Lamb, duck, ice cider listed among Quebec's top 10 food and beverage items

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

speakup

MONTREAL - Suggestion to foodies planning a trip to Quebec: consider a meal featuring some of the province's delicious lamb, washed down with microbrewery beer. And to finish off the feast -- ice cider accompanied with unpasteurized cheese.

The new book "Montreal & Quebec City for Dummies," by Austin MacDonald, includes those items in a top 10 culinary list.

Lamb producers on Ile-Verte, in the St. Lawrence River at the mouth of the Saguenay, graze their animals on marshes flooded by brackish water, which sounds unappealing but actually makes the meat extra tasty, MacDonald writes.

And in Charlevoix, east of Quebec City, lamb producers have been granted a special designation by the government and must follow strict rules for raising their small herds.

The province's microbreweries include Unibroue, McAuslan and Brasseurs du Nord -- the latter, based in Blainville just north of Montreal, makes Boreale, probably the most popular microbrew in the province, according to MacDonald.

Ice cider, made from apples, is meant to accompany cheese or dessert and is gaining in popularity as a cheaper alternative to icewine.

Most of the province's ice cider comes from the Monteregie region.

A cider route featuring various producers runs from Hemmingford, south of Montreal, to Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, passing through Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Rougemont.

Quebec's notable unpasteurized cheeses include Pied de Vent, from the Iles de la Madeleine, Chateau Mailloux, from Charlevoix, and Riopelle, from Ile-aux-Grues.

Aside from lamb, the other cute animal to chow down on is duck, especially from the Brome Lake Duck Farm, known as the oldest duck-breeding farm in Canada. Started in 1912 on the western shore of the lake, the operation breeds Peking ducks, appreciated for their delicious meat.

When dining out in Montreal, confirm with the waiter whether the confit de canard on the menu is in fact Brome Lake duck, MacDonald suggests.

Other items in the top 10 list: maple syrup, blueberries from Lac St-Jean, strawberries from Ile d'Orleans, tourtiere and poutine.