Around my house, there’s a clear line of demarcation when it comes to butter tarts. And given that this is Local Food Week in Ontario, the timing seems appropriate to share this simmering conflict with readers of The Echo.
Butter tarts are a guilty
pleasure with both my wife Angi and I. For fillings, I’m flexible. But not her – she’s a staunch minimalist. No pecans, no walnuts, and definitely no raisins, especially once they start softening up.
“Raisins in a butter tart remind me of slugs,” she says. “Ick.”
I disagree. But I’m smart enough to know this is not open for discussion, like anchovies or pineapple on pizza – even though the original butter tart contained raisin-like currants.
That’s right. The first published butter tart recipe, from Mary MacLeod of Barrie in 1900, goes like this: mix one cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, two eggs, one cup of currants, then fill the tarts and bake.
Pioneer MacLeod died on April 19, 1915. And now, what makes this all newsworthy is that a movement is underway to officially proclaim the day of her passing National Butter Tart Day in Canada.
The effort is being led by John Meissner of Grimsby (formerly of Guelph). Not long ago, he was among six judges sampling butter tarts at a festival, when he bit into a tasteless loser.
The experience disgusted Meissner so much that he decided to take action, ultimately recruiting Simcoe North MP Adam Chambers to lead a petition parliamentary towards National Butter Tart Day. Such passion!
Proclamations like this require 500 signatures to even be considered. And as of last weekend, he already had 3,344. This initiative is timely indeed, and has several points in its favour.
First, in a world mired in daily tyranny and war, lighthearted nuggets like this remind us that all’s not lost, that there are still quirky revelations to smile about. And then there’s the Canada Strong element. It’s shaking the trees, looking in all corners of the country for points of pride and distinction, big and small. I suspect butter tarts would elicit more emotion from many people than some of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s proposed infrastructure projects.
As well, as Meissner points out, a National Butter Tart Day would support domestic bakers, dairy and egg farmers. Plus, there’s the local food angle. Butter tart trails and festivals are all around us, including the annual Canada’s Best Butter Tart Festival, an hour away in Midland. It takes place this year on June 13.
Finally, the official food movement is well entrenched in Ontario. Since 2021, the Saturday immediately before Civic Holiday in each year has been designed as Food Day Ontario, or Food Day Canada in Ontario. Bill S-227, An Act to establish Food Day in Canada, also known as the Food Day in Canada Act, passed in the Senate in May 2022, then sponsored by MP John Nater in the House of Commons where it received unanimous support throughout the legislative process.
Some say the calendar is getting crowded with Canadian food-related recognition days. Perhaps that’s true. Still, I say we make room for butter tarts, one of our true national treasures.
Maybe we can’t all agree on the filling. But who can argue with the intent?
Owen Roberts is an agricultural journalist from Guelph. He regularly visits family in Creemore.
