Since the time of New France, the summer has always been a prosperous time in terms of food. People were able to trade turnips, cabbage, onions, peas, parsnip, beans, lettuce and cucumbers. Even today, despite the possibility of importing products year-round, nothing tastes better than freshly picked vegetables.
In his book Voyage de Pehr Kalm au Canada en 1749, Pehr Kalm wrote, “The purple onion is the most common plant in the vegetable patch, followed by the pumpkin, carrots, and lettuce; the settlers also plant red currants, occasionally kidney beans (Phaesolus vulgaris) and fairly good quantities of cucumbers in their gardens...”.
For the summer period, Maison Saint-Gabriel offers you a series of chronicles on the history of the vegetables mentioned by Pehr Kalm along with recipes so that you can sample them and better appreciate them. You can either grow these vegetables in your own garden or find them in the public markets.
These chronicles complement the horticultural lectures presented every Sunday during the summer, in the farmhouse garden at Maison Saint-Gabriel.
| First episode Parsnip, a root vegetable Second episode The cucumber... a refreshing vegetable Third episode Cabbage Fourth episode Carrot Fifth episode Onions Sixth episode Pumpkin |
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