Here in the northeast part of the U.S. all the grocery stores carry various brands of “Canadian White Bread.” To my eyes (and taste buds) it seems like ordinary, everyday “American” white bread, although sometimes sliced a little thicker.
Is there really any difference between Canadian and American white bread? What makes Canadian white bread “Canadian”? Do they actually eat it in Canada, or is it just an invention of admen gone awry (like “French toast” and “English muffins”)?
Canadian white is a fairly decent, very plain, white bread. Not as soft and squishy as Wonder Bread or the other awful “pillow” breads that we used to see in supermarkets in my youth, but not something I like in a sandwich. My son likes it, though.
In general, bread in supermarkets is much better in quality and variety than used to be, even in the mass-market brands. This is a Good Thing. Pepperidge Farms puts out some very nice, firm-textured breads, including white, oatmeal, and various other grains, all of which make an excellent sandwich.
Also, most large supermarkets now have an in-store bakery that can produce quite a variety of very good breads.
This is one case where the Good Old Days weren’t. I remember my brother taking a loaf of Wonder Bread (or some equally awful competitor), holding if like an accordian, and squasing the entire 12-inch economy loaf down to two inches – with almost no effort. Yech.
So “Canadian white bread” would be bread made with Canadian white wheat. In other words, you’re looking at “marketing”–“the unique quality advantages of white wheat and its potential role in Canadian domestic and export markets”.
Along the same lines, does that mean Texas Toast bread is made from Texan wheat? Or is it just because Texans do everything big, so the slices are super thick?
Never heard of Canadian White Bread, and I doubt they’re marketing it based on the wheat involved.
For the record, you can get Wonderbread in Canada-- but why anyone would want to eat that kleenex is beyond me.
As for pea soup, it is a big time Quebecois tradition.
Never heard of “Canadian Bread”, living here in Canada. Probably made in cities like Hamilton with an active organized crime scene. I’d stay away from the “Canadian Bacon”.
You say “various brands” of Canadian white, but the only brand I know of is the J. J. Nissen brand. Nissen sells several kinds of bread with “Canadian” in the name, including “Canadian white” and “Canadian brown”. I am partial to their “Canadian Multi-Grain” myself. Checking the package, I see it actually says “Canadian style”, so I guess they don’t want people to be confused about where it’s baked.
Nissen used to be an independent company based somewhere in New England, but they were bought out by Interstate Bakeries Corp. of Kansas City, which also makes Wonderbread, Hostess cakes, Dolly Madison cakes, Beefsteak rye bread, etc. I’ve been buying Nissen bread since before they were bought out, and they have always used “Canadian” as far as I know. Maybe J.J. was from Canada before he started his bakery in New England, or maybe his big selling point was using high-quality Canadian wheat. I dunno.
You certainly don’t want to know what baby oil is made from, then.
We have a really, really hard time finding bolillos (Mexican rolls) in these parts that aren’t commercial, Wonderbread quality. Any SE Mich’ers know where to get the heavy, doughy kind with the hard crust? Hell, good paninos (Italian rolls) would work as well. It’s all Wonder…
Nope…Canadian white bread isn’t made with Canadian White Wheat because it just got licensed a couple of weeks ago, and this will be the first year that it will be commercially grown…I suspect it’s just a marketing gimmick…
