# I made Canadian butter tarts yesterday **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 3, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902 "2005-01-03T22:16:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/61 "2005-01-06T18:52:10Z")
> [@CuriousCanuck](#): > > Why use raisins when you can use gummi bears for more sweetness with the same texture? 😉 > > I kid, I kid. Because the gummis will melt so you have to add them later as the tart is cooling. That, my friend, is far too much work. 😉 Mind you, if you whip up a batch for an Otta-Dope I’ll give 'em a try. ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/62 "2005-01-06T19:10:07Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Ahh - Google is my friend. Apparently it’s fries, curds, and gravy, all mixed together. Sounds good. But the part Google doesn’t tell you is that they are best served out of a yellow cube van within 3 blocks of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, by a man of Vietnamese descent who appears to speak _only_ broken French, between 1 and 3 in the morning. Some degree of inebriation is optional but strongly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/63 "2005-01-06T19:22:19Z")
That the guy with the pseudo-superman on the van? ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/64 "2005-01-06T19:27:04Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > That the guy with the pseudo-superman on the van? I only lived in O-town for a brief time in the mid-90s. My recollection is that there were a handful of slightly different vans fitting this description around town, and some over the bridge…but then again, see comment regarding time and inebriation. But yeah, I vaguely remember the guy you’re describing. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/65 "2005-01-07T00:49:37Z")
Hey…I grew up in Saguenay and I never thought I’d see a recipe for that damned meat pie that they would feed us at the caf ( **detop** ) all the time. Along with religious education and being forced to attend French school (I attended some French kindergarten and then St-Pat’s and after I failed Catholicism I was transferred to Protestant-heathen bliss at Saguenay Valley), meat pie is the stuff of legends-something my classmates at McGill never seemed to believe when I talked about it. Thanks **detop** …I’ll have to make that for old time’s sake. Oh…and butter tarts can never be too sweet!! ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/66 "2005-01-07T00:56:06Z")
Okay, since I was sorely tempted by the accounts of butter tarts, I followed links to the recipe and made some this afternoon. So, are they supposed to be all liquid in the middle? Or what? I mean, they taste wonderful, but they’re sort of…syrupy in the middle. Is that right? I’m just checking. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/67 "2005-01-07T00:59:25Z")
Also, my favourite food memory from my Canadian past is twelve 3rd and 4th graders (so few Anglophones in that area we had combined grades) licking vigorously at a trough of snow with fresh maple sap poured over it. We had been issued popsicle sticks but pig-like vigour served us better in the end. The maple sap trough was the highlight of the year and the one I had as a 3rd grader was the best. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/68 "2005-01-07T00:59:37Z")
> [@Bren\_Cameron](#): > > Okay, since I was sorely tempted by the accounts of butter tarts, I followed links to the recipe and made some this afternoon. > > So, are they supposed to be all liquid in the middle? Or what? I mean, they taste wonderful, but they’re sort of…syrupy in the middle. Is that right? My batch turned out like that too **Bren**. They didn’t set in the middle. I assumed that was normal. Perhaps I was wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/69 "2005-01-07T01:37:29Z")
All the butter tarts I’ve eaten (I’ve never made them - prolly have to turn in my toque now) were somewhat gooey in the middle. Shouldn’t be running out of the tart, but still a little viscid. {meat pie hijack}My Saskatchewan Mennonite mom used to make hamburger pie for supper. As far as I know, it’s not a traditional Mennonite dish. Not sure where she got the idea.{/meat pie hijack} ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/70 "2005-01-07T01:47:08Z")
Mine aren’t runny, but they are sort of syrupy. Are you baking them long enough? Never, ever follow the recipe time - cook 'em til they’re done. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/71 "2005-01-07T02:01:46Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Damn you to heck for reminding me of this place! I’m trying to _lose_ weight! And here you go linking me to the cheeeeeeese. Mmmmm…cheese… You could always substitute Door County cherry wine. I never did open that bottle. Lower in fat than cheese, anyway… ---
**Author:** ![furlibusea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@furlibusea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furlibusea)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/72 "2005-01-07T02:06:53Z")
There are a couple things we had in Alberta when I was a kid that I really want recipies for. #1 Sausage rolls ( I have had something kinda sort of like them here but way too big and not quite the right flavor #2 those great big egg rolls you get at the chinese places in malls or at Klondike days. #3 Pirouge I am having a hard time fathoming the idea of butter tarts with a graham cracker crust. Mine are always gooey in the center but not liquid, unless undercooked. ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/73 "2005-01-07T02:36:12Z")
Okay, mine are definitely syrupy, not gooey. So how do I know they’re done? obviously ten minutes isn’t quite long enough. Do I just have to experiment? ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/74 "2005-01-07T03:03:11Z")
> [@haardvark](#): > > But the part Google doesn’t tell you is that they are best served out of a yellow cube van within 3 blocks of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, by a man of Vietnamese descent who appears to speak _only_ broken French, between 1 and 3 in the morning. Some degree of inebriation is optional but strongly recommended. I have to disagree. The best poutine comes from the Bois-Franc region or the Eastern Township. Thick fries, glistening with oil, cheese so fresh it still moo when you pour a gravy thick enough to lube a tank transmission on them. Now, that’s true poutine ! And, **annu-la 1979** , glad to have brought back good childhood memories ;), if you want to satisfy your maple cravings, a small reminder, that, in Montreal, we usually have a SugarDope fest (shameless plug :D) in the middle of March. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/75 "2005-01-07T03:04:31Z")
> [@furlibusea](#): > > There are a couple things we had in Alberta when I was a kid that I really want recipies for. > \ > #3 Pirouge > > I am having a hard time fathoming the idea of butter tarts with a graham cracker crust. Mine are always gooey in the center but not liquid, unless undercooked. A pirogue is a boat. Perhaps you mean perogie, or pierogi? I’ve got my Ukranian step-mother’s ‘recipe’ around here for the dough, if you like. She’s a girl from Two Hills (just outside of Vegreville), so that ought to tell you how delicious the results will be. > [@Bren\_Cameron](#): > > Okay, mine are definitely syrupy, not gooey. > > So how do I know they’re done? obviously ten minutes isn’t quite long enough. Do I just have to experiment? Yeah, more or less. I let them go a bit longer, because I like the pastry to be a bit browned. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/76 "2005-01-07T03:10:52Z")
> [@Bren\_Cameron](#): > > Okay, mine are definitely syrupy, not gooey. > > So how do I know they’re done? obviously ten minutes isn’t quite long enough. Do I just have to experiment? After I’d cooked them until the pastry looked the right colour, I put them into the fridge for a while to help the insides set. ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/77 "2005-01-07T03:11:59Z")
> [@detop](#): > > I have to disagree. The best poutine comes from the Bois-Franc region or the Eastern Township. Thick fries, glistening with oil, cheese so fresh it still moo when you pour a gravy thick enough to lube a tank transmission on them. Now, that’s true poutine ! Ah, well, sadly my pathetic monolingualism has meant that I have spent little time in _La Belle Province_, although to be fair I’ve eaten poutine in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, so I am basing my judgement on an (admittedly rough) cross section. Maybe someday soon I’ll be in your neck of the woods. (I’ve got an ace in the hole – my wife is fluent). ---
**Author:** ![CuriousCanuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@CuriousCanuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CuriousCanuck)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/78 "2005-01-07T03:27:15Z")
> [@haardvark](#): > > Ah, well, sadly my pathetic monolingualism has meant that I have spent little time in _La Belle Province_, although to be fair I’ve eaten poutine in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, so I am basing my judgement on an (admittedly rough) cross section. > > Maybe someday soon I’ll be in your neck of the woods. (I’ve got an ace in the hole – my wife is fluent). Kingston is so close to Montreal. Just don’t forget to hold your breath while driving through Cornwall… ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/79 "2005-01-07T03:40:08Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > After I’d cooked them until the pastry looked the right colour, I put them into the fridge for a while to help the insides set. I have to admit, I wimped out and used graham cracker crust. So there wasn’t much of a color thing to go by. I put a couple in the fridge to see what happened, and they were still syrupy. cold, but syrupy. They still taste good, though, so it’s not like it’s a big problem or anything. I’ll just cook them longer next time, or even use pastry crust. Or both! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902/80 "2005-01-07T04:13:51Z")
Feh. Judging what’s the best poutine outside Quebec is like judging what’s the best paella outside Valencia. Fair enough, but don’t kid yourself about what you’re doing. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-canadian-butter-tarts-yesterday/282902.md?page=5)