Meat and Fish
The people of New France ate many different types of meat and fish. To this day, we often still enjoy eating what they ate a couple centuries ago! There were also many ways to hunt down one of these delicacies, and many useful skills were all taught by the Aboriginals.
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In Canada, there was an abundance of wild animals. When the Habitants ate wild game, it usually included birds, moose, caribou, venison, porcupine, hare, beaver, pigeon, partridge, snipe, and teal. At the arrival of the passenger pigeon, the people of New France considered it as a godsend. For a period of time, it was considered the most highly prized game. During the dove season, everyone ate this bird. It was easily killed with a gun, or captured with a net. The Habitants prepared this for different sauces in their meals. A toutiere was a popular recipe in a Habitant family; every housewife possessed their own recipe. A toutiere was pretty much a pie. At one point, people used partridge, snipe, teal, plover, bustard, or duck to make this pie.
The Aboriginals also hunted similar wild game. They usually ate bison, deer, elk, bear, raccoon, porcupine, and marten. They had a huge influence on the people of New France in the way that they hunted their game and what they ate. Aboriginals used deadfalls and nooses, snares, nets, spears, bow and arrows, and blowguns to kill the animal.
The Aboriginals also hunted similar wild game. They usually ate bison, deer, elk, bear, raccoon, porcupine, and marten. They had a huge influence on the people of New France in the way that they hunted their game and what they ate. Aboriginals used deadfalls and nooses, snares, nets, spears, bow and arrows, and blowguns to kill the animal.
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Not all the settlers of New France were accustomed to eating wild game, therefore they also brought over European livestock. A common European livestock was cattle. Sadly the cattle were slaughtered at a very young age (usually before the age of four). Salted bacon was one of the winter survival food to eat, since it could be kept for months at a time. If it was prepared with care, the bacon could withstand many temperature changes. If one barrel of bacon were to go bad, it could cause the family to starve in the winter months.
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During the spring and summer months, it was considered fishing season. The rivers teemed with pike, eels, perch, sturgeon, catfish, and salmon. The Aboriginals used spears and nets to hunt the fish. Again, the Aboriginals influenced the Habitants to go fishing.
The people of New France followed the Aboriginals and started fishing too. Some of their favourtie catches were eel, cod and salmon. They also ate bass, walleye, muskellunge, sturgeon, pike, trout, haddock, shad and turbot. The Habitants found that eel was rich in fat and proteins, and they really enjoyed eating it. A popular dish made with eel was eel stew.
The people of New France followed the Aboriginals and started fishing too. Some of their favourtie catches were eel, cod and salmon. They also ate bass, walleye, muskellunge, sturgeon, pike, trout, haddock, shad and turbot. The Habitants found that eel was rich in fat and proteins, and they really enjoyed eating it. A popular dish made with eel was eel stew.