfort dish from Newfoundland.
It sometimes confuses Americans as to how casually we pair gravy with random dishes. But it’s completely normal for us.
Caesar cocktail popularity
Americans hear “Caesar” and assume you’re talking about salad. But Canadians know that Caesar is also the name of a cocktail that mixes vodka with Clamato. Such an odd combination is enough to confuse most Americans.
The drink was actually Canada’s official cocktail in 2009 & researchers estimate that Canadians drink approximately 400 million Caesars each year. It’s the Clamato part of the drink that creeps out many Americans.
Small portion sizes in certain provinces
Quite a few American travellers feel surprised by our portion sizes. Our meals are smaller than what they expect to receive over in American diners, and our servings aren’t as generous overall.
It’s the same story with our drink portions at Starbucks. Some American visitors aren’t sure whether we’re being intentionally stingy or if it’s just a regional thing.
Free refills uncommon outside soft drinks
Another thing that some American visitors expect is constant refills. They think that every drink works that way, although in most Canadian restaurants, free refills only apply to fountain pop, sometimes.
Refills at independent places here usually cost extra. It causes some Americans to second-guess themselves about getting an extra cup.
Canadian chains like Swiss Chalet or Harvey’s
The majority of Americans have never heard of Swiss Chalet or Harvey’s. That means that, when they see these chains in Canadian plazas, they feel out of the loop. They’re not used to Swiss Chalet’s rotisserie chicken & chalet sauce.
Americans also aren’t used to Harvey’s policy of allowing customers to build their own burgers at a garnish counter. It’s quite hands-on.
BeaverTails pastry shops in food courts
Every Canadian knows about BeaverTails. Stands selling the fried dough are practically everywhere, like Ottawa’s ByWard Market & ski hills, as well as malls. We’ve all tried the beaver-tail-shaped snack before.
But lots of Americans expect snacks like funnel cakes at pastry stands instead. They’re quite surprised when they get a maple or cinnamon-flavoured Canadian dessert.
Maple-flavoured everything
Some people have maple syrup on their pancakes. But Canadians have many foods in maple flavour, including candies & popcorn. We even have maple-flavoured sauces and drinks, as well as cotton candy & coffee.
It’s part of our national identity, so it figures that we try to get the flavour in almost every food.
Québec-style smoked meat sandwiches
A few Americans who see Montreal’s smoked meat sandwiches might assume that they’re pastrami. They’re not. The meat is prepared in a different way, and the brisket has a different spice blend from pastrami.
It’s softer & stringier than the US variety. Americans trying these sandwiches for the first time will probably think they taste familiar. But it also doesn’t taste quite right either.
Regional seafood specialties
Fast-food menus along Canada’s Atlantic coast include lobster rolls. They’re so popular here that, in a few provinces, McDonald’s has its own McLobster dish. Halifax’s donair also became the city’s official food in 2015.
But Americans aren’t used to having seafood as a normal part of takeout. They’re also quite surprised that a dish made with spiced beef & sweetened condensed milk sauce could become so popular.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.