Meghan Markle's squeaky snack is a mouth-watering classic and she knows straightaway if she's "got the right kind".
The Royal Family tends to take a traditional approach to many things but their go-to dishes aren’t always what you imagine. From Queen Camilla’s favourite fuss-free meal of beans on toast to the very affordable herb that King Charles adds to his afternoon snack, their food preferences are often a bit of a surprise. The Duchess of Sussex is known for her love of light and healthy dishes and in 2015 she revealed that she tries to go vegan during the week, with more flexibility at weekends.
Whether or not this is still the case remains to be seen but when Meghan is eating dairy, it seems she’s a huge fan of a particularly delicious Canadian classic. She lived in Toronto during her time filming the hit legal drama Suits and it seems Meghan Markle’s squeaky snack of poutine was something she became an expert in.
According to Delish, Meghan spoke with them about her favourite treats prior to becoming a senior royal and she has a trick to find out if poutine is done "right".
"It's got to squeak when you bite into it," she explained, before adding, "Really. The cheese curds should make a squeaking noise when you bite into them or squeeze them. That's how you know you've got the right kind."
Poutine is a classic Canadian dish of French fries covered in thick, scrumptious gravy and the all-important cheese curds. It first appeared in Québec snack bars in the 1950s and has gone on to take Canada by storm, as well as being popular around the world. As Meghan remarked upon, cheese curds have a squeaky texture to them which fans of halloumi will be very familiar with.
They’re also sometimes difficult to get hold of and some places might be tempted to trade the curds in for mozzarella cheese. However, this decision might not please poutine purists and the Duchess of Sussex’s belief that you only have the “right kind” of poutine if the curds "squeak" when you bite into them suggests that she is a stickler for the classic way of making them.
It’s possible that Meghan still enjoys poutine when she visits Canada now and she’s a self-confessed fan of French fries generally too. She explained that she’s "always hoping" that she’s having lunch with people "so [they] can share fries". In the Duchess’s view, "it’s its own food group" for her and so it’s perhaps no surprise that she’s a fan of poutine too.
Though poutine isn't the only Canadian delicacy that she’s sampled as after Suits season 5 finished filming, one of her co-workers decided they’d be celebrating with sweet treats, BeaverTails.
These are made from deep fried dough shaped like beaver tails which are often covered in other yummy toppings like chocolate and marshmallows and cinnamon.
"I was like, 'Wait, I'm sorry; what's coming in?’" Meghan told Delish, before giving them a try. "Apparently, it's a Canadian thing. It's a sticky, delicious indulgence."
The Duchess of Sussex doesn’t always tuck into such indulgent dishes and used to post about her food and drink preferences over on her now-deleted lifestyle blog, The Tig, which was named after one of her favourite red wines, Tignanello. She reportedly once shared a recipe for avocado toast with feta cheese, chilli flakes and lemon which showcases her love of fresh flavours and a balance of fresh ingredients.
