Latvian cuisine typically consists of agricultural products, with meat featuring in most main meal dishes. Fish is commonly consumed due to Latvia's location on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
Latvian cuisine has been influenced by other countries of the Baltic rim.[1] Common ingredients in Latvian recipes are found locally, such as potatoes,[2]wheat, barley, cabbage, onions, eggs and pork. Latvian cuisine is markedly seasonal, and every season has its own distinctive products and dishes.[3]
Meals
Contemporary Latvians usually eat three meals a day. Breakfast is normally light and usually consists of sandwiches or an omelette with a drink, which is often milk. Lunch is eaten from noon time to 3 p.m., and tends to be the main meal of the day; as such it can include a variety of foods, and sometimes, there is also soup as an entrée and a dessert. Between lunch and supper, a smaller meal (launags) is sometimes had, usually consisting of a snack, fresh fruit, sweets or a small portion of savoury food. Supper is usually the last meal of the day. Consumption of ready-made or frozen meals is now common.[4] Another small snack-based meal can be had before bedtime (naksniņas).
Latvian cuisine is typical of the Baltic region and, in general, of Northern Europe. Main dishes are often high in fats. In seasoning, dried spices, such as caraway, black pepper, allspice are used, and fresh herbs, such as parsley, spring onions and especially dill, are held in high regard.
Latvian cuisine originated from the peasant culture and is strongly based on crops that grow in Latvia's maritime, temperate climate. Rye, wheat, buckwheat, oats, peas, beets, cabbage, pork products, and potatoes are the staples. Latvian cuisine offers plenty of varieties of bread and dairy products, with dark rye bread (rupjmaize) considered to be a Latvian specialty. Meat features in most main dishes, but fish also is commonly consumed, especially in the coastal areas next to the Baltic Sea. Both hot- and cold-smoked varieties of meat and fish are common.[3]
Many common dishes in contemporary Latvia have their roots in Slavic, Germanic and Nordic cultures. Popular dishes adopted from Soviet cuisine include pelmeni (pelmeņi) with sour cream, Ukrainian borsch (borščs), stroganoff (stroganovs), dressed herring (siļķe kažokā), shashlik (šašliks), rasol (rasols), plov (plovs), kefir (kefīrs), kvass and solyanka (soļanka),[5] as well as dessert dishes such as medovik (meduskūka) and mille-feuille (Napoleona kūka). German influences can be seen in dishes such as caramelised sauerkraut (štovēti kāposti) and pork cutlets (karbonāde). Polish minced meat patties (Polish: kotlet mielony, Latvian: kotlete) are also very popular.
The most consumed alcoholic beverage is beer[6], with a vibrant and flourishing craft beer scene[7]. The national liquor is Riga Black Balsam.[8]
Dairy products
Jāņi cheese, a caraway cheese traditionally served on the summer festival Jāņi.Latvian cheese with herbs
Latvia is much richer in dairy products than other Western countries. Cottage cheese (biezpiens), sour cream (skābais krējums), soured milk (rūgušpiens) and different types of fresh and dried cheeses are available. Kefir, soured milk and other fermented milk beverages are usually consumed alongside hot meals.[3]
Cottage cheese is frequently mixed with sour cream and fresh herbs as a breakfast dish, as well as added to salads and used in cakes and other desserts like the curd snack (biezpiena sieriņš). In 2012, curd snack Kārums was voted favorite product of Latvian consumers, receiving 20% of votes.[9] For lunch, the cottage cheese is traditionally usually eaten with boiled potatoes, lightly salted herring, spring onions and sour cream.[3]
Since the early 20th century a distinct type of butter is made in Rucava – the Rucava white butter (Rucavas baltais sviests). It is much leaner than normal butter, with a 40% fat content on average. In 2018 this type of butter received the Protected Designation of Origin classification in European Union.[10][11] Hemp butter (kaņepju sviests) is made by finely ground roasted hemp seeds, mixed with butter or hemp oil.[3]
Seeds, nuts, dried fruits, clover or mixtures of dried herbs are often added to cheese. It also frequently smoked or aged in oil, but fresh cheese is served with garlic or herbs.[3]Jāņi cheese, a fresh sour milk cheese with caraway seeds, is made and served during the Midsummer festival Jāņi and considered a symbol of Latvian culture[12], and was included in the EU Traditional Specialty Guaranteed register in 2015.[13]
Soups are commonly made with vegetables and broth or kefir. Cold borscht (aukstā zupa), fish soup (zivju zupa), sorrel soup (skābeņu zupa) and mushroom soup (sēņu zupa) are also consumed by Latvians.[3] A traditional Latvian dessert is rye bread soup (maizes zupa) made from rye bread, whipped cream, dried fruit and cranberries.[14]
Cold borscht is usually eaten in the spring and summer seasons and consists of kefir or soured milk, boiled beets, chopped radish, fresh cucumbers, boiled eggs and fresh herbs.[3]
Rye bread (rudzu maize) has been a national food staple for centuries and is included in the Latvian Culture Canon and the EU Traditional Specialty Guaranteed register.[15] The bread is similar to Russian or German black bread and is made from coarse rye flour, malt and caraway seeds and traditionally baked in a wood-fired oven. Another popular type of bread is sourdough bread (saldskābmaize) made from finely ground rye flour and caraway seeds. Fried rye bread with garlic (ķiploku grauzdiņi) and mayonnaise is often served as a starter in restaurants and bars. Historically white bread (baltmaize) was considered a delicacy and was only eaten on festive occasions.[14]
A popular pastry is the speķrauši, wheat or rye flour buns filled with finely cut streaky bacon and onions. Sometimes caraway seeds are also added to the dough. Speķrauši are commonly served during winter solstice Ziemassvētki and summer solstice Jāņi.[3] Kliņģeris, a large sweet pretzel with dried fruits and spices, is usually served as a dessert on special occasions, such as name days and birthdays. Sklandrausis is a traditional dish in Latvian cuisine which has a Livonian origin; it is a sweet pie, made of rye dough and filled with mashed potatoes and carrots and seasoned with caraway. In 2013, sklandrausis received a "Traditional Speciality Guaranteed" designation from the European Commission.[16]
Ancient Latvians brewed beer (alus), mead (miestiņš) and honey beer (medalus) before the 13th century, both celebratory occasions and everyday use. After the Baltic Crusades, the local beer brewing was influenced by the incoming Western European techniques. For example, prior to that, many herbs were used, but they were replaced by hops as a preservative and flavoring agent.[17] A craft brewery drawing upon the ancient brewing traditions is Labietis[lv] that uses a wide variety of herbs, flowers, berries, and spices in their brews.[18]
A very popular drink in spring is fresh birch sap.[3] Traditionally, it was preserved by adding raisins, lemon rind, and blackcurrant twigs.[19] For a long time, birch sap was sold in plastic bottles in markets and roadside stalls until Linards Liberts revamped its image and started producing bottled birch sap, birch sap lemonade, birch sap still and sparkling wine, birch sap mulled wine and birch sap schnapps.[20]
Kvass, traditionally brewed from fermented rye or black bread, has also remained popular in Latvia. In the Latvian SSR, kvass was sold by street vendors from carts with big yellow canisters, while nowadays mass-produced kvass can be bought at supermarkets.[20]
With the development of cold-hardy grape varieties more suitable for the northern climate, winemaking has become more common in Latvia. In addition to that, raspberry, black currant, and other fruit wines are also being made, as well as ciders.[3] Wine Hill of Sabile used to be registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the most northern open-air vineyard in the world.[21] Since 1999 the town also hosts an annual wine festival.
Mushrooms
Latvia has ancient traditions involving edible mushrooms. Picking wild mushrooms is very popular in autumn. Modern, as well as traditional mushroom preparation, is very popular. There are around 4,100 known mushroom species in Latvia, 1,100 of those are cup mushrooms. About ¼ of these are edible. The most popular edible ones are various Boletus and Cantharellus.[22] From mushrooms, onions, garlic, sweet or sour cream and sometimes bacon a mushroom sauce is made and usually eaten with boiled potatoes and slightly salted cucumbers.[3]
Dill is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula; it is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.
Swedish cuisine is the traditional food of Sweden. Due to Sweden's large north-to-south expanse, there are regional differences between the cuisine of North and South Sweden.
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.
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.
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.
Ukrainian cuisine is the collection of the various cooking traditions of the people of Ukraine, one of the largest and most populous European countries. It is heavily influenced by the rich dark soil (chornozem) from which its ingredients come, and often involves many components. Traditional Ukrainian dishes often experience a complex heating process – "at first they are fried or boiled, and then stewed or baked. This is the most distinctive feature of Ukrainian cuisine".
Romanian cuisine is a diverse blend of different dishes from several traditions with which it has come into contact, but it also maintains its own character. It has been mainly influenced by Turkish and a series of European cuisines in particular from the Balkan Peninsula, or Hungarian cuisine as well as culinary elements stemming from the cuisines of Central Europe.
Liptauer is a spicy cheese spread from Slovak, Austrian and Hungarian cuisine. Liptauer is made with sheep milk cheese, goat cheese, quark, or cottage cheese.
Bulgarian cuisine is part of the cuisine of Southeast Europe, sharing characteristics with other Balkan cuisines. Bulgarian cooking traditions are diverse because of geographical factors such as climatic conditions suitable for a variety of vegetables, herbs, and fruit. Aside from the variety of local Bulgarian dishes, Bulgarian cuisine shares a number of dishes with its neighboring countries, in particular with the Turkish and Greek cuisine.
Serbian cuisine is a Balkan cuisine that consists of the culinary methods and traditions of Serbia. Its roots lie in Serbian history, including centuries of cultural contact and influence with the Greeks and the Byzantine Empire, the Ottomans, and Serbia's Balkan neighbours, especially during the existence of Yugoslavia. Historically, Serbian food develops from pastoral customs that involved the keeping of sheep in mountain highlands, in a climate and regional context that favoured animal husbandry over vegetable farming; Serbian food is therefore traditionally richer in animal products and basic grains—corn, wheat and oats—than fresh vegetable dishes. Following the abandonment of widely practiced pastoral lifestyles, Serbian food emerged through the Middle Ages heavily dependent not on lamb or mutton, but on the keeping of pigs for the annual cull and the production of various cured meats, such as sausages, bacon and ham products.
Norwegian cuisine in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in Norway and its mountains, wilderness, and coast. It differs in many respects from continental cuisine through the stronger focus on game and fish. Many of the traditional dishes are the result of using conserved materials, necessary 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.
Belarusian cuisine refers to the culinary traditions native to Belarus. It shares many similarities with cuisines of other Eastern, Central and Northeastern European countries, based predominantly on meat and various vegetables typical for the region.
Montenegrin cuisine is a result of Montenegro's geographic position and its long history and tradition.
Traditional Estonian cuisine has substantially been based on meat and potatoes, and on fish in coastal and lakeside areas, but now bears influence from many other cuisines, including a variety of international foods and dishes, with a number of contributions from the traditions of nearby countries. Scandinavian, German, Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian and other influences have played their part. The most typical foods in Estonia have been rye bread, pork, potatoes and dairy products. Estonian eating habits have historically been closely linked to the seasons. In terms of staples, Estonia belongs firmly to the beer, vodka, rye bread and pork "belt" of Europe.
The cuisine of Minnesota is a type of Midwestern cuisine found throughout the state of Minnesota.
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