Rocky Mountain cuisine is a

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

;

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

and

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Some distinguishing dishes include

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...

and

Rocky Mountain oysters Rocky Mountain oysters or mountain oysters, or meat balls, also known as prairie oysters in Canada (french: animelles), is a dish made of bull testicles. The organs are often deep-fried after being skinned, coated in flour, pepper and salt, and ...

, or prairie oysters as they are known in Canada.

Description

The roots of Rocky Mountain cuisine go back to the history of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. The railways brought the best of Victorian kitchens and recreated lavish menus for their lodges. Meanwhile, mountain guides from Switzerland, Austria and Germany were learning from the native people how to cook and appreciate local foods. Learning the art of curing and

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have b ...

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

and fish helped people survive the long mountain winters. Game meats fit nicely into the popular lighter culinary style of today. As naturally lean meats, they are ideally suited for cooking quickly over the high heat of a grill or wok, stir-fried or roasted and served with a light sauce, salad and vegetables. Current trends are largely

farm-to-table Farm-to-table (or farm-to-fork, and in some cases farm-to-school) is a social movement which promotes serving local food at restaurants and school cafeterias, preferably through direct acquisition from the producer (which might be a winery, brewer ...

throughout the region.

Alberta

Alberta beef is a staple for the northern region with worldwide recognition for its quality and tenderness, prepared in a variety of ways, barbecuing, braising, grilling, skewering, and most notably is served as steaks. Bison, elk, caribou, wild boar, venison and pheasant also feature locally. The province grows many local grains used in different foods and drinks. Alberta is also the fifth-largest honey producing region in the world, producing 18 million pounds of honey annually. During the fall, the cold nights also cause root vegetables to concentrate causing them to taste sweeter. Alberta is also known for its growing craft-beer and alcohol industry with microbreweries located in both urban and rural areas around the province. A variety of microbreweries, distilleries, meaderies, and fruit wineries can be found throughout the province. The city of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

is also the birthplace of the

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

, a cocktail consisting of vodka mixed with clam-infused tomato juice, lime, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, with a delicious celery-salt rim Michael Chell created the cocktail to celebrate the 1969 opening of the Calgary Inn's new restaurant, Marco's Italian. Inspired by his favourite Italian dish, ''spaghetti vongole'', Chell set out to create a cocktail that would capture the pasta's hearty clam and tomato flavours. The drink is popular across Canada but can be compared to the more widely known Bloody Mary cocktail. Local meats and produce can be found throughout the numerous

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

s located in major cities, with some being open year-round. Festivals happen throughout the province to promote local food and drink with the most notable events being the Taste of Edmonton and Taste of Calgary festivals, Calgary International Beerfest, and the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

Description

Alberta

See also

References

Further reading