Fasting foods

Setomaa has been Orthodox for centuries and fasts connected to the liturgical calendar have long been an everyday part of life here. There were four longer fasts per year, and numerous shorter fasts.

There were also weekly fasting days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Fasting foods are foods that do not contain meat, dairy products and eggs. Dairy products were allowed at the start of some fasts, though.

Seto fasting foods make abundant use of potatoes, cabbage, turnip, black radish, bread, grains, mushrooms and legumes. Mushrooms are mainly used dried and fermented.

In summer, cold soup was a common fasting food, made from kvass and often only spring onions added. Milk as a protein source was substituted by hemp milk; animal fat and butter, by vegetable oil: mainly flaxseed, hempseed and sunflower seed oil. Kama, the ground mixture of wheat, rye, barley and peas, was eaten frequently, mixed with oil and accompanying boiled potatoes.

Taarikapsta was an interesting fasting food: sauerkraut and cooked pieces of turnip or beet-root were combined with taar.