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| The Lithuanian flag |
Flying across the Atlantic Ocean to a far-away country was an adventurous, exciting way I ended summer 2019. The country I visited is referred to by the locals as being a “big village,” since it is smaller than most U.S. states. Filled with rye and wheat fields, grazing dairy cows, and ancient ruins, Lithuania is a small but a very special country.I had not been to my mother’s country in six years, but that summer, we were visiting my grandma and other relatives. While being overseas, I was reminded how difficult it is to communicate when you do not speak the same language. It creates a cultural barrier and makes it much harder to relate and be accepted by the people around you, even if they are family. However, I also realized that food can play a big role in bringing people together and creating something we all can share. For me, a meal that has connected me to my family, culture, and history is Duona and Borscht.
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| The Hill of Three Crosses in Vilnius Lithuania |
Through memories and experiences with my Lithuanian family throughout my life, Duona and Borscht have brought me closer to my Lithuanian heritage. Twinkling lights, sparkling drinks, and crisp weather are all parts of my childhood Christmas and New Years memories. My family and I would travel to Chicago every couple of years for the winter holidays, where my Lithuanian mom’s side of the family resided. The memories of the large, loud, and colorful parties are hard to forget. Christmas has an especially important place in Lithuanian culture since much of the country is Catholic, and even the food and table set-up have an important religious reason. Papery white wafers with Mary and Jesus indented into them are passed out on Christmas Eve, no meat except for fish is eaten, and hay is strewn across the table as a reference to Jesus’s birth in a stable. One of the dishes that without fail is served during the holidays is Borscht and Duona bread, and my feelings towards those foods have evolved over the years. At first, the brilliantly bright bubble-gum pink soup was something five-year-old me loved to look at and could not wait to try simply because of its fun appearance. However, after learning it was made out of beets, my least favorite vegetable, and served cold, my interest quickly died. When I forced myself to try it in an attempt to be polite, I was unable to finish it due to its strange creamy egg, cucumber, and dill flavor. I nearly found it repulsive, and it was pretty awkward to pretend to enjoy the soup while all the “full-blooded” Lithuanians around me consumed every drop. This pink beet soup is called Borscht and it is served in several Eastern European countries, including Lithuania. Commonly paired with Borscht is Duona, a dark rich bread. My early experiences with Duona was that it was decent. It was not my favorite, since it is not sweet, buttery, and flaky but rather dense, slightly sour, and coarse. I clearly remember Duona always somehow appearing whenever my Lithuanian relatives would show up, and it is something my mind has blatantly linked with the culture. My feelings on both Douna and Borscht have drastically changed as my taste buds developed, and my love of unique, healthy foods grew. Duona to me is practically a treat now, especially since there is nothing like it unless it comes straight out Lithuania. None of the typical American breads compare. No whole grain, bleached-white sandwich, or honey wheat bread measure up. This has made me treasure the pure, earthy, and just plain real taste of Duona. It is hearty and healthy, and the flavor tastes like something that really was grown on an organic farm without GMOs or toxic pesticides, since frankly that is exactly how Lithuanian farmers grow the rye used for it.
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| Dairy cows on a Lithuanian farm |
Now going back to the bright pink soup, it’s not exactly my favorite, but I do have a newfound appreciation for it. The ingredients going into it include beets, cucumbers, buttermilk, eggs, green onions, sour cream, and salt. These ingredients are all wholesome, nutritious, and simple. The result of the union of these simple, practical foods is beautiful and complicated. Borscht has a lovely color and taste that makes you guess at what it could be made of. Furthermore, after learning that there is another way of Borscht being prepared and served I am technically a Borscht enthusiast just not of the cold version. The other version of Borscht is practically the opposite of the cold version, but they are both still pink and made of beets. Borscht served hot contains beef, beets, olive oil, sugar, tomato sauce, onion and several other ingredients that vary on whoever is preparing it. The main difference to me in why I prefer hot Borsch over cold Borscht is that hot Borscht is more water based and so it is less thick and more salty. The creamy, milk and cucumber taste of cold Borscht still confuses me but hot Borscht has a completely different set of flavors.
Both Borscht and Duona are foods that reflect Lithuania and the lifestyle of the people who call her home. Duona and Borscht are made from foods that are common in Lithuania and could easily be grown there. Lithuania is filled with farmland and has always had primarily agrarian products. In fact, while Lithuania was occupied by Russia most of the food they grew was taken from them and utilized by Russia for Russian soldiers and to this day Lithuania mostly exports agricultural products. So it makes sense that their dishes are made from locally grown foods that are easily accessible and inexpensive. Also, due to Lithuania being extremely cold during the winter hot Borscht is a practical dish to consume to try and warm yourself up. Cold Borscht would help to cool one off during the short but lovely summers too, and Duona bread lasts a long time and can be eaten all year. Most Lithuanian foods are practical, inexpensive and nutritious which makes sense considering most Lithuanians were farmers who worked all day and had little extra money to spare. As well as being a standard part of almost every meal, Duona bread has a pretty significant place in traditional Lithuanian culture. To see if a woman was ready to be a wife she would prepare Duona bread for her family to show that she was capable of caring for her future family. This tradition makes sense in the context of the homestead life many Lithuanians led that required food to be made from scratch in the home.
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| Eggs and cucumber used in Borscht |
As I mentioned earlier, being half-American meant that when I was young I was not as used to eating the foods that my other Lithuanian relatives ate all the time. This is just one of the ways I felt less connected to my mom’s side of the family. Me and my siblings were different as we did not speak the language which meant we were more distant from our relatives who spoke none or very little English. It made it awkward to communicate and hard to justify why we had not learned to speak Lithuanian and in a way it created a degree of distance. However, one thing all of us had in common was the enjoyment of food. We all came together as a big family to enjoy loads of food almost always including Duona served with tomato, pickle, or meat and Borscht. Food is something that brought us all together and didn’t require words to show that you enjoyed it and were grateful to whoever prepared it. The memories of my grandma, cousins, and aunts proudly smiling while we devoured the delicious foods they made just for us will always make me happy. In a way food has bridged our cultures by creating a common ground in which everyone can participate in despite a language barrier.
Image Attributions: Gabrielle Jarrett
