VILNIUS: Lithuania’s capital was flooded with pink food, decor, and colourful outfits on Saturday, as residents celebrated the Baltic nation’s love for a cold beetroot dish commonly known as “pink soup”.
While beetroot soup is beloved in many eastern European nations, Lithuania lays claim to Saltibarsciai — made of kefir, cucumbers, beetroot, and dill — eaten cold and a favourite on a hot summer’s day.
“It’s not just soup — it’s a way of life,” said the city’s tourism agency Go Vilnius, which organised the first-ever festival in its honour.
French student Victor Delcroix came dressed as a bowl of “Pink Soup”.
“I fell in love with Saltibarsciai and I felt obliged to wear this to honour it,” he said before jumping on a giant pink slip-and-slide covered in foam.
Elsewhere some festival-goers prepared to set a record with the largest-ever bowl of Saltibarsciai.
Topped with sour cream and boiled eggs and served with boiled or fried potatoes, “pink soup” is a summer staple in Lithuania.
“There are bars … that prepare them in interesting ways, like a sushi place that makes it with wasabi,” said Ricardas Andrijauskas, at the festival.
“We usually make it more traditionally.” – AFP
