Estonian cuisine
Spiced salted sprats with a slice of boiled egg on an open sandwich (kiluvõileib) have been popularised as a distinctive Estonian appetiser.
Soups are typically made of meat or chicken stock mixed with a variety of vegetables, peas, eggs, pork or fish.
Typical Estonian desserts include variants of kohupiim (quark), kohupiimakreem (creamy curd), jäätis (ice cream), kama (a cereal and legume flour eaten mixed with milk, buttermilk, or jogurt), mannavaht (a foamy cream made of semolina and juice or fruit), kompott, and leivasupp lit.
[11] 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.
Yogurt, which was not produced in Estonia before the restoration of independence, has become a very popular everyday food, which is mostly sold sweetened and in both a liquid form and a creamier version.
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.
[citation needed] After hunting and fishing, farming (in Estonia, since over 4000 years ago) became another important source of nutrients, especially food made from cereals (e.g., puder (porridge), rokk, leem, etc.)
[12] The most important turned out to be dark rye bread made from leavened dough, that started to be baked about a thousand years ago and became synonymous with food in the figurative sense.
The food selection of the rural population was influenced by the cuisine of the local Baltic German landowners and the wealthier urban class, which was more diverse.
[16] For example, kama,[17] kohupiim (quark), sõir (a cooked mixture of milk, cottage cheese and eggs)[18] and various dishes made from legumes originate from Southern Estonia.
In the second half of the 19th century, along with urbanisation and rapidly changing economic conditions, eating habits in Estonia turned more complex as new ingredients and innovative food preparation methods became available to the general public.
Along with the evolving international trade, new culinary influences and consumption trends arrived to Estonia: mostly from Germany, and from nearby Saint Petersburg (then capital of the Russian Empire).
During the period of Soviet occupation (1944-1991), the Estonian daily diet was markedly influenced by what little ingredients were available in, and also what new culinary ideas arrived from, the USSR: borš, seljanka, rassolnik, pelmeenid etc.
Under the Soviet rule, Estonians "invented" several desserts that would most commonly be eaten during birthdays, e.g kirju koer (cocoa powder and butter mixed with crumbled cookies and marmalade, put in the freezer overnight) and kass Artur (soft toffee and butter mixed with fluffy corn sticks, frozen overnight).
Since the country regained independence in 1991, modern Estonian cuisine has been influenced by globalization: pizza, pasta, hamburgers, french fries etc.
