A person who has made a trip to the Baltics can not forget the quiet streets of Riga, the tiled roofs of Tallinn and the sand dunes on the Curonian Spit for a long time. And about twenty years ago, the Soviet people remembered the indelible memories of the Baltic sour cream. Dairy products in the Baltics have always been famous for their high quality. From the above, there was a general impression of the Baltic, and after that there followed a closer acquaintance with traditional cuisine.
And it started with a cold beetroot and potato cutlets with chopped pork. These cutlets are called zeppelins and served with onion or sour cream sauce. They differ in satiety, like most dishes of Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian cuisines. Pig patches, cock's combs differ in satiety, and, like many Baltic dishes, are intended for drinking.
More familiar and on hearing and tasting for us would be casseroles, pancakes and various fish dishes. Climatic conditions in the Baltic States did not contribute to the development of agriculture. Here the land has long been used as arable land and for pasture. Many of the traditional Baltic dishes are prepared from pork, which is widely used as a result of German influence.
Lithuania is rich in fish. Eel lives in local lakes and nowhere else can smack it as much as in the Baltic. Apparently, they know some secret. Estonian fishermen also thanks to many years of experience passed from generation to generation, have accumulated many recipes for cooking fish dishes. Some of them are very original. For example, milk soup with a cod. The combination of fish and milk is considered rather doubtful. But on the other hand, if there is high quality milk and good fish, then why not try to combine these products?
Another unexpected dish of the Baltic cuisine is the "mulgi kapsad".Prepare it as follows: pork on a flat layer lay sauerkraut, then pour salted water, add pearl barley and put in the oven for two hours. It must be said that barley and pearl barley are present in many dishes of local cuisine, which is also explained by the natural conditions of the Baltic coast. The composition of a very old recipe "putra" also includes pearl barley. Outwardly, this dish is a cross between porridge and potato and pea pottage.
Speaking about the Baltic cuisine, it's worth remembering Latvian pâtés, which are perfectly combined with Riga bread.
Spices and seasonings in the Baltics are not fond of, they prefer more unleavened food, but only respect the caraway seeds, which are sprinkled with even cheeses.