Tourists visiting Lithuania always enjoy the pleasure of sampling the national cuisine.  Truly fresh and natural, the unhampered purity of the land and its abundance add zest to traditional Lithuanian dishes.
Throughout its history Lithuanians have widely used grain, meat and dairy products along with      vegetables, fruit and honey. Lithuanians are especially fond of rye bread, often cooked with malt. And a delightful variety of liquor made from honey is a unique national export. Lithuanians have for centuries made the best of what nature has endowed them.

One of the honorable vegetables in Lithuanian national cookery is the humble potato. It is impossible to sum up the amazing variety of Lithuanian potato dishes: the potato sausages "vederaj" fried and served with cracklings and fried onion; the potato pancakes "zhemaichu blinai" with stewed minced meat and sour-cream; the potato pudding "plokshtainis"; the potato rissoles "zepelinai" with cracklings still called "didgkukuliaj" in some places; fried potato sticks with sour-cream sauce and "shvilpikai" as well as the fried potato casserole with brisket and onion; Lithuanian stuffed potato roasted with mushrooms and rusks in sour-cream sauce; pork stuffed with potato, etc.

Cottage cheese is very popular in Lithuania. It could be sour, sweet, filled with caraway, hard, soft, etc. In former times, hosts would serve cottage cheese with honey to their guests, along with smoked ham, sausages, and omelets.

Pork is the most popular meat in Lithuania. It is fried, brined, smoked and jerked. Pork is used to cook delicious skilandis with onion, garlic and pepper. This meat can be stored for a long time. The term skilandis was mentioned in the inventory records of the Great Lithuanian Principality in XVI-XVIII centuries. In order to store meat for a long time, they would make sausages, which were jerked or smoked.
 Lithuanians have long since enjoyed cabbage, beetroot, carrots, and beans as part of their daily meals. When you sour cabbage you usually put a coupe of slices of rye bread on the bottom of a barrel. One example of creative use of local vegetation is "shaltibarshjai" - cold borsch with beetroot, boiled egg, cucumber and herbs and served with boiled potato. Shchi, borsch and other soups are also very important in Lithuanian cuisine. Mushroom soup with "ears" is filled with ears made of dried boiled mushrooms together with chopped and slightly fried onion; a sweet Lithuanian soup is made with French plums; their tomato soup with rice is very simple but very tasty when cooked with stewed tomatoes and meat broth. Lithuanians love their abundant dairy products. Where else one can find such tasty cheese, clabber, cream and sour cream? Once you sample the real thing, your palette will be forever spoiled!

As for the drinks, we would like to mention the "caravan drink» with tincture "Kauno-karchnoi". The drink is slow boiled, then cooled. After that you add some yeast and let it set for 12 hours. Yum!

Potent, aromatic coffee is a Lithuanian staple, which is fancied and well made in any café. Strong flavored coffee is sometimes made with cinnamon or chocolate and served with milk foam, regular or whipped cream, or ginger.

We have something to surprise those who like alcoholic drinks. The Lithuanians are proud of their strong beverages. They enjoy observing brave tourists gulping down "Zhalgiris" (at 75 proof), an experience that remind them of the hospitable Lithuanians and their powerful concoctions. In any case, if you drink with measure our tinctures and balsams with vulnerary plants, you will find their effect very health inducing. It is hard to decide whether to take home a bottle of "Zhalgiris" as a gift or to visit a cozy bar where you will be presented with such a wide range of drinks that you will find it difficult to keep track of.

Lithuania produces a lot of strong high quality alcoholic drinks. They include excellent local vodka like "Gediminas", "Vilnius", "Lithuania", tinctures with plants and honey, as well as liqueurs, ratifies, brandies, sparkling wine and balsams made of natural ingredients. Beer fans will also find satisfaction. The most popular trademarks of beer in Lithuania are "Shvituris", "Kalnapilis" and "Utenos". Beer experts put Lithuanian beer at the same level with Czech and German ones. We recommend you to try Svyturys Baltijos Extra light, which has been awarded the first prize at European exhibitions and at the World Brewer Contest in the US. Finally please do not forget to try "alive", i.e. non-strained and non-pasteurized Lithuanian beer: one more measure of purity you will not likely ever find back home!