ESTONIAN COOKING
KRISTI PAAS, J A A N A T A M M
DEPARTMENT OF CRAFT TALLINN UNIVERSITY Influences to culinary art
Russia
Denmark Germany Brief history
Grains (rye, barley, Potatoes wheat) Soups Peas and beans More meat (e.g terrine) Vegetables (cabbage, White bread carrots, swedes, etc Grains (semolina and rice) Fruits (apples, pears, Coffee cherries) 15-18th century Beer from rye 19th century 11-14th century Buckwheat , lentils Cooking stove Cucumber, cauliflower, onions etc Herbs and flavourers Different regions
In costal area and islands: mainly fish (salted Baltic herring or smoked fish), dairy
Mainland: grains, vegetables, potatoes, meat, dairy Habits
Whole family sit at the dinner table during a meal (children were standing) Eating was a serious, kind of sacred ritual, and was typical that no one spoke a word If a piece of bread was dropped on the floor, it had to be picked up and kissed If one spilled food on a table, one could end up with a bibulous spouse If table is wiped with bare hands after meal, then there would be quarrel in the family Folk customs
Chistmas: 9 – 12 different dish (e.g. one pig: meat and blood dishes, sauerkraut, boiled potatoes, swede, cooked broad beans etc ) Vastlapäev: boiled pork legs, pea soup, bun with whipped cream Mihklipäev: a lamb Mardipäev: a goose Kadripäev: a chicken Bon appetit!
Bon appetit as expression is introduced recently. When starting to eat Estonians used to say:
“JÄTKU LEIBA!” (May your bread last!) Dairy products
MILK, BUTTERMILK, SOUR MILK AND KEFIR
Estonians love to drink milk or other dairy products with meal Dairy products
COTTAGE CHEESE Cottage cheese can have different addings, like pickles, sweet pepper, herbs, jam or berries Dairy products
GRAINY QUARK We use fatty or fat-free grainy quark. It can be favoured with cacao, vanilla, raisins etc. Dairy products
CHOCOLATE FORMAGGINS
Made with curd and covered with chocoate. Can be filled with jam, cookies or “kama”. Dairy products
SOUR MILK CHEESE
Curd is used to make this homemade cheese with cumins. Dairy products
BUTTER
Estonian butter has usually high fat content. It can be flavoured with herbs, butter etc. Dairy products
ICE CREAMS
Estonians prefer natural taste. Ice creams are mostly made from milk and they have low fat content. Meat products
BLOOD SAUSAGES
Blood sausages and other blood products are eaten during christmas time, most often with sauerkraut and lingon- berry jam. Meat products
PORK
Meat used to be more of a treat than everyday food. It was most often salted or smoked. Meat products
OTHER PARTS OF PIG Pig legs, ears, skin, bacon and other parts are somehow used in cooking. Meat products
TERRINE
Terrine is mostly made during christmas time. Different parts of pig is used in it. Fish
SPRAT AND HERRING
Sprats were main foodstuff for those who lived near sea. Fish was baked, smoked or salted and used in dishes or eaten with bread. Eggs
EGGS
Fried eggs or eggbutter can be part of breakfast. They are also used to make “filled eggs”. Cerial products
“KAMA”
A mixture of ground grains – rye, oat barley and pea flour. Used to make desserts or a drink with sour milk. Cerial products
BREAD There are three different kind of breads in Estonia – dark bread, graham bread and white bread. Dark, rye-bread is most often eaten. Cerial products
“KARASK”
This cake-like barley bread is eaten as bread. Cerial products
OATMEAL
Roasted oatmeal is used to make “estonian muesli” (with sugar and raisins) and desserts Cerial products
PORRIDGES
Estonians love to eat porridges for breakfast (made from oatmeal, semolina, barley). Quite often they are eaten with fruit soup. Vegetables
POTATO Potatoes become quickly a popular foodstuff. Estonians like to eat them boiled, baked or mashed with milk and butter. Potato salad is also very popular. Vegetables
TURNIPS AND SWEDES
Main vegetables before potatos. They were cooked or baked whole and used as side dishes for other food. Vegetables
SAUERKRAUT
It is mostly with barley meal and eaten with fried becon and onions. Soups and salads are also made. Vegetables
PEAS AND BEANS
Peas, beans and lenses were important in Estonian kitchen. They were mostly used in soups. Confectionery
CHOCOLATE AND MARZIPAN
Estonians invented the original recipe of marzipan Preserving food
PRESERVED FOOD
Estonians preserve food in many ways. They make pickles, jams, jellys, compotes etc.