Summer Foods You Must Have in Canada

Manitoba's Chokecherries

Don't be put off by the name: Chokecherries—also known as wild black cherries—are a sweet-tart treat when prepared right. Best in jams, syrups, sauces, and wines, most chokecherries are grown in the wild. A member of the rose family (and related to plums and peaches), the dark cherries can be found hanging heavily from shrubs along the roads of the Manitoban Prairies each August and September.

Where to Try It: Chokecherries remain—at least for now—a small-scale endeavor involving harvesting the wild-growing fruits and cooking them to bring out their flavor. In Manitoba, find chokecherry jams and more at farmers' markets, local grocery stores, museum and garden gift shops, and specialty-food shops. Look for small-scale Manitoban producers such as Gourmet Inspirations.

Nova Scotia's Lobster

For a true taste of Nova Scotia, you're going to need a hearty appetite for lobster. And summer is prime time for the specialty in the Maritime province. Lobster is a way of life in these parts, and visitors can get a peek by visiting a lobster pound or walking the working wharves. And July's Lobster Bash is a three-day festival devoted entirely to lobster.

Where to Try It: Whether you're looking for a lobster roll at a picnic table by the water or a candlelit lobster dinner, Nova Scotia is full of great options. There are plenty of best-of lists available online, and the Nova Scotia Tourism Board lists more great ways to sample lobster. You can even get a lobster to take home with you at the airport.

Saskatchewan's Saskatoon Berries

For a sweet summer taste of the Canadian Prairies, grab a handful of Saskatoon berries. The small berries resemble blueberries but are brighter purple and have a sweet, unusual flavor all their own. Saskatoon berries—which also go by the name Serviceberries, June berries, or simply Saskatoons—have a relatively short harvest season in mid-summer, but they're a favorite in pies and preserves, so you can try them even if you don't get to taste them right off the bush.

Where to Try It: PickYourOwn.org has an extensive list of U-Pick farms with Saskatoon berries around the province. Find Saskatoon-berry products, including pies, jams, and syrups, at bakeries, grocery stores, and farmers' markets.

Ontario's Wild Blueberries

July brings a new reason to explore the wilds of Ontario. It's around this time that the modestly sized low-bush blueberry shrubs found in many forests and fields around the province begin to hang heavy with thousands of tiny berries, each bursting with more flavor than you'd taste in a whole basket of conventionally grown blueberries. Find them fresh or dressed up as pies, tarts, and other baked delights throughout the province.

Where to Try It: Picking wild blueberries is a proud summer tradition in parts of Ontario. Befriend a knowledgeable local and you just might get to tag along. For a less labor-intensive taste, buy them fresh from small farms and foragers at farmers' markets or grocery stores. And find them sweetening breakfasts and desserts all summer long.

British Columbia's Salmon

This is going to be a big summer for salmon in British Columbia. Five wild species of salmon—chinook, chum, coho, sockeye, and pink—call the rivers and ocean of British Columbia home, drawing both anglers and seafood lovers with the promise of abundant fresh fish. And this fall, a massive sockeye salmon run is predicted, offering a unique spectacle for salmon lovers interested in witnessing firsthand the drama of the fish's lifecycle.

Where to Try It: Find prepared salmon at restaurants around British Columbia. Buy salmon fresh off the dock in Steveston Harbour, False Creek, and elsewhere. Ready to catch your own? The BC Salmon Marketing Council maintains a list of favorite salmon-fishing holes, and many companies offer guided fishing excursions in area rivers and the Pacific.

Thompson Okanagan's Cherries

Cherries and travelers both like British Columbia's Thompson Okanagan for many of the same reasons: plenty of sunshine, mild temperatures, and abundant lakes. The region produces 93 percent of Canada's sweet cherries, and visitors looking for a taste of summer straight from the source have plenty of ways to sample the crop.

Where to Try It: Head out to orchards, farm stands, and local restaurants and bakeries for the ripest cherries. Pick your own at Dickinson Family Farm in Summerland or stop by the farm gate of Sandy Acres Berry Farm in Salmon Arm for fresh cherries and other fruits.

You Might Also Like:

• Foods You Want in Summer
• 10 Foreign Foods You've Got to Try Before You Die
• Best BBQ Joints in America