What makes a great butter tart?
Broadcast Date: Dec. 5, 1991″It’s a nice little tart without much pedigree but I know you’ll be amused by its lack of pretension,” is how artist Charles Pachter remembers one particular butter tart. Canadians are serious about the pastry, which dates back to the turn of the century. The butter tart has become part of the national psyche. It’s also one of the few genuine Canadian recipes that exists, says food writer Marion Kane in this CBC Radio clip. There are many variations on the butter tart and serious debates have been waged over what makes a proper butter tart. The seemingly innocuous question of adding raisins to the butter, sugar and egg mixture gets Canadians hot under the collar. Why there’s even a butter tart eating stance. Writer Max Burns, who has been on a personal quest for the perfect butter tart for 40 years, describes the proper posture, which leaves host Peter Gzowski in fits of laughter.
