Canadian city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. The recipe was submitted by Mrs. 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 bannock dough. 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”. One modern reference mentions the bars’ existence in 19th century Nanaimo. 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. 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. 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, but not in other language or dialect versions.

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. In April 2019, Canada Post announced the release of a booklet of postage stamps dedicated to Canadian desserts and sweets. A copy of the book is on view at the Nanaimo Museum. The ingredients list, quantities, and fabrication closely match the recipe found on the City of Nanaimo’s website. Notes from the Nanaimo bar trail”. Her Favourite Recipes, Compiled by the Women’s Association of the Brechin United Church, p.

Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Speaking in Cod Tongues: A Canadian Culinary Journey. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. Here’s what’s on the menu at the White House state dinner”. Nanaimo bar goes postal with announcement of new stamp”. Nanaimo bar gets Canada Post stamp, but critics question base-to-filling ratio”. It can also be split to make sandwiches.

Sizes, maize types, and added ingredients vary its preparation. The arepa is a pre-Columbian dish from the area that is now Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. Throughout its history, the arepa has stayed mainly unchanged from the arepas that pre-Columbian native peoples would have consumed, making the arepa one of the few pre-contact traditions that have remained popular in the years since colonization. The arepa is a flat, round, unleavened patty of soaked, ground kernels of maize, or—more frequently nowadays—maize meal or maize flour.

It can be grilled, baked, fried, boiled or steamed. The characteristics vary by color, flavor, size, and the food with which it may be stuffed, depending on the region. Simple arepas are filled with butter or cheese and baked. Initially arepa flour was made by grinding maize at home. In the 1950s the precooked arepa flour was invented by Dr. Venezuelan engineer, and became an instant success. Because the flour is already cooked, the blend forms into patties easily.