I found out about these authentic Lithuanian cookies from two Lithuanian girls, Gierdre and Gerda. They were working at the guest house I stayed in this summer. The two young women were part of an exchange program at Chautauqua Institution. I met up with them one evening when I ran down to the kitchen to get...
Lithuanian
Lithuania is in Eastern Europe, nestled between Poland and Latvia. Parts of it touch the Baltic sea, lending to a year-round cool, damp climate. What do people eat in these climates? Plenty of hardy root vegetables, seafood, berries, and mushrooms. Locals also have specialized in pickling to preserve food for the winter. Lithuanian recipes typically don’t contain a lot of spices, Their flavors come from dill, onion, garlic, pepper, and scallion.
That said, due to the longer winter. People eat a lot of soups which are considered optimal for good health. Soups are served hot or cold and always with rye bread. The cold weather also lends itself for the need to consume heartier meals. Lithuania also shares a lot of food and agricultural traditions with Northern Europe. Like Germans, they have a lot of pork and potato-based dishes.
Head to a local Lithuanian food restaurant and you can enjoy potato dumplings, potato pancakes, meat-filled pastries, and maybe try some sweet cookies for dessert.
At the moment, I’m only featuring a Lithuanian dessert on here. But fear not, there is more to come.