Nanaimo bar

Nanaimo bar
Alternative namesMabel's Squares
CourseDessert
Place of originCanada
Region or stateNanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Main ingredientsCrumb, icing, chocolate
VariationsMany types of crumb and icing
  •   Media: Nanaimo bar

The Nanaimo bar (/nəˈnaɪmoʊ/ nə-NY-moh) is a bar dessert that requires no baking and is named after the Canadian city of Nanaimo in British Columbia.[1] It consists of three layers: at the bottom, a wafer, nut (walnuts, almonds, or pecans), and coconut crumb base; custard icing in the middle; and a layer of chocolate ganache on top. Many varieties exist, consisting of various types of crumb, various flavours of icing (such as peanut butter, coconut, or mocha), and various types of chocolate.

Origins

The recipe for Nanaimo bars was developed and circulated in Canadian communities in a variety of forms before it acquired its name, rendering its true origin ambiguous. Culturally, it belonged the category of "dainties": desserts which could be served at church suppers and private entertainments. Dessert squares and other "dainties" became particularly important to Canadian social life after World War II. As women were excluded from the workplace, baking became a status symbol for women who could serve desserts with expensive ingredients (such as butter, sugar, and pre-made brand-name goods) and time-consuming techniques.[1]

Lenore Newman, a scholar of food geography, argues that the Nanaimo bar derives from a 1947 recipe for unbaked chocolate cake, which matches early recipes for the bottom layer.[1] The earliest confirmed printed copy of the recipe using the name "Nanaimo bars" appears in the Edith Adams' prize cookbook (14th edition) from 1953.[a] The same recipe was published in the Vancouver Sun earlier that same year under the name "London Fog Bar".[1] The recipe later also appears in the publication His/Her Favourite Recipes, Compiled by the Women's Association of the Brechin United Church (1957), with the recipe submitted by Joy Wilgress, a Baltimore, Maryland, native.[2] (Brechin United Church is in Nanaimo.)

In 1954, the recipe "Mabel's Squares" was published in The Country Woman's Favourite[3][4] by the Upper Gloucester Women's Institute (New Brunswick). The recipe was submitted by Mrs. Harold Payne, the daughter of Mabel (Knowles) Scott (1883–1957).[b]

The first printing of recipes featuring Nanaimo bar ingredients is found in the 1952 Women's Auxiliary to the Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook, which features three nearly identical recipes that differ only slightly from the modern Nanaimo bar.[1] They are referred to as the "chocolate square" or the "chocolate slice".

Other unconfirmed references date the bar back to the 1930s, when it was said to be known locally as "chocolate fridge cake".[5] One modern reference mentions the bars' existence in 19th century Nanaimo.[6]

Popularity

Many 1950s recipes, especially those associated with suburban home cooking, soon lost their popularity. Lenore Newman credits the Vancouver caterer Susan Mendleson with maintaining the popularity of the Nanaimo bar by selling them at her Lazy Gourmet Cafe in the 1970s. The Lazy Gourmet claims to be the first business to sell Nanaimo bars commercially, and Mendleson further promoted the dessert with three recipes in the official cookbook she oversaw for the Expo 86 world fair in Vancouver.[1]

The popularity of the bar in Nanaimo led local residents to mobilise to have it voted "Canada's Favourite Confection" in a National Post reader survey.[7] In 1985, Mayor Graeme Roberts initiated a contest to find the ultimate Nanaimo bar recipe. The recipe submitted by Joyce Hardcastle, a resident of Nanaimo, was unanimously selected by a panel of judges.[8] The Nanaimo bar was popularized nationwide after being highlighted as a classic Canadian dessert at Expo 86.[9]

Recipes for similar desserts are found in various places, under various names, in North America and Europe. The designation "Nanaimo bar" is Canadian, and appears in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary,[10] but not in other language or dialect versions.

An episode from the first season of the competition television show MasterChef Canada features an elimination challenge where competitors made desserts inspired by Nanaimo bars, chosen among three Canadian desserts.[11]

A 2016 US state dinner in honour of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau featured Nanaimo bars as the main dessert. The elaborate dinner, hosted by then-US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, consisted of a blend of American and Canadian dishes. The Nanaimo bars were presented on a plate inspired by the Rocky Mountains.[12]

In April 2019, Canada Post announced the release of a booklet of postage stamps dedicated to Canadian desserts and sweets.[13] The booklet of 10 stamps features images of the Nanaimo bar, the butter tart, tarte au sucre (sugar pie), blueberry grunt, and Saskatoon berry pie.[13] Canada Post described the stamps as "fun-shaped", and the booklet of stamps resembled a recipe card.[13] The image of the Nanaimo bar on the stamp received some criticism for its ratio of the three layers.[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A copy of the book is on view at the Nanaimo Museum.
  2. ^ The ingredients list, quantities, and fabrication closely match the recipe found on the City of Nanaimo's website.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nanaimo bars.
  1. ^ a b c d e f Newman, Lenore Lauri (2014). "Notes from the Nanaimo bar trail" (PDF). Canadian Food Studies. 1 (1): 10–19. doi:10.15353/cfs-rcea.v1i1.11. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  2. ^ His/Her Favourite Recipes, Compiled by the Women's Association of the Brechin United Church, p. 52
  3. ^ "The Country Woman's Favorite". University of Guelph, McLaughlin Library. (Call number: TX715.6 C687).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ "The Country Woman's Favorite". Library and Archives Canada/Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. (Call number: TX715.6 C6959 1954).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. ^ "Nanaimo Bars". Nanaimo Hotel. January 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  6. ^ Preston, Matt (August 9, 2005). "Tried Trio". The Age. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  7. ^ "Democracy never tasted so delicious". National Post. June 30, 2006. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  8. ^ "Nanaimo Bars". The Buccaneer Inn. Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  9. ^ Newman, Lenore (2017). Speaking in Cod Tongues: A Canadian Culinary Journey. Regina: University of Regina Press. ISBN 978-0889774599.
  10. ^ Barber, Katherine, ed. (2004). The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2 ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-541816-6.
  11. ^ "Great Canadian Bake Sale". CookingChannelTV.com.
  12. ^ Fitzpatrick, Meagan (March 10, 2016). "Here's what's on the menu at the White House state dinner". CBC.ca. CBC News. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  13. ^ a b c Larsen, Karin (11 April 2019). "Sweet! Nanaimo bar goes postal with announcement of new stamp". CBC News. CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  14. ^ Mooney, Harrison (12 April 2019). "Nanaimo bar gets Canada Post stamp, but critics question base-to-filling ratio". Vancouver Sun. Postmedia. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.