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Pardon my French [Canadian Politics Thread]

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  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    Anchovies......melt?

    I've never had them, but aren't they, like, pickled fish? They melt?

  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    Believe me, we all hate the lack of overhead lighting here, too

    I'm not sure what you mean about oven cavities, though

  • CaedwyrCaedwyr Registered User regular
    You can get anchovies dried, in oil, or as a paste. Maybe it was the paste version that Shivan was talking about.

  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    Believe me, we all hate the lack of overhead lighting here, too

    I'm not sure what you mean about oven cavities, though

    There's ovens that have two chambers, I think, so you can cook two things at different temperatures at once.

    I think. I'm pretty sure I've seen them around.

    Maybe they're common in the UK?

  • CroakerBCCroakerBC TorontoRegistered User regular
    Nova_C wrote: »
    Believe me, we all hate the lack of overhead lighting here, too

    I'm not sure what you mean about oven cavities, though

    There's ovens that have two chambers, I think, so you can cook two things at different temperatures at once.

    I think. I'm pretty sure I've seen them around.

    Maybe they're common in the UK?

    They are. In fact, two chamber ovens are the UK standard. I asked around the office about how to cook two things at once at different temperatures, and was told "Buy a toaster oven" and/or "Put stuff in the warming drawer". Neither of these are ideal solutions! Anyway, it's just one of those weird cultural differences, we'll get by. Most stuff is the same, or similar enough that we've not struggled toooo much.

  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    I'm still trying to figure out what overhead lighting Canada is lacking.

  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    That warming drawer thing is also not nearly as universal as people say! I've never had an oven with a warming drawer. The drawer underneath stores pans. I've checked. They do not get warm when the oven is on.

  • CroakerBCCroakerBC TorontoRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    shryke wrote: »
    I'm still trying to figure out what overhead lighting Canada is lacking.

    Oh, the unit we're in has a set of overhead lights in the kitchen, and none in the ceilings in the rest of the unit (living areas, bathrooms, bedrooms). It's all standing lamps or mirror bulbs. Apparently (and again, I am taking my colleagues word for this), having lights in your ceiling is less common here, and having to rely on standing lamps is normal, and not at all weird.

    ETA: I see from the posts below that this is common enough that actual Canadians are aware of it, and that at least makes me feel a little better.

    CroakerBC on
  • CaedwyrCaedwyr Registered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    I'm still trying to figure out what overhead lighting Canada is lacking.

    A lot of apartments will not have any or very little installed overhead lighting. You need to get lamps or other lights you plug into a wall. Typically you'll have overhead lighting in the Dining Room, Kitchen, and Bathroom, but all the other rooms require floor lamps.

    In other parts of the world, you are more likely to have installed lighting in the living room and bedrooms as well.

  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    I'm still trying to figure out what overhead lighting Canada is lacking.

    At least in my experience in Ontario, apartments tend to have little or no built-in overhead lighting in living rooms

    It's super annoying

    My current apartment has a little spot in the ceiling where they clearly removed it, because ????

  • darkmayodarkmayo Registered User regular
    Nova_C wrote: »
    That warming drawer thing is also not nearly as universal as people say! I've never had an oven with a warming drawer. The drawer underneath stores pans. I've checked. They do not get warm when the oven is on.

    The Samsung gas oven I have in my house has an insert that can be taken out which splits the oven in two and then you can have a different temp for the top and bottom. I dont really use it very often.

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  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    That's an apartment thing and not a general housing thing. And I'd say specifically a certain age of apartment. Probably saved money somewhere. Potlights or booblights are pretty standard in most new builds from what I've seen. And houses/townhouses/etc especially tend to have standard ceiling light fixtures.

    I might be particularly north american though?

    shryke on
  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    I'm still trying to figure out what overhead lighting Canada is lacking.

    At least in my experience in Ontario, apartments tend to have little or no built-in overhead lighting in living rooms

    It's super annoying

    My current apartment has a little spot in the ceiling where they clearly removed it, because ????

    My condo was originally built in the late 70s as an apartment building and, yeah, the only original ceiling lights are in the kitchen and dining room. The living room would have none, except there was damage many years ago from a nearby explosion (In YK, foundations have to be blasted out of the bedrock, nearby construction sent a stone through the building's roof and my unit is top floor) and the person who owned it at the time had pot lights installed while repairs were done. The bedrooms have no lights at all - they all have one power outlet controlled by the light switch, so you have to put in lamps of your own.

    Oh, I guess the laundry room/storage room has an overhead light as well.

    Bathroom has lights on the wall.

    I would love to have lights installed in all the rooms if/when I renovate, but I don't know if it will be worth the cost.

  • CroakerBCCroakerBC TorontoRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    darkmayo wrote: »
    Nova_C wrote: »
    That warming drawer thing is also not nearly as universal as people say! I've never had an oven with a warming drawer. The drawer underneath stores pans. I've checked. They do not get warm when the oven is on.

    The Samsung gas oven I have in my house has an insert that can be taken out which splits the oven in two and then you can have a different temp for the top and bottom. I dont really use it very often.

    I think it depends on what you're used to (obviously) but also on how what you're used to dictates what you cook.

    So, as an example, I'm used to being able to put together some roast potatoes for a dinner, they need 90 minutes, ish, at 220c. And then I might have a pork chop for dinner too, which needs 20 minutes at 160c. With two cavities, I can do that! With one, I either have my pork at 220c and it's overdone, or I have my potatoes at 160 and they're underdone, or I put the potatoes in a draw(?) for 20 minutes, and then they are done but cold.

    What I haven't figured out yet is how to cook properly within Canadian appliance standards, which you probably have, because it's what you're used to. So we're eating a lot of stuff that you cook on the hob, or potatoes out of boxes right now!

    CroakerBC on
  • finnithfinnith ... TorontoRegistered User regular
    Where necessary the sheet pan dinner recipes I try often suggest just putting in the meat later, but usually that's just fish. I don't often eat pork but I guess most other meats we cook on the "hob" as you call it.

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  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    That's an apartment thing and not a general housing thing. And I'd say specifically a certain age of apartment. Probably saved money somewhere. Potlights or booblights are pretty standard in most new builds from what I've seen. And houses/townhouses/etc especially tend to have standard ceiling light fixtures.

    I might be particularly north american though?

    Oh certainly. But the vast majority of apartments aren't new builds. I'm moving into a new build in September and it definitely has better lighting.

  • CaedwyrCaedwyr Registered User regular
    CroakerBC wrote: »
    darkmayo wrote: »
    Nova_C wrote: »
    That warming drawer thing is also not nearly as universal as people say! I've never had an oven with a warming drawer. The drawer underneath stores pans. I've checked. They do not get warm when the oven is on.

    The Samsung gas oven I have in my house has an insert that can be taken out which splits the oven in two and then you can have a different temp for the top and bottom. I dont really use it very often.

    I think it depends on what you're used to (obviously) but also on how what you're used to dictates what you cook.

    So, as an example, I'm used to being able to put together some roast potatoes for a dinner, they need 90 minutes, ish, at 220c. And then I might have a pork chop for dinner too, which needs 20 minutes at 160c. With two cavities, I can do that! With one, I either have my pork at 220c and it's overdone, or I have my potatoes at 160 and they're underdone, or I put the potatoes in a draw(?) for 20 minutes, and then they are done but cold.

    What I haven't figured out yet is how to cook properly within Canadian appliance standards, which you probably have, because it's what you're used to. So we're eating a lot of stuff that you cook on the hob, or potatoes out of boxes right now!

    A lot of it is going to be figuring out the timing at the different temperatures. You'll find that some cookbooks provide durations at different temperatures to help accommodate this type of issue.

  • quovadis13quovadis13 Registered User regular
    Very happy that the new-to-Canada forumers are finally getting their first taste of the real "Canadian food and occasionally politics" thread.

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    edited July 2020
    Caedwyr wrote: »
    You can get anchovies dried, in oil, or as a paste. Maybe it was the paste version that Shivan was talking about.

    I'm talking about the oil version, actually. The anchovies I've had all my life from the US will, for lack of a better term, melt into a pasty pile of fishy oil when they're fried. Normally I put olive oil in a pan, dump the anchovies in after it's heated, and prod them a few times with a wooden spatula until they start to just.. come apart.

    And yeah, nova, they're oily salty fish in a tin.

    Shivahn on
  • CaedwyrCaedwyr Registered User regular
    Shivahn wrote: »
    Caedwyr wrote: »
    You can get anchovies dried, in oil, or as a paste. Maybe it was the paste version that Shivan was talking about.

    I'm talking about the oil version, actually. The anchovies I've had all my life from the US will, for lack of a better term, melt into a pasty pile of fishy oil when they're fried. Normally I put olive oil in a pan, dump the anchovies in after it's heated, and prod them a few times with a wooden spatula until they start to just.. come apart.

    And yeah, nova, they're oily salty fish in a tin.

    I wonder if it depends on the particular oil blend they are stored in or if it has something to do with the pressurization. I used some the other day and the spine / vertebrae were definitely still pretty strong to the point where I had to mash them a bit with a wooden spoon before mixing them into the dish. It may also depend somewhat on the brand.

    Speaking of brands, you will generally get a wider variety of brands at non-Safeway stores. From what I recall Safeway sells shelf space and tends to have a narrower range of products available in their stores compared to places like IGA or even some of the Loblaws stores (Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws City Market, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, T&T Supermarket, Yaohan Supermarket). I do like checking out some of the Korean supermarkets like Hannam Market and H-Mart (though they can be pricey) as well as all the independent grocers.

    Shoppers Drug Mart is interesting in that what foodstuffs they carry is going to vary quite significantly store to store. In neighbourhoods with a large asian/"ethnic" neighbourhood you'll find a lot more of foodstuffs aimed at those palates. They are normally some of the cheapest for eggs (Friday-Sunday is almost always a sale) and milk.

    London Drugs is another good one for some of the dried and canned goods. I almost always get honey and maple syrup from them when it goes on sale for a substantial discount ($7/kg).

    Food shopping can be a bit weird here. There can be a very wide variety available if you know where to go or you can end up paying horribly inflated prices for subpar quality if you don't know where to shop. All I can really suggest is paying attention to what is available at the stores near you and in the areas you travel to and figuring out where is the best place to get different foodstuffs.

    I also recommend always checking out the ethnically targeted grocery stores for equivalents. I've been surprised a number of times about how I can get certain food items presented in a slightly different way for substantially cheaper (jalapenos are cheapest at Korean grocery stores for example), or how a local Asian grocery sells portabello mushrooms for about half the price you might pay elsewhere.

    This concludes my contribution to the Canadian Political Food thread.

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    I was annoyed that there were no 99 ranches or anything near me, and then you all mentioned T&T and

    1) they used to have the same parent company, and so I somehow preemptively knew the layout, and
    2) now I have like a pound of szechuan peppercorns and also some douchi. I'm about to use a truly absurd amount in a potato dish (actually, if anyone knows where to get non-heat treated gourmet ones, I'm listening, I knew of US companies but don't know any in Canada - they're one of the ingredients where I will use high tier versions for special dishes).

    That is all great information, I'll try to keep it in mind. I've been really surprised by the food prices here. In the US, most markets seem to be roughly in the same range for most goods. Here, the anchovies I just found are 40% the price they were elsewhere, and T&T inexplicably has cheaper milk than everywhere else.

  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    Yea, I think my parents rotate through 4 or 5 different stores whenever they buy groceries (especially lately) due to just how wildly prices can swing on certain foodstuffs.

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  • KetBraKetBra Dressed Ridiculously Registered User regular
    Shivahn wrote: »
    I was annoyed that there were no 99 ranches or anything near me, and then you all mentioned T&T and

    1) they used to have the same parent company, and so I somehow preemptively knew the layout, and
    2) now I have like a pound of szechuan peppercorns and also some douchi. I'm about to use a truly absurd amount in a potato dish (actually, if anyone knows where to get non-heat treated gourmet ones, I'm listening, I knew of US companies but don't know any in Canada - they're one of the ingredients where I will use high tier versions for special dishes).

    That is all great information, I'll try to keep it in mind. I've been really surprised by the food prices here. In the US, most markets seem to be roughly in the same range for most goods. Here, the anchovies I just found are 40% the price they were elsewhere, and T&T inexplicably has cheaper milk than everywhere else.
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  • WiseManTobesWiseManTobes Registered User regular
    Anyone's first year in Canada should only be able to get bagged milk!

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  • KetBraKetBra Dressed Ridiculously Registered User regular
    Bagged milk is not a thing in the good parts of Canada, sorry.

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  • CaedwyrCaedwyr Registered User regular
    Another example is if I want a decent quality feta cheese, I can pay 2.50/100g to 3.50 /100g at most supermarkets, or I can buy it for 1.25/ 100 g at a local ethnic food store for a cheese a couple tiers higher in quality.

    If you want to spend a bundle on what can be pretty good quality vegetables and roots, I'd suggest checking out local farmers markets, typically held on the weekend during the summer months into the early fall. Some are just repackaged consumer produce but others will be people selling directly from the farms and who can provide all sorts of stuff you won't see in the store. This is another area where I'd also look for places like Whole Foods or even IGA who make deals with local providers. Whole foods will have you paying through the noise, but often IGA will have good seasonal stuff in for reasonable prices. I don't know enough about the potato question to provide a sure answer, but I'd check out local produce stores if they are available since oftentimes they will have the widest selection of varieties.

    Also, shopping food sales can easily cut your food budget by 50% or more and knowing when certain things come on sale makes a big difference. For example, I know one store (local franchise IGA) will aggressively discount their meat so it is only on the shelf for a few days maximum before going on discount while another store will leave it there far longer than I'd consider healthy (local franchise No Frills). Another nearby store (Loblaws City Market) will discount their cheese every week or two (50% off on stuff getting near the end of its best-before date) and that lets me get all sorts of fancy cheeses for decent prices and which tend to still have a very long fridge life, while no one else ever has cheese come on for discounts greater than 15% off.

    My theory is that the local stores have encouraged this ecosystem to reproduce the satisfaction from hunting/gathering as part of some sort of paleo-food shopping experience. Or there's a bunch of stores doing their own thing and if their customerbase doesn't expect it then they don't expect to move enough volume to make discounting something they get forced to do. Or its another bread cartel situation (yay, I managed to get some politics into this thread).

  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    Pfff, you people with your 'choice' and your 'sales'. Spoiled rotten, the lot o' ya.

  • CaedwyrCaedwyr Registered User regular
    I was so thankful when I moved back to BC from Edmonton and there were more than 2 varieties of apples available in the stores. Living in a multicultural port city has its advantages.

  • EntriechEntriech ? ? ? ? ? Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    One thing that seems to be drastically different between the borders is the prevalence of coupons. Like I don't know how it is for folks outside my corner of SW Ontario, but we have NO coupons for grocery stores. The best you can occasionally get is that one of the Loblaws-chain stores will give you some extra PC points for buying something, or sometimes a buck off. Whereas where my wife is from in Wisconsin, coupons are still very much a thing. Also tied into store loyalty programs too, mind you, but paper cutouts and all.

    On the subject of food, one of the best things you can do is figure out where near you carries local meat vs grocery store meat, if you're meat-eaters in any case. The sausage, bacon, chops, and so on we get from the local farms is priced the same as what's in the grocery store, but is about three times as good.

    Also it's been great to hear from you recent transplants, and I'm so happy you folks decided to come to this country. We're all richer for you being here. If any of you need anything, even just to chat, don't hesitate to hit me up.

    Also also it's been mentioned a few times, but someone established a small discord server round about the time things locked down in March for the PA Canucks. https://discord.gg/6jHX4dh
    There's generally 20 or so folks on there daily, and conversation waxes and wanes, but I've found it very nice for getting to know some fellow Canadian PAers over the past few.

    Entriech on
  • NosfNosf Registered User regular
    When I walk into the Superstore around the corner, (London, ON) they have a big board in the front cart lobby between usually racks of buns and stuff that is just a wall of coupons.

    Lots of them are just available online: https://www.oikos.ca/en/coupons/ et cetera.

  • CorvusCorvus . VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    KetBra wrote: »
    Bagged milk is not a thing in the good parts of Canada, sorry.

    Yeah, I don't think I've seen bagged milk in BC since the 80s. Come to think of it, the two years I spent in Halifax in the early 2000's I don't think they had it there either.

    Corvus on
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  • ShadowhopeShadowhope Baa. Registered User regular
    KetBra wrote: »
    Bagged milk is not a thing in the good parts of Canada, sorry.

    Well, that’s objectively wrong, since PEI has bagged milk.

    Regarding groceries, I go to Superstore, Costco, Sobey’s and Wal Mart to get everything on my list. Some of that is availability, some of that is price. Fortunately for me, three of those are adjacent to each other, and one is on the way home, so it’s no great hassle.

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  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Bagged milk is a thing in Ontario, though Farm Boy sells it in bottles. You have to pay a deposit and remember to bring em back for a refund, but I’m okay with that to reduce the envieonmental impact.

    El Skid on
  • SteelhawkSteelhawk Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    First time I went somewhere without bagged milk I was very confused as to why everywhere else was wrong.

    Steelhawk on
  • CroakerBCCroakerBC TorontoRegistered User regular
    El Skid wrote: »
    Bagged milk is a thing in Ontario, though Farm Boy sells it in bottles. You have to pay a deposit and remember to bring em back for a refund, but I’m okay with that to reduce the envieonmental impact.

    I was delighted to see milk in cartons in all the big grocery shops in Toronto, because bagged milk is baffling to me. Is it some sort of political thing at this point? It can’t be used in enough markets to scale.

  • mrondeaumrondeau Montréal, CanadaRegistered User regular
    CroakerBC wrote: »
    El Skid wrote: »
    Bagged milk is a thing in Ontario, though Farm Boy sells it in bottles. You have to pay a deposit and remember to bring em back for a refund, but I’m okay with that to reduce the envieonmental impact.

    I was delighted to see milk in cartons in all the big grocery shops in Toronto, because bagged milk is baffling to me. Is it some sort of political thing at this point? It can’t be used in enough markets to scale.

    Hum ? It's super cheap. The whole point is to save on packaging. Of course, if you don't need a lot of milk, it's not the best solution, but it's great for large quantities.

  • Romantic UndeadRomantic Undead Registered User regular
    mrondeau wrote: »
    CroakerBC wrote: »
    El Skid wrote: »
    Bagged milk is a thing in Ontario, though Farm Boy sells it in bottles. You have to pay a deposit and remember to bring em back for a refund, but I’m okay with that to reduce the envieonmental impact.

    I was delighted to see milk in cartons in all the big grocery shops in Toronto, because bagged milk is baffling to me. Is it some sort of political thing at this point? It can’t be used in enough markets to scale.

    Hum ? It's super cheap. The whole point is to save on packaging. Of course, if you don't need a lot of milk, it's not the best solution, but it's great for large quantities.

    Having lived my whole life in Eastern Canada, I was surprised when I discovered that bagged milk was not ubiquitous. That was just how milk came for us. Most homes had a small, magnified 'snipper' on their fridges for the purposes of 'snipping' open the milk bags prior to use. Smaller 1 and 2 L cartons existed, but they were mainly there for those times where you didn't really need 4Ls of milk at a time, or you were buying the snack sizes for lunch or whatever.

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  • SteelhawkSteelhawk Registered User regular
    We need to get one of those snippers in my house. My f'n kids keep losing their craft scissors and keep taking the kitchen scissors to continue making a mess of my house. Last week I had to open a bag of milk with a fancy lobster eating tool my wife has that has a set of shears attached to the shell cracker.

  • CroakerBCCroakerBC TorontoRegistered User regular
    mrondeau wrote: »
    CroakerBC wrote: »
    El Skid wrote: »
    Bagged milk is a thing in Ontario, though Farm Boy sells it in bottles. You have to pay a deposit and remember to bring em back for a refund, but I’m okay with that to reduce the envieonmental impact.

    I was delighted to see milk in cartons in all the big grocery shops in Toronto, because bagged milk is baffling to me. Is it some sort of political thing at this point? It can’t be used in enough markets to scale.

    Hum ? It's super cheap. The whole point is to save on packaging. Of course, if you don't need a lot of milk, it's not the best solution, but it's great for large quantities.

    Yeah, I guess what I mean is, the amount that companies using bagged milk save on packaging, in local markets which use bagged milk, could be lost trying to get into other markets, which just want one type of packaging (typically cartons). As cartons have wider penetration than bags, at least outside Ontario AFAIK, you'd think big producers would just switch to using cartons and eat the cost of the packaging so they can get their milk into other places.

    I mean, I don't like bagged milk because using it appears to be a fussy experience that involves scissors and a special jug and possibly a bag that goes around the bag you put in the jug, and then it goes off unless you have a weird bag clip or something and omigodcanijustunscrewthecartoncapalready. But that's me, and I bet if you're used to it, it's fine!

    But from a business point of view, if nobody but you packs your product in one way, that means getting outside the local market is more challenging; you struggle to scale up production because you're, for example, bumping into packaging issues with suppliers (like "all our shelves are the same height to accommodate milk cartons, and we stack our pallets this way, which relies on the rigidity of plastic" etc.) So I wondered why they do it. I guess if it's cheaper, and you have local market dominance and no need to branch out, it doesn't really matter.

This discussion has been closed.