Local Dishes

1. mulgipuder

   Mulgipuder — potato-and-barley mash with pork

   Usage

   From Mulgimaa in southern Estonia. Yellow potatoes and pre-soaked pearl barley (tangud) are boiled together and mashed, then topped with separately fried pork, onion and crisp fat scraps (kõrned). The tradition was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024. Any restaurant serving Estonian national food will have it

   Grammar Note

   Genitive "mulgipudru", partitive "mulgiputru" (Sooviksin mulgiputru = I'd like mulgipuder). Also written as two words, "mulgi puder"

2. mulgikapsad

   Mulgikapsad — sauerkraut stewed with pork and barley

   Usage

   Sauerkraut stewed with rind-on pork fat, a little lean meat and pearl barley (odrakruubid). Adding barley to sauerkraut is not known anywhere else and is probably unique to Estonia. On the Estonian intangible cultural heritage inventory. Also served as the side to verivorst (blood sausage)

   Grammar Note

   Normally used in the plural. The singular is "mulgikapsas"; plural nominative "mulgikapsad", singular partitive "mulgikapsast". The two-word spelling "mulgi kapsad" also exists

3. verivorst

   Blood sausage with pig's blood and barley

   Usage

   Pig's blood, pearl barley and pork seasoned with "vorstirohi" (marjoram or oregano) and stuffed into casings. Pan-fried or oven-baked and served with "pohlamoos" (lingonberry jam), "marineeritud kõrvits" (pickled pumpkin) and sauerkraut. The centrepiece of Christmas; supermarkets stack it in December. ⚠ Not suitable for anyone whose religion or diet excludes blood

   Grammar Note

   Genitive and partitive both "verivorsti", plural nominative "verivorstid" — menus usually print the plural

4. verikäkk

   Verikäkk — boiled blood-and-barley-flour dumpling

   Usage

   Small dumplings of stiff dough made from barley flour (sometimes rye) and blood, with onion and fat. Historically boiled and dried after the autumn slaughter to keep. Today they are bought ready-made, sliced and fried or baked. More rustic than verivorst — look for them in traditional restaurants and country markets. ⚠ Contains blood

   Grammar Note

   Genitive "verikäki", partitive "verikäkki", plural "verikäkid". "käkk" simply means a dumpling or lump

5. sült

   Sült — jellied meat in its own broth

   Usage

   Broth from long-simmered pig's head and trotters, set as jelly with chopped meat through it. Eaten cold with mustard or vinegar. A Christmas and New Year fixture and on the Estonian intangible cultural heritage inventory. A fish version, "kalasült", also exists. ⚠ The word also has figurative senses — "a spineless person", "mediocre music" — so don't apply the word to people

   Grammar Note

   Genitive "süldi", partitive "sülti" (Kas teil on sülti? = Do you have sült?)

6. rosolje

   Rosolje — beetroot, herring and potato salad

   Usage

   Diced beetroot, potato, pickled cucumber, apple, egg, sausage and onion in a sour-cream dressing with mustard, sugar, black pepper and vinegar. Herring ("heeringas") belongs in it; a version without is mocked as "ebarosolje" (mock-rosolje). A cold dish for festive tables. ⚠ Also used figuratively for "a jumble"

   Grammar Note

   Genitive "rosolje", partitive "rosoljet" — a loan noun with a stable stem

7. kama

   Kama — roasted grain flour eaten mixed with soured milk

   Usage

   Flour (kamajahu) of barley, rye, oats and peas — boiled, dried, roasted and milled — stirred into "hapupiim" (soured milk), buttermilk or kefir. On the Estonian intangible cultural heritage inventory. Sold as flour in every supermarket; whipped with sugar as "kamavaht" it is a standard dessert. ⚠ "Kama" is also an invariable particle meaning "couldn't care less" and can mean "junk / stuff", so make the food sense clear from context

   Grammar Note

   Genitive and partitive are both "kama". The flour itself is "kamajahu"; the whipped dessert is "kamavaht" (partitive "kamavahtu")

8. kiluvõileib

   Kiluvõileib — sprat open sandwich on black bread

   Usage

   Buttered black bread topped with spiced Baltic sprat ("vürtsikilu"), usually with a slice of hard-boiled egg and spring onion. It is an important festive dish, served to mark Estonian Independence Day. You will meet it at receptions and at family celebrations alike

   Grammar Note

   Genitive "kiluvõileiva", partitive "kiluvõileiba", plural "kiluvõileivad". Often shortened to "kiluleib"

9. sõir

   Sõir — home-made curd cheese with caraway

   Usage

   Curd cheese (kohupiim) worked with egg, butter and caraway seed and pressed. It is the best-known festive dish of the Seto people. A speciality of Setomaa in south-eastern Estonia, sold at markets and regional festivals. On the Estonian intangible cultural heritage inventory

   Grammar Note

   Genitive and partitive both "sõira". ⚠ The vowel is "õ" (U+00F5), not "ö" and not "o"

10. hapukapsas

    Sauerkraut — fermented cabbage

    Usage

    The standard side for pork, verivorst and roasts. It had historic importance as a winter source of vitamins on the peasant table. On menus it usually appears inside the description of a meat dish rather than as something you order alone

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "hapukapsa", partitive "hapukapsast", plural "hapukapsad"

11. rukkileib

    Rukkileib — dark rye bread

    Usage

    The centre of the Estonian table. For Estonians rye bread has always been both food and medicine. In everyday speech plain "leib" means this dark loaf, while white wheat bread is a different word, "sai". Many restaurants bring it free in a bread basket

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "rukkileiva", partitive "rukkileiba". "must leib" (black bread) names the same thing

12. sepik

    Sepik — loaf of coarse wheat flour, between white and rye

    Usage

    Darker than white bread but lighter than rye. Baked from coarse wheat flour, sometimes blended with barley or rye. Bakery shelves separate "leib" (dark), "sai" (white) and "sepik" (in between), so the word is what lets you choose

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "sepiku", partitive "sepikut"

13. karask

    Karask — barley soda bread made with buttermilk

    Usage

    A flat loaf of barley (or coarse wheat) flour mixed with buttermilk ("pett") or kefir and raised with baking soda rather than yeast, so it bakes quickly. Listed on the Estonian intangible cultural heritage inventory as "odrakarask". Eaten spread with butter

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "karaski", partitive "karaskit"

14. pirukas

    Pirukas — small filled savoury pasty

    Usage

    A small filled bun — minced meat ("lihapirukas"), cabbage ("kapsapirukas"), carrot or mushroom. Sold everywhere from petrol-station counters to bakeries and eaten with coffee. "Cabbage pasty in rye-bread dough" is on the Estonian intangible cultural heritage inventory. ⚠ The word also has figurative senses such as "a share of the spoils"

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "piruka", partitive "pirukat", plural "pirukad"

15. seljanka

    Seljanka — thick, sharply seasoned meat or fish soup

    Usage

    Russian in origin but a fixture of the Estonian set lunch. A thick, sour, strongly seasoned soup built on meat, fish or mushrooms with onion, pickled cucumber, tomato purée and olives, usually served with a spoon of sour cream

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "seljanka", partitive "seljankat" (Ma võtan seljankat = I'll take the seljanka)

16. hakklihakaste

    Minced-meat sauce, served over potato or pasta

    Usage

    A plain sauce built on minced meat. It also goes with pasta or rice, but in Estonia it is most often ladled over "kartulipuder" (mashed potato). The face of canteen and set-lunch cooking

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "hakklihakastme", partitive "hakklihakastet". "kaste" is sauce; a plain traditional gravy is also called "soust"

17. kartulisalat

    Potato salad with egg and sausage

    Usage

    Diced potato with egg, sausage, pickled cucumber and onion, dressed with sour cream and mayonnaise. A birthday and celebration staple that turns up alongside rosolje

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "kartulisalati", partitive "kartulisalatit"

18. suitsukala

    Smoked fish

    Usage

    A speciality of coastal and Lake Peipsi villages and their markets. Baltic herring ("räim"), sprat ("kilu") and eel ("angerjas") are hot-smoked. Harbour stalls sell them whole by weight, wrapped in paper. Seal it well if you are taking it away — the smell travels

    Grammar Note

    Genitive and partitive are both "suitsukala"; plural "suitsukalad"

19. pelmeenid

    Pelmeenid — boiled dumplings with a meat filling

    Usage

    Small filled parcels of Siberian origin, fully naturalised in Estonia both as a freezer staple and as a restaurant dish. Boiled and served with sour cream or butter, or boiled then fried ("praetud pelmeenid"). Mushroom fillings also appear

    Grammar Note

    Used in the plural. The singular is "pelmeen"; plural nominative "pelmeenid", plural partitive "pelmeene"

20. leivasupp

    Leivasupp — sweet dessert soup made from rye bread

    Usage

    ⚠ Despite the name this is a dessert. Leftover rye bread simmered with water, sugar, cinnamon and raisins, served cold under whipped or sour cream. Larger supermarkets sell it half-prepared

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "leivasupi", partitive "leivasuppi"

21. mannavaht

    Mannavaht — whipped semolina and berry mousse

    Usage

    Semolina cooked in berry juice, then whipped as it cools until pale pink and airy. Normally served with milk poured over. Common to the Nordic and Baltic countries and served everywhere from school canteens to traditional restaurants

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "mannavahu", partitive "mannavahtu". Made with kama flour instead, it is "kamavaht"

22. kissell

    Kissell — fruit dessert thickened with starch

    Usage

    Berries or fruit juice thickened with potato starch and served cold, anywhere from drinkable to almost set. Rhubarb ("rabarberikissell") is the classic. A standard finish to a canteen meal

    Grammar Note

    Genitive and partitive are both "kisselli". The older spelling "kiisel" appears in older texts

23. kringel

    Kringel — sweet bread plaited into a figure of eight

    Usage

    Sweet yeast dough twisted into a figure of eight (or a B) and baked, usually rolled with cinnamon, raisins and almonds. Brought out whole for birthdays and celebrations, adorning the festive table. Bakeries sometimes hang a gilded kringel as their sign

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "kringli", partitive "kringlit", plural "kringlid" — the stem vowel "e" drops

24. vastlakukkel

    Vastlakukkel — Shrovetide bun filled with whipped cream

    Usage

    A yeast bun stuffed with whipped cream, eaten on "vastlapäev" (Shrove Tuesday) before the fast. Shared across the Nordics and Baltics — Swedish "semla", Finnish "laskiaispulla", Latvian "vēja kūkas". A seasonal item that appears in cafés and supermarkets only in February and March

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "vastlakukli", partitive "vastlakuklit", plural "vastlakuklid"

25. piparkook

    Piparkook — thin spiced Christmas biscuit

    Usage

    Dark, thin biscuits from dough sweetened with syrup or honey and heavily spiced. A Christmas fixture: families buy ready dough ("piparkooginats"), cut shapes and decorate them with icing ("glasuur"). Sold with mulled wine at the Tallinn Christmas market

    Grammar Note

    Genitive "piparkoogi", partitive "piparkooki", plural "piparkoogid" — normally spoken of in the plural

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