National cuisine of Estonia for gourmets

The national cuisine of Estonia is not distinguished by its variety or delicacies as Estonians are already accustomed to eating delicious and satisfying meals. The main part of most of their meals consists of simple nutritious dishes from natural products (meat, fish, vegetables, and bread) whose history goes back to traditional peasant food. The common feature of these dishes is the application of small amount of spices and seasonings usually in the form of salt, black ground or fragrant pepper, cumin and marjoram. The most common way of food preparation is cooking in broth or water. The favorite products mostly employed in Estonian dishes are pork, herring or Baltic herring, potatoes and cabbage, dairy products and black bread.

Dishes of Estonian cuisine contain unusual combinations of ingredients, often giving a specific acidic taste to the food. A vivid example of such food is meal from milk and peas. One of the most common dishes is the floury oatmeal “kama”. Tolokno is roasted barley mixed with oatmeal or rye porridge, and then diluted with milk and yogurt. Dairy products are widely represented on the tables of Estonians. The diet of locals inevitably includes milk, curdled milk, yogurts and cereals based on milk. In Estonian culinary books, you will find more than twenty recipes of milk soups.

Estonian dishes with milk are salty and are usually served for breakfast. Besides dairy based dishes, Estonians like to start their day with traditional sandwiches with butter and herring, toasts fried in butter with egg, tomato paste, beans, cheese or jam. The Estonian lunch consists of two parts. In the first part they eat meat, fish, vegetable and cereal soups: potato soup with barley, soup from Baltic herring with potatoes, pearl barley soup with peas and even beer soup. As the main dishes, they eat the famous blood sausages, stewed sauerkraut, and pork loin with buckwheat porridge as a side dish. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Pork is the favorite kind of meat among Estonians. It is usually brewed or baked. Pork legs and heads go to the preparation of holodets. Various popular snacks enjoyed in Estonia are; meatballs, herring with sour cream, liver pate and stuffed eggs. An Estonian dinner comprises of a fish or meat dish with a vegetable garnish, for example, fried Baltic herring with potato salad or porridge from rutabaga. In order to get an idea of ​​the cuisine of Estonia, you should try such national dishes as “mulgikapsas” (pork ragout with barley, pearl barley and sour cabbage), “mulgipuder” (pearl barley with mashed potatoes), “kartulipors” (baked potato puree with meat stuffing), blood pancakes, barley dumplings, smoked trout, spicy Tallinn sprats.

The Classic Estonian dessert is a sweet soup with many options. One of the most popular is bread soup with whipped cream and raisins. Berry soups, which are prepared from different kinds of berries, sweetened with honey and flavored with nuts, also deserve special attention. Favorite tourists’ treats are Christmas cookies “piparkook” with pepper and cinnamon, sweets with mint, nut, coffee or liqueur filling. If you are a fan of sweets, then you should taste semolina mousse with fruit juice, apple casseroles, traditional cinnamon rolls, shortbread cookies and berry jam.

Among non-alcoholic drinks, Estonians prefer jelly with the most popular one being a jelly from oat flakes with milk. In Estonia, people like to drink fruit drinks, kvass, and coffee. Beer is considered to be the national drink of the country. Every region is famous for centuries-old traditions of brewing. The most famous varieties of Estonian beer are the bright “Saare” and the dark “Saku”. Honey beer and beer with juniper are one of the inventions of Estonian cuisine. During the cold season, the inhabitants of the country warm themselves with “Honigwein”, which is mulled wine brewed according to a local recipe. The Estonian liqueurs are also famous. Among them are the dark brown “Vann Tallinn” and the crimson “Kannu Kukk” with the aroma of cumin.

Estonian restaurants are small establishments where, in a stylish setting, you can taste national cuisine in their traditional or modern varieties. In all cities of the country, you will find cozy coffee houses, confectionery and chocolate outlets, where you can nicely pass your time with a cup of coffee or cocoa while also enjoying the excellent taste of Estonian desserts. In most restaurants, a basket with freshly baked bread or rolls is served alongside an order. Sometimes butter and small snacks are offered outside the bill. Breakfast lasts until noon, lunch until five in the evening after which the dinner time comes. Most establishments open around noon and close late in the evening, usually about 9pm in the province. Cafes offering breakfast on the other hand are open from the early morning.