I love my food. I have a thing for food. I like what I like. When I either can't get it here or what I can find doesn't taste the same, then I have to admit it makes me a little homesick.
Listed below are some of the items that I regularly stock up on when we head North across the boarder.
Excuse me as I go make a Caesar to sip, while I write this :)
1) Mott's Clamato = Caesars: The essential ingredient in Canada's Cocktail and one of the best "hair of the dog" remedies!!
I went to the Mott's website to get some info on this wonderful ingredient and this is what it had to say:
A Canadian creation, the Caesar (or Bloody Caesar) was invented in 1969 to celebrate the opening of Marco's Italian restaurant at the Calgary Inn (now the Westin Calgary). Resident mixologist and food and beverage manager, Walter Chell, was commissioned to develop a new cocktail. He took inspiration from the flavours of Spaghetti Vongole (spaghetti with clams), and combined sweet (tomato juice), salty (clam nectar), sour (lime), spicy (Worcestershire sauce) and bitter (celery salt) into his new concoction. After naming it for the Roman emperor, legend has it that he served one to an Englishman who exclaimed: "That's a good bloody Caesar!"
That same year Mott's Clamato was introduced and is, without a doubt, Canada's original and most popular Caesar mix found on store shelves across the country and isused in most bars and restaurants. In fact, many establishments use the Caesar as their signature cocktail, with more than 350 million Caesars made with Mott's Clamato every year! No wonder it is Canada's Cocktail.
Traditionally you would use Vodka in a Caesar, but we prefer to use Gin.
2) Shreddies: come on people....who doesn't know what Shreddies are??? They are simply yummy :)
3) Smarties: need I say more?? Ok, yes....maybe I should clarify.....Smarties are NOT Rockets.
4) HP Sauce: I realize this is a British Dietary staple, but we Canadians love it! My Husband puts it on just about every meat product.
5) Bick's products: All of them.....the pickled beets to the hot hamburger relish, a must for a great tuna salad sandwich.
6) Bagged Milk: You may ask "What?" and I will answer....the best way to buy and store milk!!! It doesn't take up nearly as much room in the fridge, and you only open one bag at a time so the milk stays fresher for longer. You still get your gallon of milk, only you open it in smaller steps :)
7) Hawkins Cheezies: Yum. Yum. Yum. Best Cheezies EVER!!!
OK, now lets discuss a particular item that appears to be the same but simply is NOT.
Kraft Dinner....oh how I do love my KD. Even as a grown up I love it. Now, I do realize that there are all kinds of KD varieties, but my favourite is the Sharp Cheddar.
Upon moving here and stocking up our pantry we purchased our usual supply of "KD". When I made our first batch and took the first bite....ick....both my Husband and said at the same time that this didn't taste very good. We though maybe it was a bad egg, a one off....you know? It is after all a food that will survive a nuclear war, so we assured ourselves that every once and a while a bad box makes it to the store. Not so, the next time we made it had the same result.
So the following weekend that we happened to be heading North across the boarder for a family gathering we went and bought a few boxes. When we got home we made a batch and oh yes...there was that familiar delicious flavour. Hence we are happy again and well stocked with Canadian KD.
Please refer to the picture below and take note that while at first glance you are seeing the "same" product, you actually aren't.
Did you know???
Kraft Dinner (Canadian) is manufactured by Kraft Canada Inc., Don Mills, Ontario and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (American) is manufactured by Kraft Foods Global, Inc., Northfield, Illinois. Knowing that it is manufactured in two different places would certainly explain the difference in taste.
A box of Kraft Dinner is 225g compared to the Macaroni & Cheese that is only 206g. (To think I was led to believe that everything is bigger and better in the States.)
Let me assure you that Canadian KD tastes WAY better. Just saying.
