Category: Baltic

About Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Food and Culture

The almost 8 million Baltic peoples have many factors in common: a temperate climate and a rich harvest from the Baltic Sea, a land that is primarily agricultural and pastoral, but a bitter history of invasions, conquests, and humiliating oppressions. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the three countries that comprise the Baltic, have known foreign overlords controlling their lands, attempts at Germanization and Russification, and even extermination and deportation of their peoples.

For almost 500 years, and despite other conquerors who were tempted to rule over the Ests, the loosely knit tribes of Estonia, it was the Swedes who held sway from as early as the 1500s. To this day, Swedish architecture, names, signposts, and even many Swedish foods are strongly influential in Estonian life. Russification followed in 1721, when Sweden ceded Estonia to czarist Russia. A burst in Estonian culture resulted from the brief respite after the First World War when foreign influences in the land receded, but returned again in 1939, with the forced establishment of Russian military bases in key Estonian areas. By 1990, Estonia began the laborious trek to independence.

A glimpse into Latvia’s history shows many similar and unhappy parallels. In 1201, the Germans swept over the rich fertile lowlands and sweeping forests of Latvia to conquer the tribes known as Letts, and established the capital city, Riga. By the mid-1500s, the German influence disintegrated, but in ensuing years the small land became the center of a struggle of three other powers: Poland, Russia, and Sweden. In 1795, Latvia officially became a part of the Russian Empire although much of her lands remained in the hands of German overlords. Like Estonia, Latvia was to taste brief independence following the First World War until 1939, when it too was forced to accept the establishment of Russian military bases on her land. By the mid-1990s, however, like Estonia, Latvia too was on the way to independence.

Lithuania’s history shows her to be culturally and historically the strongest of the three Baltic countries. Lithuania not only successfully rebuffed early foreign invaders, but for a period of almost 200 years (1200-1400), actually expanded to exert control over much of the territory of Belorussia, the Ukraine, and parts of western Russia. The country’s power might even have extended farther with the marriage of Jagelo, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Jadwiga, Queen of Poland, but for a clash in

religious convictions. The Polish-Lithuanian Roman Catholicism could not be reconciled with the principles of Orthodoxy of the Russian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian areas. By 1700, the tide of Russian power and influence was so strong that not only did these latter lands wash back to Russia, but the tide of influence “back-washed” into Lithuania as well.

In the First World War, Lithuania was occupied by Germans, who seemingly supported the many Lithuanian nationalistic movements. But after Germany’s defeat, a pro-Polish government was set up in Vilna (1920), and a part of Lithuania even united with Poland. This period was followed by an alliance with Estonia and Latvia but they too succumbed, as the others had, to Russian domination leading to the establishment of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. By 1993, the last Soviet troops left, after much unrest, and like her sister Baltic countries, Lithuania too is struggling to control her own future.

In spite of such a history of foreign domination and influence, the Baltic peoples have staunchly retained a rich culture of their own and are famed for their literature, folk legends, athletic physiques, and joyous choral singing groups. Latvian and Lithuanian peoples share ethnic and language roots in the Slavic-Baltic division of Indo-European languages, but Estonian ethnic and language roots are to be found in the Finno-Ugric family, relating them more to the Finns and Hungarians.

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Soured milk, buttermilk. and sour cream are staples, while cottage cheese and pot cheese (Lithuanian: surfs) are widely used for many dishes. A consider-able amount of cheese is also consumed: fresh, aged, and with or without the beloved caraway seeds. Cheeses are prepared from the milk of cows or goats. Most families consider it very important that their children consume both milk and milk products. Milk is also used in many varieties of milk soups, and vegetables are often cooked in milk as well.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Fruits are plentiful and enjoyed in season, fresh or stewed with sugar as fruit compotes, or served as fruit soups. Many jams, jellies, and preserves are pre-pared for winter use. Korvits is an Estonian sweet preserved relish made from chunks of pumpkin and traditionally served with meat. Estonian “fruit salad,” traditionally served in winter, is a specialty of mixed preserved fruits. Berries are especially plentiful, both wild and cultivated, and Estonia’s berries are noted for their quality and sweetness. The combination of fresh, dried, or preserved fruits, served or cooked with meats and fowl, is also much enjoyed.

Potatoes and cabbage are the staple vegetables and store well for winter use. A favored form of cabbage, especially in winter, is sauerkraut.

The common root vegetables – carrots, turnips, and beets, as well as the fresh seasonal favorites of cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, and onions – are enjoyed fresh in salads and served with sour cream or a vinaigrette dressing. Wild mushrooms of many varieties are eagerly collected in season and many are hung and dried to add flavor to dishes year-round.

MEATS AND ALTERNATES

Pork, pork products, and poultry are the staples but are not used in great quantity. Domestic and wild fowl and game are enjoyed as available. Jellied pig’s feet are a Lithuanian favorite and suckling pig is often prepared for festive occasions. Herring, sprats, and eels are the widely enjoyed harvest from the sea. Egg consumption is limited but steadily increasing due to increased supply and lower prices. Some dried legumes are used for soups, and Estonian children like to chew dried peas and beans as a snack. Kama is an Estonian soup served cold in summer and eaten as a refreshment any time of the day: it is prepared from a flour made from dried, ground, and roasted grains and legumes blended with sour milk and flavored lightly with salt or sugar.

BREADS AND GRAINS

Grains form one of the most important, satisfying, and economical staples of the Baltics. Bread is on the table at every meal and although this is usually a dark, sour rye bread, other breads made of wheat or combinations of flours may be served. Soups are often thickened with coarse flours or may even be made from grains; porridges and hot gruels are frequently served and may constitute a warming meal. Baked barley is a favorite side dish for meats and soups and barley flour is used for breads.

FATS

Oils are seldom used except occasionally for salads. Lard or bacon fat predominates in cookery while butter is used for baking, as a spread, and as a seasoning for foods. Fats are also consumed in the form of creams (sour cream, cream, and whipped cream), sour milk, and in many cheeses.

SWEETS AND SNACKS

The Baltic countries imported French pastry chefs, who opened their own little shops. The tradition of fine pastries, richly and elaborately prepared – by French chefs – is still maintained. Home baking includes satisfying buns, rolls and kuchens based on sweet yeast dough or firm cakes based on eggs. Sugared dried fruits are a favored snack to be nib-bled anytime. Plain chocolate, either milk chocolate or bittersweet, is considered a special treat. A common snack in Latvia is paper cones filled with sauerkraut, eaten the way ice cream is elsewhere.

SEASONINGS

Caraway seeds head the list of favorites, and are also believed to be an aid for digestion. Poppy seeds, dill, parsley, and bay leaves add their touch to many dish-es as well. Ginger, many varieties of honey, and allspice are used in baking. In general, Baltic foods are not highly seasoned; salty and sour flavors predominate. Most baked goods are rich simply with the aroma and taste of fresh eggs, butter, and cream.

BEVERAGES

Tea is taken frequently and sour milk is an anytime beverage. Coffee is also used but is considered a luxury in some areas, where a type of coffee may be prepared from ground, roasted cereals such as rye, and sometimes chicory. Beer, wine, and schnapps are enjoyed and vodka flavored with caraway is a favorite.

Domestic life, meals and customs of the Baltic

Domestic Life

Since the majority of people of these lands live a rural lifestyle it is this tradition that is considered here. While Latvia makes use of her peat bogs to supply fuel, Estonia and Lithuania depend more on the wood resources of their forests. Electricity is costly and electrical appliances are not common except in the affluent homes of city dwellers. Wood or peat-burning stoves with built-in ovens are used to cook the family meals and in many cases also form the primary heat source for smaller homes. Heavy cast-iron cookware is favored for top-of-the-stove cooking; earthenware containers are used for oven baking and also for mixing bowls. The availability of wood makes it the ideal material for many kitchen utensils such as bowls, rolling pins, spoons, chopping boards, work-tables.

Fresh seasonal foods are preferred and in many areas marketing is done daily. Any foods requiring storage are simply placed in a cool area of the house or in an icebox. Extra provisions for the long winters are frequently prepared in the home by drying, salting, pickling, smoking. Preserves and jams are also prepared for winter use.

Foods Commonly Used

The Baltic are noted for their grain crops of rye, wheat, oats, and barley, their high potato production, and their dairy farms. It is not surprising, therefore, that grains, potatoes, and dairy products form the staple foods of the Baltic diet, and are supplemented with smaller proportions of fish, pork products, and poultry. Because of the historical periods of influence, German, Scandinavian (See Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian) and Slavic (See Polish and Russian) cuisines have all made contributions to Baltic cuisines. German ethos prevails in the Lithuanian personality but it is the Slavic influence that prevails in the Lithuanian kitchen, although many so-called typical Lithuanian dishes are a part of German food traditions. Scandinavian influence, not surprisingly in view of history, predominates in Estonian cuisine, while Latvian cookery clearly shows threads of all three influences. The food of the Baltic peoples differs more in nomenclature than in substance; regional differences and specialties do exist, but many similarities are to he found as well.

Meals and Customs

Although there is increasing mobility from rural to urban settings, more than half the Baltic population shares a common agricultural heritage that is reflected in a deep respect for land and nature and a humble religious devotion. Their thankfulness for the gifts of land and nature is shown in their preference for simple satisfying foods unadorned by sauces or excessive seasoning. Breads and soups form the main-stays of many meals. Lithuanians always begin a meal with a prayer of thankfulness, and Estonian children seldom leave the table without the words “Thank you, my Lord, my stomach has been filled.” And though Latvian country homes are often isolated from each other, Slavic hospitality prevails in a flow of food and drink shared by all.

Together with individual pride in the family name, care is taken to hand down homemaking skills to the daughters and agricultural skills to the sons. Great respect is shown the father of the household: not only is his opinion consulted in all matters, he is also the first to be served at meals. Party foods are always presented buffet-style, while daily meals are commonly served family-style, with everyone helping themselves.

Based on the type of work done, heavier meals are usually served in the country, while lighter, more sophisticated meals are favored in the cities. A simple breakfast of porridge, bread, and beverage and a similar simple evening meal is balanced with the heavier meal taken at noon that consists of a hearty meat and vegetable or grain soup with bread and beverage and concluded with fresh or stewed fruits.

Many coffee and pastry shops provide snacks for city workers, while soup is often a refreshing snack for country people. Evening guests or quiet family gatherings enjoy tea with home-baked cakes, kuchens, or other sweets.

Special Occasions in Baltic

Religion has a profound influence on the lives of the Baltic peoples. Most Lithuanians are members of the Roman Catholic Church, while both Latvians and Estonians are members of the Lutheran Church. Nazi extermination of the Jews during the Second World War erased their population in the Baltic lands.

The Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter highlight the festive calendar, but occasions for festivities also include celebrations of seasonal flowers and foods, saint’s days, harvesting and sowing, and family events such as births, weddings, and funerals. For example, the Estonian celebrations of Leaf Month (May), Juice Month (April), and Candles (February) indicate the deep ties of religion and nature. Thus the bounty of crops and orchards, religious and family events all intertwine in a heartfelt thanksgiving expressed in humble devotion and happy gatherings.

Traditional customs for Christmas in Lithuania include a meatless menu for Christmas Eve (called kudos), with twelve special dishes prepared from grains, fruits, vegetables, and fish to symbolize the twelve apostles. One of the oldest traditional dishes for kudos is a fermented poppy seed soup, aguono pienas, served with dumplings. Church services, visiting friends, and a buffet menu of ham baked in a sourdough crust, roast goose stuffed with apples and prunes, varieties of homemade sausages, and special winter salads completed with a display of special cookies and pastries (especially the poppy seed roll called aguonines) are part of the festive observances.

In the country areas of all the Baltic lands, the slaughtering of a pig for Christmas is followed by the many traditional activities involved in making sausages and blood puddings, curing and smoking hams and bacons, and rendering fat for lard. Again, roasted geese stuffed with apples and prunes share the table with salads of chopped herring and beets, potato dishes of many kinds, tart and salted pickles contrasted with sweet fruit preserves and all washed down with homemade beers and wines and even homemade vodka, faintly redolent of caraway. And while others favor richly sweet desserts to complete festive occasions, the Baltic pastries and yeast doughs owe their fragrance to roasted crushed nuts and poppy seeds and pot cheese: filling and delicious.

Concern and a special love for animals is exemplified by the Christmas Eve tradition of feeding small amounts of bread and barley to the farm animals before the family’s evening meal. This is similar to traditions in Slavic countries.

Easter is celebrated with church services, and the menu reflects the joy of the spring season. Decorated eggs as well as fruits and berries are hidden for the children to find, and the game of hohsimine (Estonian mischievous cracking of hard, and sometimes soft, eggs) is enjoyed by everyone. Communal buffet tables featuring family specialties are set up and prepared well ahead of time: a buffet of salads, meats, and fish and an array of good breads will be enhanced by the presence of the pasha: a Russian-inspired delicate cheese and whipped cream mold.

Weddings are often the excuse for the wearing of regional costumes and the presentation of distinct regional specialties in food, music, and dance. An Estonian country specialty is the serving of soup (pulmasupp) and farina and milk in wooden bowls traditionally eaten with wooden spoons. This wed-ding supper is accompanied by specially made beer drunk from wooden steins.

Similarly, traditional funeral practices often follow local or regional as well as religious customs. In some country areas of Estonia, the path for the funeral pro-cession may be laid out with spruce boughs, a spruce wreath marking the house of mourning. Following the burial, a large meal prepared by friends and neighbors may include roasted pig, sausages, blood puddings, headcheese, winter salads, or fruit compotes and breads. Homemade vodka will be drunk in toasts to the departed one.

GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS

Berries: the finest and sweetest berries are said to be from Estonia. Here are some of the varieties:

Karusmari: gooseberries.

Klukva: large juicy cranberries. A favorite Estonian drink is vodka and cranberry juice called “The Rolling Estonian.”

Murakad: cloudberries.

Pohlad: l i ngo nberries.

Punane Sostar: red currants.

Bliinid: Estonian version of Russian Blini.

Estonian Fruit Salad: a combination of dried and fresh fruits (or just one type) cooked, then layered in jars and preserved with a syrup of water, sugar, and wine vinegar.

Halva: Estonian confection of a peanut-flavored flaky sweet. (Mediterranean halva is made from sesame seeds.)

Kama: a special flour that is made from a mixture of grains and legumes, dried, roasted then ground. This flour is then mixed with sour milk or cream and lightly flavored with salt or sugar to form a soup consistency. This cool soup is used throughout the summer in Estonia as a refreshing snack or beverage.

Kapsad: cabbage.

Kartuli-Tangpudru: a mixture of barley and potatoes, slowly baked in a casserole. Sometimes onions and ham are added. This often accompanies soup to make a filling meal. An Estonian favorite.

Koksimine: the Estonian “egg game^“ played at Easter time. The decorated hard-cooked eggs are knocked against an adversary’s eggs, the object being to see how many eggs you can crack before yours is broken. Many jokes are played as part of this game, including decorating eggs that are not hard-cooked; even painted rocks have been known to become winning eggs.

Koogel-Moogel: an Estonian treat made of egg yolks, thickly beaten with sugar; eaten as a pudding.

Korbid: slightly sweetened cheesecake baked in a round shape.

Kugelis: baked Lithuanian potato pudding, often with eggs and onions.

Lekakh: Jewish Lithuanian honey cake. Also popular in Poland.

Lietiniai: Lithuanian soup accompaniment, made from tiny pancakes filled with the ground, seasoned soup meat. The tiny “parcels” are crisply fried then served with clear broth. Crumbled bacon garnishes the soup.

Ligzdinas: large juicy Latvian meatballs filled with mushrooms or a whole hard-cooked egg.

Mulgi Kapsad: Estonian casserole of sauerkraut, potatoes, and pork hocks or pork tails (or any pork cut), seasoned with salt, pepper, and bay leaf. So popular, it is almost a staple dish.

Pannkoogid: huge Estonian pancakes, which are almost a meal in themselves, eaten plain or with berries and sour cream.

Pirukas: Russian in origin, this Estonian soup accompaniment is made of plain yeast dough, filled with meat, vegetables, or grains, shaped into half-moons and deep-fried or baked.

Pudru: Estonian name for any porridge made from grains.

Pulmasupp: Estonian country-wedding soup, a rich soup of butter-browned meat, with dumplings and added vegetables. Traditionally eaten from wooden spoons and bowls for the wedding supper. Accompanied by beer in wooden steins.

Rassolnye or Rossolye: Estonian mixed salad of beets and potatoes, herring and meat, blended with sour cream dressing.

Solianka: Latvian fish soup. Supp: soup.

Suris: white Lithuanian cheese resembling pot cheese, or the Italian ricotta.

Sult: Estonian specialty of sliced veal molded in its own aspic.

Tule-Homme Taas: literally, “Come back tomorrow,” a satisfying Estonian pancake dish: huge pancakes wrapped around a filling. The filling may be cream cheese, spinach, carrots, or apples with sugar.

Vinegretas: Lithuanian version of Rossolye. An appetizer salad of beets, potatoes, herring and cubed meats, blended with a dressing of seasoned sour cream.

Virtiniai: Lithuanian soup dumplings made of filled noodle pastry. For Christmas Eve these are filled with mushrooms and served in a clear meatless beet stock.

Zalbarsciai: light Lithuanian soup made from grated beets and buttermilk. In the spring, the shredded beet greens are added.

Zrazy: rolled-up filled slices of beef or veal, made in individual servings or as a large roast to be sliced. A favorite throughout the Baltic.