Local tips to find wild foods
When you’re out hiking in Estonia, you may come across locals carrying knives and baskets. Do not be alarmed. They are just partaking in a favorite Estonian pastime — foraging. Estonian nature offers up some delicious treats, if you know where and when to look for them. Here’s what to look for in spring, summer, and autumn.
Springtime snacks from the forest
There are two treats to look for during this magical season of renewal: wild garlic and birch juice. Estonians tap birch trees the way Americans tap maple trees. However, they don’t boil the sap to make syrup. Instead, they enjoy the sap straight from the tree. Kasemahl, as it’s called in Estonian, is a healthy elixir full of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals.
Wild garlic begins to show its green leaves around the end of April. This fresh herb is packed with 15-20 times more vitamin C than lemons. Thanks to its pungent flavor, wild garlic is often enjoyed chopped up and mixed into cottage cheese or ground up as pesto. You won’t even have to pick it yourself — just head to Tallinn’s Balti Jaam market, and pick up a bright green bundle to try.
Bitesize summer treats
Berry baskets are a must-have summertime accessory. Forest strawberries, wild blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries, cowberries, and cloudberries — there’s nothing better than popping one of these tart treats in your mouth as you hike through the forest. To fill a bucket with berries, then avoid the most popular trails. For example, you can try a trip to an uninhabited island with a local tour company to find the best spots for berries.
Picking autumn’s offerings
If you know anything about Estonian cuisine, then you know mushrooms are a favorite ingredient. Chanterelles, with their distinctive yellow frills, are the most sought after, but if you want to find them, you won’t have much luck asking an Estonian where to go. Mushroom spots are closely guarded secrets. Plus, not all Estonian mushrooms are edible, so we recommend going with a guide. Nature Tours Estonia offers mushroom and berry-picking trips in the Peipsiveere Nature Reserve or you can join a mushroom-picking tour in Pärnu County; afterwards you’ll even learn how to preserve the mushrooms you’ve picked!
Dining with flavors from nature
Learn more about foraging by visiting Energy Farm, where you can take workshops about local herbs. Horticulture workshops are also offered at Klaara-Manni eco-garden. If you’d rather spend more time eating and cooking, then organize a cooking workshop with Maitseelamuse Koda or contact Maitsemaa Forest Restaurant to order a feast in the wild. You can also organize a hike in Kõrvemaa Nature Preserve where they will tell you all about the foods you can find in the forest and then end the day with a meal featuring all these wonderful wild ingredients.
