Western Canada
The humble saskatoon berry is transformed into thick wedges of pie, flavourful saskatoon preserves and saskatoon berry fudge at the Berry Barn near Saskatoon, where guests can pick fruit and visit the greenhouse, then dine in the restaurant. Have you ever seen honey being extracted amidst the drone of bees? At Honeyview Farm, peer through a glass wall to see bees busy at work and watch the honey being harvested, then tour the processing facility to see how products such as bee pollen and beeswax soap are made. With a belief in on-farm processing, Highwood Crossing Farm grows wheat, rye, flax, canola, oats, barley and peas, then crafts them into products such as cold-pressed flaxseed and canola oil, organic granola, flaxseed baking mixes, stone-ground flours and cereals -- a start-to-finish operation.
Chart a path
How can you find local specialty food producers? Look at local or provincial websites, the phone book, or local tourist or producer associations such as:
• Economuseum network
• Le bon goût frais des Îles marketing association
• Durham Farm Fresh
• AgriNat co-op
• Harvest Ontario
• Alberta Farm Fresh
• BC Farm Fresh and Vancouver Island FarmFresh
Where in the world?
Canada is a world leader in these crops, touted for their health benefits -- see if you can find specialty products containing them:
• Canola, with low levels of saturated fats, is a made-in-Canada crop
• Flaxseeds, with healthful omega-3 fatty acids: Canada leads world production
• Wild blueberries, for antioxidants -- Nova Scotia leads Canadian production
• Ginseng has been harvested here since before Canada existed!
And consider...
Some of the pleasure in specialty local foods can come from the fact that they are the product of people with a heartfelt interest in food, and have been crafted with passion.
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