Ancient Estonians ate usually fermented milk dipped in bread, fish or potatoes in the hot summer.
Now we are more riche 🙂 So, bread is not enough.
To make this soup use your creativity. For this soup are suitable for example:
radish, tomato, cucumber
fermented cucumber, boiled beetroot, boiled potatoes, boiled eggs
Continue reading “Estonian Cold Soup with Black Bread. Hapupiimapudi”
Sõir, Estonian Quark Cheese with caraway seeds is very known in South Estonia. And this is my father recipe.
Traditionally was it a dish for Midsummer and Pentecost.
Do you know, that in Latvian is cheese – Siers and in Russian сыр. And even in English, cheese sound very similar. So, all these cheeses are related 🙂
Important:
quark must be as dry, as possible. And better is fat-free quark
Ricotta is no alternative to use. Make your quark yourself
Be sure your quark is natural and Do NOT consist gelatine or whatever.
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.
Continue reading “How To Do Estonian Quark Cheese with Caraway Seeds. Sõir.”
Never gift for Estonian womans red Dianthus…
Today is International Woman Day. Have you heard about this? Necessary and nice holiday with “red background”but with good idea. Celebrate and recognize all woman, not only mothers.
During soviet times we do not celebrated Mothers day, was only Woman day on 8th of the March. Soviet Union was terrible, but about feminism and women rights was everything perfect. Woman was welder,tractor driver,cosmonaut. And not only career at work. Woman took care about household and children. Clothes were washed by hand and shops were not full of 
prepared products…:)
In Estonia we have a saying. Woman must be able to feed man and 6 children:)
So, Viva women!
But what about red Dianthus… These times were not very large choice of cut flowers. Just and mostly only expensive roses and cheaper dianthuses.
So we got them enough 🙂 Thank you! 🙂
Beetroot has been used in Estonian cuisine already since the 17th–18th century. From then on, beetroot dishes were included among the foods of the pre-war Republic of Estonia.
So, You baked black bread and probably have some leftovers. This is the easiest dessert in the world.
NB! of course, if you have very salty bread with caraway seeds, this is not dessert to you. Then make better Garlic Breads.
Already medieval cookbooks included recommendations to use toasted and grated black bread to make desserts. Baltic German cooks made black bread pudding with apples or chocolate and wine, rum or cognac. During the inter-war period, Estonian housewives took to making various desserts out of black bread, e.g. a chocolate pudding with black bread. In Soviet times, bread soup was often served in cafeterias, but people made it at home as well.
Black bread plays a major role in Estonian culture. There are tons of superstitions, traditions and old sayings about bread here. For example, you shouldn’t slice a new loaf in the evening or it will shrink, though this saying has become obsolete with the introduction of pre-sliced bread. Also, if you drop your slice of bread, you shouldn’t throw it away – you should pick it up, kiss it and then continue eating. And eating the heel piece will give you big breasts.
Continue reading “Black Bread Dessert. Leivasupp”
Estonian Black Bread is fermented Rye Bread.
For this bread, we have even the own word: LEIB.
“white wheat bread” we call “Sai”.
Of course, shops are full of different loaves of bread, even with nuts and chocolate.
But some years ago, our first lady Evelin Ilves promoted the homemade bread. So, today, I believe, all Estonian woman has their own home-made bread recipe.
Each Estonian eat ca 10 kg white wheat bread and 30 kg black rye bread per year, so Rye bread is very popular and I can say, that this is something very “Estonian”.
24th February is Estonian Independence Day, our republic become 99 years old 🙂
so this is the best day to bake the Estonian traditional rye Leib.
Estonian Style Sauerkraut with Pork and Barley is called ” Mulgikapsad”. Kapsad- means Cabbage and
Mulgi- Mulgimaa is an area in South-Estonia, with own culture, traditions, food and dialect.
This area and culture is a perfect example of the globalisation already in 19th of the century. During the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865 was the lack of cotton and price was very high.
So, as demand for alternatives. South Estonia, Mulgimaa has perfect conditions for the cultivation of linen. Bondage was in Estonia abolished 1816, but still, farmers were very poor and the land was owned by landlords. But because of America and demand for linen, farmers get enough money to buy from landlords land and farms. And this area becomes rich and successful. This made others little bit jealous and they started to call people and this area Mulgimaa 🙂
In Latvia means word- Mulk- ” silly” and in Estonia it means “hole”- in meaning that all richness went into the one hole…:)
I am Mulk ( person, who is living and born in Mulgimaa), as well. My mother’s ancestry has been lived in Mulgimaa more than 400 years. Maybe more, but we have first written documents from 1630 of the year 🙂
Mulgikapsad can be served as a meal unto itself, usually with boiled potato and certainly with some fermented milk for a drink. You may cook this as a vegan, without meat.
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.
Continue reading “Estonian Style Sauerkraut with Pork and Barley. Mulgikapsad”
Soup from Sauerkraut, fermented cabbage, is very easy to cook.
How to make Sauerkraut, look at this recipe
Sauerkraut sour and salty soup is warming winter-time dish, which needs time to get best result
Serve with sour- cream. Head isu!
Soundtrack Syn Cole “Follow Me”
t’s impossible to write a blog about Estonian food without talking about quark. To be honest, I’m not quite sure whether should I say ”quark”, ”curd” or ”Fromage blanc”.
The quark in every country has a different acidity, texture and consistency due to the processing of the product.
Quark is not
.. ricotta. ricotta. Ricotta is made from whey, which gives the cheese its specific taste and texture.
… cream cheese. Cream cheese is usually a salty soft product made from cream and milk. It has a different consistency, texture and acidity. Usually in cream cheese has added salt
… mascarpone. Mascarpone is not a fermented product. Protein is curdled with acid.
Estonian quark is fat-free, made from skimmed milk and mesophilic starter. The latter means that the quark is fermented at a low temperature.
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!
As You probably know, Estonians are the least religious nation.
The Estonian word jõulud (Christmas) is of ancient Scandinavian origin and comes directly from the word Jul/ Hjul which means “cycle”, and has no real connection with Christianity.
In 22th of December the Sun rises in Estonia at 9. 17 a clock and sets at 15.22. So, we do not need any fairy tales. We have very practical reason to celebrate 🙂
Jõulud as the winter solstice , when the day is the shortest and the night the longest, is celebrated between December 21 and 25. According to folk-tradition, “the sun was laying in the nest” and the day was celebrated as the Sun’s birthday. From that day on, the Sun started to rise and move slowly to the north again.
Continue reading “Roasted Pork with Sauerkraut. Sealiha hapukapsaga”
Homemade Sauerkraut, Fermented Cabbage, Hapukapsas is a very important and popular dish in Estonia during the autumn-winter time and mandatory food during Christmas time.
In ancient time, Hapukapsas and cranberries were only sources of C vitamin, during winter time.
Sauerkraut is fermented food and this is not the only a source of vitamin, but this is also a source of the probiotic bacterium and this is excellent for your health.
By the way, ancient Estonians believed, that Sauerkraut succeeds best, during New Moon. So, 7th of December is the right time to test it 🙂
A fresh, light and healthy fermented food
Estonian Cuisine. Eesti Toit. 