A Look Inside Poutine

As a community of food lovers, we all must pay our respects to the great dishes of kitchens past. One such dish that we as a collective society are indebted to is the fantastically delicious French Canadian poutine. A dish developed in Quebec, poutine is a combination of all things good in the world, french fries and cheese. Sauce was quickly added to give the dish a more complex vibe and thus, poutine in its contemporary form was born. By the 1970s the dish had gained popularity in New York and New Jersey as “disco fries” – often made with beef gravy and shredded cheddar cheese – but haute cuisine renditions of the classic where not far off.

A matter of sauce
Today, the type of sauce one adds to their poutine is a matter of debate. In Montreal, one can find Poutine Italienne smothered in a marinara sauce or a more traditional drowning in chicken veloute. Part of the fun seems to be trying out different sauce and cheese variations, the original relying on cheese curds, a briny cheese by-product.

Poutine pride
In the 1980s and 90s, poutine was somewhat of an embarrassment to French Canadians who thought the food was low-class and gave the region a bad reputation. In fact, the food became so divisive that politicians would refuse to answer any questions regarding their poutine-preferences. Luckily, due to a resurgence of interest in locally produced foods, poutine has made a comeback. Like other common foods that became internationally popular due to their flavor and variety – such as burritos – poutine has managed to rise above its low birth to become one of the most revered Canadian contributions to international cuisine.