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 Hello, ladies and gents, this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about 

LATVIAN CUISINE

Latvian cuisine typically consists of agricultural products, with meat featuring in most main meal dishes. Fish is commonly consumed due to Latvia's location on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.

Latvian cuisine has been influenced by other countries of the Baltic rim. Common ingredients in Latvian recipes are found locally, such as potatoes, wheat, barley, cabbage, onions, eggs and pork. Due to pronounced four seasons, the Latvian cuisine is markedly seasonal and each time of the year has its own distinctive products and dishes. Latvian food is generally quite fatty and uses few spices.

Contemporary Latvians usually eat three meals a day. Breakfast is normally light and usually consists of sandwiches or an omelette, with a drink, often milk. Lunch is eaten from noon to 3 p.m. and tends to be the main meal of the day; as such it can include a variety of foods, and sometimes also soup as an entrée and a dessert. Supper is the last meal of the day, with some choosing to eat another large meal. Consumption of ready-made or frozen meals is now common. Latvian "Lido" lunch with cold beet soup, sauerkraut, cutlet, gherkin, kefir and kvass

Latvian cuisine is typical of the Baltic region and, in general, of northern countries. The food is high in butter and fat while staying low in spices except for black pepper, dill or grains/seeds, such as caraway seeds. Latvian cuisine originated from the peasant culture and is strongly based on crops that grow in Latvia's maritime, temperate climate. 

Rye or wheat, oats, peas, beets, cabbage, pork products, and potatoes are the staples. Latvian cuisine offers plenty of varieties of bread and dairy products, which are an important part of the cuisine. Meat features in most main meal dishes, but fish also is commonly consumed, especially in the coastal areas next to Baltic Sea. Both are also smoked.

A lot of common dishes in contemporary Latvia come directly from other countries, often as a result of their historical domination. Popular dishes adopted from Soviet cuisine include pelmeni (pelmeņi) with sour cream, borsch (borščs), stroganoff (stroganovs), dressed herring (siļķe kažokā), shashlik (šašliks), rasol (rasols). plov (plovs), kefir (kefīrs), kvass and solyanka (soļanka).

The most consumed alcoholic beverage is beer. A national liquor is Riga Black Balsam and as always have a chilled day from the Viking