Estonian National
Cuisine
Black Bread
• The word „bread“ came
to Estonian from
Germanic languages.
• Traditional black bread
spread in Estonia in the
second century.
• In a peasant household
people usually baked
bread on Saturdays.
• Depending on the size
of the family, they
usually made 6-10
loaves of bread.
• One loaf of bread
usually weighed about
2-5 kg.
Recipe of Bread
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5 l of warm water
100 g leaven
6 - 7 kg rye flour
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons of fennel
seeds
Beliefs and habits
• There were many beliefs and habits related with bread:
– If a piece of bread was dropped, it had to be picked up and given a
kiss so that hunger would not come to the house.
– A loaf of bread was never put on a table upside crust down. That
would predict a family member’s death.
– It was not allowed to lay a loaf of bread with its cut side to the
door, because then the house would run out of bread.
– People imprinted a cross on a loaf of bread before they baked it,
because it would protect the family from an evil eye.
– Eating the crusty end of bread would give a girl nice breasts.
– Warm bread was supposed to be broken not cut.
Christmas bread
• Christmas bread had to
be different from
everyday bread.
• It was made of rye or
wheat flour and it was
usually in the shape of a
lying pig.
• Christmas bread was
also fed to the animals
in the stables and barns
Kama (flour mix)
• Kama is a mixture of
boiled, dried and roasted
coarse-ground grains,
mixed with water,
buttermilk or yoghurt.
• Kama flour was initally
made after sowing from
the remnants of the
seeds.
• Nowadays kama is a
popular summer dish
because it is light and
cooling.
• As it tastes good and is
healthy, kama can be
compared with muesli.
Estonian Fish Culture
The Baltic Herring
• The Baltic herring has
been the main fish dish
on Estonians’ table for
centuries.
• It is the main fish that is
caught in the Baltic Sea.
• The Baltic herring has
become the national fish
of Estonia.
• The Baltic herring is
eaten fresh, marinated,
smoked and tinned.
Baltic Sprat
• A sprat sandwich is a
traditional snack on
Estonian food table.
• Sprats are usually salted
with all kinds of spices.
A sprat sandwich:
• black bread
• salted sprats
• boiled eggs
All you have to do now is
just make a sandwich.
Pork
• Pork has been known
in the national cuisine
of Estonia for a long
time.
• Meat was eaten
mostly in autumn and
in winter with
vegetables and
cereals.
Beliefs and habits:
– The pig’s snout was given to a child, because
people believed that it helped the child to become a
writer.
– Eating the heart gives strength.
– The kidneys were boiled in soup and were eaten
with somebody else to get well along with.
• These traditions are old and mostly forgotten,
but pork has still a very important place in
Estonian cuisine.
Jellied meat
• In Estonian sült.
• A traditional Estonian dish
- boiled pork with
vegetables in jelly.
• The jelly is made by
boiling the pig bones,
sometimes trotters and
heads.
• Estonians eat jellied meat
at Christmas time, on
Shrove Tuesday, New
Year’s Eve and at Easter.
Milk
• Milk is called “piim” in
Estonian
• Over the times
Estonians have been
drinking and using milk
(mostly cow milk but
also horse and goat
milk) as everyday food.
• The development of
Estonian milk industry
began in the 19th
century. Nowadays it is
one of the most
important lines of
production in Estonian
farming.
• Nearly 93% of the
drinking milk produced
and consumed in
Estonia has a fat content
of 2.5% which is unique
in the EU. The 2.5%
milk can only be
marketed in Estonia.
• Milk production started
in farms.
• A metal milk jug was
used to collect milk
from farms.
• Piimapukk is a simple
wooden construction.
• Farmers brought their
milk jugs there for
collecting and selling
the milk.
Soured milk
• Soured milk is called
hapupiim in Estonian
• Soured milk is a general
term for milk that has
acquired a tart taste
through bacterial
fermentation
• Soured milk has been a common drink among
Estonians for centuries.
• Nowadays people drink mostly kefir which is a
fermented milk drink similar with soured milk.
Curd
• Curd is made from
soured milk by heating
it on a low temperature.
• Curd is a popular diet
food because of its high
calcium and phosphorus
content and low
energetic value.
• Curd might be flavoured
with salt or sugar and it
is used in many
different dishes like
curd cheese patties.
Curd snack
• A curd snack is a sweet
snack about five
centimeters long.
• It is made of milled
sweet curd or curd
cream and usually
covered with chocolate
glaze.
• Different types of curd
snacks may contain various
fillings like jam, marmalade
or raisins.
• The curd snack has been one
of Estonians’ favourite
sweet snacks since 1960,
when it was known as
glazed sweet cheese.
Thank you 