Latvian Ice Cream: Loved by Estonians

What do rye bread, bee pollen, and Riga Black Balsam have in common? Besides being beloved Latvian souvenirs, they’re also flavorsome ingredients in Latvian ice cream.

From tangy balsam swirls to nutty rye crunch, crafty local ice cream makers are putting a new spin on this treasured delicacy that the people of Latvia consume at a rate of 3,74 liters per person per year*.

While some flavors you can pick up at the supermarket, for others you’ll have to drop by an ice cream café, a farmers’ market, or the production site itself. What better reason to travel around Latvia! Let’s find out what other flavors await — and why the President of Estonia once crossed the border to buy a Latvian ice cream.

Rūjiena: the Latvian ice cream capital?

Said memorable occasion took place in Rūjiena. It was a cold winter’s day in January 2014 when Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves stopped by a local shop to make his first purchase with Latvia’s newly adopted euro. His choice? Nut ice cream produced right there in Rūjiena, a town renowned for its ice cream factory. It fits a pattern: Estonians seem to have a soft spot for Latvian ice cream. Ask one to name a Latvian word, and there’s a good chance they’ll say saldējums, which is Latvian for “ice cream”.

Since then, the Rūjiena ice cream factory has come out with numerous new flavors but one of its innovations — Mini Melts ice cream balls — has won hearts worldwide, being exported to countries as far and wide as New Zealand, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. These tiny balls of ice cream are mixed with liquid nitrogen using a unique and top secret production technology, creating a melt-in-the-mouth sweet treat.

From mass-produced favorites to gourmet delights

Along with being home to several large scale ice cream manufacturers, Latvia also has its fair share of smaller producers experimenting with new flavors and products. You can often find stands at town fairs and farmers’ markets, and many makers welcome visitors to their production facilities.

Skrīveru mājas saldējums, for example, is a family-run business with its own café whose products include charcoal ice cream and rhubarb sorbet. Gogelmogels, also family-owned, prides itself on ice cream made with homegrown free range hen eggs. Along with its bee pollen ice cream, it also offers halvah, and sea buckthorn flavors. Both welcome visitors to see how the ice cream is made  — a delicious reason to venture outside Riga.

Back in the capital, locals, blogs, and review sites direct visitors to the Molberts chain of ice cream cafes. The company conjures up flavors like blueberry and lemon with elderflower syrup, and blackcurrant cheese cake. What’s more, it makes not only the ice cream but also all the goodies that go in it, like brownie bits and caramel.

You must try Latvian gelato too

Not only have Latvians mastered ice cream making, but gelato making as well. Don’t just take our word for it!

What Latvian ice cream would you most like to try?