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Acadian cuisine (French:Cuisine acadienne) comprises the traditional dishes of theAcadian people.[1][2][3] It is primarily seen in the present-day cultural region ofAcadia.Note 1 Acadian cuisine has been influenced by theDeportation of the Acadians, proximity to the ocean, theCanadian winter, bad soil fertility, thecuisine of Quebec,American cuisine, andEnglish cuisine, among other factors.
Acadian cuisine is not very well known in Canada or internationally. It has much in common withQuébécois cuisine because of its geographical proximity. The two often feature the same dishes, but the cuisine of Acadia puts more emphasis onseafood. Acadian cuisine has notably served as the base forCajun cuisine because theCajun are descendants of Acadians who weredeported toLouisiana.Note 2[4] It is also believed that Acadians are responsible for normalizingpotato consumption inFrance—a vegetable theFrench once considered poisonous.
In the 17th century, French colonists who settled on lands they namedAcadia adapted their 16th-centuryFrench cuisine to incorporate the crops, seafood and animals that flourished in the region. Their descendants became the Acadian people and their ingenuity created Acadian cuisine.
After theEnglishconquered Acadia during the 18th century, they decided todeport the Acadians and take their settlements, which were often built on the most fertile earth in the colony. Most Acadians did not manage to escape the deportation. But, of those who did, most fled to the east and north ofNew BrunswickNote 3. As such, Acadian cuisine in the 18th century was refocused around what could be grown, hunted and fished in the less fertile lands of the East Coast of New Brunswick and theUpper St. John River Valley.[5]
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Acadian cuisine often features fish and seafood, especiallycod andAtlantic herring, but alsomackerel,berlicoco,lobster,crab,salmon,mussels,trout,clams,flounder,smelt andscallops. Most fish is consumed fresh, but some areboucané (smoked), marinated or salted.
The most commonly used meat ispork, followed bychicken andbeef. As with the rest ofNorth America,turkey is commonly consumed during the holidays. Game likedeer,hare,ruffed grouse andmoose is consumed regularly in some regions. Game will replace livestock meat if present and can be given as a gift. In some regions, for exampleCaraquet and theÎles-de-la-Madeleine, more unusual game is or was caught, likeseal,bear andseagull.
The vegetables of Acadian cuisine are thepotato,onion,carrot,turnip,legume,beet,squash andcorn. These vegetables were popular because they were easilypreserved for the winter inroot cellars and jars. Thefiddlehead fern was introduced to the Acadians by the indigenousMaliseet,Mi'kmaq andPenobscot peoples in the early 18th Century and remains a popular Acadian dish.
Popular fruits includeblueberries,apples,strawberries,raspberries,blackberries,plums,pears andcranberries.
Some ingredients likerice,molasses, driedraisins andbrown sugar are part of Acadian cuisine because of historical commerce between Acadia and regions like theAntilles andBrazil.Maple sugar is also a popular sweetener, given the often-close familial ties betweenQuebec (the world's largest producer of maple sugar) and Acadia.
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Some examples of traditional Acadian dishes are:
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