Parks Canada Heritage Gourmet App 

Parks Canada has recently launched the free Heritage Gourmet iPhone/iPod and Android app. The app allows users to embark on a culinary journey through Canada’s rich history by trying out the various recipes and reading the associated stories. 

Over 60 heritage recipes are featured on the app, some dating as far back as the 18th century – but for ease of use the recipes have been tested and modified for modern cooks. Recipes vary from chili to bannock to orange marmalade to homemade jerky! Each recipe is accompanied by a full colour photo and historical information. The app also allows you to email recipes, save ingredients to your shopping list, or search by ingredient, course, period or region.

The story associated with the apple pie recipe comes from Jasper’s own history. In the 1920s, Col. Rogers was Jasper National Park’s superintendent, and his family lived in the building that is now the park information centre. At the time, Marie Louise Camp worked as a maid for Col. Rogers, and in an interview, she recounted the following tale:

“I came to Jasper in February (1922) and worked for the superintendent of the Park, Col. Maynard Rogers ... I remember an amusing incident while I was working for the colonel ... this particular day I had to prepare an apple pie. The colonel said, ‘We will have some cheese with it.’ I told him that I had spent some time trying to pick the mould out of it, but it was too far-gone, when the janitor Dan Patch, had come into the kitchen and said, ‘What the hell stinks in here?’ I showed him the cheese and (we both agreed) it was rotten and (he) took it outside and fed it to the chickens. Well, the colonel was so mad! We had thrown his good Limburger cheese to the chickens, but it was the first I had ever seen (of that kind of cheese).”

The apple pie recipe comes from Jasper National Park employee Deb Joly. It was passed down to her from her great-grandmother. Happy eating!

If you don’t have a smartphone, you can also access the recipes on Parks Canada’s website, at www.pc.gc.ca/media/gourmand-gourmet/app-intro.aspx

Mountain pine beetles and cold weather

Local residents may be wondering if the recent cold snap was enough to kill off some of the park’s mountain pine beetles. Although the rapid temperature drop was certainly a shock to our systems, the unfortunate news is that it likely wasn’t enough to harm the hardy beetles. 

As for what temperature is actually needed to do the damage, answers vary. This is likely because factors other than just temperature come into play. If a tree has thicker bark, or more snow around it forming an insulating layer, then temperatures may need to be more extreme. 

In general, it must remain below -35 C for several days in a row; although a sudden cold snap in early fall or late spring might be more effective, as the beetles have low levels of glycerol (their natural anti-freeze) in their system at those times.

So, maybe we can all keep warm for now, while hoping for a cold snap (brrrrr) in the spring!