Traditional Newfoundland dishes to try in St. John's

Newfoundland food grew out of a hard place and a long history. For centuries people lived from the sea, from salt and from whatever could be grown in a short summer or stored for a long winter. The result is a cuisine of salt cod, salt beef, root vegetables, bread and berries, cooked simply and served generously. Some of it is everyday comfort food; some of it is for Sundays and celebrations.

Here is what to look for, and how to find it in St. John's.

What is Jiggs dinner?

Jiggs dinner, also called a cooked dinner or boiled dinner, is the great Newfoundland Sunday meal. Salt beef is boiled with root vegetables (potato, turnip, carrot) and cabbage, and served with pease pudding, made from split peas cooked in a cloth bag in the same pot. Many families add figgy duff, a steamed pudding, and some serve it with turkey or chicken alongside.

It is a home dish first, and some restaurants serve it, often on Sundays or as a weekly special.

What are toutons?

Toutons are pieces of bread dough fried in a pan, traditionally in pork fat, until golden. They are served hot with butter and molasses, and sometimes with scrunchions, crispy bits of fried pork fat. They are a breakfast and brunch favourite, and many cafés and diners in St. John's serve them.

What is fish and brewis?

Fish and brewis is salt cod and hard bread, soaked and boiled, then served together, often topped with scrunchions. It is a very old dish from the days when salt fish and hard bread were what kept through the winter. It is usually a breakfast dish and less common on restaurant menus than toutons, so when you see it, it is worth trying.

What are cod tongues?

Despite the name, cod tongues are a small piece of flesh from the throat of the fish. They are dusted in flour and fried, often with scrunchions. The texture is soft and rich, and opinions divide sharply, which is part of the fun. Look for them on seafood menus, sometimes only in season.

Which seafood dishes are traditional?

Cod is the heart of it. Beyond fish and chips, look for:

• Fish cakes, made with salt cod and potato
• Pan-fried cod, simply cooked
• Seafood chowder
• Mussels, often from the province's farms

What are partridgeberries and bakeapples?

Two wild berries define Newfoundland desserts. Partridgeberries are small, red and tart, related to the cranberry, and go into pies, crumbles, muffins and jams. Bakeapples, known elsewhere as cloudberries, are golden, rare and prized, and turn up in jams and desserts. Both are picked in late summer and fall, and jams are sold year round.

What about chips, dressing and gravy?

This is a beloved comfort dish: French fries topped with dressing (a bread stuffing seasoned with savoury) and gravy. It is everywhere from chip shops to pubs and is especially popular late at night.

Why is so much Newfoundland food salted?

Because for most of the province's history there was no other way to keep food through a long winter far from any market. Cod was split, salted and dried on the rocks and on wooden flakes, and much of it was shipped abroad. Beef and pork arrived salted in barrels. Hard bread kept for months. Those ingredients are still at the centre of the traditional dishes, even though fresh fish and meat are easy to find today. When you eat fish and brewis or a cooked dinner, you are eating the logic of an older way of life, and many families still make these dishes exactly as their grandparents did.

What is fish and brewis made of?

Fish and brewis (said "brews") is one of the most traditional Newfoundland dishes, and it comes straight from the province's history of salt fish and long winters.

• Salt cod, soaked to remove most of the salt, then boiled.
• Hard bread, a dense, dry ship's biscuit, soaked overnight until soft.
• Scrunchions, small crispy pieces of fried salt pork fat, scattered on top.

It is filling, salty and simple, and many families eat it for breakfast or a weekend meal. Some restaurants serve it, especially those with a traditional menu, and it is often on the breakfast plate alongside toutons. Ask whether it comes with scrunchions if you do not eat pork.

Where can you try traditional dishes in St. John's?

Look in a few kinds of places:

• Cafés and diners for toutons and breakfast dishes
• Seafood restaurants for cod, cod tongues and chowder
• Pubs and chip shops for fish and chips and chips, dressing and gravy
• Restaurants with a Sunday special for a cooked dinner
• Bakeries and markets for berry pies and jams

Menus change, so check what is on before you go.

How do you keep track of the dishes you tried?

Trying the traditional dishes is half the fun of a visit. Mosey lets you rate the dishes you actually ordered, with photos, and keep a list of the ones you still want to try, so you leave having tasted the full range.

More guides to read next:

• Brunch in St. John's: toutons, fish cakes and weekend lines
• Eating out in St. John's in winter: comfort food, storm days and cozy rooms
• Cheap eats in St. John's: how to eat well on a budget

More in the Canadian food guides and the ranked lists of places.