Nanaimo bar: Difference between revisions

The '''Nanaimo bar''' ({{IPAc-en|n|ə|ˈ|n|aɪ|m|oʊ}} {{respell|nə|NY|moh}}; or Le '''nanaïmo'''<ref name="barber">{{cite book|date=2004|editor-first=Katherine |isbn=0-19-541816-6|language=en|editor-last=Barber|location=Don Mills, Ontario|edition=2|url=http://www.oupcanada.com/reference_trade/dictionaries.html|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|title=The Canadian Oxford Dictionary}} {{page needed|date=November 2023}}</ref>) is a [[bar dessert]] that requires no [[baking]] and is named after the Canadian city of [[Nanaimo]] in [[British Columbia]].<ref name="LLN">{{cite journal |last= Newman| first= Lenore Lauri|title=Notes from the Nanaimo bar trail|journal=Canadian Food Studies| date= 2014| volume= 1| issue= 1| pages= 10–19| doi= 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v1i1.11|url=http://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/11/7|access-date=26 May 2014| doi-access= free}}</ref> It consists of three layers: a [[wafer]], nut (walnuts, almonds, or pecans), and [[coconut]] crumb base; [[custard]] icing in the middle; and a layer of [[chocolate]] [[ganache]] on top. Many varieties exist, consisting of various types of crumb, various flavours of icing (such as [[peanut butter]] or coconut, [[Caffè mocha|mocha]]), and various types of chocolate.

The first{{dubious|date=December 2023}} printing of recipes featuring Nanaimo bar ingredients is found in the 1952 ''Women's Auxiliary to the Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook'', which features three nearly identical recipes that differ only slightly from the modern Nanaimo bar.<ref name="LLN" /> They are referred to as the "chocolate square" or the "chocolate slice".

Recipes for similar desserts are found in various places, under various names, in North America and Europe. The designation "Nanaimo bar" is Canadian, and appears in the ''[[Canadian Oxford Dictionary]]'',<ref name="barber">{{cite book |title=The Canadian Oxford Dictionary |date=2004 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-541816-6 |editor-last=Barber |editor-first=Katherine |edition=2 |location=Don Mills, Ontario |language=en}} {{page needed|date=November 2023}}</ref> but not in other language or dialect versions.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

In April 2019, [[Canada Post]] announced the release of a booklet of [[postage stamp]]s dedicated to Canadian desserts and sweets.<ref name= "CPstamp">{{cite news |last1=Larsen |first1=Karin |title=Sweet! Nanaimo bar goes postal with announcement of new stamp |url= https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sweet-nanaimo-bar-goes-postal-with-announcement-of-new-stamp-1.5094596 |access-date=14 April 2019 |work=CBC News |publisher=CBC/Radio-Canada |date=11 April 2019}}</ref> The booklet of 10 stamps features images of the Nanaimo bar, the [[butter tart]], ''tarte au sucre'' ([[sugar pie]]), blueberry [[cobbler (food)|grunt]], and [[Saskatoon berry pie]].<ref name= "CPstamp" /> Canada Post described the stamps as "fun-shaped", and the booklet of stamps resembled a recipe card.<ref name= "CPstamp" /> The image of the Nanaimo bar on the stamp received some criticism for its ratio of "the crumbly base, the custard filling, and the chocolate ganache icing."<ref>{{cite news |last1= Mooney |first1=Harrison |title=Nanaimo bar gets Canada Post stamp, but critics question base-to-filling ratio |url= https://vancouversun.com/life/food/sweet-iconic-nanaimo-bar-gets-its-own-stamp |access-date=14 April 2019 |work= Vancouver Sun |publisher= Postmedia |date=12 April 2019}}</ref>