At Tallinn’s markets in May: these are not lily of the valley but karulauk – wild or bear’s garlic. Its very garlicky, flat green leaves can be sliced up into salads, soups and dips – a fresh springtime alternative to its cultivated cousin. Photo: Riina Kindlam
But Stockmann’s did not have cranberries (jõhvikad), either fresh or frozen last week, yet many nice little old ladies at the Keskturg still did. 70 kroons, or approximately 7 dollars a kilo, but doctor’s orders – to help cure my urinary tract infection. Sorry, if this is too much information, but it’s worth noting that many Estonian physicians suggest tried and true homeopathic remedy alternatives before sending you to the prescription counter. So I drank teas of põldosi (horsetail) and leesikas (bearberry), bathed in kummel (camomile) and popped cranberries for 3 days – before heading to the prescription counter. (It must’ve been a nasty strain.)
Garden plants were the new arrivals at the turg: cold-tolerant pansies galore (võõrasema = “step mother”), wonderful little rock garden plants like kukehari (“cock’s comb” = sedums) and liivatee (sand tee = thyme) and tables teeming with tomato plant seedlings with great names like Saksa varajane (German early), Koit (Dawn), Tolstoi, Valve (woman’s name) and Moneymaker (no translation required).
But I also chanced upon something new. Alongside fresh radishes, rhubarb and spring greens including lovely sour hapuoblikas (sorrel), I spied bunches of foreign leaves: like lily of the valley without the lilies.
Blossoming lily of the valley are called maikellukesed (may bells), although they have yet to bloom, since ladies are not yet selling them by Vabaduse väljak (Freedom Square). When not blooming, the leaves alone are called piibelehed (piibe-leaves) and that’s what these mystery plants resembled.
Although dreading the thought of blowing my local-Estonian cover, I had to ask what they were. Karulauk – bear’s garlic, 2-3 kroons a bunch and harking from the village of Keila-Joa.
A LAUK by any other name
In this part of the globe, names of members of the allium family of onions and garlics derive from the German Lauch: Estonian lauk, Finnish laukka and Swedish lök; also appearing in the English leek / (gar)lic.
Murulauk (“grass-lauk”, chives) is something I’ve been asked to run out to the garden to snip since forever. Küüslauk (garlic) is another staple, which my grandfather HAD to eat for his heart condition… In Estonian, a bulb of garlic is made up of küüned – nails. Long associated with our big neighbour to the East, Estonians are finally embracing garlic as lovers of good food should.
The big daddy of this health-promoting, odorous bunch of bulb plants is porrulauk (leek) and then there’s the odd-looking discovery karulauk – wild, or bear’s garlic, (Allium ursinum), known as ramson in the United Kingdom and a member of the lily family. Not to be confused with North American varieties of wild garlic and leek (rams) which have hollow, round leaves like chives and shallots, Bear’s garlic is native to Europe (introduced to N. America) and has flat green leaves up to 5 cm wide. It turns out that karulauk is a protected species in Estonia, so I hope the site in Keila-Joa where mine were picked was a garden. Although they grow in huge woodland patches, they are slow to regenerate. Emerging in early spring from beneath the snow, they disappear come summer. Bears are said to gorge on them post-hibernation, hence the name.
The leaves and stems of bear’s garlic are perfect sliced up in salads and soups and like cultivated garlic are a storehouse of essential oils and vitamins B, C and A which stimulate the immune system to eliminate toxics. When cut or crushed allicin is released, which has been shown to kill bacteria and generally repel. Heated, garlic forms a compound that can prevent the arteries from clogging and reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Serving suggestion: bear’s garlic leaves, sliced (and slightly crushed) into sour cream with a pinch of salt and served over steaming hot new potatoes. OI!
The Estonian word for market (turg) is obviously a close relative of the Swedish torg (pronounced tori, like Björn Borg is pronounced bori). Turul means at the market, while Turus means in the Finnish seaside city of Turku. That’s because in Estonian Turku is Turu, like Riga is Riia and Vienna is Viin… (But hey, Florence vs Firenze?)
So if you are at the market in Turku (Turu turul) you will find Turu turu kaupa – goods from Turku’s market. Estonian is not always easy, but worth the battle to mastery. Keep fighting the good fight. And eat your laugud.
