BeaverTails

Photo from Wikipedia

I will take ''Delicious fried Canadian treats'' for $800 Alex. That's right fellow Canadians, ''What is a BeaverTail'' was once an answer on the TV game show Jeopardy. They are a pretty big deal in Canada.

The BeaverTails pastry is fried dough individually hand stretched to resemble a beaver’s tail, topped with a choice of sweet condiments and confections, such as whipped cream, banana slices, crumbled oreos, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate hazelnut.

BeaverTails pastries began when Grant and Pam Hooker decided to turn their family recipe for fried dough into a family business. They sold their first pastries at the KillaloeCraft and Community Fair in Killaloe, Ontario in 1978. Two years later, the Hookers opened up the first BeaverTails stand in the Byward Market in Ottawa. By early 2017 it had 119 franchise and license locations in five countries: Canada, the United States, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Japan.

Fun Fact: In 2009, President Obama made a stop by the pastry shop and picked up an ObamaTail, a flavour that was made in honour of his first official trip to Canada.

What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Coffee Crisp

78 years ago a brilliantly delicious Canadian treat was born. Coffee Crisp, with it's rich chocolaty taste combined with a smooth coffee flavour and crispy wafer, has been delighting Canadians since 1939.

The chocolate bar originated in the UK in the 1930's named under Rowntree's Wafer Crisp. Which was later renamed Chocolate Crisp. The bar was introduced to us Canadians as Biscrisp and it had many different flavours including fruit flavours and more specifically a newly added coffee variation to make Coffee Crisp.

In 1948 Coffee Crisp became one of Canada’s top candy bar products, a position it has upheld throughout the years. In the 1980's Rowntree's was taken over by Nestlé Canada, this included Rowntree's Canadian operations and the Toronto chocolate factory where the bar is made today.

"How do you like your coffee Chris?" "I like it crisp!" (Let's face it I don't know from jokes and I'm no Jane Rivers)

What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Crispy Crunch

In 1912 a candy roller for the Williams Neilson candy company submitted his vision of a peanut butter filled chocolate log to an internal chocolate bar contest. Harold Orwin would go on to win the contest and its $5 grand prize(worth about $120 today!) but he would see his dream become reality.

While the shape would change, the Crispy Crunch became a staple on candy bar shelves for the next century. Our friends to the south had a brief time to experience its goodness in the 1990's before the american distribution company Pro Set went bankrupt.

The fine people over at Cadbury have taken over where Neilson's left off, making a few minor changes, however the taste has stood the test of time.Next time you are in a Canadian corner store, pick up the bar chalked full of Canadian goodness and history, and don't forget, the only thing better than your Crispy Crunch, is someone else's.


What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Beers to Impress - Bring These Brews to Your Next Party

A post by Scott F

Looking to make an impression at your next party? Bringing great beer can be a perfect conversation starter (particularly if you're looking to converse with beer people, who I consider most worth conversing with). Bring a bag of some of these beauties to your next party and become known as “that guy, you know, the one with that awesome beer.”

Goose Island Matilda Belgian Style Ale

This beer covers a gamete of flavours: spice, sweetness, hoppy bitterness and hints of fruit a floral. All these flavours make it an approachable "big beer" with a very nice presentation.

Saison Dupont

Saisons are a refreshingly flavourful beer with very forward yeast character. Dupont is one of the most widely available and quite genuine to the style. Spice and citrus are predominate here. Best enjoyed in spring and summer.

Mort Subite Kriek Lambic

Lambics are fruit beers fermented with wild yeasts (yeasts not added to the beer but allowed to infiltrate it from the environment - how cool is that). There are not many available but Mort Subite is a good entry-level lambic rich with cherry flavour.

Grand Cuvee Weizenbock

Not many will have tried a dark wheat beer at whatever party you bring this to. Sweet, almost to the point of being overwhelming, but complex in flavour even with hints of maple syrup.

Flying Monkeys The Chocolate Manifesto

Brewed out of beautiful Barrie, Ontario, this is a dark beer that is absolutely accessible to everyone at a party. The chocolate is so pronounced while being especially balanced. This style is particularly easy to mess up so it’s great to see that Flying Monkeys nailed it.

What impressive beer would you add to the list?

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