Canuck-style essentials for a Canada Day feast

Canada is home to world-class pastries, pies, wines and meats. With the last years’ rise in patriotism, more and more people are choosing to buy Canadian and celebrate what our land has to offer. Several neighbourhood businesses offer a taste of our nation. Here are some of our favourites:

At Denninger’s, a specialty grocery store with locations in Burlington and Hamilton, the bacon is as Canadian as it gets. It’s produced in a north end Hamilton facility with pork belly sourced from a small Ontario business. The pork belly is brined in a special recipe and smoked in house. Add some to your next brunch lineup.

Over at Black Forest Pastry Shop in downtown Oakville, the butter tarts are to die for. They fill buttery pastry with a luxuriously rich filling, available with pecans, skor, raisin or plain. The traditional family recipe hasn’t changed for 35 years.

If you’re a cheese lover, look no further than Micky McGuire’s Cheese in Dundas. The shop offers more than 400 varieties of cheese including Canadian favourites such as Oka, La Sauvagine and, perhaps best of all, cheese curds. Curds, with their pleasant rubbery texture, are a hallmark of our country’s cuisine, perfect for topping poutine or snacking alongside fresh fruits and nuts.

Almost every culture has some version of a meat pie, and ours is the tourtiere. Flavoured with baking spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg, this Quebecois classic is uniquely fragrant and festive. For a top-notch tourtiere with savoury ground pork, celery, onion and garlic, visit Burlington’s That Pie Place. The business uses local meats and wholesome Canadian produce wherever possible, without artificial additives or shortcuts.

We can’t feature Canadian food without mention of the quintessential Nanaimo bar, a layered sweet treat with a chocolatey coconut graham base, custard-like vanilla icing and a chocolate shell on top. Kelly’s Bake Shoppe on Lakeshore Road in Oakville has a great one that just happens to be vegan. Fun fact: the first recipe called a “Nanaimo Bar” — named after the B.C. city — appeared in an early 1950s cookbook by Edith Adams!

As for drinks, there is no shortage of Canadian options. A great place to start is at Maverick Distillery based in Oakville. Its stellar lineup of liquors includes the Ginslinger Ontario craft gin, made with cold-pressed wild juniper, its double-aged Barnburner Ontario whiskey with notes of vanilla and caramel, and the peppery Lunatico tequila. Or try their pre-mixed bottled cocktails, like the Espresso Martini, Cranberry Vodka and Whisky Sour.

When it comes to cooking Canadian at home, look to local farmers, makers and producers for ingredients. Many farms offer CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes full of fresh produce that you can get delivered or pick up throughout the seasons. In the summer, expect vibrant berries and leafy greens, and in the winter, you can get your hands on root vegetables and delicious preserves.

Canadian fare is oftentimes limited to our short growing period, but this has given way to a world of resourcefulness. If you’re after local flavours year-round, why not make soups, sauces and jams out of produce when it’s at peak season and freeze them to eat when the colder weather comes? With farmer’s market season upon us, it’s time to fill our baskets with fresh goods and rejoice — after all, you can’t get more Canadian than our own nature’s bounty, grown and harvested on Canadian soil.

By Lauren Medeiros