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We all know that Roast Turkey is the canonical dish in both countries. Cornbread figures prominently in the Southern US.

What are the other significant differences?

Cascabel
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Chris Cudmore
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    I wonder if this would be best served by attempting to describe the most common Thanksgiving dishes in each country, since the number of people who really know both countries' traditions is fairly small. Of course, wikipedia does cover a lot of the most common US side dishes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_dinner so maybe the Canadians have a shot. – Cascabel Oct 05 '11 at 20:22
  • I would also wonder about regional differences within Canada and the US. In Canada for example, does it vary from the Maritime provinces, Quebec, Ontario, ...? – FrustratedWithFormsDesigner Oct 06 '11 at 00:26

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From my experience, there are no major differences between Canadian and Northern American dishes. We have most of the normal Turkey (or Goose/Duck), yams, potatoes, stuffing/dressing, pies etc... There are probably more differences with in the United States itself (southern vs northern), for example the cornbread you mentioned.

In other words, when I watch American Thanksgiving food/cooking show specials, the large majority of the dishes are very familiar and relevant to my experiences up here.

I would suggest that most variations come from families' countries of origin/culture.. For example, my mom usually cooked some special Chinese dishes, but clearly that isn't a Canadian thing. (Also, Southern influence, coastal influence, Latin influence etc..)

talon8
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  • Canadians are less likely to feature the green beans with fried onions thing, and to put marshmallows on their sweet potatoes. Other than that, it's standard "fall harvest" fare and plenty of it! – Kate Gregory Dec 30 '15 at 23:34
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There are many regional variations within the United States. In Miami, where I grew up, we always had Cuban style black beans and rice. Friends from Haiti would add Haitian dishes. My family in Georgia would have dishes that were unique to the South, etc.

Byron Jones
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