In the 1970's in Canada (Ontario), I ate this food, it was referred to as "candy". However, it was some sort of fatback/bacon type of stuff (though I don't remember any meat, it was just soft fat inside the crispy outer shell; also I don't remember it as being particularly smokey), that was cut up into bite-sized cubed, and fried until crispy. Is this some type of traditional Canadian dish? What exactly was it made of?
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1No "canadian-cuisine" tag?!– DaveNov 4, 2014 at 21:23
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1Eskimo "Squaw Candy" is smoked salmon jerky. Was the Canadian candy an old traditional food of the natives? Or a more modern thing?– Jolenealaska ♦Nov 5, 2014 at 0:12
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I have no reason to believe that it was from the First Nations; plus it came from more southern parts, Ontario specifically.– DaveNov 5, 2014 at 1:13
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2 Answers
From what you describe it sounds like čvarci. In the U.S., especially in the south we call them cracklings (or cracklin's). Basically it is what is left from cubing pork fat and rendering the lard out. Makes a quite tasty snack and from what I read was/is a popular delicatessen snack in some areas of Canada. We often make this with fat from a ham or salt fatback.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cvarci for more information.
Sounds like pemmican (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican), originally an aboriginal recipe combining pulverized meat, berries, and rendered fat.
Note that there are many First Nations in southern Ontario.
answered Nov 5, 2014 at 4:02
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"The crew had ample provisions-- canned hams, bread, sailor's biscuits, dried fruit and countless cans of pemmican, a staple food made from meat that is dried and ground, then mixed with fat and raisins." from: crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/… Nov 5, 2014 at 4:11
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Pemmican isn't fried, and it's not mostly fat. It's typically at least 50% dried meat, crushed to bits, then mixed w/ tallow.– JoeNov 6, 2014 at 11:55