I had ordered some Canadian ‘delicacies’ for my cousin’s family to try over the holidays: Lipton Onion Soup Mix for chip dip, SmartFood Cheddar popcorn, and Kraft Dinner.
We took the SmartFood to a friend’s for Boxing Day dinner, and I was surprised at the lukewarm reaction. I mean, what’s not to love about cheesy, yummy, tasty popcorn? But popcorn is not a thing over here, and while everyone was pleasant, no one took more than one handful (infidels). (*Okay, I’ll admit it here now – I really really wanted to take the remainder of the bag of popcorn home with me – I LOVE SmartFood, and knowing it would likely be binned was killing me. But Norma Reid’s daughter knows better than that.)
The chip dip was a hit, as I had anticipated, and I left the second soup mix packet with them for future use.
And then there was the KD. I hadn’t taken it to impress them with North American mac & cheese; I had been explaining its ubiquity to my cousin and decided she needed to experience it at least once. (Let’s be clear here – it’s not exactly in my top 10, or 20, or 100 favourite foods either). But I had explained that it is something that almost every Canadian toddler and then school child would have on firm rotation, much like the UK baked beans on toast, or Spaghetti-O’s on toast. And in pre-ramen days, university students lived on it.
Well they made it for the family to try the day after I left. As suspected, it didn’t go down especially well (“Interesting” was the comment – how polite). I had to laugh at one text from my cousin; it seems her daughter had thought adding grated cheddar to the final product might improve it. I’m struggling to imagine what that would have tasted like; it’s not something I’ve ever tried. Anyway, it seems they ate it. I doubt they will be asking for a repeat any time soon.