Author: KR

How to Do Yoghurt Cheese. Hapupiimajuust

yoghurtcheese (23)Yoghurt Cheese became popular at the beginning of the 20th century. This cheese is best in salads and a good alternative to Sõir.

Technology is very similar to Sõir ( Quark Cheese ) and homemade quark. The difference arises from the raw material used. Different raw materials give a different taste

You need:
sieve with fine holes
clean fabric, cloth, towels. For better result soak it in the salty water
Pot with a thick bottom. Be careful: milk boiling over and stick to the bottom with seconds.

Time?
It takes ca 15-20 minutes to make cheese + time for drain and for drying. Total time ca 1 hour.
But for longer preservation, leave cheese under the press to set. And then dry cheese into the oven 50 C convection 20-30 minutes.

From these amounts you receive two palm-size loaves.

If you have children, don’t hesitate to ask them to join the process. Making quark is fun and educating. You can learn a lot about food chemistry, cooking, health and fermentation!

NB! DO NOT use products with signs UHT (ultra-high temperature), ESL (extended self-life), aseptic, thermalized… You need living bacteria and natural product.

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Early Spring Hay Soup. Heinasupp

haysoup (8)This soup from Võru Cuisine. And perfect dish to use first green weed. Smoked ham adds flavours. Author of this recipe is Leelo Laurits. I just little bit adapted this recipe.

Goutweed tastes like carrots and celery. Nettles are a bit sweet. Dandelion tastes like honey but could be a little bit bitter. To decrease the bitterness, leave leaves into the cold salty water to set. And wood sorrel is sour.

Nettles need to be kept in the boiling water 1-2 minutes. Goutweed and wood sorrel are eatable when fresh.
NB! Use only young, fresh, new, small weeds, grown in a pure and clean environment.haysoup (12)

Early Spring Hay Soup. Heinasupp

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

A light and delicious Estonian-inspired soup recipe perfect for a early spring dinner.


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Ingredients

  • 200 g prepared barley pearl groats
  • 100 g smoked bones
  • 2 boiled eggs
  • fresh weed
  • Madeira or white vine
  • salt, pepper, sour cream for serving

Directions

  1. If you do not have prepared barley groats, prepare groats: put barley to soak the night before.
  2. Put the meat into (1 litre) water and let it boil, removing foam.
  3. Add the barley. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Until soap is cooking, go out and pick some fresh weed. Boil eggs.
  5. Add the weed into soup, season with a vine. Let simmer until barley is soft.
  6. Serve with boiled eggs and sour cream.

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Smoked Baltic Herring Pie. Suitsuräimepirukas

suitsuraimepirukas (4)Baltic Herrings are Estonian national fish.

And especially I love smoked Baltic herrings. Of Course, you are free to use any other fish. But to achieve Estonian flavours you should pick Baltic herrings and prepare dough from rye flour.

Rye flour gives for bottom little bit sweet and caramel taste. The sweetness of rye suits perfectly with saltines of fish.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sillamäe. #visitestonia #sillamäe #estonia100

Sillamäe, known also in Germanized version as Sillamäggi or Sillamägi (Estonian for”Bridge Hill”), is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northern part of Estonia.
During the Soviet regime in Estonia, Sillamäe remained a closed town due to the secrecy and security measures related to the uranium production activities at the local plant.
And till today, this Sillamäe (6)is quite complicated to notice the entrance to the city.

The locality of Sillamäggi was first mentioned in 1502 when the area was under the control of Livonian Order. The bridge across Sõtke and a mill in Sillamäggi were documented in 1700.
In the 1800s, Sillamäggi developed into a resort village offering a more tranquil experience than the nearby resort town of Hungerburg. But In the 1920s and 1930s, Sillamäe became the industrial city.

This part of Estonia- north-eastern Estonia, Ida-Virumaa, has a challenging and little bit sad history.   Settled a long time ago. Amazing nature, sea, forest and cliff coast. Near to Russia…Older people still remember beautiful buildings, cosy cafe…
But by the end of 1944, the original native inhabitants were not allowed to return to their homes after the war and immigrant Russian-speaking workers from other parts of the USSR were brought in to populate the city. As I wrote, Sillamäe was a special, industrial and very secret city, even the locals could not visit it. I visited Sillamäe first time at the end of the 90s…
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Simple Quark and Bread Pudding. Lihtne kohupiimavorm saiaga.

quarkpudding (30)when I was a child, my mother used to make us simple everyday dessert. She smeared bread slices with quark cream and baked on the oven.

It was a delicious dessert or breakfast.

This dessert is inspired by this old retro dessert, but more difficult…:) I would say, that this dessert is for advanced…:)

because of .. you should add-on top of the bread slice, smeared with quark cream.. add some more layers 😉 more bread and more quark cream 😉

 

 

 

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Sour Milk Flat Scones. Hapupiimakakud

odrakakakud (15)Very simple and delicious dish. Sour Milk Scones are very easy to make and bake and it is a perfect idea to ask children to help you.

This is an ancient recipe from South Estonia, Võrumaa. Sour Milk Flat Scones are Predecessor of pancakes and later scones. In the old days, they were baked in hot ash or on hot stone clay.
ethnographer Aliise Moora’s book “Older food of the Estonian peasantry” reads that Estonian peasant woman made a flat loaf of rye or barley flour dough, pressed fingerprints and shook on the salt. The cakes were baked against a fire, either on a stone, on a tree, or on the bottom of a pot. The Paistekakk was smeared with a piece of lard during baking and meanwhile turned over. The Paistekakk was also baked for breakfast, as is customary for pancakes.
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Simple Anniversary Quark cake. Juubeli kohupiimakook

Juubeli quarkcake (3)In Estonia is very popular a simple and very sweet Anniversary Quark cake. Anniversary because of for preparing this cake you need special ready-to-make cake powder “Juubeli”/anniversary.

All this combination is ultra sweet. But I believe, that reason for the popularity is simplicity. You should alternately put layers of quark cream and cake powder. and that is it!

It took from me time to figure out how to share this recipe with you. I believe you have not the same cake powder in your country 😉

I did different tests and now _I believe; I got the result, good and very similar to the origin. Ok, My recipe is not very sweet But you welcome to add as much sugar you like 😉

NB! Estonians usually add some apple or rhubarb slices as one middle layer or mixed in quark cream. Adding some fruits you get more moisture and delicious cake.
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Simple Yeast Free Cabbage Hand Pies. Pärmivabad kapsapirukad

handpies (26)Waiting for a white ship is something Estonian. This is a concept and myth about freedom.

The concept dates from 1861 when several hundred followers of the religious prophet Juhan Leinberg (the so-called prophet Maltsvet), mostly peasants, waited for a few weeks near Tallinn for a white ship to take them away to a more prosperous and free country. The concept soon spread widely because it was used in literature.

After the Soviet regime was restored in Estonia in 1944, the concept quickly acquired a specific meaning – the white ship stood for the end of Soviet power, either by means of the intervention by Western countries or by diplomatic pressure. Waiting for the white ship was a popular concept especially in the post-war decade, and the ruling regime had to work strenuously against it.

When outside is winter, without snow and cold.  Concept about waiting for liberty and changes is still actual. Please, spring, come as soon as you can!

24 February is the national day of Estonia, marking its declaration of freedom in 1918. Celebrate with us !

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