Tourtière Genealogy

Preparing tourtiére

My ancestry is French-Canadian on my mother's side of the family so one dish we had every Christmas was tourtière: a meat pie. In our household, the meat was always pork and I always assumed that tourtière meant "pork pie." However, in later years I learned that some people make tourtière from veal or beef. However, not until this week did I realize that tourtière is also often an indication of your ancestry.

 

Susan Semenak has published an article in The Montreal Gazette, pointing out that the various recipes for tourtière vary from region to region. She points out that in Quebec City, tourtière is called pâté a la viande and is made with diced or cubed pork (and even rolled oats.) Indeed, I did later prove by other means that the majority of my mother's ancestry came from Quebec City and its suburbs. The spices used in tourtière also are an indication of the region of Quebec where our ancestors lived. Click HERE to read the full story.

What family recipes were handed down through the generations in your family? Is anyone in your family recording those recipes for future generations? After all, it is your heritage.

From: Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter