6 Canadian Dishes That Grossed Me Out As A Newcomer To Canada & Sorry Not Sorry

Caesars

Okay, I know that Caesars are considered Canada's national cocktail, but when I first heard about them, I was seriously grossed out.

If you're wondering why, all you have to do is look at the ingredients: vodka, tomato juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and… clam juice.

Seriously, a cocktail with clam juice? The thought gets me a bit nauseated.

It doesn't help that some Caesars come topped with meat, giant burgers and fried foods, which is all just too much for me.

Sure, "Clamato juice" sounds far less disgusting, but it's still just tomato and clam.

All of that said, honestly, it tastes like a bloody mary (so much so that I can't tell them apart). And, since I actually like a good bloody mary, I'll go out on a limb and say this tasted way better than I expected.

Ketchup-flavoured anything

At the risk of getting some major hate, I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm not the biggest ketchup fan.

Sure, I think ketchup is fine with fries and burgers, but maybe its use should just end there.

I certainly don't understand why Canada has so many ketchup-themed snacks, from chips to popcorn.

I especially don't know why anyone would consider adding ketchup to Kraft Dinner. Please stop!

Thrills

This is not exactly a dish but a Canadian candy that I got curious about after moving to the country.

Thrills gum claims to taste like soap and features a "floral rosewater" flavour.

I kind of like floral tastes like rose and lavender, so this was enough to pique my interest.

But honestly, a few bites in, I realized this was a big mistake. It felt like I was chewing on cloves and I can't for the life of me imagine who would actually enjoy that.

Big Turk

While we're on the subject of Canadian candy I disapprove of, I'd like to throw Big Turk into the ring.

It's supposed to be themed after Turkish delight, a sweet Middle Eastern delicacy known for its jelly-like texture and dusted with sugar.

However, the chocolate-covered Big Turk bar is simply nothing like that.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but when I finally tried it, it was hard and chewy, and the interior had an indistinguishable fruit taste (is it cherry?) that simply did not go well with the chocolate shell.

Hard pass on this one.

Chocolate hummus

As someone born and raised in the Middle East, hummus has a special place in my heart.

There are so many things I love about the tahini dip, from its natural ingredients to the fact that it feels fresh and healthy.

This is probably why finding dessert hummus in stores across Canada just felt so wrong.

Now, I know this is not a Canadian dish, per se, but it really isn't available in so many other parts of the world (and for good reason).

I love chocolate and I love hummus. Does that mean they belong together? No!

Sourtoe Cocktail

Okay, so this is not a widely known drink, even within Canada, so you're excused if you haven't heard of it.

But a Sourtoe Cocktail is a drink from Dawson City, Yukon, and it constitutes a shot of alcohol (usually Yukon Jack whisky) and… a mummified human toe.

That's right.

According to CBC, the drink can be traced back to Prohibition, when two bootlegger brothers got caught in a blizzard and one ended up losing a toe to frostbite.

Apparently, instead of chucking said toe away, they decided to preserve it in a jar of alcohol.

In 1973, legend has it that Dawson City bartender Captain Dick Stevenson found the jar, and the Sourtoe Cocktail Club was born, with one very odd membership requirement: to take a shot of alcohol with a toe in it.

And in case you're wondering how close to the actual human toe you have to get, there's a rule: "You can drink it fast. You can drink it slow. But your lips must touch that gnarly toe."

Gross!