SAINT-ISIDORE, Que. — Sugar shacks are a vegan’s nightmare.

The cabanes a sucre, as French-Canadians call the backwoods repositories of Quebec culinary tradition, have evolved from humble huts where sap is boiled down to maple syrup into feasting houses churning out meat by the tray-full.

Glazed ham, sausages, meat pies, scrambled eggs and pork rinds are all standard fare atop their communal tables, baked into the definition of the term.

No longer.

Fuelled by growing health and ethical concerns and culinary creativity, shifting eating habits have seen vegetarian and vegan dishes mushroom at cabanes a sucre across Quebec, along with a few pure vegan sugar shacks — heresy in recent times.

Marie-France DesGroseilliers, head chef at her family-owned sugar shack, Domaine Labranche, launched a gluten-free vegan menu this year that features curried tofu and soy-based meatballs alongside more traditional grub like fried potatoes.

(…) To read the article click HERE

Source: Nationalpost.com