Traditional Estonian Cooking

Margit Mikk-Sokk

kirjastus Tähesadu

This book presents you traditional Estonian dishes, exotic to many readers. A lot of the dishes are easily prepared from foodstuff known to you and found in nearest supermarket. Surprise yourself, your family and friends, offering them new taste experiences. You will not forget this pleasant surprise and try again!

For the reader!

We experience new exciting tastes while travelling in different countries. Moments with good food are unforgettable and will be remembered for the rest of the life. Food tastes different in different countries. Local nature and products give national cuisine its peculiarity.

What is real Estonia taste like? Find out the taste of fresh potatoes served with dill and melted butter on a tender summer evening, filled with the song of grasshoppers; or the taste of roast pork served with sauerkraut or black pudding with cowberry jam on a cold winter day.

This book presents you traditional Estonian dishes. Some of them have been consumed for centuries and are still loved today. Many of them are easily prepared from foodstuff known to you and found in every home. These dishes are easily prepared and provide surprisingly good taste experiences.

Estonia, a small country with a northern climate, is located by the Baltic Sea, where one finds wild nature, kilometer-long stretches of forests, meadows and empty sandy beaches. There is an equivalent of 2 hectares of forest per each inhabitant. Estonians have been living on this rocky limestone-rich stretch of land for more than 5,000 years. Traditional Estonian food may be categorized as rustic farm cuisine. Since people began to cultivate this land, different kinds of grain have been used for making food. The most important food was leavened rye bread. Black bread is the symbol of food; all other food has a complementary status. Bread was considered to be holy. An old Estonian proverb says: “Respect bread; it is older than us.” Black bread is still very much respected in Estonia today.

In addition to bread, scones were also baked from unleavened barley flour dough, and later on brown wheat bread and white bread were baked for special occasions. Kama powder is also typical Estonian cereal food; kama is a thick flour made from boiled, dried and grounded mixed grain usually served with sour milk.

Cabbage, turnip and swede were the most common vegetables at that time. Potatoes began to be widely consumed at the end of the 19th century and remain indispensable on our tables today. People living by the coast have always eaten fish with potatoes, since the latter’s introduction. The Estonian national fish is the Baltic herring, with the local specialty being Tallinn sprat, which is seasoned with 12 different spices. This particular recipe dates back several hundred years.

Food made from eggs was not common among old Estonians, though scrambled or boiled eggs were eaten on Sundays. Of dairy products, fresh and sour milk, butter and curds were used. Common drinks included kvass and mead, and beer was brewed for special occasions.

Meat was not very common on the tables of peasants. Cattle were slaughtered in autumn; offal was used at once, while meat was salted or smoked. Brawn, made by boiling pig’s head, feet and shank, is a dish that adorns many Estonian dinner tables and is unique due to its cooking process. Sausages were made for special occasions by adding meat and blood to groat porridge. This specialty can still be found on every Estonian’s table at Christmas time. Sauerkraut and sauerkraut with barley and pork, which are also on the menu in Estonia at Christmas time, are also unique in the world.

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