You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (April 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the French article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 6,164 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Cuisine québécoise]]; see its history for attribution.
You should also add the template {{Translated|fr|Cuisine québécoise}} to the talk page.
, historical trade relations and some immigrant cuisines.
Québec is home to many unique dishes and is most famous for its
sugar shacks
.
Québec is known for being the biggest producer of maple syrup on the planet, as 72% of the maple syrup sold in the world (and 90% sold in Canada) originates from Québec.[1] The province is also recognized for having created over 700 different kinds of cheese, some of which have won international contests.[2]
Food critic Jacob Richler wrote that Québec's cuisine is better defined than that of the rest of Canada, due to its language barrier with the dominant culture of the United States and having had more time to develop. Conversely, Québec's cuisine and Acadian cuisine have much in common due to proximity and a shared language and history.
History
The cuisine of Québec evolved from that of 17th-century
From the moment they arrived in the early 17th century, French colonists always preferred their native cuisine. However, they learned some culinary techniques from the
Algonquins, Atikamekw and Iroquois. The most important ones were l’acériculture (the process of harvesting maple sap and creating maple syrup), ice fishing, and boucanage (in which fish or other meat is smoked for preservation and flavour).11
herbs, and lard were used for seasoning and salting. Pork and fish were boucanés(smoked), while other meats and vegetables were preserved in vinegar. These techniques are still practiced today, though not for survival. As game was so plentiful, pioneers and their descendants always hunted and fished
for sustenance.
By the 1670s, a substantial agrarian population had emerged in the region of Québec City, and French habits dominated. Meals almost always featured soup, bread, meat, and wine.[8] Since the climate made it difficult to grow grapes, wines were always imported from France.[9]12
The
meat pies
.
Because tensions with the young
date squares.[10]4 The socio-economic standing of French Canadians also fell to deplorable levels; the intense poverty pushed them to simplify their meals. Recipes for bouillon were now almost nothing more than warm water. Alcoholic beverages were rarely consumed, and butter was either used sparingly or absent. Some famine foods like ploye
emerged during this period.
By the early 1900s, conditions had improved somewhat, though French Canadians were still poor. Most families would often eat a mix of potatoes and pork on their plate, which is still a staple combination today. During this period, the passenger pigeon, called tourte in French, also became extinct. Because this bird's meat had been used to fill the pie-like dishes known as tourtières, the tourtière recipe had to change. Farm-raised meats like beef and pork were usually chosen as the substitutes.3[11]
In the late 1950s, these changes brought about the creation of poutine—arguably the most famous Québécois dish—as well as other dishes, like hot chicken and guédilles.
Historical poverty led many families in Québec to hunt for substenance until the mid 20th century.19Tourtières were stuffed with the meat of the tourte, or passenger pigeon, which used to be common and easy prey. But, by the early 20th century, the passenger pigeon became extinct due to overhunting, deforestation, and the Allee effect.11 Families had to replace the meat with whatever they had. As a result, most modern tourtières are filled with beef or pork.
Today, the consumption of game remains a tradition, although game is not sold in grocery stores. When available, Québécois eat meat from
Gaspesia
that are ready to be sold.
As for seafood,
scallops, and whelks (bourgots) are also caught.[17]
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade holds a world-renowned festival every December to February called La pêche des petits poisons des chenaux, where ice fishers catch tomcods. Historically, starving French colonists learned ice fishing techniques from the Atikamekw—a privilege, as the technique was kept a secret from neighbouring First Nations.
Livestock
Pork is the meat used most often in Québécois recipes. Beef is also commonly used but has been losing popularity in recent years. In summer, beef commonly features in barbecues.
Chicken eggs are very popular and mostly used at breakfast and to make pastries. Turkey is traditionally served at Christmas and Thanksgiving with croutons and sage.[23] The Estrie region has produced duck since the early 20th century. Québec is also the only producer of foie gras in Canada, as well as its largest producer in North America.[24]
Horse is eaten very marginally- by less than 1% of Quebecois. Its consumption is taboo.[25]
The most commonly used vegetables in traditional Québécois cuisine were those that can easily be preserved to last throughout the winter, either kept in a cool storage area like a
Fiddleheads
are gathered from the wild in the spring.
Frequently eaten berries are the
Cloudberries only grow in the wilds of the boreal forest, but are still gathered seasonally in northern communities. Finally, as these plants were banned on the continent in the early 20th century and were, with time, forgotten, all types of gooseberries or currants are virtually unknown to Quebecers.[31][32]
Poutine is arguably the most famous Québécois dish.[
brown gravy in a shallow bowl. The cheese curds are usually at room temperature to prevent them from melting and losing their elasticity or "squeakiness". Poutine emerged in the Centre-du-Québec
area in the late 1950s. Its precise origins are uncertain as there are several cities and towns claiming to have invented the dish.
For many years, it was perceived negatively by English Canadians and mocked in English Canada.20 It was even used by some to stigmatize Québec society. But, it later became celebrated as a symbol of Québécois culture and the province of Québec. It has long been associated with Québec cuisine, and its rise in prominence has led to its popularity in the rest of Canada, in the northern United States, and internationally. Poutine has been called "Canada's national dish" though many believe this is cultural appropriation of Québécois and Québec's national identity, especially since Canada has mocked Québec for it, in the not-so-distant past. 2016
Because variants on the classic poutine have become widespread, many now consider poutine to be a dish class of its own. Some of the most commonly seen variants include: chicken poutine (chicken is added), hot dog poutine (hot dog is added), pulled pork poutine (pulled pork is added), smoked meat poutine (Montréal smoked meat is added), galvaude poutine (adds peas and turkey, and is associated with maritime Québec), all-dressed poutine (adds ingredients to imitate an all-dressed pizza), "Italian" poutine (which replaces gravy with bolognese sauce), and lobster poutine (lobster is added and gravy is substituted). Menus who list variants on the classic poutine can vary wildly between restaurants. Establishments who specialise in poutines usually offer many variants and are called poutineries.[60][61][62]
A classic poutine served in a cast-iron skillet.
A pulled pork poutine.
A hot dog poutine.
A galvaude poutine.
An all-dressed poutine.
A breakfast poutine with hollandaise sauce and bacon.
When Canada was part of the French Empire, colonials used their
Conquest of New France, the British began importing hard cheeses like Cheddar.15
In the 1960s, the banning of crude milk made most of the old cheese-making techniques and recipes, which up to that point had been successfully passed on for centuries, disappear and become forgotten. Only a few recipes remain. The Saint-Pierre, produced on l'
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean regions. Nowadays, there are attempts to diversify the ways in which Cailles is consumed.[67]
Today, Québec creates over 700 different kinds of cheeses and is the biggest cheese producer in Canada.[69] Québecers enjoy many natively produced and imported hard cheeses, including hard cheeses flavored with beer or wine. Most soft cheeses are produced locally and many are artisanal.
The Paillasson. It is eaten grilled and is often paired with maple syrup.
Many maple syrup-derived products exist. Tire, French for
sugar on snow, is heated maple syrup that is cast onto a flat bed of snow and then rolled up onto a Popsicle stick. Tire is very popular at sugar shacks and during springtime. Maple butter is a spread commonly used at breakfast on toast. Maple sugar
can serve as a replacement to brown and white sugar.
Smoked meat
In Québec, a technique calledboucanage is sometimes used to smoke meat.
Colonials learned this technique from Native Americans. After they discovered that it was useful for preserving food, they decided to start smoking their meat in the boucanage fashion, following their usual brining and/or spicing. Native Americans, on the other hand, continued to only boucaner and never started brining or spicing.11 Today, Québecers still eat food that has been boucané for its taste.
Establishments called boucanières or boucaneries are specialized in the process. Modern boucanières can also use tree essences to infuse a certain taste in the meat, with
In the 1930s, Jewish immigrants came to Montréal and introduced their own Eastern European meat-smoking technique to Québec. This technique is often used today to make
Montréal smoked meat, which is then often cut up in narrow slices to be added to dishes as an ingredient. Montréal smoked meat is also often spiced with Montréal steak spice and used to make Montréal smoked meat sandwiches.[72]17
Smoked salmon has become more popular in recent decades due to influence from the United States and Europe. Smoked pork's popularity has decreased11 and it is now almost exclusively consumed during Easter.18
Charcuterie
In Quebec, charcuterie is sometimes referred to as cochonailles.
Creton
is composed of ground pork, lard, milk and cereal that is cooked together to obtain a creamy paste. Cretons are often eaten as a snack or for breakfast on roasted bread pieces called rôties. If another kind of meat is used to create cretons, like poultry or veal, it is called cretonnade instead.
Tête fromagée is less popular but used in the same way as cretons.
The boudin of Québec is made of lard, milk, onions and pork blood. It is served in a pan along with a sweet side or a sauce. Since 2018, the Goûte-Boudin de Boucherville association hands out a yearly prize for the best boudin.[73]
Plorines are composed of lard and flavoured meat enveloped in pork caul fat. Sometimes plorine recipes can also include eggs, beef and/or bread.
Oreilles de Christ are lard pieces that are fried until crispy. They are eaten as an amuse-gueule
and sometimes with maple syrup.
Pastries
Here are some pastries popular in Quebec:
pancakes of Anglo-Saxon cultures. They are popular breakfast items. They are often served with maple syrup and/or fruits.5
Doughnuts
. The doughnut holes are eaten as well with powdered sugar or icing on top.
Croquignoles are braided, twisted or rectangular fried dough pastries. They can be found in rural regions.11
cipaille is consumed during the holidays.[74]Pot-en-pot des îles de la Madeleine is a dish of the Magdellan Islands.[75]
Some municipalities are associated with high-quality meat, such as duck from lake Brome[76] or Charlevoix lamb.
Strains and breeds
Strains
Over the centuries, new strains of fruits and vegetables were created in Québec. Then, in the 1900s, people moved away from a farming lifestyle. As a result, most of these have been lost.[77] Here are some that have been preserved or rediscovered:
^ Sœur Sainte-Marie-Vitaline, 235 recettes pour dîners et soupers. Exercices pratiques d'art culinaire, Congrégation de Notre-Dame de Montréal, 1942, 80 p.