Estonia, Where Rye Bread Comes First

Estonia has no World Championship starts in our records yet, but a table of rye bread, pork, herring and dairy rewards a curious visit.

Estonia has not hosted a World Championship Grand Prix, and no Estonian driver has a race entry in our data. One driver is linked to the country, Jüri Vips, born in Tallinn, though he has yet to start a Grand Prix. For now, Estonia joins Podium Plates on the strength of its table, which is a perfectly good reason.

Estonian cooking was traditionally built on meat and potatoes, with fish wherever there was a coast or a lake, and over the centuries it absorbed German, Swedish, Russian and Finnish influences. The core foods have long stayed the same: pork and fish, potatoes and barley, dairy, and rye bread. Dark rye bread, leib, still arrives with almost every savory meal.

A traditional meal opens with a cold table: pickles, meats and sausages with potato salad or cottage cheese, small savory pastries called pirukad served with broth, and rosolje, a salad of beetroot, potatoes and herring. Baltic herring is the national fish, and on Independence Day a favorite is the open sandwich of spiced sprats topped with boiled egg. Soups, once a meal in themselves, run from creamy salmon soup to pea soup.

The seasons decide much of the rest. Spring and summer bring berries, herbs and vegetables straight from the garden, and the barbecue comes out. Winter opens the jars of preserves and pickles, and Christmas means blood sausage, roast goose, jellied pork and sauerkraut with roasted potatoes. For something sweet, try kama, roasted grain flours stirred into buttermilk, or a kringel scented with cardamom, which asks for nothing more than a cup of coffee.

A taste of Estonia

• Kiluvõileib, Spiced sprat and egg on rye
• Rosolje, Beet, potato and herring salad
• Lihapirukad, Baked meat and onion pasties
• Šašlõkk, Onion and vinegar marinated pork skewers
• Mulgikapsad, Sauerkraut stewed with pork and barley
• Seto sõir, Pressed caraway curd cheese from Setomaa
• Leivakali, Homemade fizzy rye bread drink
• Likööriga kohv, Coffee with Estonian rum liqueur and cream
• Kama, Toasted grain mousse with berries

Circuits

Drivers

• juri vips