|
|
|
Home  Canadian Stories French-Canadians Love Their Mayonnaise
|
|
French-Canadians Love Their Mayonnaise |
|
An Amayonnaising Love Story
| | | This French-Canadian, identified by his poofy beret and his silly moustache, enjoys a tasty mayonnaise cone. | | QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC (CANADA, at least for now)-- Canada is a fascinating country filled with many diverse cultures. It's a melting pot of international ethnology, bubbling to the rim with unique flavours and tastes. Canada is a true pioneer in diversification and multiculturalism. But despite those worldy accolades, there's nothing that quite explains the French-Canadian desire to eat mayonnaise. Smooth and creamy, mayonnaise is far (and away) the number-one condiment in French-speaking Canada.
Although mayonnaise may only be moderately popular in most parts of Canada (on hamburgers, sandwiches, or potato salad), in Quebec, the thick white topping has evolved beyond being a simple condiment (intended to flavour other food) and advanced into the special realm of food staple.
In French-Canadian cities like Montreal, Quebec City, and Hull, the creamy emulsion is often substituted at dinner-time for mashed potatoes, or enjoyed a la carte as a whipped snack. It’s placed on desserts instead of Dreamwhip or whipped cream. Mixed in with porridge, placed on omelettes or pancakes, mayonnaise apparently makes for a delightful breakfast topping.
Mayonnaise first moved beyond a mere condiment in 1971 during the Heinz ketchup strike (before that, it was used strictly as pie filling). At that time, with nothing to compliment the other side of a hotdog bun (one side had traditional mustard), French-Canadian hotdog vendors and greasy-spoon-style restaurant owners (les cuilleres graisseux) had to find a catsup-stitute.
Many of those restauranteurs converted to poutine, a viscous combination of French fries and cheese curds covered with gravy or other meat-based sauces. Others experimented with vinegar, chili powder, and steak marinades, but without much success. It wasn't long before the Quebecois settled on the thick, eggy creaminess of mayonnaise. Mmm, mmm!
Quebec still has a healthy reputation for its haute cuisine involving salted pork rinds, maple syrup and sugar pie, but for everyday foods mayonnaise has taken the central role. Whether it's mayonnaise soup, mayonnaise sundaes, or triple-thick mayonnaise shakes, the French-Canadians can't get enough of their high-cholesterol, high-fat food product.
And French-Canadian children love mayonnaise as a snack. They’ll sit cross-legged in front of the television watching Asterix or Moomin cartoons with a delicious jar of mayonnaise, eating it by the mouthful with a large wooden spoon. Party hosts will always provide a punch bowl full of mayonnaise, letting their guests dip pieces of baguette, croissants or chips into the rich, oily mixture.
Whether it's decorated in creamy rosettes on a wedding cake, glopped onto a slice of sugar pie, or layered in a Jell-O parfait, mayonnaise has somehow remained the number one topping of French-speaking Canada. Pas mal, ca! 
|
|
Good Canadian wants your Canadian stuff.