Below each country in the column will be photos and food links and videos for the three Eastern European countries covered here.
The Melting Pot: A look at the
evolution of food in southwestern Pa. Part 5 - 2 Eastern Europeans: Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians
Estonians are hard workers, make high incomes
and are strong allies of the US. They are members of the EU and very
globalized. There is no accurate number (25,000-40,000) of Estonian Americans
because of faulty immigration records. Estonian is a language related to Finnish. As with the
other Baltic countries Estonia was taken over by the Russians and the Germans.
First courses are cold
dishes: meats, sausages, rosolie (potato salad) and pirukas (like pierogies). Typical foods in Estonia are black bread, pork, potatoes, sauerkraut
and dairy products. Estonians like
fresh when available like berries, herbs, and vegetables.
Today, it is
also very popular to grill outside in summer. A
unique soup is leivasupp (a sweet soup made of black
bread and apples sweetened with milk & spices).
Specific desserts include kissel (fruit dessert),
mannavaht (a cream made of semolina and
juice/fruit)
kohupiimakreem (creamy
curd with
berries)or kompott (fruit punch).
Beverages include wines,
ales, beers and non-alcoholic Kali
(beer not fermented) and birch sap.
Estonian photos
Estonian food photos
Estonian travel, info, food and video links
Latvians are tenacious and speak an ancient
Indo-European language. Latvia is a
Baltic county. The Latvian culture survived after being ruled by Germans, Poles
(who made them serfs), Swedes, Russians and the Nazis. The Latvians who
immigrated to the US (1939-1951) to flee Nazi/Soviet suppression were highly
educated and multilingual. Today a strong Latvian culture (Germanic, Scandinavian
& Slavic roots) exists in America. PA ranks 8th
in the country for its Latvian population. The cuisine consists
of potatoes, wheat, barley, cabbage, onions, eggs, pork, meat and fish. Buffets are very popular: Piragi (aka
pierogi) are filled with bacon, pork and onion and then glazed. Rosolos (potato
and herring salad with creamy dressing) and Pork in Gelatin (like an aspic) are
popular. Undens Klinger (cross between a caraway pretzel and a bagel) and Alexander
Cake (iced sheet cookie-like pastry filled with jam or red currant jelly) are
favorites! Beverages include tea, coffee, spring water, fruit juices, vodka and
beer.
Latvian photos
Latvian food photos
Latvian travel, info, food and video links
Lithuanians are tenacious also and speak a descendant of Sanskrit (one of the oldest languages still alive in Europe). The Russian Empire broke up this Baltic Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, forced the Orthodoxy religion on this Catholic nation and banned the Lithuanian language and literature. They held strong and in 1989 flew their flag again. The 1860’s saw an influx of immigrants to the US. The large population in PA (79,000 - #2 in US) consists of people who are hard-working and proud of their American heritage. There is a strong community in in western PA, northern W VA and northeastern Ohio. Foods are Suris (pressed cheese), Kugelis Potato Pudding (bacon, onion, eggs, milk, farina and potatoes), Kielbasa (less fatty than Polish type), Saltibarsciai (cold beet soup with cucumbers, green onions, hard-cooked eggs, sour cream, and dill), Pork in Gelatin (Latvian also), raw sauerkraut with caraway seed, black rye bread and Pyragas (cake with apple, plum, apricot, or other fruits baked and iced). Beverages include gira (non-alcoholic drink made from rye bread), kisielius (fruity cranberry drink), beer, various spirit drinks with fruit or herbal infusions and, of course, mead.
Lithuanian photos
Lithuanian food photos
Lithuanian travel, info, food and video links
No comments:
Post a Comment