The Maritimes consist of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Some of the cuisine has its origins in the foods of the indigenous peoples of the region.

Unique dishes or recipes

One unique

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

dish is poutine râpée, a potato dumpling that is usually stuffed with salted pork and simmered for three or four hours. Usually served as a main course, it is also often served as a desert with brown sugar or molasses or another sweetener. Rapée/rapie pie is an Acadian poultry dish.

Seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

is of great importance in the Maritimes and it is prepared in many ways.

Lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

rolls are commonly found throughout the province of New Brunswick, and are a dish typical of the locals; these can be found in the United States as well, particularly in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, which adjoins the Province of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, the only province with two official languages, French and English. This is an indication of the culture found in New Brunswick, the province between

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Another common food among Maritimers is dulse; dulse is seaweed of a certain type and grows along the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia coasts. Some Maritimers eat dried dulse, a reddish-purple-to-black salty-tasting snack, eaten similarly to potato chips. The popular dulse, lettuce and tomato (DLT) sandwich is a dish found at the historic

Saint John City Market The Saint John City Market in Saint John, New Brunswick, is the oldest continuously-operated farmer's market in Canada, with a charter dating from 1785. The market is located at 47 Charlotte Street. History Prior to the establishment of the market ...

. Potatoes, being a mainstay crop in

and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

, are also a staple in Maritime cuisine. Hash brown casserole made with potato, cheese and cream dish and potato pancakes similar to Irish

boxty Boxty ( ir, bacstaí) is a traditional Irish potato pancake. The dish is mostly associated with the north midlands, north Connacht and southern Ulster, in particular the counties of Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Fermanagh, Longford, and Cavan. ...

are very popular breakfast dishes.

Maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

sugar, in many forms, from

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...

(sirop d'érable) to maple-leaf-shaped crunchy candies, is an important sweet in

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

, where sugaring-off excursions (involving 'tire d'érable sur la neige,' when the hot syrup is poured onto snow to crystallize) are one of the better winter activities. It is also an important export economically. Cow's Ice Cream is an artisan ice cream company from

, with locations in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

and

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

. Wild

blueberries Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

grow in abundance in the Maritimes and are commonly picked, although they are quite small compared to commercially available blueberries. They can be made into the Acadian dumpling dessert called blueberry

grunt Grunt, grunts or grunting may refer to: Sound and music * Grunting (tennis), in tennis refers to the loud noise, sometimes described as "shrieking" or "screaming", made by some players during their strokes * Death grunt, the death metal singin ...

, among others. Seal flippers and seal

flipper pie Flipper pie is a traditional Eastern Canadian meat pie made from harp seal flippers. It is similar to a pot pie in that the seal flippers are cooked with vegetables in a thick sauce and then covered with pastry. It is specific to the province of ...

, various bean dishes, usually flavored with

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

, any fish are also commonly eaten dishes in the Maratimes. In Nova Scotia, a dish known as hodge podge or hodegy podegy is widely eaten in the Annapolis Valley. This dish is a stew or soup containing fresh vegetables such as small baby potatoes or new potatoes, fresh peas, green beans and wax beans and carrots. These vegetables are cooked in a milk broth that contains butter, pepper and salt. Commonly, this dish is accompanied by corned beef either from a can or prepared separately from the dish. Hodge podge is generally consumed during July and August when these vegetables are in season. Another food item specific to the Maritimes is Moon Mist ice cream, a combination of banana, grape, and bubblegum ice cream exclusive to the region. Back in the first decade of the twentieth century, the wife of the

Thomas Ashburnham, 6th Earl of Ashburnham Thomas Ashburnham, 6th Earl of Ashburnham (8 April 1855 – 12 May 1924) was a British Army officer and peerage of Great Britain, peer, the last Earl of Ashburnham. Early life Thomas Ashburnham was the fifth of seven sons born to Bertram Ashburn ...

was a well known high-society patron in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, and her homemade mustard pickle recipe became a regional delicacy. The homemade mustard pickles, sometimes referred to as "Lady Ashburnham", "Lady Ashburn", or "Lady A" pickles (in honour of the creator) are sold at locally owned supermarkets and local events like farmer's markets, and are typically eaten at

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

and/or Christmas dinners. Other staples of Maritime cuisine include meat pie and donair.

Restaurants and pubs

Many restaurants and pubs in the area offer dishes such as

corned beef and cabbage Bacon and cabbage () is a dish traditionally associated with Ireland. The dish consists of sliced back bacon boiled with cabbage and potatoes. Smoked bacon is sometimes used. The dish is served with the bacon sliced, and with some of the boil ...

bacon and cabbage Bacon and cabbage () is a dish traditionally associated with Ireland. The dish consists of sliced back bacon boiled with cabbage and potatoes. Smoked bacon is sometimes used. The dish is served with the bacon sliced, and with some of the boilin ...

bangers and mash Bangers and mash, also known as sausages and mash, is a traditional British dish, consisting of sausages served with mashed potatoes. It may consist of one of a variety of flavoured sausages made of pork, lamb, or beef (often specifically Cumber ...

, and

fish and chips Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created t ...

, as well as Newfoundland specialties such as Jiggs dinner. There are many small craft breweries in the Maritimes as well as the flagship Maritime breweries of Nova Scotia's Alexander Keith's.

Unique dishes or recipes

Restaurants and pubs

See also

References

Categories