Riga in Latvia is our next port and food experiance

 Today we are meeting with a young alternate lady called Agnes who is taking Sandy and I for a walking market tour, an explanation of a bit about the food culture here in Latvia and of course some local foods to try.

We have been so lucky on this cruise, Sandy has goggled and found so many fantastic individual food tours around the Baltic States.

 

 

Our table of local treats awaits us

Lots of pickles, smoked cheese and pork (today is a no fish day) as everyone was wanting to give us fish we fibbed a bit and said we were allergic to fish just to see if we could try some other tasty delights, it worked "No Fish Day" has been declared!!

But it still all comes on rye and super grainy breads.

oh and some Hemp Butter

So today is declared "Pickles Day".

Pickled Cabbage in, pomegranates, turmeric and beetroot.

I could have eaten these pickles all day, fresh crispy with a low salt and a hint of sweet .... Sooooooo good. 

 

 

 

   Fresh, loved these as the are a fresh for the day pickle and then they are put them down for the winter.

At this time of the year with so many cucumbers grown you will always have the fresh of the day while you can enjoy them over summer, sweet low salt and crunchie.

 

Pre pickling cucumbers

For when winter comes and the cold sets in, its down into your cellar and bring us the bottle in summer stocks. Aged, with garlic, dill, grape & bay leaves and salt with a hint of sugar.

New drink experience Kvass and non alcoholic, now that's a bit of a change from the Vodka culture around the Baltics. They still have vodka but today we got this sweet "good for you" treat instead.

Dating back to the 9th century and is simular to your kalbultia (Susie) sorry bad spelling but you know what I mean!.

 

Kvass is made by the natural fermentation of bread, such as wheat, rye or barley, and sometimes flavoured using fruit, berries, rasins or birch sap collected in the early spring. Modern homemade kvass most often uses black or regular rye bread, usually dried (called plural suhari), baked into croutons, or fried, with the addition of sugar or fruit (e.g. apples or raisins), and with a yeast culture and zakvaska ("kvass fermentation starter").
Commercial kvass, especially less expensive varieties, is occasionally made like many other soft drinks, using sugar, carbonated water, malt extract, and flavourings. Better brands, often made by beer rather than soft drink manufacturers, usually use a variation of the traditional process to brew their products. Kvass is commonly served unfiltered, with the yeast still in it, which adds to its unique flavour as well as its high vitamin B content.

Got a bottle of the commercial variety to try and it is a sweeter with a little gas sort of like watery golden syrup, tasty and apparently a probiotic and cancer healing drink also. Amazing stuff. 

 These were real yum will need to Google how they were made as our Hippie guide was a vegetarian so not helpful with meat protein.

Inside the markets amazing old building rebuilt after the war and made from the old air force hangers

 

Picture of a traditional lady pre war from these markets.

And then there was fish, dried fish!, well we looked and with our newly acquired "allergic to fish" we could look and admire and only just imagine how this dried fish with dried bones would taste with a beer as apparently these are beer snacks! I think I'm a sort of "would you pass me the peanuts please"

sort of guy.