Family Encyclopedia >> Food

Lithuanian culinary specialties

Savory specialties

Potato is one of the staple foods in Lithuanian cuisine. It can be cooked in many ways, and eaten in all sauces. One of the most popular specialties is a meat-stuffed potato roll. Everything is topped with a bacon sauce. The Lithuanians named this specialty "cepelinai" because of the oval shape of the preparation reminiscent of a zeppelin. Potato pancakes, or "kugelis", are also popular. The famous "vedarai", or potato sausage, is also a specialty of Lithuanian gastronomy. The potato is regularly served with chopped dill. Another particularly popular savory specialty is beetroot soup. This soup called "saltibarsciai" is prepared with red beets and cucumbers. Dark bread made from rye, fresh cheese and smoked fish are staples of Lithuanian cuisine.

Sweet specialties

The great classic of Lithuanian cuisine is of course the sakotis cake. It is a large cake in the shape of a cone or fir tree. It owes its atypical shape to being cooked on a spit. It is prepared with eggs, sugar, flour and lemon. It can be flavored with rum, orange blossom or orange. The sakotis is present on all major occasions. It is then decorated with flowers and chocolate. It is eaten with jam or honey. The use of honey is very common in the preparation of desserts, whether to enhance cottage cheese or flavor donuts. The famous millefeuille, covered with a chocolate streaked sugar glaze, is an authentic pastry specialty of the region. It is called the "Napoleon millefeuille" because it seems that he loved this iconic pastry.