London Latvian School Mushroom Foraging Trip
Photos from the London Latvian School mushroom foraging trip in 1981.
From the “Latvians Abroad – Museum and Research Centre” collection.
Grandma Taught Me How to Ferment Cabbage (Kalvis Mikelšteins)
Every year, Kalvis Mikelšteins ferments cabbage, which he then sells at Latvian Christmas markets in the USA. Cabbage is almost his favorite vegetable — he enjoys eating it cold, adding fresh apple slices and sometimes freshly chopped onion.
Italians Have the Wrong Cucumbers! (Austra Muižniece)
Austra Muižniece tells where in Italy one can find the “right” cucumbers for pickling, and about her hunt for dill in Rome.
Baskets Full of Saffron Milk Caps! (Iveta Leitase)
Iveta Leitase in Canberra, Australia, tells how she discovered her perfect “mushroom spot” — a pine forest near Canberra where many saffron milk caps grow. It turns out that in Australia, the worms don’t eat these mushrooms!
It Took Two or Three Days and the Sauerkraut Was Ready (Nestors Refbergs)
Nestors Refbergs was born in the Latvian colony Letonija in Brazil in 1933. He recalls how his mother made sauerkraut: she crushed the cabbage in a wooden dough trough and then transferred it into a special ceramic fermentation pot. After two or three days, the sauerkraut was ready!
A Latvian Heart and Expensive Dill (Iveta Leitase)
Iveta Leitase in Canberra, Australia makes sauerkraut and lightly salted cucumbers.
Latvians in Bergen Ferment Cabbage for Shared Celebrations
Cabbage fermenting working bee in Bergen in the fall of 2025.
A Nonstop Karbonade (Pork Schnitzel) Marathon (Austra Muižniece)
Austra Muižniece, who lives in Rome, talks about Latvian potatoes and airport security checks, about her comfort foods, and about what she always carries in her bag when returning to Italy from Latvia.
Searching for Latvian Mushrooms (Aina Zūlis)
“When I was a little girl, my greatest joy in summer was going mushroom picking with my father in Latvia’s beautiful forests. Wandering around the world, I’ve seen many beautiful forests. I’ve walked through them, searching for the mushrooms of Latvia. I didn’t find them…”