Food memory: The Canadian Way
Image sources, clockwise from top left (from Google Images search results for “butter tart”):
In post today on Serious Eats: Talk someone with the user name “tapioca” asked about butter tarts:
Had an interesting conversation with my ditsy SIL who was trying to describe to me a treat she had called a butter tart. Apparently it is a uniquely Canadian treat and I had never heard of it. So I turn to you SE’ers from Canada to enlighten me. This is like a custard in a small tart shell? It sounded wonderful and I would love to try a recipe. What can you tell me?
My response to tapioca was this:
I’m always amazed that Americans don’t know butter tarts….[Reference to previous commenter deleted]… It’s often filled with raisins and sometimes nuts. I’ve always loved these things. I remember once as a child I walked into a bakery with my mother, pointed to the display case with wide eyes and exclaimed, “Look, a giant butter tart!” She explained to me that it was actually a pecan pie.
Occasionally that memory comes back to me. We were at Issac’s Bakery on Bathurst Street. I think it was north of Lawrence at the time, across the street from Gryfe’s. I don’t recall how old I was but I remember the moment. I’ve always been a fan of butter tarts. I love ‘em. Flakey crust (preferably made with butter rather than lard), filling that’s neither runny nor gelatinous, any variety.
What food (and I use the definition broadly here) brings back memories for you?
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I too adore butter tarts. I prefer them to be like my mother’s butter tarts: small with a flaky crust (made with lard or shortening) and a slightly runny filling that includes currants. I have yet to taste a store-bought or restaurant-made butter tart that passes muster.