Again, one of the best ways to learn about a country is through its food and drink. We learned a LOT about Lithuania this afternoon! Incredible Lithuanian food tour this afternoon with our guide, Rasa. Rasa is the same age as Ken and I, so she has vivid memories of Soviet times, or as she called them, “ugly times”.
Way too much cultural information to share in this post. But I will hit the highlights of the Lithuanian foods and drinks we tried.
10 Traditional Lithuanian Food and Drinks You Must Try
1. You think we have a lot of flavored vodkas in the US? Lithuania: hold my beer. We tried bacon, beet, and horseradish vodka. They tasted exactly like you’d think they would taste.
2. Šaltibarščiai, or pink soup. Named thusly because no one besides a Lithuanian can pronounce, šaltibarščiai. Cold beets, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs, onions, buttermilk, sour cream, dill. Served with boiled potatoes and hemp salt. Loved this. Will try to make for myself this summer.
3. Lithuanian kombucha, or Gira, aka liquid bread. Kombuchas in the US are disgusting. But this is very good. Kind of like a lightly fermented root beer. Very similar to the kvass we tried in Latvia. Yum.
4. Lithuanian survival kit – fermented brown bread with farmer cheese and honey. Rasa said Lithuanians eat this for breakfast. It was good, but a bit dry and oddly heavy.
5. Fried rye bread rubbed with fresh garlic. Outstanding. 
6. Potato pancake w sour cream. Lithuanians love sour cream.
7. Potato sausage. Lithuanians also love potatoes.
8. Cepelinai – aka, Zeppelins. Potato dumplings stuffed with pork. A special occasion food – because they take forever to make. Delicious.
9. Džiugas cheese – similar to Parmesan cheese. Incredible.
10. Honey mead – have never had mead before (that I can remember). Oddly peppery. Good, but not something I’d seek out.
Rasa was a spectacular guide. Tried so many things this afternoon that we would never have known to try had we not been with Rasa. And I have a whole additional blog post of material about her experiences during the “ugly times”.
Also learned how to say cheers in Lithuanian: Į sveikatą !
10 foods I must try. MUST? I’ll be the judge of that:
#1 – bacon vodka, yes; beet, no.
#2 – pink soup? Former Marines don’t eat pink soup (or quiche)
#3 – doubtful, but, as you know, I’m known for my open mind. 😉
#4 – sounds good
#5 – sounds even better
#6 – I guess I wouldn’t make a good Lithuanian cuz I’m not that found of sour cream…except in onion dip
#7 thru #10 – sure, why not? Nothing disgusting there (like vegetables)
Your lovely wife would LOVE that pink soup! I’ll figure out how to make a batch for us and we’ll have you guys over. 😂
Glad you had such a tasty ‘food time’ in Lithuania. Actually and obviously, the three Baltic countries may speak different languages and be of different stock, but the basic food is really not that different! How could it be ) ! The Balts could not and would not live without potatoes and more potatoes or sour cream for instance. If you look at the borscht twin of the pink soup, it has every ingredient of our beetroot salad or rosolje, which is served not only in the Baltics but Russia, Belarus, Poland , Finland et al. Potato pancakes and mead are everyday foods all over the same countries and the rest of Scandinavia. Am pleased you caught up with the tastes there, glad you enjoyed!!!
Ok from the top. Had horseradish vodka in St Petersburg and it nearly destroyed our nostrils. However the honey vodka and bison grass vodka were superb. Pink soup was delicious but then anything with beetroot makes me happy. I don’t remember 3 and 4 but 5 was a delight. Everything else was good and we’ve discussed the zeppelins before. I think my first ever taste of mead was in Tallinn (to accompany elk stew). I like it but only in small quantities. And your first sentence is spot on. Hence our blogsite name!
I’m not much of a vodka drinker, but I make an exception for bison grass vodka. Delicious. And agree about the mead – it’s a small quantities drink. Cheers!
Honey vodka will turn you into a vodka drinker, I guarantee it. Thinking about it, it was Krakow where I got hooked…
Ah, that makes more sense, since bison grass vodka is Polish. A return trip to Poland is on our list, so I will seek out some honey vodka!
I hope you remember to thank me when you start to fall in love with it 😂
Wow, the pink color is amazing! 🤩
[…] gira is enjoying a quiet revival. We tasted it on our Lithuanian food tour, and it was delicious. I’m a […]