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..