How Do You Pronounce Poutine?

Poutine is one of the national meals of Canada.

French Fries topped with cheese curds and gravy, poutine is a staple in Canadian households and is popular in the province of Quebec. From your local mom and pop shop to McDonald’s and other fast-food establishments, poutine has been on menus since the 1950s.

There are variations of poutine — from smoked meat to bacon, veggies and other assortments, poutine can be topped however you like it. Ketchup is a wildcard addition to poutine and may cause purists to have a heart attack, but Ketchup is a great addition to the dish.

Our taste buds may be different, but one of the most debated aspects of the dish is how to pronounce it.

Down in southern Ontario, I have heard Poo-teen. In Quebec and Eastern Ontario, I have heard Poo-tin/Poo-tsin. The letter ‘s’ adds some spice to the word. And in the White House, I hear Putin. I kid.

Now, this may boil down to an Anglophone vs. Francophone battle. Of course, the world needs more of that (insert eye roll emoji).

The pronunciation of the dish is debated, but I think we need to look back at the origins of the dish. According to Wikipedia (it’s a great source stfu), the dish originated from Quebec in the 1950s and has been long associated with Quebec cuisine.

Even on Wikipedia, the audible pronunciation is heard as poo-tin.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Qc-Poutine.ogg

I cannot comment on the Americans’ official pronunciation of the dish, but I can comment on the differences in Canada. However, I have heard American’s call it Poo-Teen, similar to our neighbors in Southern Ontario. It was a small sample size, but for the sake of this argument, I will assume they call it Poo-Teen as well.

With my bullshit research and unquestionable bias, I think my report concludes one thing: the dish is called poo-tin or poo-tsin. Again, the letter ‘s’ adds spice to the word, as there are not many words with ‘ts’ in them. Maybe there are. I have no fuckin’ clue to be honest.

If you pronounce it Poo-Teen I will not (visibly) judge you. And again, if you want to change your ways and pronounce the dish correctly, I will happily accept that.

We can all agree that steaming gravy, cheese curds (St-Albert’s are the best cheese curds DON’T @ ME) and piping hot french fries is a national treasure similar to hockey, beavers and the word “eh.”

Canadians and Quebecers should be proud of their concoction of artery-clogging food. Canadian rapper Drake said it best, “I’m here for a good time, not a long time.”

Poutine is enjoyed by many. Regardless of what side of the pronunciation fence you are on, it doesn’t matter because that is all forgotten when you gobble down on Quebec’s pride and joy.

Fuckin rights Canada.