12/05/2024
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Butter tarts are a wonderful treat during the Christmas season (or any season really).
They are quintessentially Canadian, but what is the history of these delectable treats?
Let's learn the history of The Butter Tart :)
The origin of the butter tart is somewhat murky.
One possible origin dates back to the late-1600s when 800 young women were sent to New France from France to build the population of the colony.
They were known as The King's Daughters.
It is believed that the King's Daughter brought with them various traditional French recipes including sugar pie.
In their new home in New France, the women adapted the recipes to what they had around them. This included mixtures of syrup, butter and dried fruit.
These may have been proto-butter tarts, but there are other origins put forward for the butter tart.
One is that it comes from Scottish settlers in the mid-19th century.
Settling in Ontario and Western Canada, they brought with them their border tart recipes.
The border tart is similar to the butter tart, but again the settlers took what they had around them and adapted it into a new recipe called The Butter Tart.
There are other claims that the butter tart is an adaptation on the pecan pie from the United States.
The first published recipe of the butter tart was in 1900 in Barrie, Ontario. It was a recipe by Mary MacLeod, published in the Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook.
Another recipe was published in a 1915 pie book.
It is likely the butter tart as we know it emerged in the late-19th century. The simple ingredients of eggs, flour, syrup, sugar and a pastry made it a perfect treat for homesteaders to make. It was simple and inexpensive.
Today, the butter tart is celebrated as quintessential Canadian treat.
Canada Post issued a stamp to celebrate the butter tart in 2019. The butter tart was also name dropped in Steal My Sunshine by Canadian band Len in 1999.
The butter tart is celebrated in festivals around Canada each year.
The Midland Best Butter Tart Festival and Contest is the largest of the festivals, with over 50,000 butter tarts sold each year.
Now the only question is....raisins or no raisins?
I hope you enjoyed that look at butter tarts.
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