NEWFOUNDLAND STYLE HAM AND SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH DOUGHBOYS

Canada is a major producer, exporter and importer of an immense variety of agricultural and food products ranging from processed foods with global value chains to local, farm-based value chains.  In this section, we share 3 of our research insights and assess to what extent our recipe can be made from Canadian agricultural and food products.

Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of peas, including both green and yellow peas (Pulse Canada, n.d.). This recipe uses split peas, which are a special type of pea grown specifically for drying purposes (Gallary, 2016). Dried peas were likely used in this recipe to assist with transporting the goods from the western provinces to the east coast. Dried peas would have also been easy to store in the early 1900’s when this recipe was developed.

Milk production in Canada falls under the broader value chain of the dairy industry. In Canada, the dairy industry operates under a supply management system that regulates production and price to ensure stability and protection for Canadian farmers (The Canadian Dairy Information Centre [CDC], 2017). Before supply management, the price of dairy in Newfoundland would have been much higher because a large portion of the milk would need to be transported into the province.

Our recipe has been modernized and contains spices that would not have been available for the Newfoundlander of the past. They have been added to enhance the taste of the recipe, but are not historically accurate (Parsons, 2014).

In summary, 8 of the 12 ingredients we needed are produced in Canada, while the other 4 can be purchased without much difficulty. None of the ingredients were not available, and required us to make substitutions.