Taste of Home
A research project on Latvian foods beyond Latvia
“Taste of Home” is a research project by the museum and research centre Latvians Abroad about Latvian foods around the world. It is taking place in 2025–2026 with broad participation from the Latvian diaspora. The results of the research are being continuously compiled on the website maju-garsa.lv, in monthly online programmes, in three exhibitions, and, at the end of 2026, in a book of stories and recipes.
The research is carried out by the museum Latvians Abroad, engaging a wide audience. The project is led by the museum’s curator Marianna Auliciema.
The project is funded through donations, as well as with support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia.
Join in!
The museum invites every Latvian living abroad to take part in the conversation about each month’s featured food — to share memories, leaf through family cookbooks and photo albums, and send the museum recipes, photographs, videos, and stories connected with that food.
- What special towel or bowl did your grandmother use when proofing dough for pīrāgi or bread?
- How did your mother or father set up a fish smoker in the garden?
- Do you have a special tip for making stewed sauerkraut especially delicious?
- What do you do if you cannot find dill or curd cheese?
We encourage Latvian communities and groups of friends outside Latvia to come together in the kitchen: to meet, share recipes and experience, cook and enjoy Latvian food together, and at the same time document the process by taking photographs or filming it for the museum’s research and archive.
Perhaps this is a wonderful opportunity to organise a delicious event dedicated to a particular Latvian dish?
Why “Taste of Home”?
Traditional Latvian foods are an important part of our heritage. They are also preserved by Latvian families outside Latvia, where culinary traditions continue to change and develop.
As one of the basic elements of life, food is also a powerful carrier and expression of identity. The flavours we grow accustomed to in childhood, and which are passed on to us by our parents and grandparents, can later in life evoke strong emotions — especially when we have not tasted them for a long time. Familiar “tastes of home” help us feel better when we are far away. We share them with our children and friends so they can better understand who we are and where we come from. Sometimes these flavours are the very last thing that remains of Latvian identity when the language and connection to Latvia have already been lost.
For several years now, the museum Latvians Abroad has been actively exploring Latvian foods outside Latvia. By collecting and researching stories about recipes and eating habits, the museum has gained rich and valuable insight into the lives of Latvian diaspora communities, while also revealing the creative ways in which these culinary traditions are maintained and passed on.