Page 313 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

WHERE T O EA T AND DRINK 311

They are eaten raw, made into
tarts, puddings or compotes, or
preserved for the winter.

Dairy Produce
Dairy products feature strongly
in Baltic cuisine. Local butter
is held in high regard, while
Estonian kefir (fermented cow’s
milk), Lithuanian varškė (cheese
curd) and Latvian rūgušpiens
(curdled milk) are also very
popular. Caraway cheese is
eaten by Latvians, especially
Baked goodies at a cake shop in Rīga in mid summer. The most
ubiquitous dairy product is sour
with Scandinavian traditions. caperata, meaning “gypsy cream. A base for many Baltic
Popular freshwater fish include mushrooms”, are also picked. sau ces, it is also poured directly
pike, eel and elvers. Caviar is Local apples, plums and pears on to a wide range of dishes.
also available, including the appear in fruit pies and tarts, but
relatively affordable red variety. the true fruit bounty of the ON THE MENU
region is its berries and currants.
Picking berries is a popular Kartupeļu pankūkas (Latvia)
Fruit and Vegetables Potato pancakes.
summer pastime (see p359).
The Baltic climate limits the Kibinai (Lithuania) Mutton and
cultivation of fruit and onion pies, a speciality of the
vege tables, and they are not Karaim community.
strongly represented in Šližikai (Lithuania) Biscuits
traditional recipes. By far the served with poppy seed milk
most common vegetable is traditionally on Christmas Eve.
the potato, introduced in the Rosolje (Estonia) Herring,
18th century and now served meat, beetroot and apple salad,
at almost every meal. Other in a whipped cream and
accompaniments include mustard dressing.
simple salads, often just Seljanka (Estonia) and soļanka
cucumber and tomato. Mush- (Latvia) A soup made with meat,
rooms are popular and, every pickled vegetables or fish, which
autumn, people roam the forests has Russian origins.
to gather mush rooms, either to Zrazai (Lithuania) Thin slices of
eat or to sell (see p359). Cepe is beef rolled with onion, bread and
pre ferred, although varieties Freshly picked redcurrants at an often mushrooms, then baked.
such as chanterelle and rozites Estonian farm

Šaltibarščiai (Lithuania) is a Cepelinai (Lithuania), or Pannkoogid (Estonia), huge,
chilled soup made of beet root, “zeppelins”, are meat-stuffed fluffy pancakes served with a
cucumber, chopped egg, kefir potato dumplings in a sour berry compote, show the
and dill. cream, onion and bacon sauce. influence of Russian cuisine.