Poutine

Poutine  is a dish of French fries and cheese curds topped with a hot brown beef and chicken stock gravy. It emerged in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec in the late 1950s, though its exact origins are uncertain, and there are several competing claims regarding its origin. For many years, it was used by some to mock Quebec society. The Oxford Companion to Cheese takes a different perspective, stating that the inventors were not chefs but the customers who chose to add cheese curds to their fries. In the early 1970s, La Banquise began serving poutine in Montreal,

Montreal chefs would make poutine to feed their staff but had not dared to put it on their menus. In the 1990s, attempts were made to elevate the dish by using baked potatoes and duck stock. In November 2001, Martin Picard of bistro Au Pied de Cochon began serving a foie gras poutine which was praised by customers and food critics. and events like the IBM Watson Cognitive Cooking Poutine Event, where the computer generated unique poutine recipes based on the demographics of Toronto and Montreal.

According to Merriam-Webster, a popular etymology is that poutine is from a Québécois slang word meaning "mess", and that others attribute it to the English word pudding. The exact provenance of the word poutine is uncertain.

To maintain the texture of the fries, the cheese curds and gravy are added immediately before serving the dish. The hot gravy is usually poured over room-temperature cheese curds, so they are warmed without melting completely. The Quebec City–based chain Chez Ashton is known for its poutine Galvaude (topped with chicken and green peas) and Dulton (with ground beef). These poutines may bear little resemblance to the traditional recipe. They replace some or all of the ingredients but maintain the dynamic contrasts of textures and temperatures with a crispy element, a dairy or dairy-like element, and a unifying sauce. or caviar and truffle can be found. This is a trend that began in the 1990s and is credited to David McMillan of Montreal's Joe Beef and Globe restaurants. McDonald's, A&W, KFC, Burger King, Arby's, Tim Hortons began selling poutine in 2018.

Internationally

Poutine is found in the northern border regions of the United States, including New England and the larger Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, and the Upper Midwest.

Disco fries, french fries typically covered in mozzarella cheese and brown gravy, were popularized in New Jersey in the 1990s. including variations called Cajun poutine.

Poutine spread to the United Kingdom, Korea and Russia, where it has been referred to as "Raspoutine".

Cultural aspects

A cultural marker, poutine had long been Quebec's adored junk food before spreading across the rest of Canada and the United States. It had by then made inroads with food critics and established culinary circles, challenging its junk food status.

The first poutine festival was held in Warwick, Quebec, in 1993. This annual event expanded to become the largest cheese festival in Canada. Montreal has hosted La Poutine Week, an annual festival, food tour, and competition held 1–7 February, since 2013. Vancouver, Moncton, In the US, major festivals have been held in Chicago, Illinois, Knoxville, Tennessee, Portland, Maine, Burlington, Vermont, and in Rhode Island. In 2011, chef Chuck Hughes won on Iron Chef America (episode 2 of season 9) by beating Bobby Flay with a plate of lobster poutine. Lay's later added a bacon-poutine variety in its Canada entry for the World Flavourites.

Giapos Ice Cream of New Zealand has served a "poutine ice cream" of oolong matcha tea, ice cream and caramel sauce over hand-cut fries since 2017.

Nutrition

Health advocates have been critical of poutine since the 1980s. the rest of Canada, and in the United States.

As poutine gained popularity beyond the provincial borders of Quebec in the mid-2000s, the dish gradually stopped being mocked and was eventually introduced into the popular discourse as a symbol of Canadian identity. National Post, Vice, Radio-Canada, Global News: BC 1, , , Vermont Public Radio, HuffPost, La Presse, and Le Journal de Montréal. This appropriation is not linked to its preparation or consumption outside Quebec, but strictly to its presentation as a Canadian dish instead of a Québécois dish.

In politics

In a Talking to Americans segment on the Canadian mock television news show This Hour Has 22 Minutes, during the 2000 US election, comedian Rick Mercer posed as a reporter and asked US politicians what they thought of "Prime Minister Jean Poutine" and his endorsement of George W. Bush for president. (The Prime Minister of Canada at the time was Jean Chrétien.) None of the interviewees noticed the insertion of "Poutine" and Bush pledged to "work closely" with Mr. Poutine. The calls targeted voters who had previously indicated they would not vote for the Conservative Party. The calls, made on election day or the day before, falsely advised voters that their polling station had been changed, in an attempt to prevent them from voting. The allegations became known as the Robocall scandal, and subsequent investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police resulted in Michael Sona, a junior Conservative Party staffer, being convicted of violating the Elections Act.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel had a Canadian lunch with counterpart Justin Trudeau on 16 June 2017, during which they ate hotdogs and poutine. Michel tweeted later that this was "A great way to meet a dear friend though our fries are better", referring to the popular claim that fries were originally invented in Belgium.

Footnotes

Notes

References

</references>