What else can you do in Latvia besides skiing?

Of course it’s the food here.

No matter where you go, you can't miss the local specialties.

And the locals are very hospitable, so there are Latvian specialties here.

Let's try it together.

1. Rye Bread Rye bread is a great gift from Latvians to their friends and relatives living abroad.

Definitely different from the bread you eat elsewhere.

Places like Lci Bakery and the Aglona Bread Museum also offer visitors the opportunity to bake their own bread.

Latvians also like to use rye bread for desserts, such as rupmaizes krtojums (layered rye bread dessert with berry ice cream) and maizes zupa (bread soup or dried fruit pudding), which can be found on restaurant menus.

2. Kimchi and kimchi vegetables are rich in vitamins after being refrigerated for several months.

Latvians are particularly fond of pickled vegetables.

In some places, they even store them in caves, where temperatures are cooler.

Go to Riga Central Market and you can buy all kinds of kimchi and pickled vegetables that locals like, such as pickled garlic and tomatoes, Korean pickled radish, curry pickled cabbage salad, pickled pomegranate, etc.

3. Cold Sweet Root Soup Sweet root soup is most delicious when the weather is cold, so it is especially popular in summer.

Add yoghurt or yogurt to the soup and add mashed beetroot, eggs, onions, and fennel to make the soup rich and fragrant.

If you like a strong flavor then add some wasabi and mustard.

At gas stations and convenience stores, you can buy cold beetroot soup to take away.

4. Sklandrausis (carrot and potato pie) tastes somewhere between sweet and salty.

This is a traditional food from western Latvia.

Preparation method: Spread carrots and mashed potatoes inside rye dough and sprinkle with coriander seeds.

Some people like to add a layer of sour cream and cinnamon on top.

5. Wild Mushrooms and Berries In late summer, if you are in Latvia, you can see many Latvians walking into the forest with buckets or baskets to pick mushrooms and berries.

Afterwards, the picked mushrooms and berries are sorted and washed.

Some will be eaten right away, while others will be stored for the winter.

Small mushrooms are used to make kimchi, and larger mushrooms are chopped, dried or refrigerated for soups or sauces.

Usually Latvians don’t like to share their favorite foraging grounds with others, this is their family’s secret base ~ 6. Bacon and red peas Latvians are proud of their red peas and know that their red peas have been included in the “European

Protected Origin” list!

When Latvians enjoy a hot dish in winter, red peas are the perfect choice, served with bacon and onion gravy.

The best way to eat red peas is with a cup of kefir yogurt.

7. Fruit wine For many years, Latvia has had the northernmost vineyards in the world, but grape yields were low, so wine was made from fruits such as apples, black currants, wild cherry berries, and rowan berries.

If you want to taste some unique wines, you can try rhubarb sparkling wine and birch sap wine, not to mention pumpkin wine and oak leaf wine.

8. Smoked Fish In the past, people cooked smoked fish to keep the food safe for a long time.

Although there are refrigerators to keep food cold now, Latvians still like that special smoky flavor.

The freshest smoked fish can be bought in the fishing villages along the Latvian coast (such as Pvilosta, Ragaciems, lapmeciems, Salacgr va, etc.).

).Latvian lakes, rivers and the Baltic Sea have many native fish species such as herring, flounder, barracuda, cod, trout, perch, salmon and catfish.

9. Honey Latvia has large green spaces and high forest coverage, so the land and forests here provide the perfect habitat for bees.

There is no doubt that Latvia is rich in honey, pollen and bee food, which are very beneficial to health!

10. Latgale’s culinary heritage Latgale’s dishes have a nice name, but they are also rich and delicious.

It is recommended to try kockas (white soft cheese dumplings), kuelis (diced potatoes) and gulbens niki (potato stuffed dumplings).

Add some makovka (local liquor) to make it taste even better.

The people of Laga are famous for their hospitality.

If you travel to Latoga you must try the home brewed beer.

Almost every Latuga has home brewed beer.

It is recommended to go to these places to try local specialties: Andrupene Farmstead (Farm), Ludza Craft Center (Handmade Center) and Latgale Cultural Heritage Center (Latgale Culinary Heritage Center).

1. Add black medicinal wine.

Many Latvians tease their foreign friends with Riga Balsam and ask them to drink it directly.

do not be afraid!

This herbal-flavored wine is a hot drink.

There are two well-known ingredients in it: blackcurrant juice resin, coffee aroma resin and fresh cream.

Black medicinal wine is bitter and sweet, and has a strong effect on repelling cold.