Foods From Newfoundland and Labrador

Hard Bread

While Trevor was in Labrador he did a bit of shopping. One of the ingredients he brought home was called Hard Bread Biscuits. They look like small extremely hard dinner rolls. They need to be soaked in water before eating and you will find a recipe using them called Fish and Brewis on our blog. The story of how this bread came into being is quite interesting and here it is.

Hard Bread also known as Hard Tack, has been a dietary staple of Newfoundlanders for many years. Hard Bread was developed from the ancient sea biscuit which formed the basis of meals on fishing vessels and cargo ships prior to the 1840s when baking aboard was impossible.  Due to its long life, hard bread was an ideal substitute for fresh bread. As the tale goes, a cook on a schooner was preparing a meal of hard bread and fish for the crew and was asked to break up the bread or bruise the bread prior to it being soaked. Thus the term “Brewis”.

Salted Fish

The salted fish Trevor purchased was in a bag, prior to use it should be soaked overnight as it is extremely salty. We used this fish in the popular Newfoundland dish called Fish and Brewis but it is also used there for fish balls, salt codfish pie, fish cakes and fat back and molasses.

Salted Beef

Salted beef  is one of the main ingredients in jiggs dinner in Newfoundland. The beef should be soaked overnight before using. Jiggs dinner is almost like a corned beef and cabbage dish. You will find a recipe for this meal in our recipe section.

Salted Pork

Salt pork also known as white bacon .  As a standalone food product, it is typically boiled to remove much of the salt content and partially cook the product, then fried until it starts to develop a crisp exterior. It can be used as a stand alone meat product or in many dishes that call for regular salt pork.