Quebec has its favorites too

By Deborah Pankey, Daily Herald Food Editor

If you plopped Quebec down on a map of the United States, it would take up the better part of the Midwest. So it’s not surprising that just as our foods range from Kansas City barbecue to Detroit soul food to Wisconsin sausages, so too does each region of Quebec have its own specialties.

St. Jean Baptiste Day, which falls on Sunday, kicks off the strawberry season in and around Quebec City. So let’s start there.

Centre du Quèbec: Sweet corn, beans, game birds, strawberries, leeks, cranberries, pork pate, meatball stew

Saguenay-Lac St. Jean: Wild blueberries, salmon, game, gourgane beans

Beauce: Maple syrup (in everything), tomatoes, mild cheddar

Charlevoix: Smelt, herring, sardines, lamb, moose, apples, plums, shallots

Laurentians-Outaouais: Rabbit, partridge, trout, fiddlehead ferns, morels, maple syrup and honey

Cote du Sud: Sturgeon, eel, pork, lamb, cranberries, strawberries, gooseberries, fiddlehead ferns

Gaspé: Salmon, cod, salt, fiddlehead ferns, lambs’ quarters, dandelion greens, molasses, maple syrup

Montéregie: Strawberries, apples, spinach, green onions, carrots, white asparagus, artichokes, rabbit, veal.

Maurice-Lanaudière: Venison, hare, partridge, trout, salmon, cod, duck, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries

Estrie: Deer, hare, trout, fiddlehead ferns, raspberry, strawberries.

 

Reprinted from the June 20, 2001 issue by permission of the Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Illinois. www.dailyherald.com