North Bay Museum

The North Bay Museum has been preserving and sharing North Bay’s history since 1973. Originally located on Main Street, it has since been relocated to the historic Canadian Pacific Railway Station.

With a mandate to preserve North Bay’s history and inspire the discovery of the people and places of North Bay’s past and present, the North Bay Museum offers exhibits and programs that cater to visitors of all ages.

Exhibits within the museum showcase North Bay’s rich history, beginning with the Nipissing people and progressing through time, with a focus on local industrial and military history.

In addition to indigenous peoples, the city’s population is largely of British origin with notable elements of Dutch, Italian, Scandinavian and German populations. 

The community also boasts a strong Francophone presence with both transportation and the military having brought many French-Canadian families to the area in the 50s and 60s.

Every Saturday throughout the summer you will find a multitude of vendor kiosks set up adjacent to the North Bay Museum.  The North Bay Farmers' Market mission is to provide an opportunity for area farmers, food producers, artisans, and organizations to share their products with the community.

The Farmer's Market features the freshest produce along with pottery, jewelry and soaps created by local artisans.

Maple syrup harevested from area prducers, such as Mathews Maple Syrup is also available. Located in Powassan this sugar bush offers tours and tastings, and if you are lucky enough to be here in the spring you may want to check out the Maple Syrup Festival.

Dubbed the premier event of the season, this little countryside village swells from 2000 to 15,000 in celebration of the sweet sap. 

What will you make with your souvenir maple syrup? You may want to try your hand at some traditional Canadian fare such as ‘’Tire d’érable’’ or “pudding chômeur”,

It truly does not get more Canadian than “tire d’érable’’ (or maple taffy). This sugary sweet candy is prepared by pouring boiling maple syrup over snow, where the cold causes it to immediately harden. You’re then meant to roll it up with a popsicle stick and enjoy immediately. The result is a rich maple flavour, with a soft, gooey texture – the dessert of dreams!

Few Canadian dishes are as world-renowned as the glorious creation known as poutine, but dishes infused with maple syrup are definitely a close runner up.

An example of this is the wonderful ‘’Pouding chômeur’’. Literally translated to “the unemployment pudding”, this French-Canadian dessert was created during the Great Depression, which makes it one of the more traditional Canadian foods.

It’s proof that less is more, with a few basic ingredients combined to make a delicious, comforting dessert still loved by Canadians all over the country. Made up of cake batter topped with hot syrup, the end result is a deliciously sweet treat that cures all woes.

prep time: 20 min
total time: 70 min
serves 9

Ricardo Larrivée (Renowned French Canadian Chef)

Ingredients
2 ¾ cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp corn syrup
½ cup 35% cream
1 ¼ cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
⅔ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

RECIPE

1. With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). 

2. In a saucepan, bring the maple and corn syrups to a boil. Simmer until a candy thermometer reads 108°C (226°F), about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the cream and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a 20-cm (8-inch) Pyrex baking dish. Set aside. 

3. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Add the egg and beat until smooth. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Using an ice cream scoop, drop about 9 balls of dough, about 45 ml (3 tablespoons) each, into the syrup mixture. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a ball comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or cold. 
4. Note : A more traditional approach is to place the dough in the baking dish and pour the partially cooled syrup mixture over it before baking. Note that the cake will be more thoroughly soaked if you use this method.