The Lithuanian Tourism board polled over ten thousand Lithuanians to find their favorite dishes,
which resulted in an epic three day tourist tasing menu of the top 15 Lithuanian foods and drinks.
And our goal is to try them all!
But I guess you’ll just have to trust us because we will be grading each food in a very, highly sophisticated manner.
And don’t forget to stick around until the very end to hear which foods are our favorite
and for a sneak peek of the new country we’re going to next.
We’re Jana and Brett.
Since our honeymoon 9 years ago, we’ve spent more than 24 months living and traveling in Europe.
So far we’ve ventured to 25 countries, but our goal is to visit every country in Europe
And to explore every nook and cranny of the Alps.
Yesterday we traveled from Latvia to our 27th European country of Lithuania.
And I hope you’re hungry because in today’s episode we’re going to go on some pretty delicious adventures, starting in the capital city of Vilnius.
84% of the Lithuanian people voted this dish as their favorite food.
It is called cold beet soup, I don’t know how you pronounce it in Lithuanian.
Saltibarsciai, saltibarsciai, saltibarsciai.
But it’s made from beets, kefir, I believe there’s a hard boiled egg in here, and it’s topped with fresh dill.
It totally looks like pepto bismol with leafy chunks in it!
So, let’s give it a taste! Ooo, it smells good. Mmmm.
Okay, it has great flavor.
Oh my gosh that’s so good! It’s a lot creamier than I thought it would be.
For being a cold soup, it is really creamy.
It’s got a little crunch and I like it.
I actually think it’s really good but I just don’t like cold soup.
In case you didn’t know, there is a little chance that the beets could turn your poop pink.
Don't ask me how I know that.
Beets me.
[giddy laughter] I'm giving it about a zero percent chance that we don't like this.
This is fried bread with cheese. I don’t know how this makes a Lithuanian national dish list
because this oughta be the national dish of like every country in the entire world.
Let's see how it is.
Wow!
Let's get one with a lot of cheese on it.
It's so good!
It’s kinda like garlic croutons smothered in cheese.
This like needs two thumbs up but one hand is dirty so I can only give one.
By the way, Lithuanians eat on average
110 kilograms of bread per year
Which is like 240 or 250 pounds
That's like two-thirds of a pound every day.
Of bread.
That each person eats.
How are they not fat!
Today's drink is gira, which is also known as kvass in English.
It’s produced by fermenting bread and then sometimes it’s mixed with various fruits.
Now the Lithuanians actually consider it to be a superior refreshment to water on a hot summer day.
Now I'm about to find out if it's truly that refreshing.
Mmmm I get like the bread notes but it definitely has apple in it. I taste nothing but apple.
Okay I've been saying that it feels more like Fall here in the Baltic States.
And maybe it's just that Fall feeling that's influencing me right now, but this would be perfect in the Fall!
I agree, it's super refreshing and I give it a thumbs up. And I could probably have my own glass.
Our next dish to try is a potato — no, what is it? Dumpling? What do they call it?
Is a meat-filled potato dumpling.
And apparently this restaurant won an award for having the most authentic form of these in the entire country.
And I really like potatoes, so this is gonna be good.
It’s meat and potatoes. How could you possibly go wrong?
Although I will say that it kinda looks like a canned pear.
It looks like there’s a hot dog inside. It literally looks like a potato wrapping a hot dog.
It's like a pig in a blanket — a giant pig in a blanket!
It's really hot.
Oh it is hot.
It tastes like meat and potatoes but in a totally different form that I’ve never had before because it's not quite mashed potatoes.
I, I like it. But it's not what I expected.
You know what, these potato dumplings remind me of like a really bad breakup.
I’m sorry dumplin’. I really wanted to like you, but I just don’t think it’s gonna work out.
The dumpling got dumped.
What does it say about me that I’m more excited for dessert than any other dish?
I don't know exactly what it says but I'm sure it's something great.
I feel like a little bit of a cheater because I've already had this so I know I'm gonna like it.
This is tinginys, I think that's how you say it
which is apparently similar to Italian chocolate salami, which, that's all you had to say, I'm sure it's amazing already.
We had an Italian foreign exchange student live with us for one year and we made this together and it was really good.
It’s basically crumbled cookies, sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, sugar — all the good things.
Mmmm smells like chocolate.
Of course, it's so good!
Yeah that's awesome, but I don't really like nuts in my chocolate desserts.
I'd rather keep them separate, so let's scrape some off, and let's try again!
That's more like it!
Also, it's called chocolate salami, but there's no meat in it. It just looks like a salami roll. I thought I should clarify that.
In the 1500s, most people walked through The Gate of Dawn to visit the chapel of Our Lady,
which was said to guard the city from attacks and bless travelers passing through.
But for us it’s simply a gateway to day 2 of our Lithuanian food tasting menu.
I got 2 pickles, I got 2 pickles, I got 2 pickles today, hey hey!
This is pickled cabbage soup.
I'm not a fan of pickled things. I'm also not a fan of cabbage, 'cause it makes me gassy.
Maybe, maybe it's like in math where if you combine two negatives, you get a positive. We'll see.
Unlike Brett, I actually really like cabbage, but I also see chunks of potato, a piece of pork, and maybe even some grated carrots in there.
So I think I'm gonna like this. Let's give it a try.
Mmmm.
Okay, I like this. That has amazing flavor.
Wow, so many flavors.
Not sure what the spices are, or what gives it the color and the taste.
I taste the vinegar pickled flavor, but the meat adds a really good depth too.
That is really, really, good. I might pay for it later, if you know what I mean.
I think I give this a thumbs up. I would eat this again.
Okay I am totally surprised in the best way possible by how much I liked this soup!
I guess two negatives really do make a positive!
Our next food is kastinys. It's some kind of sour cream butter served with potatoes.
Again, you know I like potatoes by now so I'm really excited to try this.
I'm gonna try just the buttery thing first. I see herbs in it. Ooo it smells good.
It tastes like some butter with some herbs and sour cream. Just what it is.
It's definitely butter. It's good, but I just ate a bite of butter. But I could see how it would be very delicious on some potatoes.
Yeah, that would be good on everything.
So refreshing.
In fact I'm tempted to mix some of this butter into our pickled cabbage soup because surely it would make it better?!
Time for Kugelis. Potato pie, potato casserole. I don't know exactly what's in it but it's potatoes.
It's a little breadier than I thought it would be.
It really does look like a pie.
Oh, must have some kind of meat in there.
That is so amazing!
Oh that's so good.
I love it.
Okay it's really delicate potatoes and it's just like what it sounds, it's a casserole like a potato casserole.
I think I'll eat this all by myself and Jana can have the scraps.
I have been most excited to try this food.
Okay this looks so gross.
It's called apple "cheese" but there's no cheese in it at all.
Actually the ingredient label says that it is 87% apple and 13% sugar.
And I guess they just cook the apples and sugar until it gets really thick and then they form it into a shape like cheese.
I would never guess that this is supposed to be a dessert or sweet of some kind, nor that it's apple.
It's not very beautiful. I mean, it looks pretty gross.
If I saw this just sitting out, there's no chance I would just try it without knowing what it is.
But I know what it is! So let's give it a shot!
Oh yeah!
Okay it tastes like fruit leather or fruit snacks or fruit gummies, but it's not super sweet, like you really just get the genuine apple flavor.
Soft fruit leather is a good way to describe it.
It may not look pretty, but I can definitely see how apple "cheese" would be a great addition to a charcuterie board!
I would be curious to try this with a piece of cheese, because then you could legitimately make apple cheese.
The final item on our menu for today is...beer.
I find it kinda funny because beer is so general.
It's not like a certain type or brand or brew method. Nah, just beer.
Here's the thing, I know I already like beer. So I don't even need to try it. Already it gets a thumbs up!
Here's the thing, I don't actually drink beer. It's not that I don't like it, I just never prefer it.
But I'm gonna taste this because it's on our list.
Smells like beer.
I like that it's bubbly.
It's actually not very flavorful. No really, it doesn't taste like much.
The first written reference of Kaunas was in 1361.
Today Lithuania’s 2nd largest city has been selected as the European capital of culture for 2022.
And while most people will flock here for the cultural delights, we’re here for the final segment of our Lithuanian food adventure.
Would you look at this bread bowl!
I don't know why I just had this picture in my head but this kinda feels like a lobotomy. *craniectomy
Like someone just [sound effect] made an incision all the way around this dude's head.
Do you know what's inside of here?
And I'm pulling the top of his head off to reveal his brains!
Mushroom soup!
I know it's a weird way of thinking about it, so I hope this tastes better than I imagine brains to taste.
Ahh it smells like Fall!
Oh yeah that's amazing!
I think there's potatoes and carrots and dill and sour cream, and of course mushrooms, but it is delicious!
Next up is herring with boiled potatoes
I think the herring might be raw, and to tell you the truth I had raw herring in the Netherlands last year, and I liked it!
You will not see me trying the herring because I don't like seafood.
I've tried it all and I don't like any of it. So Brett gets to enjoy that herring all by himself.
Oh yeah. It's salty but the flavor of the herring is delicious. This dish gets a thumbs up from me.
We have another cabbage dish to try.
As I mentioned the other day, I was a little worried I might have a problem with the cabbage.
Truth is, Jana had a little bit of a problem with the cabbage, but we won't mention that.
This is cabbage filled with meat, and of course with potatoes on the side.
But as always I see dill sprinkled on top which I really like about the Lithuanian food.
So, let's give it a try. I need a knife.
Ooo look at that inside!
Mmm. Wow!
Who said I don't like cabbage!
This is one of the most flavorful dishes we've had in our whole food tour!
There's meat in there, and there's a lot of meat in there, and that makes this dish super flavorful.
It's topped with this sauce that's kinda sweet, maybe like a carrot sauce.
It is really good and I don't taste too much of the cabbage flavor.
I have zero problems with this dish.
Two for two on cabbage and another thumbs up to Lithuanian food!
We were so close to tasting all 15 items on the traditional Lithuanian food and drink list.
But everywhere we've gone, no one has ever heard of mead, which is one of the 3 drinks on the list.
So unfortunately we're gonna have to be happy with trying 14 of the 15 items.
And, as good as they were, I guess I'll be okay with it.
Oh my gosh, look at this!
This is sakotis. It's apparently like a cake made over a spit.
And the batter has over 100 eggs in it, and some other secret ingredients.
This is going to be so delicious, although I have no idea how to eat it. I'm just going to break off a piece and try.
Oh it's soft. And crumbly. Very crumbly.
Break me off a piece of that sakotis!
Oh woooow!
Ha, yeah!
[Gasp] That is so good!
Honestly this would be amazing topped with powdered sugar. Ooo, that's a good idea.
I get the powdered sugar. Here's the deal though — Nutella.
Or Ovomaltine.
Smothered on this to make it a brown tree.
Sakotis, you're my new best friend!
Oh yeah, we're not gonna have any trouble eating this entire thing just the two of us.
This has been so much fun trying all of these different foods this week here in Lithuania.
But if I'm honest, I have mixed feelings.
Everything was so good that there wasn't a single thing that was so disgusting we wanted to spit it out.
And that's a little disappointing to me because it just would have been funny.
It would have been funny but I'm kinda glad we didn't have to taste something that was gross.
But obviously you could tell that we really enjoyed the food here.
So if you were to come here to Lithuania, which food would you be most excited to try?
Let us know in the comments below!
I don’t even like coffee, but wearing a hard hat, being in a mine, and seeing fire makes me wish I liked coffee!
[Secret password in Ukrainian] [puts camera away]