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Latvia's cuisine is based on natural ingredients such as wheat,
fruits, cream and milk. Many dishes are seasonal or associated
with calendar festivals or other events. Here are a few things
you might try when you're there:
Piragi pastries
A common Latvian snack food, Piragi are small, glazed buns
filled with minced meat or smoked bacon. They were traditionally
made by the farming families of Latvia's countryside, using
home-grown wheat to make the dough. Although the exact time
when Piragi were first made is unknown, it is believed its
history is at least a thousand years old.
Towards the end of June, the Latvians celebrate the Summer
Solstice with the festival of Jani. The atmosphere
is lively, with songs, dancing and games. In farming regions,
the celebrations are held mainly outdoors according to countryside
tradition.
Piragi are one of the staple foods of Jani - along with Latvian
bread and beer. Followers of tradition hold the Piragi in
high regard, with praise for those who bake the best ones.
During Jani, special folk songs, Ligo, are sung. These
songs joke about the negative aspects of people's personalities.
Be warned - one negative trait that gets special treatment
is if someone's brought burnt Piragi to the feast.
Sour cream soup
Another traditional Latvian dish you might come across is
sour cream soup, or Skâbâ putra. It's made
from barley, water and buttermilk, and is a summer dish, chilled
for six to twelve hours to make it really refreshing. The
sour cream is added at the last minute, and the soup is served
cold with herring or bread and butter on the side.
Manna
Latvian puddings are also worth a try. One traditional dessert
is Manna, or Buberts. It's a bit like an old-fashioned custard,
and is made from milk, cream of wheat, eggs, sugar and vanilla.
The egg whites are whipped as for a meringue, and folded into
the custard mix to make it light and fluffy. Like sour cream
soup, this dish is also served chilled, and has a very delicate
flavour.
Kringel cake
On birthdays and special occasions, Latvians push the boat
out with a festive cake, called Kringel. It's a very rich
and aromatic, made with saffron, raisins, cream, orange and
lemon zest, and decorated with almonds. For birthdays, the
Kringel dough is kneaded and shaped into a sort of pretzel.
You might also see it made as a round cake or a loaf when
the occasion is not so special.
Biguzis desert
When summer arrives, Latvians make a type of summer pudding
called biguzis. Stale rye bread is cut into small pieces
or crumbled up, and spring water is poured over it. The mixture
is sweetened with honey, also crushed cranberries, raspberries
or redcurrants, depending on what's in season. It's then chilled
for several hours, and served with warm, sweetened camomile
or peppermint tea poured over the top. This dessert has various
alternative names, such as nabagelis (meaning pauper),
or cuncu-runcu, which doesn't have an English translation.
Maybe you'll think of a name that fits when you've tasted
it yourself.
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