British Columbia's Finest Foods: Pacific Seafood
West Coast Pacific Shellfish, Mushrooms, Artisanal Cheese
Aug 13, 2008
Located on Canada’s west coast, BC has some of the best weather in Canada therefore a lengthy growing season. With a vast coastline and many islands, great seafood is available year-round contributing to the great foodstuffs available in the thriving province.
Pacific Seafood and Shellfish
When you hear about Canadian or British Columbia cuisine, often the first food which comes to mind is salmon. Coho, Chinook, Chum and more, BC salmon is delicious grilled, smoked, poached, baked or on a cedar slab. Halibut is a beautiful, meaty, white fish with a delicate flavor. It is in season spring, summer and often into the fall. Sablefish is also becoming known as a BC culinary pleasure with its rich, oily texture and taste.
Shellfish is a treat with Pacific oysters harvested year round. Kusshies are often favorites due to their smaller size as are the larger Fanny Bay Oysters both from the Strait of Georgia. Mussels and clams are also delectable with a white wine sauce made from Okanagan wine from south-central British Columbia. While spot prawns are only in season for a few months, usually beginning in May, locals wait enthusiastically for these sweet and delicate prawns. Sea asparagus is also harvested from BC waters and, more like a vegetable, is salty, deep green and nutritious.
Mushrooms
Fungi thrive in the dampness of British Columbia forests. Wild species such as chanterelles, oysters and shitake are now commonly used even in home cooking. Morels are sought after with their spongy, funny looking brown, long caps and have flourished in past years as they often grow where there have been forest fires. Pine or matsutake mushrooms are used by chefs in the know, but most are swiftly exported to Japan where they are a delicacy. Many more wild mushrooms species can be found in different areas of BC and are a pleasure to taste in locally inspired restaurants especially good with BC meats, game and poultry.
Fresh Fruit and Berries
Across British Columbia fresh fruit and berries flourish in the summer months. The Okanagan Valley is best known for peaches, pears and apples where the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island is know for its tasty berries; strawberries, blueberries, tayberries, wild blackberries and more. The Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver, is also known for its berries including cranberries.
Artisanal BC Cheese
Artisan cheesemakers are located throughout mainland BC, Vancouver Island and on Salt Spring Island. Moonstruck Cheese on Salt Spring Island raises Jersey cows and creates their signature blue-veined cheeses. At the Salt Spring Island Cheese Company, goat milk is made into chèvre (soft cheese), brie and camembert style cheeses and they also make a hard sheep milk cheese.
There are many cheesemakers on Vancouver Island including Hilary’s in the Cowichan Valley, Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, and Natural Pastures who recently won a gold medal for their Comox Brie at the World Cheese Championships held in Madison, Wisconsin. Many more small cheese companies exist across BC including Poplar Grove which is also a winery on the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan. Now wouldn’t some BC cheese go nicely with a glass of British Columbia wine? That’s another story…
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