Happy birthday, Canada! Inevitably, celebrating draws people to the kitchen — whether to bake birthday cakes, prep a simple, impromptu family meal, or sweat it out over large holiday dinners. How, when and what we eat has long been a topic of conversation at Chatelaine (since March of 1928, in fact!). So, in honour of Canada's 150th, we crunched the numbers to determine which Chatelaine recipes our readers love most online, from the East Coast to the West Coast, and all the way up North. In the process, we uncovered the answers to pressing questions of national importance, such as: Who sits on which side of the great Canadian "date squares vs. lemon loaf" divide? Who generally prefers a good soup recipe over dessert? And who can't get enough of our classic cornbread? Have a look below at the best Chatelaine recipes in each part of the country to see where our preferences overlap and where they diverge.
We crunched the numbers province by province (and territory) to narrow down which recipes you love most. From Nova Scotia, all the way to British Columbia and up to Nunavut, each region has pretty specific preferences (but you all love oatmeal date squares!). Click ahead to see what’s cooking across the country.
Getting out to the coast, the top hits are seafood, old fashioned Scottish cookies and those sweet and chewy date squares no one can resist.
The next province over, date squares, homemade pizza dough, and a colourful springtime cake come in as the top three Chatelaine recipes.
On the Island, golden rhubarb pie takes the top spot, with a rustic chowder and our old-fashioned date squares taking second and third place.
Travel to The Rock, and it’s our creamy roasted pepper soup, streusel-topped muffins and a super-fast chili being served.
Heading inland to La Belle Province, it’s crepes, quinoa burgers and chia pudding leading the pack.
Get the recipe.
Photo, Erik Putz.Down in Ontario its all about peaches, slow-cooking and a cozy cormeal muffin (try it with the super-fast chili).
Continuing west into the prairies, it’s hearty minestrone, chocolate muffins (with a healthy secret) and another cross-country favourite — crepes.
Continuing through the prairies, there’s a decided preference for our chocolate-zuccini muffins, a colourful weeknight stir fry and — yes, again — chewy old fashioned date squares!
Approaching the mountains of the west coast, honey-ginger chicken, a citrusy-sweet loaf and our vanilla-rhubarb pie top the charts.
Arriving at the Pacific, it’s all about comforting favourites: lemon loaf, lentil soup and our classic minestrone.
Head up north, and it starts getting really cozy. Steaming hot chowder, filling quinoa soup and, of course, a chocolatey treat.
Over to the North-West is Arctic char with a dill-icious beet salad, date squares (!) and more hearty bowls of chowder.
And last but not least, Nunavut loves speedy chili, vanilla cake (a Chatelaine favourite!) and colourful shrimp and chicken coconut soup.
Some interesting facts:
1. Readers all across Canada loves old-fashioned date squares. Every single province and territory had this recipe in their top 10.
2. On on the East Coast, they can't get enough of our rhubarb pie. From Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, this rosy spring treat is a must-have.
3. Central Canada digs chili and cornbread for dinner. But it's divided on dessert. Quebec seems to prefer our lemon loaf, while Ontario goes for peach crisp and vanilla cake.
4. Our readers in the Prairies gravitate to a delicious chocolate muffin with a secretly healthy ingredient. Spoiler: It's zucchini.
5. The West Coast really likes our stuffing. It was the only savoury holiday recipe to make it into a province's top ten search list.
6. Up north, soup rules.
Corn chowder, lentil soup, madras chicken soup, tom yum soup ... it's far and away our most popular dish.
Watch: 10 ways to make a grilled cheese sandwich
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