Canada is quickly becoming a major food destination — and not just because of poutine and BeaverTails.
Given that our nation is so huge, there's such a diversity of dishes and meals out there that if you want to say you've truly tasted Canadian food, you'll need to get eating.
And so, to help you learn about some of the most essential eats across the nation, here's a rundown of foods that best represent the Canadian culinary scene.
Of course, by no means does this cover every Canadian dish worth getting, but these are some of the great dishes you need to try if you want to call yourself a Canadian foodie.
From coast to coast, here are seven of the best treats and eats in our nation, arranged in no particular order, that every Canadian should probably try at least once.
Nanaimo bar
One of the most iconic Canadian desserts is easy to both make and find. Named after the west coast city of Nanaimo, B.C., this treat contains three layers of rich sweetness.
The bottom is a coconut and chocolate crumb base, the middle is rich custard icing and the top is a nice layer of chocolate ganache. It's a great all-Canadian treat you'll often see prepared by grandmas and moms year 'round.
According to a Canadian Food Studies academic historical study, the Nanaimo bar was developed in the city it was named after in the 1940s as a spinoff of an unbaked chocolate cake recipe.
Since then, it has found its way all across Canada as a staple dessert.
Bannock
Of course, a massive part of Canada's history is the many Indigenous nations that were here before and are still here today. And a staple that is observed across those cultures is a unique bread that is interwoven with Canadian and Indigenous history.
Sometimes also referred to as fry bread, this dish is typically made from flour, water, baking powder and salt and is then cooked in fat such as lard.
According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, bannock is believed to have been initially brought to Canada by Scottish settlers, who introduced it to the Indigenous people living here.
It became more of a staple when the Canadian government forced Indigenous people to relocate to reservations, where they couldn't participate in their traditional hunting practices, the encyclopedia says.
With only rations of things like flour, eggs, lard and sugar from the government to eat, bannock became a lifesaver against starvation.
Saskatoon berry pie
These special berries that you can find throughout the Prairies and Western Canada are made even more delicious by baking them into a pie.
And, believe it or not, the city of Saskatoon is actually named after the berry — not the other way around — according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
If you're unfamiliar, a saskatoon berry is a small, purple-ish berry that grows in small shrubs, similar to blueberries in appearance and taste. And, as you can imagine, they taste really great in a pie.
How about that for a prairie treat?
Tourtière
In the world of Quebec food, poutine gets a whole lot of love. But one of the lesser-talked-about dishes is tourtière.
For those who aren't in the know, it's a classic Quebecois meat pie with a toothsome flaky crust and a filling made with ground pork, beef or veal.
Per The Food Network, this dish has a long history in Canada. It can be traced back all the way to the 1600s when the French started settling in modern-day Quebec.
And while the dish has evolved from having ingredients like rabbit, wild game and trout, you'll often see more mainstream meats between that buttery pastry these days.
Besides, it's not the filling that makes it a tourtière; it's the cinnamon, allspice, clove and nutmeg that give it its signature aroma.
Poutine
Okay, fine, yes, poutine is on this list.
What did you expect? It's possibly Canada's most famous culinary creation and is something that sparks fierce and fiery debate across the nation.
But one thing is for sure: To make a good poutine, you need to have nice, hot, crispy fries; a rich, flavourful gravy; and some classic fresh, squeaky cheese curds.
Everything else is just background noise.
As for the origin, a few versions of it might be apocryphal.
According to Mental Floss, the most widely accepted one was in the late 1950s when a customer asked restauranteur Fernand Lachance to put cheese curds and fries into a bag together as the former was in a rush. Lachance looked inside the bag and called it a "poutine" — a Quebecois slang word for "mess."
Soon, gravy got added to the mix, and we're all now sucking back this tasty treat across the country.
Butter tart
Another quintessential Canadian treat that this list wouldn't be complete without!
These delectable little eats are a great combination of sweet, sugary filling and a tasty flaky pastry.
The butter tart is another treat with nebulous origins. Per Reader's Digest, one theory is that the dish is derivative of the United Kingdom's "border tart," a pie with a similar filling and dried fruit.
Another theory is that it was conceived of here in Canada simply as a matter of necessity. With food scarcity being a natural thing for many settlers, they had to make do with the few staple ingredients they had, such as flour, brown sugar, eggs, butter and lard. This would explain why it was made in parallel with Quebec's similar sugar pie.
All in all, though, they are a tasty, sweet treat that you really can't deny as a wonderfully Canadian dish.
Donair
Of course, on Canada's east coast, there are many things you could choose from, with seafood like lobster, cod and more being huge parts of the diet out there.
But one of the most famous dishes from out east is the Halifax donair. While this dish has its origins in Turkey, Nova Scotians have made it their own, all thanks to a Greek immigrant living in the city.
Traditionally, it's comprised of a wrap with tomatoes, onions, spiced beef and the world-famous donair sauce — a sweet, garlicky sauce made of sweetened condensed milk, vinegar and garlic that launched this dish into popularity.
Invented by Greek immigrant Peter Gamoulakos, this dish swaps out the traditional lamb of Turkish doner and adds in Gamoulakos' proprietary donair sauce, making it a go-to drunk or hangover meal for tons of Bluenosers, per The Food Network.
You'll often see it sold in pizza places alongside your favourite slices.
So if you haven't gotten the chance to try these dishes out, it's high time to get eating, because Canada has some amazing food.
You're Not A True Canadian Unless You've Tried 5 Of These 7 Foods From Coast To Coast
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