I'm a Canadian who's lived in the US for 24 years. Here are the 10 foods I still miss every day.

When I moved to the US, I missed Canadian foods like Smarties and mac-and-cheese meat.

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• I was born in Canada and moved to the US when I was six but I miss the foods I grew up eating.
• I miss the Tim Hortons Timbits, Lay's ketchup chips, and Kinder Surprise Eggs the most.
• The maple syrup I've bought in the US can't compare to what I've had in Canada.

I wish there were more Tim Hortons locations in the US.

Timbits come in a variety of flavors.

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If there's one thing Justin Bieber and I have in common, it's our love for Tim Hortons. The chain was founded in 1964 in my home province, Ontario, and has a similar prevalence to Starbucks in the US.

Though there are some locations in parts of the US, Tim Hortons isn't close to me where I live in Oregon. Growing up, my family would regularly order a pack of doughnut holes, known as Timbits, as the perfect after-school snack or as a great sweet to take on a picnic.

Flavors like honey dip, apple fritter, chocolate glazed, and blueberry ensured there was something for everyone to enjoy.

I missed out on Kinder Surprise eggs when I first moved to the US.

Kinder eggs are made with milk and white chocolate.

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Until recently, it was difficult to find any Kinder-brand chocolate in the US because some products — like the Kinder Surprise egg, which was filled with toys — were banned due to the potential choking hazard. Items like the Kinder Bueno Bar and Kinder Joy (which has a separately wrapped toy inside) were a delicious combination of milk and white chocolate that was basically nonexistent in my adult life.

In Canada, I saw Kinder Surprise eggs at nearly every checkout stand in the grocery store so I grew up eating them on a regular basis.

Similar to Kinder's other products, this hollow egg is made with layers of milk and white chocolate with a little toy tucked inside.

Pure Canadian maple syrup is one item I miss the most.

Most brands found in a US grocery store can't compare to local Canadian maple syrup.

Molly Allen

Though it's possible to purchase pure maple syrup (which is often produced in Vermont) in the grocery store in the US, I still miss the version from Canada.

Sometimes, I'll get lucky and find a label that says "product of Canada," but I think there's still a distinct difference in taste.

I grew up visiting a small maple-syrup farm and sugar shack, where we tasted freshly boiled sap and took home the treat to pour over pancakes the next morning. Truly, nothing compares.

Smarties are a little different in Canada.

Smarties are somewhat similar to M&M's.

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Candy gets confusing when you move from Canada to the US. In the US, Smarties are those little rolls of tiny pastel candies but in Canada, those are called Rockets.

On the other hand, Smarties in Canada are candy-coated chocolate treats produced by Nestlé. They're similar in concept to M&M's, but they don't taste the same and, in my opinion, have more exciting vibrant colors.

Nestle's Coffee Crisp was the chocolaty, crunchy candy of my childhood.

I could find Coffee Crisps in nearly every store in Canada.

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This treat is the perfect blend of chocolate and coffee in a bar form. It has crisp wafer layers sandwiched between coffee-flavored creme, all covered in chocolate.

In Canada, I saw Nestlé's Coffee Crisp in nearly every grocery and convenience store, yet I cannot find it in the US. 

Homemade or store-bought butter tarts were the quintessential Canadian desserts.

Butter tarts are like mini, maple-syrup-flavored pies.

Molly Allen

In Canada, you can't go into a local bakery or even a grocery store's baked-goods section without finding butter tarts. Though it's possible to make these incredible tiny treats from scratch, there's nothing like buying one from a bakery for a snack — and in the US, I haven't seen the treat for sale.

The quintessential Canadian dessert has a flaky tart crust, similar to a pie, and a gooey, runny filling that tastes like brown sugar and maple.

Some bakers add raisins, pecans, or walnuts, but many people love the original filling on its own. It's one of those treats for which every family has their own signature recipe that they consider to be the absolute best.

I grew up eating Lay's ketchup chips by the handful.

Ketchup chips are always on the list when people talk about Canadian snacks.

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Ketchup chips were my childhood favorite and though you can find some brands in US stores, Lay's version of the snack still hasn't made its way over the border.

I'll always be a diehard Lay's fan because the brand's chips are light, crispy, and full of flavor.

Ketchup chips don't actually taste like the condiment but they're still sweet, tangy, and bright red, a flavor that stands out all on its own.

Macaroni-and-cheese meat was a great snack.

I could easily say I was addicted to macaroni-and-cheese meat as a child.

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Talking about macaroni-and-cheese meat is one of my favorite party tricks because nobody ever believes that this exists. In Canada, several versions of a macaroni-and-cheese loaf might be sold right beside the usual choices of roast beef, ham, and turkey.

Though it's commonly sold in Canada, you might be able to find it in a few places in the US. For example, one of the popular producers, Koegel, has a factory based in Michigan.

The loaf has a similar base to bologna, with tiny pieces of macaroni pasta and squares of cheddar cheese dotted throughout. You could eat it on a sandwich, but I used to grab a slice or two of macaroni-and-cheese meat from the fridge, roll it up, and have it as a snack.

 

I can't find Maynard's Wine Gums anywhere in the US.

The Maynards candy brand has been around since the mid-1800s.

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I certainly wish I could find Maynards' Swedish Berries and Fuzzy Peaches in the US, but the brand's Wine Gums top my list of most-missed gummy candies.

I grew up snagging a bag of these out of the bulk section at the grocery store, and as a kid, I thought it was genius because they'd last me forever.

They're gummy but a bit harder with more texture than other chewy candies. Think of it like you left your Swedish Fish open for days and they got a bit stale. Wine Gums take longer to chew, and the flavors aren't as sweet as your typical gummy candy.

Passion Flakies were a lunchtime favorite of mine.

Any time Passion Flakies were packed in my lunch, it was a dream come true.

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In the US, snacks like Little Debbie's Nutty Bars and Cosmic Brownies reign supreme but in Canada, Passion Flakies rule the packaged-dessert category.

Hailing from Quebec, Passion Flakies are made with a super light, flaky pastry on the outside and cream and jam-like fruit filling on the inside.

Brands like Vachon make the perfect blend of flavors and textures with just a hint of sweetness.

This story was originally published on September 15, 2022, and most recently updated on September 9, 2024.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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