Estonian national foods and drinks
King of Estonian dishes- black bread
Black bread has always been the most important food. Bread
was cooked several loafs ahead, so it would last longer. Dried
bread was preferred over fresh bread, because that way, the
bread lasted longer. Fresh bread was only eaten at weddings,
funerals, Christmas and on other celebrations. If the family
had bread on the table, they were never hungry. Bread also
meant wealth, if you had enough of it, you were considered
below average.
Food was heated on a fireplace
There was a fireplace
in the barn room. Fire
was right in front of
the gob. Before the stoves, everything was boiled on a fire. The food was never
fried. People often ate at certain times. Day started with a mouthful of bread at
9am-10am, followed with the lunch at 2pm-3pm. The most important meal of
the day, dinner, was served at 9pm-10pm. The food was not cooked every day,
only 1-3 times a week. They made a lot of soup or porridge at once, so it would
last longer. Most common food was “kört” with milk or water. “Kört” was similar
to porridge, made of wheat, rye, oats, semolina or barley. It was the main food
until the end of the 19th century. In the winter Estonians only ate twice a day, in
the mornings and evenings. Lunch was only eaten by kids and elderly people. In
spring, people ate a piece of bread before work, because according to old believes seeing a bird while being hungry meant sickness or even death.
Dishes were made out of wood
Usually the dishes were made out of
linden, aspen and alder trees. Porridge
was served in a big bowl that had some
sauce in the middle. In some parts of
Estonia the sauce was served in a little
bowl. Plates were not common. Only
some single households had tin plates. Sour milk was brought on the table in a
flat bowl.
Bread and meat was chopped by the head of the family
People sat in front of the dining table by strict rules. Men sat against the wall,
woman on the other side, master sat at the end of the table. Kids ate while
standing up.
Main grains were barley and rye
Other grains were used a lot less. Barley is one of the oldest grains that was first
used in Saaremaa (at the end of the bronze area). Barley kept its place until the
19thcentury. Barley was also used to make beer, kvas, sourrokk and taar. Oats
were serves at weddings, funerals, christening and other bigger celebrations.
Later on rye became the most popular grain. Bread was also made of rye. If they
were out of it, they used other flours. During the times of the big starvation they
even used to put moss and bark into the bread. There was a lot of different types
of bread to which they added cannabis seeds, lard, fish or meat to it.
Festive meals included sausages
The most popular are the still loved bloodsausages. They were mostly eaten on
islands and in the north of Estonia. Less
popular sausages were white blood
sausages. They were made out of flour, onions and lard. Everything was mixed
together, flavoured, pressed through a bowel and cooked in the oven.
Estonians are sea lovers
Fish were unreplaceable part of dishes, especially in the
coast areas. One of the most common way to store fish
was to salt it in big barrels. Fish were eaten with milk
soup or porridge. The salted fish were taken directly
from the barrels. Another way of storing it was drying.
Estonian didn’t eat much meat
Animals were killed only on big celebrations. Goats were killed during summer.
They were not common in Estonia. Geese were killed on Mardiday and chicken
on Kadriday, which was an Estonian tradition. Meat was usually dried. Everything
was used when killing an animal, even the blood.
Milk was drank in spring
Estonians usually drank sour milk, fresh milk was rarely drank
at all. It was only used in porridges and soups. Usual sauce for
porridge was made of salty sour milk and onions. They also
made butter which was used to butter up the porridge and
slices of bread during celebrations. Cottage cheese was also
made while heating up the sour milk next some cheese. It was
eaten during celebrations. Real cheese was only made at
Rannarootsi. Cheese was foreign to Estonians.
New, refreshed dishes
In the middle of the 19th century the changes affected the table. Potatoes quickly
became main vegetables and impulse the peas, beans etc. The food was now
heated on electric stoves and instead of boiling food was fried. Pancakes started
being more common. The food got a lot better. Instead of the rye bread people
started making fine bread. Meat was eaten a lot more. White bread, pies and
pastries were beginning to take place instead of just plain black bread.
Farming turned upside down
Vegetables and fruits turned more popular. A lot of food like berries, pears,
carrots, apples and beets had earned their place on the table. Estonians began
to make modern food: rice, semolina and dumplings. New drinks as tea and
coffee became more and more popular.
Sources:
http://www.nami-nami.ee/Recipe/View/9733
http://toiduteemal.blogspot.com/2014/05/auruahju-leib.html
http://www.erm.ee/et/pood/postkaardid/ermi-kogudest/rehetuba-19-sajandi-keskel
http://paleo.ee/2012/08/kas-piim-on-paleo/
RECIPES
Sült
Ingredients:
2 pork legs (2 thighs, 2 hooves)
500 g bony beef
3 medium onions
1 garlic cloves
2 carrots
10-12 grains of black pepper
5 grains of mixed spices
2 laurel leaves
Salt
Cooking Instructions:
Wash meat and put to boil in large stew pot. Water must be cold when meat is added. Remove
foam when water starts to boil. Keep water just above the boiling point, allowing it to simmer.
After the first hour, add whole onions (tops and bottoms removed, but not peeled), garlic, and
carrots (cut into rounds). Continue boiling until meat is loose from bones (three to four hours).
Add salt and spices 15 minutes before boiling process is finished. Remove all meat and separate
it from bones. Cut meat into small pieces, mix with the liquid and heat to boiling point once
more. Pour sült mixture into several smaller bowls, and allow to harden in a cool place (five to
eight hours). Serve cold with horseradish or strong mustard, and with hot potatoes and
pumpkin salad on the side.
Bean soup
Ingredients:
2.5 liter water
200 g broad Beans
300 g smoked meat
200 g potatoes
1 Onion
Salt, to taste
3 tablespoon sour cream
Cooking Instructions:
Wash and soak the Beans for about 3-5 hours. Put the Beans and soak water into a pot, add
the rind of smoked meat, finely chopped Onion and salt, bring to a boil. Cook until almost soft
and then add the smoked meat and sliced potatoes. Serve hot with sour cream.
Blood sausage
Ingredients:
1250 g Barley grouts
750 g meat (Bacon)
200 g onions
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Marjoram, oregano, caraway
½ l blood
About 10 meters bowels
Cooking Instructions:
Cook washed grouts into hot salted water and boil to half-soft. Cut meat into little pieces and
fry it with sliced Onion until they are light golden. Add to the grouts and boil until the mixture
is soft. Now let the mixture cool and add blood and seasoning. Fill the bowls (intestines) with
the mixture but not hard because blood and grouts swell when the sausages boil. Tie the ends
of the sausages with soft string. Put the sausages into lukewarm water and boil them slowly
for about 30 minutes. Cool the ready sausages quickly down and keep them in a cold place.
Bake or fry before serving. Before frying, put the sausages into warm water. Serve with fried
Bacon, cowberry or cranberry jam or pumpkin salad.
Bread soup with apples and raisins
Ingredients:
1.5 l of water
250 g of bread
1 dl raisins
5 apples
1 dl sugar
grated lemon peel
Cooking Instructions:
Pour cold water on the sliced bread. Let stand until the bread is soft. Add peeled and chopped
apples and raisins to the soup. Let them boil and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring
occasionally. At the end, add the lemon zest and sugar. If desired, a bit lemon juice. Serve
with milk, whipped cream or sour cream.
Kama cream with compote or with cherries
Ingredients:
250 g of cottage cheese paste
3-4 tbsp Yogurt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons kama flour
3 dl Cream 35%
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2-3 tablespoons of sugar or brown sugar
Cinnamon ( ground)
1 tbsp Starch
2 dl cherry juice or cherry compote
250g (frozen) cherries
Cooking time : 20 min
Quantity : 4 servings
Cooking Instructions:
Mix cottage cheese paste, sugar , vanilla sugar, yogurt and kama into a smooth paste. Whip
the cream and mix. Mix 2 tablespoons cherry juice with potato starch. Heat the remaining
cherry juice with the sugar until the sugar is dissolved, add cinnamon . Drizzle the starch until
the soup thickens. Remove from the stove. Add the frozen cherries or the compote. Take 4
goblets and add kama or cherries with layers. Let it cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.