As an Australian
Latvian-Estonian (1st/2nd generation), I have always been involved in the
Australian Baltic Community. My family & parents (Dad is Estonian & Mum
Latvian) were heavily involved in the Brisbane Baltic Community as I was
growing up. As it is with little ones, we always went with them and as such you
cannot help but soak up the culture and traditions. By choice I started playing
the kokle at 11 (1988) in the
Brisbane group ‘Zigrīda,’ and started folk dancing the same year with
‘Senatne’. My oldest & bestest friends are Baltic, as that is who I grew up
with. My first trip back to the Baltic States to visit family was in 1993, just
after they gained their independence. Our family was fortunate enough to
celebrate a true Jāņi with our
Latvian family - an experience I will never forget!
My Vecmāmiņa & Vanaema
were both wonderful cooks and taught my Mum, Dad, sisters and I how to cook all
the traditional Latvian & Estonian dishes. These were usually at or before
big family event days to make for celebrations. Although they both rarely wrote
down their recipes, I am forever thankful we ‘pestered’ them to verbally tell
us what they used and then wrote them down - as they truly are a family legacy
to be passed down to future generations. Nowadays my Mum, sisters and I each
have our ‘specialities’ and that in itself lends to expertise. These recipes
from my Vecmāmiņa and Vanaema were the start of my own Baltic
Recipe Book I use to this day.
As we got older, as you do in
life, we all drifted into new adventures, had our own families and being close
to our Latvian/Estonian Community hall was just not as feasible anymore. But I
have missed the Latvian/Estonian community and have sought out ways to keep my
sense of ‘Baltic Spirit’. Throughout the years I have tried to keep all the
Latvian/Estonian traditions alive by teaching my children how to cook the
traditional dishes, kept up my kokle
playing, I have added to my own cooking skills and have also branched out into
making modern Baltic pottery - Oak & Sea Ceramics. My Mum &
I have taught my children about the annual celebration days and also some of
the history (including the old gods). It is important to teach heritage and
traditions to the next generation. I very much hope my kids will pass what they
remember on to their children.
Over the years I have added to
my Baltic Recipe Book with my own recipes. My version of the Riga Black Balsam (Latvian: Rīgas
Melnais balzāms) started about 5 years ago from an obvious shortage of the
drink in my household - and no one we knew going over to Latvia any time soon
to bring some back! I spent some time researching on the internet, found some
articles, and came up with credible and accessible ingredient list. So, I
started with that.
The original Riga Black Balsam
recipe was made by a pharmacist in the 18th century, and was most famously used
for Queen Catherine the Great upon a visit to Riga, Latvia where she became
ill. The original recipe was lost in WW2. After the war the recipe was carefully restored by a joint effort of
former employees, and since then the recipe has remained unchanged. The recipe in
itself is incredibly full of healing ingredients for colds and flu.
After many annual batches, I
have fine-tuned my recipe so it tastes almost as good as the real thing – the last
batch sold out at the recent Brisbane Latvian Christmas Markets! So here is my
recipe that I would like to share:
Tāle’s Sunshine Coast Black Balsam
1. Fill a glass jar to 2/3 full
with a combination of dry and fresh ingredients from this list*:
- Elderberries (a must for
colour and taste)
- Cloves
- Lavender
- Nutmeg
- Star Anise
- Cinnamon
- Orange & Lemon rind (no
pith as it will make it bitter)
- Vanilla Bean
- Rosemary
- Black Peppercorns
- Raspberries
- Cranberries
- Mint
- Ginger
- Lemon Myrtle (Aussie Touch!)
- Valerian
- St. John’s Wort
2. Add a 1/2 + 1/2 combination
of 40% proof unflavoured vodka and brandy to completely cover ingredients
3. Leave to macerate for 8-12
weeks, shake daily
4. When ready, strain though a
chux (muslin cloth) and sieve
5. If you like, add honey to
taste & whisk through
6. Bottle in sterilised jars and
keep for 12 months
* As with any recipe, you can
tweak it to favour any flavour you would like, for example by adding cherries to
make Cherry balzāms etc...
I hope you have enjoyed my
article, Merry Christmas to my wider Baltic Community and wishing everyone a
Happy & Safe New Year!
Cheers, Tāle Kai Liiv 😊
Thank you Tāle,
for joining us on the series with your recipe! We’ve tried making krupnikas and the black currant liqueur, I think the next logical step is balzāms! Now about the lemon myrtle, we’ve got wax
myrtle over here in our neck of the woods, why do I think I will have to find a
substitute...?
Tāle
posts photos and recipes of her Baltic cooking to @tkl1977 on Instagram. Her
pottery, Oak & Sea Ceramics, can be found here.
Tomorrow
is the shortest day of the year; let's celebrate
the return of the sun on this winter solstice! Please join me tomorrow, for Day 21 of 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas!