From tea buns to vinegar tart, this teacher is schooling kids in traditional Newfoundland treats
Some teenagers in White Bay are earning school credit this semester — and maybe some extra calories — by learning about, and preserving, the tastiest aspects of the province's heritage.
As part of the Newfoundland Studies class at Main River Academy in Pollard's Point, students will be rolling up their sleeves and busting out their rolling pins to learn local traditional baking recipes that are fading as the population ages or moves elsewhere.
"We all connect over food. Food is such a social thing," said the course's teacher, Natalie Jackson, who has enlisted at least two local talented home bakers to help with the curriculum.
"If it's lost, that's a big part of our Newfoundland heritage that's gone, and you can't get it back once it's gone."
Jackson herself admitted the meat pies she savours each Christmas Eve are made by her mother, and ensuring such talents get passed on to the next generation is one of her educational goals.
Tea buns 101
Jackson's course outline makes waistlines weep: she's planning for pork buns, raisin buns, homemade bread and canned milk caramel.
And then, there's vinegar tart.
Wait — what?
"It came from Harbour Deep. I don't know if it's known in other communities, but in Harbour Deep it's a tradition that they have during Easter, and it's made with molasses and vinegar," Jackson told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning Show.
"It's like a pie, that's supposedly sweet, but tart at the same time."
The popular food blog Rock Recipes confirms vinegar tart/pie is indeed a thing, with vinegar the star ingredient. (Butter being a close second: a Rock Recipes slice comes in at 398 calories.)
Jackson has outsourced the tart expertise to a woman originally from Harbour Deep who will share her version with the class.
"Reading a recipe, and having somebody show you, is a lot different," she said.
An added bonus to bringing in the extra teachers is having the teenagers interact with more members of their community.
"It's heartwarming to see. Kids tend to be more open sometimes to somebody else other than the same old teacher that's standing in front of the classroom," said Jackson.
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