Traditional Estonian cuisine has substantially been based on meat and potatoes, and on fish in coastal and lakeside areas, however now bears influences from many other cuisines, including a variety of international foods and dishes, with a number of contributions from the traditions of nearby countries. German, Scandinavian, Russian, and other influences have played their part. The most typical foods in Estonia have been fish, rye bread, barley, pork, potatoes and dairy products.[1] Estonian eating habits have historically been closely linked to the seasons. In terms of staples, Estonia belongs to the Nordic cuisine area.
The Baltic herringräim was elected the national fish of Estonia in 2007.
The first course in traditional Estonian cuisine is based on cold dishes — a selection of pickles, meats and sausages served with potato salad (kartulisalat) or rosolje, an Estonian signature dish almost identical to Swedish sillsallad, based on beetroot, potatoes and herring.[2] Small Nordic pastries called pirukad (pirukas in the singular) filled with meat, fish, cabbage, carrots, and other fillings or mixtures are also popular, and are often served with puljong (bouillon broth). Herring is common among other fish as a part of the Estonian cold table. Smoked or marinated eel, as well as crayfish, are considered delicacies. One of Estonia's national dishes is the diminutive Baltic herring (räim), the national fish of the country, along with the sprat (kilu). Spiced salted sprats on an open sandwich (kiluvõileib) have been popularised as a distinctive Estonian appetiser.
Soups
Soups traditionally formed a main meal option and nowadays are more often eaten as first course. Soups are typically made of meat or chicken stock mixed with a variety of vegetables, eggs, pork or fish. Soups are also blended with sour cream, milk, butter and yogurt. Pea soup is also quite popular.[2]Lõhesupp, a creamy soup made with salmon, potatoes and cream, is also very popular in Estonia.[3]
Main course
A half-loaf of fine rye bread.Oven-grilled pork (seapraad) with carrot slices.
Black breadleib (or rukkileib, i.e "rye bread") accompanies almost every savory food in Estonia. Estonians continue to value their varieties of black rye-based bread.[citation needed]
Mulgikapsad (sauerkraut with pork and pearl barley) is one food that is added in the list of the Estonian cultural heritage[4] and can be considered to be Estonian national food.
Mulgipuder is the only Estonian national food that is in the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity[5].
Desserts
Typical Estonian desserts include kohupiimakreem (creamy curd), kohuke (curd snack), kama and less popular mannavaht (a cream made of semolina and juice or fruit. A unique form of Estonian dessert is leivasupp ("bread soup"), which is a type of sweet soup that is made of black bread and apples, normally served with sour cream or whipped cream, often seasoned with cinnamon and sugar. Similar to the Finnish mämmi.[citation needed]Rhubarb pies are also a favorite.
Pastries or pies like the cinnamon bun, cardamom bun and different curd buns are also eaten, mostly accompanied by coffee. The Swedish tradition of having a pie or sweet pastry next to your coffee Fika, while not having an Estonian translation, is also constantly practised.
Another popular dessert is kringel (kringle), a sweet yeast bread often flavored with cardamom. Pancakes (pannkook, plural pannkoogid) are also traditional, common and popular. They are fried and often have sweet fillings and can be savoury as well. Vastlakukkel, a cardamom-spiced bread roll with whipped cream is a traditional Estonian sweet roll, especially popular during the festivities of vastlapäev.[6]
Drinks
Nowadays, locally brewed beer is the number one choice to accompany food; coffee, different juices or simply water being the main non-alcoholic choice. Wine is the second most widely drunk alcoholic beverage, however its consumption in liters is overshadowed by the beer consumption that is roughly 5 times more than the consumption of wine or consumption of all the spirits.[7] There are also Estonian fruit wines made of apples or different berries. Estonia is also known for locally produced viin (vodka) and other distilled spirits. Mead (mõdu), the alcoholic drink that was most popular in ancient times, has almost completely disappeared.
Some other drinks whose popularity peaked in the 20th century, however are still consumed by some Estonians, include kali (similar to kvass) and birch sap (kasemahl) beverages.
Besides milk (piim) other widely consumed dairy products include keefir and also hapupiim ("sour milk") and pett, which are variations on the theme of buttermilk.
Seasons
Summer and spring
Traditionally in summer and spring, Estonians like to eat everything fresh—berries, herbs, vegetables and everything else that comes straight from the garden. Hunting and fishing were common in history. Nowadays, they have remained as popular pastimes. It is popular to barbecue in the summer.[citation needed]
Winter and Christmas
During the winter months, jam, preserves and pickles are brought to the table. In the not so distant past, the gathering and conserving of fruits, edible mushrooms and vegetables for winter was more common, nowadays it is less so as almost everything can be bought from stores. However, preparing food for winter is still popular in the countryside and continues to retain its charm for many, as opposed to the commercialization of eating habits.[citation needed]
The cuisine of Germany consists of many different local or regional cuisines, reflecting the country's federal history. Germany itself is part of the larger cultural region of Central Europe, sharing many culinary traditions with neighbouring countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic. In Northern Europe, in Denmark more specifically, the traditional Danish cuisine had also been influenced by German cuisine in the past, hence several dishes being common between the two countries.
Hungarian or Magyar cuisine is the cuisine characteristic of the nation of Hungary, and its primary ethnic group, the Magyars. Hungarian cuisine has been described as being the spiciest cuisine in Europe. This can largely be attributed to the use of their piquant native spice, Hungarian paprika, in many of their dishes. A mild version of the spice, Hungarian sweet paprika, is commonly used as an alternative. Traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, bread, and dairy products.
Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental-style cooking. Fish and meat play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in some parts of the country, while the dishes elsewhere have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms. Evacuees from Karelia contributed to foods in other parts of Finland in the aftermath of the Continuation War.
Polish cuisine is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other national cuisines. Polish cooking in other cultures is often referred to as à la polonaise.
Danish cuisine originated from the peasant population's own local produce and was enhanced by cooking techniques developed in the late 19th century and the wider availability of goods during and after the Industrial Revolution. Open sandwiches, known as smørrebrød, which in their basic form are the usual fare for lunch, can be considered a national speciality when prepared and garnished with a variety of ingredients. Hot meals are typically prepared with meat or fish. Substantial meat and fish dishes includes flæskesteg and kogt torsk with mustard sauce and trimmings. Ground meats became widespread during the industrial revolution and traditional dishes that are still popular include frikadeller, karbonader and medisterpølse. Denmark is known for its Carlsberg and Tuborg beers and for its akvavit and bitters, but amongst the Danes themselves imported wine has gained steadily in popularity since the 1960s.
Austrian cuisine consists of many different local or regional cuisines. In addition to Viennese cuisine, which is predominantly based on the cooking traditions of the Habsburg Empire, there are independent regional traditions in all the states of Austria.
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social circles.
Dutch cuisine is formed from the cooking traditions and practices of the Netherlands. The country's cuisine is shaped by its location on the fertile Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta at the North Sea, giving rise to fishing, farming, and overseas trade. Due to the availability of water and flat grassland, the Dutch diet contains many dairy products such as butter and cheese. The court of the Burgundian Netherlands enriched the cuisine of the elite in the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th century, so did in the 17th and 18th century colonial trade, when the Dutch ruled the spice trade, played a pivotal role in the global spread of coffee, and started the modern era of chocolate, by developing the Dutch process chocolate.
Lithuanian cuisine features products suited to the cool and moist northern climate of Lithuania: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialties. Various ways of pickling were used to preserve food for winter. Soups are extremely popular, and are widely regarded as the key to good health. Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with Northern Europe, Lithuanian cuisine has much in common with its Baltic neighbors and, in general, northern countries.
Latvian cuisine typically consists of agricultural products, with meat featuring in most main dishes. Fish is commonly consumed due to Latvia's location on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
Slovak cuisine varies slightly from region to region across Slovakia. It was influenced by the traditional cuisine of its neighbours and it influenced them as well. The origins of traditional Slovak cuisine can be traced to times when the majority of the population lived self-sufficiently in villages, with very limited food imports and exports and with no modern means of food preservation or processing.
Norwegian cuisine in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in Norway. It differs in many respects from continental cuisine with a stronger focus on game and fish. Many of the traditional dishes are the result of using conserved materials because of the long winters.
Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries and nations. Many of the cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated within the Czech lands. Contemporary Czech cuisine is more meat-based than in previous periods; the current abundance of farmable meat has enriched its presence in regional cuisine. Traditionally, meat has been reserved for once-weekly consumption, typically on weekends.
Canarian cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients in the cuisine of the Canary Islands, and it constitutes an important element in the culture of its inhabitants. Its main features are the freshness, variety, simplicity, and richness of its ingredients, the mix of seafood and meat dishes, its cultural influences and the low knowledge of it by the rest of the world. Canarian cuisine is influenced by other cultures, especially that of the aboriginal inhabitants of the islands (Guanches), and has influenced Latin American cuisine.
Fijian cuisine has long consisted of primarily foraged and farm-grown food. Although rice, wheat, and tea all became staples during Fiji's colonial era, native Fijians still eat primarily tubers and coconuts. The cuisine of Fiji is known for its seafood and various green vegetables, including ''ota'', a young forest fern, and ''bele'', a plant that resembles spinach.
The cuisine of Minnesota is a type of Midwestern cuisine found throughout the state of Minnesota.
The cuisine of the Palatinate region of Germany is essentially determined by regional dishes that have become popular throughout the whole region and even beyond.
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