Lithuanian Food

I was generally very impressed with food in Lithuania, particularly as it was mid December yet still there were plenty of excellent fresh vegetables. If you haven’t tried any food in Lithuania, there are one or two surprises but if you’re heading in that direction, you don’t have too much to worry about in the food department.

Lithuanian breakfast — Lithuanian buffet breakfast was tasty. There was a wide variety of cheeses and cold meats – and some very nice cakes. In the one hot plate there were some small boiled sausages and something which looked very much like porridge. I saw Lithuanians eating this unusual combination so I joined in. Surely it wasn’t actually porridge – oh yes it was.

Prok steak — A very tasty pork chop with a rich sauce and vegetables which were perfect.

Spicy steak — A spicy steak and some rather greasy chips. This was in the Australian bar so perhaps this doesn’t really count as Lithuanian food.

picabig — Yes, hard working Lithuanian teachers sometimes called out for a pica. Apologies to any Czech people reading. You’ve probably guessed that ‘Pica’ is Lithuanian for ‘Pizza’.

In a café with a view of Trakei castle, I enjoyed a plate of pickled herring and wild mushrooms. They were both yummy but a word of warning: much of the bread in Lithuania contains caraway seeds.

Kibinai Very similar to Cornish pasties, kibinai are filled with mutton (or pork, or chicken) and are delicious, though very hot. They are not traditionally Lithuanian but have been in the country for around 500 years.

Mushroom soup — A wonderful mushroom soup – probably 50% cream but very tasty.

A Lithuanian school dinner, boiled potato and a chicken Kiev – though it may have a different name in Lithuania. Very tasty.

zeppelini — The famous Lithuanian Zeppelini! I had some wonderful Lithuanian food but sadly Zeppelini cannot be added to this list. These lard-filled dumplings filled with grisly mince would be more useful as ballast for a real Zeppelin.

inside a zeppelin — The inside of a zeppelini. And yes, they taste as good as they look.

In contrast, these cheesy pancakes, served in the same restaurant, were wonderful. Great texture, crunchy and creamy and tangy cheese inside.

Beetroot soup. Normally eaten in summer, it was delicious. It is eaten cold with slices of fried potatoes.

And now to some Lithuanian desserts

A Lithuanian pancake, swimming in cream with a topping of red currants. Who said it looks like dog poo?

Perhaps only in Lithuania – beer ice cream. It was actually quite tasty in a yeasty, malty, lemony sort of way.

sakotis — Sakotis, special Lithuanian cake. Unusual design and interesting texture, it actually tastes quite nice. Usually eaten at Christmas.

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