Maple syrup is the real Canadian

Learning a new language necessarily includes learning a new culture. That is when we learn a language, we are getting closer to a specific culture that this language belongs to. However, this might seem easy to understand and to some extent self-explanatory. Indeed, that’s not the case all the time. For example, Arabic as a language is spoken by different countries and the question here is about which culture we are learning when we learn Arabic. The same thing implies to English as it is spoken by many countries around the world. And those countries have different cultures and cultural interventions in English. Like New Zealand and Canada, even if people there speak English but they have different cultural aspects in that. Here, I will write about the typical Canadian maple syrup because it belongs culturally to the Canadian culture. Moreover, Canada is an English-speaking country which is the language that I’m learning now. 

It’s not a surprise that the maple leaf is represented on Canada’s flag as Canada is the home for over 10 species of maple trees (Fraser, 1998). When coming to the Canadian culture maple and maple syrup are at the core of this culture. Maple syrup was first done by indigenous people of Canada who in their turn taught that to the European newcomers (Ciesla, 2002). In other words, maple syrup fabric has been a cultural heritage long before the European settlers came to Canada. That’s why I believe that maple syrup is something that’s only related to Canada even if some kinds of maple trees can be found somewhere else and maple syrup can be done in other parts of the world.

Further, the issue about the symbolism in the maple leaf in Canada’s flag and the maple syrup as a cultural Canadian cuisine is not only about the food or the tree. But rather it’s related to Canada’s brand in the world. What I mean here is whenever we say Canadian, many people will recognize the maple leaf or maple syrup whenever we think about some kind of Canadian cuisine. There are farmers in Canada who live from making maple syrup. Canadians went further by incorporating maple syrup, which is a sweetener, in their other dishes and cuisines (Greer, 2013). So it’s no surprise that maple leaf is there on Canada’s flag.

Finally, Canada has certainly more symbols that represent Canada, in the same way in all other countries in the world. All those symbols refer to the cultural heritage of the country and not to a specific cuisine or a specific organization. Moreover, this cultural value is something that Canadian people inherited. The value of the symbols is derived from the fact that those symbols belong to the country and the culture of this country. In other words, whether we like maple syrup or not, we do understand that it’s Canadian and it represents to some extent a part of the Canadian culture. So maple syrup is Canadian even if it’s produced in other parts of the world. 

Fraser, A., 1998. The Flags of Canada 

available at<http://www.fraser.cc/FlagsCan/index.html> [accessed 2021-04-08]

Ciesla, W., 2002. Non-wood forest products from temperate broad-leaved trees. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, p.37.

Greer, S., 2013. Cooking with Maple syrup, the signature ingredient of Canadian cuisine. [online] Times Colonist. Available at: <https://www.timescolonist.com/life/food-drink/cooking-with-maple-syrup-the-signature-ingredient-of-canadian-cuisine-1.97578> [Accessed 8 April 2021].