My kid is addicted to oyster crackers

[ronandannette]

@kimblebee @CdnCarrie @NFLDERS
Have any of you had oyster crackers? Are they even available here? I've heard of them but have never seen it tasted them?

 

[kimblebee]

@kimblebee @CdnCarrie @NFLDERS
Have any of you had oyster crackers? Are they even available here? I've heard of them but have never seen it tasted them?

LMAO I thought I was the only one who's never heard of them. Do you eat them with oysters or do they taste like them?

 

[Frozen Canuck]

@kimblebee @CdnCarrie @NFLDERS
Have any of you had oyster crackers? Are they even available here? I've heard of them but have never seen it tasted them?

LMAO I thought I was the only one who's never heard of them. Do you eat them with oysters or do they taste like them?

Hey! What am I? Chopped liver???

Why thank you for asking, ronandannette! Yes, I have had oyster crackers. In the U.S., LOTS of restaurants serve clam chowder (at least where we have lived, both east and west coast). Oyster crackers are a staple, as a result, as that is about the only time I see them served. They are like little soda cracker (saltine) pillows, minus the salt on top. Instead of crumbling saltines into your soup, oyster crackers are already bite-sized, so you just open the package and sprinkle them on top of your clam chowder.

As far as Canada carrying them...I just went grocery shopping in Canada this past weekend, but wasn't looking for oyster crackers. In the U.S., they are in bags and sold in the same area as the soda crackers are.

 

[kimblebee]

Hey! What am I? Chopped liver???

Why thank you for asking, ronandannette! Yes, I have had oyster crackers. In the U.S., LOTS of restaurants serve clam chowder (at least where we have lived, both east and west coast). Oyster crackers are a staple, as a result, as that is about the only time I see them served. They are like little soda cracker (saltine) pillows, minus the salt on top. Instead of crumbling saltines into your soup, oyster crackers are already bite-sized, so you just open the package and sprinkle them on top of your clam chowder.

As far as Canada carrying them...I just went grocery shopping in Canada this past weekend, but wasn't looking for oyster crackers. In the U.S., they are in bags and sold in the same area as the soda crackers are.

You're an ex-pat lol

We'll still invite you to the parties though

 

[Frozen Canuck]

As far as the name of the cracker goes, from Wikipedia I found the following, "The origin of the term "oyster cracker" is unclear, but it may be that they were originally served with oyster stew or clam chowder or merely that they look like an oyster in its shell."

 

[Frozen Canuck]

You're an ex-pat lol

We'll still invite you to the parties though

I'll have you know that I am VERY patriotic!!! I just spent the entire long weekend hanging out on Parliament Hill and touring our nation's capital!

(Where, I might add, I was craving clam chowder, but there was none to be had. However, there sure was a lot of great pub food in the downtown!)

 

[Minnesota!]

I mix a bag of them with some veg oil and a packet of ranch dressing mix plus a good few tablespoons of dill weed.

Bake until browning starts.

My kids go nuts for these...easy snack.

(I do the same with pretzels and cheezits, too..)

 

[ronandannette]

Hey! What am I? Chopped liver???

Why thank you for asking, ronandannette! Yes, I have had oyster crackers. In the U.S., LOTS of restaurants serve clam chowder (at least where we have lived, both east and west coast). Oyster crackers are a staple, as a result, as that is about the only time I see them served. They are like little soda cracker (saltine) pillows, minus the salt on top. Instead of crumbling saltines into your soup, oyster crackers are already bite-sized, so you just open the package and sprinkle them on top of your clam chowder.

As far as Canada carrying them...I just went grocery shopping in Canada this past weekend, but wasn't looking for oyster crackers. In the U.S., they are in bags and sold in the same area as the soda crackers are.

You're an ex-pat lol

We'll still invite you to the parties though

^^What she said. It's not that you don't count FC, it's just that you don't count as somebody who has no friggin' idea what an oyster cracker is!

 

[Frozen Canuck]

What she said. It's not that you don't count FC, it's just that you don't count as somebody who has no friggin' idea what an oyster cracker is!

Okay, so to remedy that, I hereby invite each of you down to my place for a Souper Supper and I will make my "famous" west coast (Shhhhhhhh!!!!! Don't tell the New Englanders that my recipe isn't from here!) clam chowder and have plenty of oyster crackers on hand. Somebody else is in charge of the Goodhost though...and apparently it can't be @NFLDERS because her province has never heard of it!

 

[kimblebee]

Okay, so to remedy that, I hereby invite each of you down to my place for a Souper Supper and I will make my "famous" west coast (Shhhhhhhh!!!!! Don't tell the New Englanders that my recipe isn't from here!) clam chowder and have plenty of oyster crackers on hand. Somebody else is in charge of the Goodhost though...and apparently it can't be @NFLDERS because her province has never heard of it!

Goodhost ice tea powder? I'll bring that if you don't make me eat chowda. I'll just nibble on the crackers lol

 

[minniebeth]

I mix a bag of them with some veg oil and a packet of ranch dressing mix plus a good few tablespoons of dill weed.

Bake until browning starts.

My kids go nuts for these...easy snack.

(I do the same with pretzels and cheezits, too..)

Oh my goodness, YES!! We love oyster crackers and pretzels done like this! So delicious!
We make them for almost every holiday and also often for after school snacks

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/15956/ranch-oyster-crackers/

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Goodhost ice tea powder? I'll bring that if you don't make me eat chowda. I'll just nibble on the crackers lol

That's the one! We drove nearly 7 hours north over the weekend to get to Canada so that I could actually buy groceries to bring back. It is nearly impossible to bring bulky stuff like Shreddies or Goodhost when you fly with carry-on only. I had a list a mile long and Goodhost was right at the top! Anyway, I went to three different grocery stores in various parts of Ontario and was told, "Never heard of it." All they had was Nestea. I asked NFLDERS and she said she had to look it up to find out what it was!!! I know it ranges for sure from BC to SK. I'm not sure where it drops off after that, but apparently Ontario is missing out. I'm pretty sure my husband has brought me some back from Montreal before.

Getting back to the chowder...it is sooooo good, but if it isn't your thing, I would be happy to make a pot of something else as well. I also make the Epcot Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup with Beer and Bacon which is awesome!

I'm starting to feel like I should be sending care packages of oyster crackers to the Great White North just so people can try them out, but I'm pretty certain that everyone will be underwhelmed. I mean, they are okay as far as soup crackers go, but how excited do you get about a saltine? Once the novelty of the round or hexagonal shape wears off, I think you would be fine living without them. Canada has much better stuff to get excited about...like Hickory Sticks!

 

[kimblebee]

That's the one! We drove nearly 7 hours north over the weekend to get to Canada so that I could actually buy groceries to bring back. It is nearly impossible to bring bulky stuff like Shreddies or Goodhost when you fly with carry-on only. I had a list a mile long and Goodhost was right at the top! Anyway, I went to three different grocery stores in various parts of Ontario and was told, "Never heard of it." All they had was Nestea. I asked NFLDERS and she said she had to look it up to find out what it was!!! I know it ranges for sure from BC to SK. I'm not sure where it drops off after that, but apparently Ontario is missing out. I'm pretty sure my husband has brought me some back from Montreal before.

Getting back to the chowder...it is sooooo good, but if it isn't your thing, I would be happy to make a pot of something else as well. I also make the Epcot Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup with Beer and Bacon which is awesome!

I'm starting to feel like I should be sending care packages of oyster crackers to the Great White North just so people can try them out, but I'm pretty certain that everyone will be underwhelmed. I mean, they are okay as far as soup crackers go, but how excited do you get about a saltine? Once the novelty of the round or hexagonal shape wears off, I think you would be fine living without them. Canada has much better stuff to get excited about...like Hickory Sticks!

LOL it's so funny to think of people coming here to shop for food. That's the best part of going to the States, looking at all the cool foods we don't have.

we should be pen pals but instead of letters we'll send food LOL

 

[Frozen Canuck]

LOL it's so funny to think of people coming here to shop for food. That's the best part of going to the States, looking at all the cool foods we don't have.

we should be pen pals but instead of letters we'll send food LOL

That's a great idea until you see the "international" shipping rates!!! It makes everything pretty cost-prohibitive. I do carry the odd seasoning packet or whatever back for my sister and my mom is pretty good about sending a big box of chocolate and Hickory Sticks for holidays, but otherwise I need to go years between shipments of the heavier items. There is a site online that will ship certain Canadian foods within the U.S., but they use UPS ground and it costs about $20 to ship a box that is under 10 pounds. I haven't been that desperate yet. It wasn't that bad when we lived in Oregon and drove up to see family a couple of times a year, but the trip we took this past weekend is the first time I have driven to Canada in the last 13 years!

As for "all the cool foods we don't have," yeah...I was amazed at what you don't have. As an example, in the U.S., we have an entire grocery aisle devoted to flavoured but unsweetened seltzer waters. We drink a lot of it and had packed a bunch for our trip north, but wanted some for the return trip. I was able to find ONE flavour, in a case of cans, in Lablaws. I felt sad for you guys at that point. But, on the bright side, you do have poutine in a can! (My kids made up a song about it after they spotted it. They were so disappointed that we couldn't bring "animal products" back across the border with us.)

 

[bcla]

That's a great idea until you see the "international" shipping rates!!! It makes everything pretty cost-prohibitive. I do carry the odd seasoning packet or whatever back for my sister and my mom is pretty good about sending a big box of chocolate and Hickory Sticks for holidays, but otherwise I need to go years between shipments of the heavier items. There is a site online that will ship certain Canadian foods within the U.S., but they use UPS ground and it costs about $20 to ship a box that is under 10 pounds. I haven't been that desperate yet. It wasn't that bad when we lived in Oregon and drove up to see family a couple of times a year, but the trip we took this past weekend is the first time I have driven to Canada in the last 13 years!

As for "all the cool foods we don't have," yeah...I was amazed at what you don't have. As an example, in the U.S., we have an entire grocery aisle devoted to flavoured but unsweetened seltzer waters. We drink a lot of it and had packed a bunch for our trip north, but wanted some for the return trip. I was able to find ONE flavour, in a case of cans, in Lablaws. I felt sad for you guys at that point. But, on the bright side, you do have poutine in a can! (My kids made up a song about it after they spotted it. They were so disappointed that we couldn't bring "animal products" back across the border with us.)

We've got poutine here now. A Canadian chain even. It's near a major university and almost a perfect late night study session (or pot more munchies) food, with a closing time of 4 AM. However, the last time I checked the prices were going up and not exactly student budget friendly.

 

[kimmar067]

Well maybe "addicted" is kind of a strong word, but they're actually my kid's favorite snack....

....well, it's cheaper than being addicted to oysters.

 

[ronandannette]

As for "all the cool foods we don't have," yeah...I was amazed at what you don't have. As an example, in the U.S., we have an entire grocery aisle devoted to flavoured but unsweetened seltzer waters. We drink a lot of it and had packed a bunch for our trip north, but wanted some for the return trip. I was able to find ONE flavour, in a case of cans, in Lablaws. I felt sad for you guys at that point. But, on the bright side, you do have poutine in a can! (My kids made up a song about it after they spotted it. They were so disappointed that we couldn't bring "animal products" back across the border with us.)

Weird that you couldn't find any - there are several major national brands, and store brands too; Loblaw's (Superstore out West) has their own brand - President's Choice. Between DS and I, we've probably consumed 200 cans of it this summer, which has been the hottest here in decades. FWIW though, I am NOT Goodhost Ice Tea fan - I don't like sweet beverages. My "thing" right now is sparkling Green Tea Lemonade from Second Cup; you've gotta try it!! Oh, right - you don't have Second Cup in the States...

 

[Frozen Canuck]

My "thing" right now is sparkling Green Tea Lemonade from Second Cup; you've gotta try it!! Oh, right - you don't have Second Cup in the States...

Oh sure! Rub it in! I will add it to my list of things to try the next time I am back. It sounds really good. My husband doesn't like sweet drinks either, so he might enjoy it as well.

As for the seltzer waters, both my daughter and I looked at Loblaw's and we didn't see anything Dasani there. The only ones we saw were a few cases of Canada Dry Mandarin Orange sparkling water. We were in a rush by that point and just ended up grabbing some A&W Root Beer (because the Canadian version tastes better...or so she says, and she is our root beer expert).