Maizes Zupa

Maizes zupa is a sweet Latvian soup made with rye bread. When dry bread is soaked in water and simmered with fruit, it becomes a thick, dark dessert. It is chilled, served on a plate and accompanied by whipped cream.

Simmering Dry Bread

In one example, rye bread is dried in the oven until browned, then covered with boiling water and left to stand. The bread is pressed through a sieve together with the liquid and simmered with sugar, cinnamon, dried apples, plums, raisins and similar fruit. Adding cranberry juice brings tartness to the sweetness.

As the bread absorbs the water and simmers, the soup thickens. Some methods avoid making it too fine and uniform so that some of the bread’s texture remains. Some versions are strained until smooth, while others are finished with small pieces left in; in either case, the flavor of the bread is enjoyed together with the fruit.

Enjoying Bread to the Last Crumb

The method presented by Latvia’s rural tourism association also uses the ends and crusts of dry rye bread. Dried apples, plums, apricots, raisins and other fruit are added to taste, and the cooled dish is topped with cream.

Another Latvian sweet made with the same rye bread is rupjmaizes kārtojums. This dish layers dried, finely crumbled bread with jam and whipped cream in a bowl. Although it uses the same ingredients, it is finished differently from the soup, in which the bread is simmered to thicken it.

It is also served at home as a sweet that makes use of bread that is going stale. Iceland, too, has rúgbrauðsís, in which rye bread is crumbled and mixed into ice cream.

Glossary