Lithuania tourist information

Lithuanian cuisine features the products suited to its cool and moist northern climate: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialities. Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with Eastern Europe, Lithuanian cuisine has much in common with other Eastern European and Ashkenazi cuisines. Nevertheless, it has its own distinguishing features, which were formed by a variety of influences during the country's long and difficult history.

Because of their common heritage, Lithuanians, Poles, and Ashkenazi Jews share many dishes and beverages. Thus there are similar Polish, Lithuanian, and Litvak versions of dumplings (koldunai, kreplach or pierogi, ), doughnuts spurgos or (paczki ), and blynai crepes, (bliny, or blintzes). German traditions also influenced Lithuanian cuisine, introducing pork and potato dishes, such as potato pudding (kugelis or kugel) and potato sausages (vedarai), as well as the baroque tree cake known as Sakotis. The most exotic of all the influences is Eastern (Karaite) cuisine, and the dishes kibinai and ceburekai are popular in Lithuania. "Torte Napoleon" was introduced during Napoleon's passage through Lithuania in the 19th century.

Bread
Traditionally, the centerpiece of Lithuanian cuisine is dark rye bread (duona) which is used substantially more often than light wheat breads. The dough is usually based on a sourdough starter, and includes some wheat flour to lighten the finished product. Rye bread is often eaten buttered or spread with cheese. It is sometimes flavored with caraway, or with some onion. Emigres from Lithuania will often mention their native rye bread as the food that they miss the most.

A popular brand of bread is Palangos duona ("Palanga Bread"), a mixed rye-wheat bread of grayish color. Some varieties of Lithuanian bread contain whole seeds of rye and wheat; this type of bread is referred to as grudetoji, i.e. "seeded" bread.

Vegetables and spices
The most commonly used vegetable in Lithuanian recipes is the potato; in its simplest forms, it is boiled, baked, or sauteed, often garnished with dill, but a tremendous variety of potato recipes exist. Potatoes were introduced into Lithuania in the late 18th century, were found to prosper in its climate, and soon became indispensable.

Cucumbers, dill pickles, radishes and greens are quite popular. Beets (burokai) are grown more widely than in other areas of the world, and are often used for making borscht and side dishes. Cabbage is another popular vegetable, used as a basis for soups, or wrapped around fillings (balandeliai). Tomatoes are now available year-round in stores, but those home-grown in family greenhouses are still considered superior.

Lithuanian herbs and seasonings include dill (krapai), caraway seed (kmynai), garlic, bay, juniper berries, and fruit essences. Vanilla and pepper were scarce during the Soviet era, but were welcomed back after independence. The cuisine is relatively mild.

Berries and mushrooms
One of the prides of Lithuanian cuisine is its wide use of wild berries and mushrooms. Mushrooming is a popular pastime from mid-summer to autumn. As a staple, mushrooms are usually harvested in the forest; occasionally they are purchased at roadside markets, especially on the road in the Dzukija region from Druskininkai to Vilnius; the purchasing of mushrooms in shops is rare. Despite its status as a delicacy, mushrooms are thought of by many Lithuanians as hard to digest. A number of mushroom species are harvested from the wild, including:

• baravykas - King boletus (Boletus edulis)
• voveraite or voveruSka (literally, "little squirrel"), lepeSka (in Dzukija region) - Yellow chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius)
• gudukas, vokietukas, kalpokas - Cortinarius caperatus.

Baravykas is the most valued and sought-after species; the primary usages are drying and marinating. Dried baravykas has a strong pleasant scent and is used as seasoning in soups and sauces. Voveraite is often used fresh as a seasoning in soups or sauteed. An example of a voveraite dish is voveraite sauteed with chopped bulb onions and potatoes. Gudukas, arguably the most locally abundant of edible mushrooms due to its lower popularity, is usually marinated. Other edible mushrooms, such as lepSe (Leccinum scabrum), raudonvirsis, raudonikis (literally, "red-top") (Leccinum aurantiacum), makavykas (Xerocomus badius), are more rare, but are also gathered and may be used in the same ways as baravykas.

Wild berries are also gathered or, even more frequently than mushrooms, purchased at roadside markets or shops. Bilberries (melynes) and red bilberries (bruknes) are the two most abundant species of wild berries. Cranberries (spanguoles) are valued, but their cultivation is limited to certain boggy areas, such as those adjacent to Cepkeliai Marsh. Sour cranberry or red bilberry jam and sweet bilberry jam are all considered excellent sauces for pancakes (blynai). Red bilberry jam is occasionally used as a dressing for fried chicken or turkey. Fresh bilberries may be put into a cold milk soup. Wild strawberries (zemuoges) are relatively scarce and are usually gathered for immediate consumption.

Fruit
Apples, plums, and pears, which grow well in Lithuania, are the most commonly used fruit. Because they cannot tolerate frost, tropical fruit such as citrus, bananas, and pineapples must be imported, and hence were used less often; an orange in a Lithuanian Christmas stocking was an annual treat. During the autumn harvest, fruit are often simmered and spiced to create fruit stews (compotes). Gooseberries (agrastai) and currants (serbentai) are widely cultivated; they are sweetened, made into jams and baked goods, and provide a piquant touch to desserts.

Meat
The most frequently used meat is pork, followed by beef; for immediate consumption it is often grilled, or dusted with breadcrumbs and sauteed, in a dish similar to schnitzel. The need for meat preservation no longer presents the urgency that it did during the Soviet occupation or previous times of trouble, but many favorite techniques survive, include brining, salting and drying, and smoking. There are many varieties of smoked pork products, including ham and a soft sausage with a large-grained filling; these are served as a main course or thinly sliced as sandwich fillings. Sausage-making is an art form; men will retreat with their friends and relatives to smokehouses for entire weekends, partying and arguing about the best possible procedures.

Fish
Fish caught in the area, such as pike or perch, are often baked whole or stuffed, or made into gefilte fish. Herring is marinated, baked, fried, or served in aspic. Smoked fish such as eel or bream are popular entrees and appetizers in areas near the Baltic Sea, especially in Neringa.

Dairy products
Dairy products play an important role in Lithuanian cuisine; cottage cheese may be sweet, sour, seasoned with caraway, fresh, or cured until semi-soft. Lithuanian butters and cream are unusually rich.

Main courses

• Aspics (Saltiena or koseliena) - many savory foodstuffs are presented in gelatin molds, especially herring; horseradish is often served as a condiment.
• Balandeliai ("little doves") - cabbage leaves stuffed with meat and braised.
• Bigos - a long-simmered hunter's stew, featuring the catch of the day, sausages, and vegetables.
• Blynai - although blynai is often translated as pancakes, they are usually more similar to crepes. They are either wafer-thin, as crepes are, or made from a yeast-risen batter, often mixed with grated apple or potato.
  
  * Zemaiciu blynai - potato pancakes, similar to latkes.
  * Kedainiu blynai - similar to Zemaiciu blynai, only larger and filled with chopped cooked meat
  * Lietiniai or Nalesnikai - large, usually square blintzes made from thin crepes filled with minced meat, cheese with cinnamon, or minced sauteed mushrooms.
  * Buckwheat pancakes - traditional dish in Dzukija
• DeSra - sausages are made in many different ways: they may be smoked or fresh, and include pork, beef, potatoes, or barley; in rural areas, blood may be added.
• Didzkukuliai or Cepelinai (zeppelins) - potato dumplings stuffed with meat, mushrooms, or cheese, often garnished with spirgai, fried minced onion and/or sour cream.
• Kastinys - sour cream "butter"; sour cream is kneaded and washed until it forms a soft spread.
• Kibinai - pastry with mutton and onions, a Karaite dish.
• Koldunai, Virtiniai, Auseles - these are various kinds of dumplings, filled with minced meat, sausage, cottage cheese, or mushrooms, usually garnished with crumbled fried bacon. They are similar to Polish pierogi or kolduny, but are usually smaller.
• Kotletai - soft minced meat patties, often served with potatoes and a sauce.
• Kugelis (also bulviu plokStainis, the lexically correct non-foreign name, literally "flat potato dish" or banda - this usage predominates in the Dzukija region) - potato pudding made with grated potatoes and eggs. It is usually served with sour cream and/or spirgai.
• Pizza - now popular throughout Lithuania; cooks feel free to exercise creativity in their choice of toppings.
• Saltnosiukai ("cold little noses") - dumplings filled with lingonberries, not found anywhere outside Lithuania.
• SaSlykai - cubes of pork are marinated, skewered, and grilled, preferably over birch wood; native to the Middle Eastern cuisine, a kind of Kebab.
• Skilandis or Kindziukas - pig stomach stuffed with meat and garlic and cold-smoked.
• Suktiniai - ("beef birds") - beef or pork is pounded until very thin, filled and rolled up, and braised.
• Svilpikai - an oven-baked potato roll.
• TroSkinti rauginti kopustai - a stew made with sauerkraut and the cook's choice of meats and vegetables.
• Vedarai - a sausage, made of a potato stuffed large intestine of a domestic pig.

Desserts
Lithuanian-style cakes (pyragas) are often baked in a rectangular pan and sometimes have apple, plum or other fruit baked in; they are less frequently iced than is customary in the United States. These cakes are cut into squares for serving. Poppy seed is sometimes used as a swirl filling in dessert bread and as a flavoring in other pastries.

For special occasions, tortes may be prepared; they often consist of 10 to 20 layers, filled with jam and vanilla, chocolate, mocha, or rum buttercreams; they are lavishly decorated. Lithuanian coffeehouses (kavine) serve a variety of tortes and pastries to attract evening strollers.

• Kuciukai or Slizikai - very small rolls are baked and served with poppyseed milk; this is a traditional Kucios' (Christmas Eve) dish.
• Ledai - ice cream is served everywhere in the summer.
• Spurgos - a Lithuanian variant of doughnuts, often filled with preserves.
• Sakotis (also called raguotis) - a Lithuanian variant of German baumkuchen, with a very distinctive branching form; it is essentially a poundcake grilled layer by layer.
• Zagareliai (also known as krustai or chrustai) - Twisted, thin deep-fried pastries dusted with powdered sugar; similar to Polish faworkis or Mexican bunuelos.

Beverages

• Alus (beer) is extremely popular throughout the country, especially since independence in 1990. Several Lithuanian beers have won international awards. Local breweries are enjoying a renaissance.
• Arbata (tea) - chamomile, rosehip, and other herbal teas are popular as well as black tea. Many herbal infusions are used for medicinal purposes.
• Gira is a non alcoholic beverage made by the natural fermentation of wheat, rye, or barley bread, sometimes flavoured with fruit, berries, raisins or birch sap; it is similar to Russian or Ukrainian kvass. Those brewed from rye bread and from caraway seed are popular and distributed in glass bottles. There is also a carbonated soft drink known as gira, which is distributed in plastic bottles, but it shares neither taste nor production technology with the original beverage.
• Degtine ("the burn") is the Lithuanian version of vodka, made from rye, wheat or potatoes. Produced domestically, its quality ranges from basic to triple-distilled.
• Kava (coffee) is brewed in espresso makers at home, or with espresso machines in cafes. It is quite strong, and usually sweetened. Coffehouses (kavine) can be found not only on every street corner in towns but at highway rest stops and at every point of interest.
• Midus is said to be the most ancient Lithuanian alcoholic beverage; it is a variety of mead made from honey. It is no longer very popular in Lithuania, and its production is limited.
• Starka, an aged vodka, as well as Krupnik, a honey liqueur, are traditional drinks dating from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th - 18th centuries. Today, genuine Starka is only produced in Poland, and Lithuanian Starka is rather a form of trauktine.
• Trauktine is a strong herbal vodka; there are many varieties. It is also used as a traditional medicine. Trejos devynerios ("999"), steeped with 27 different herbs, is one of the best known.