One of the oldest grain cereals in Estonia was barley
Barley was the mundane and the ordinary food and belonged on the table for common people. The oldest data of barley growing in Estonia dates back to the beginning of the first millennium BC.
Barley Flour Mousse is a light and delicious dessert. Using cranberry juice you get pink and fluffy and using apple juice very light mousse.
If Barley Cream seems to you too exotic, cook Semolina Cream. look at for recipe
An international and famous dessert with a small Estonian twist and ingredients
I have not words to express how tasty, watermouthing and great dessert it is. Small apple pieces and cowberries give juiciness and moisture and wonderful sour and sweet flavour. Barley groats give a structure and make this dessert more interesting,
And again real Estonian flavour: barley groats, apples and cowberries. You just have to try this.
Continue reading “Barley Groats and Apple Creme Brulee. Kruubi brüleekreem õuntega”
One of the oldest grain cereals in Estonia was barley.
Barley was the mundane and the ordinary food and belonged on the table for common people. The oldest data of barley growing in Estonia dates back to the beginning of the first millennium BC.
And we still love barley. Karask is a famous dish in Estonian ethnic cuisine. But add some apples, and you get very delicious, simple and juicy cake.
Continue reading “Very Simple Juicy Apple and Barley Flour Cake. Õuna- odrajahukook”
all ingenious is simple and all simple is ingenious.
Last year I introduced to you Pletskid- Estonian flat bread from very difficult and poor time. When people had just few potatoes and little bit oil.
Vatskid are from South Estonia, as well, but little bit more advanced version. From times when people had at least some buttermilk 🙂
Vatskid was baked on oven on the cabbage leaf. Believe, the most complicated in this recipe is to remove leaves from cabbage 🙂 Cabbage leaf helps keep moisture.
But, of course you can bake them on the ordinary way in hot skillet (without oil) or in the oven.
Continue reading “Estonian flat bread. Vatskid”
Beans are traditional Good Friday dish.
Barley has been cultivated in Estonia longer than any other crops – for over 4,000 years. And pearl barley has been a staple food for Estonians through the ages; it has even been a food fit for celebrations. In the olden days, the tradition in Estonian villages was to make sauerkraut soup with pork and barley groats on Thursdays and Sundays.
You can cook this soup on the traditional way: swell beans and barley overnight. Prepare beautiful and delicious broth, and cook up to 2 hours.
But I recommend the easier and faster ”everyday version”:
This soup has enough flavours, so you can cook this without meat. If needed add some meat leftovers or strengthen flavour with ready broth.
And Use prepared/canned beans and barley groats.
This is a recipe, which outcome you can choose by yourself.
Easy to make Barley Groats and Quark pancakes or fritters, which can be served either as a side dish for a savoury meal or as a delicious dessert.
My recipe is a savoury dish. But adding some sugar, you get sweet dessert.
Wonderful dish and idea to use boiled barley leftovers.
Continue reading “Barley Groats and Quark fritters. Kruubi- ja kohupiimakotletid”
Mulgi-Mulgimaa is a district in South-Estonia with its own culture, food and dialect.
My mother is Mulk and so am I. Mulgipuder means Mulgi’s porridge. This dish is very old though. In former times when people had wood burning stoves, the porridge was placed on a stove in the morning where it had time to cook and get simmer and better. People just had more time.
Mulgid (the people who lived in Mulgimaa) were wealthy. But because in early times animals were more important than people, they were usually to ones who got to eat the porridge first. And if there was anything left from the dish it was passed on to the rest of the family. Like my mother used to say – the Mulgi’s porridge was a pig food (Bon appétit! Sorry!)
Despite all, I and Estonians love this dish. It’s very, very nourishing and filling with an option to cook it completely vegan-friendly!
Potato and pearl barley porridge, i.e. potato-barley mash, originates from Southern Estonia. People in Southern Estonia (the Mulgi people) started boiling potatoes and pearl barley together in the second half of the 19th century as the combination was very filling. By the last quarter of the 19th century, this porridge was known all over Estonia. In the second half of the 20th century, this dish reached cafeterias as well and it has by now become a national dish that is served at various official events.
Continue reading “Estonian Potatoes and Groats Mash. Mulgipuder”
Like I wrote last year, the most important custom on Shrove Tuesday (Vastlapäev) is sledding.
You can understand why this activity is important by just looking at the ingredients of the Shrove Tuesday’s pea-soup: beans, sauerkraut, barley…
Foods that give you lots of energy to burn.
You can cook this soup the traditional way: swell beans and barley overnight. Prepare beautiful and delicious broth, and cook up to 2 hours.
But I recommend the easier and faster ”everyday version”:
All ingredients can be prepared, canned or frozen…If you want, you can add some smoked meat, ham or broth just to give it a bit stronger taste.
Today I will share the recipe, which you probably will never do. The Kama.
Kama is Estonian traditional finely milled flour mixture. Estonians buying Kama mixture from shop.. and the easiest way is to try this, probably visit Estonia. But I still give you the recipe.
Historically kama was a non-perishable, easy-to-carry food that could be quickly fashioned into a stomach-filling snack by rolling it into butter or lard; it didn’t require baking, as it was already roasted. Today Kama is a perfect summer dish. Just add some fresh or fermented milk and sugar or salt, mix, and ready!
Today Kama is used for making cakes, mousse, desserts and salty snacks…
And what is interesting. In Estonian Kama means in slang “stuff, things” and the same time Kama means ” drugs”…:) Continue reading “Estonian Secret. Kama. Estonian “muesli””
Vastlapäev, known as Shrove Tuesday in much of the English-speaking world, the Estonians celebrate this day a little differently.
Instead of pancakes, we eat split pea soup and the delicious Vastlakukkel cream cake.
Traditionally children will sled down any available hill of snow, to get “long linens”. And not only children. Tomorrow, after meeting I am going with my colleges to sled, as well.
And later we have pea soup and Vastlakukkel!
Today, of course nobody care about linen, this is just for fun:)
The name Vastlapaev is taken from the German word “fasten” (to fast). And after Vastlapäev started fast, because meat was ran out.
Traditional pea soup takes time, so this is reasonable to cook more soup and leftovers freeze or store in clean airtight jar.
Traditional Estonian Pea Soup takes time, but it is worth it
Estonian Cuisine. Eesti Toit. 