Traditional food: Don't miss the Taste of Estonia

Most of Estonian food originate from anywhere else. Estonia has adapted foods from Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Russia and god knows where else, maybe even Narnia. The issue is, the process of adaption usually stopped after acquiring potatoes and meat. The foods are simple, from local ingredients and the dishes dependent on the time of the year. As Estonians were peasants in serfdom, true Estonian foods were born out throwing things together because of not having anything else to eat.

Here are some dishes and beverages you definitely have to try to feel like Estonian for a while:

Kvass

Kvass is a traditional fermented beverage made from rye bread. It is hard to describe the taste, but it’s somewhere between beer and soda. Kvass is considered non-alcoholic, but it might still have up to about 1% alcohol after the fermentation process.

Vana Tallinn

It is a dark brown and robust rum-based liqueur developed in the 1960s and produced by the Estonian company Liviko. The liqueur is sweet with a hint of Jamaican rum, flavoured by various natural spices, including citrusoil, cinnamon and vanilla.

Local Chocolate

Estonia is known for delicious chocolate! Kalev is the oldest chocolate factory in Estonia, and they produce the highest-quality chocolate. They also make very tasty and stylish gifts and souvenirs which you can bring back home.

Mulgipuder – Potato–groat porridge

Mulgipuder is the most peasanty food you could possibly find. Only served during bigger holidays on a peasant’s kitchen table, though, this fancy porridge is not affiliated with celebration any longer but just served without any specific occasion. This is also one of the very few foods that are not an adaption of other cuisines. The one true Estonian invention is pretty basic (which does say quite a bit about the Estonian imagination or lack thereof). The true genuine Estonian foods are usually very simple due to the lack of ingredients in peasant-life. The porridge is usually served with bacon (yesss, delicious).
You can find this in some restaurants of Tallinn, but it takes some looking.

Sprats

The Baltic Sea is full of sprats, so it is not a coincidence that this fish can be found in almost every restaurant and shop. There are many dishes made with sprats, but the most popular and simplest is Kiluvõileib, also known as a sprat sandwich. The recipe is simple—dark bread, sprat, boiled egg and some sauce. It might not look attractive, but you can be sure it is delicious. Otherwise, why would Estonians eat it for centuries?

Rye Bread

Rye bread is as popular in Estonia as it is in Latvia and Lithuania. People from the Baltic countries have a thing for homemade bread, and they cannot imagine their cuisine without it. There are many different types of rye bread, as most of the locals have their own secret family recipes, which their ancestors passed throughout the generations.

Leivasupp

A unique form of Estonian soup 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.