Canadian Specialties

1. Smoked Salmon (Smoked Salmon, salmon is also called salmon)

Canada’s most popular aquatic product that is famous around the world is salmon. Also called salmon. Canada's specialty salmon can be purchased in the fish counters of local produce stores, such as supermarkets such as Golden Mountain in Toronto. Winter is the off-season. Salmon can be smoked in various ways. If you want to use it yourself, you can buy half a piece. If you want to give it to someone else, you can buy packaged salmon slices. Smoked shellfish and abalone products and kombu are all recommended.

Canada has a long coastline and a lot of seafood, including cod, salmon, herring, mackerel, lobster, scallops, mackerel, arctic shrimp, etc. It’s really a dazzling array, too numerous to mention. Among these many well-known seafood, salmon is the biggest name among deep-sea fish, and can be called the "King of the Ice Sea". Salmon has a very moving story. Salmon that are born in rivers and grow in the sea must swim back to the place of birth when they lay eggs. In their lives, it is not known what kind of complex they have with the place of birth, but The spectacle of countless salmon swimming upstream and struggling to return is very shocking. The long journey has created the salmon’s strong vitality.

The eating methods of salmon are diverse and ever-changing. Grilled, fried, boiled, smoked or pickled, the characteristics vary. Canadians like to eat smoked or pickled salmon raw, but the Japanese way of eating it has a strong mustard flavor, which is more balanced with the sticky and thick taste of salmon.

2. Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is one of Canada’s most famous specialties. Currently, 70% of the world’s maple syrup products are concentrated in Quebec. This sap collected from sugar maples that are more than 40 years old is very precious. On average, 40 liters of maple pulp can only produce 1 liter of maple syrup. Maple syrup has a mellow taste and is a pure natural product. It is said to be good for beauty and weight loss, so it is very popular.

Due to the popularity of maple syrup, a visit to the maple sugar hut is also a very popular activity. Here you can learn everything about maple syrup and have an expert explain the production of maple syrup to you. The process, tasting authentic maple syrup products and traditional food, enjoying lively traditional music and dance performances, and taking a horse-drawn carriage tour through the maple forest are activities that are very integrated into local life and combine food and tourism.

A maple tree with a diameter of 25 cm usually only has one hole drilled to give it the ability to rest and recuperate. Large maple trees with many years can usually drill 3-4 holes, which are 5 cm deep into the white body of the trunk, and the sap flows along the conduit to the storage barrel. The temperature for brewing maple syrup is generally maintained at 4 degrees Celsius above the boiling point of water. Collecting maple sap requires a suitable temperature. The annual maple sugar harvest season lasts for 4-6 weeks between February and April. The temperature can only be collected when the temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius at night and above 5 degrees Celsius during the day. Maple sap comes out.

Records of "Indian syrup" began around 1600. It was the Indians who first discovered maple sap and used "indigenous methods" to dig grooves and holes in maple trunks to collect maple sap. . The "Indian syrup" at that time was the predecessor of today's "maple syrup". Maple sugar is rich in minerals and organic acids, and has lower calories than sucrose, fructose, corn sugar, etc. However, it contains much higher calcium, magnesium and organic acids than other sugars, which can supplement the weakness of unbalanced nutrition. constitution. Maple sugar is not as sweet as honey, with a sugar content of about 66% (honey has a sugar content of about 79%-81%, and sugar is as high as 99.4%).

The most common maple product is maple syrup. People love to eat pancakes and French toast dipped in syrup, and they also like to top ice cream, yogurt and milkshakes with syrup. Canadians also like to put maple syrup on the snow and eat it together. It is ice-cold, sweet and has a soft texture. When eating, you can feel the snow and sugar slowly sliding down the throat together, which is very comfortable.

Maple syrup can be divided into several types with different sugar contents, and therefore have different uses: some are suitable for making hard candies and creams, some are suitable for direct consumption, and some are suitable for cooking. In fact, maple syrup has many uses in cooking, but it is not well known. For example, foie gras topped with maple syrup is a favorite among connoisseurs. There are many maple sugar products, such as maple butter, maple jelly (it has a fragrant smell and is very suitable for spreading on toast, and it is even better with a little cheese), hard candy, granulated sugar, Mustard with maple syrup, maple candy jam, marshmallows and more.

There is a famous dish in Canada called "Maple Sugar Fried Salmon": the salmon is first marinated with pepper and cinnamon powder, fried, served with soft potato puree and shredded vegetables, and then topped with maple sugar Become. One dish contains all kinds of protein, starch, vitamins, and fiber, and the unique aroma of maple syrup is the lingering soul of this dish.

You can buy Canadian No. 1 SHADY MAPLE FARM company and other brands of maple syrup in supermarkets such as PRICE CHOPPER, LOBLAWS, Dominion, etc., for about 4 Canadian dollars/250ml, the glass bottle as shown below. Generally 500 A bottle of ml bottle of maple syrup costs 8 to 9 Canadian dollars.

3. American ginseng

Canadian ginseng is also a specialty. Please note that Hong Kong regulations state that if there is no fishery protection The import of wild American ginseng is prohibited for persons with a valid license issued by the Department of Agriculture.

Artificially cultivated American ginseng varieties also require a license issued by the exporting country before they can be imported. Chinese medicine practitioner Guan Zhiyi said that when purchasing and importing American ginseng, wholesalers are also required to hold documents such as certificate of origin or import permit. Therefore, bringing American ginseng into Hong Kong requires an import license. Please ask the merchant for it when purchasing.