Merle Liivlaid. Kaire Reiljan
If a Tallinn came across the Haapsalu market three days before the Christmas holidays, he would find himself in a misunderstanding: exactly three vendors! – And he would leave.
On Thursday morning at 11 o’clock, Olev Orgmets, the sauerkraut king of Lääne County, stands behind the sauerkraut barrels next to the door of the Haapsalu market. It’s impossible to look past, but Orgmets is never looked past, at least not before Christmas. Before Christmas they go to the Haapsalu market to look for something more, if and where Orgmets is located.
On the other side of the market gate is Linda Magnus from the village of Mägar, apples over 60 years old from an apple orchard polished to a shine with a cloth, one more golden than the other, and neatly packed in bags. Right next door, Aare and Liilia Karja, a farmer-housewife, feed the market. Anyone who has tasted a piece walks away with a smoked sausage bar in their bag.
And this is all. The rest of the market is open and empty three days before the holiday.
But how much does a human child need?! Brain scientist Jaan Aru believes that abundance is one of the greatest plagues of modern times, which short-circuits the brain and causes depression, because the human animal is not designed for a large number of options. In fact, exactly three suppliers is exactly the right amount. If that’s not enough, you can stop by the farm shop or the Müiriäere bakery, where you can find more or less everything you need for your holiday.
Would I like to be at the Tallinn market? I would not.
Orgmets takes cabbage out of a barrel. “Do you buy every year?” I ask the buyer. – “Not really, but every now and then.” The question is justified, because whoever has tried Orgmets cabbage, no longer wants you, and it has been like this for 27 years, because that is exactly how long Orgmets has been pickling and selling cabbage, always according to the same recipe.
Which obviously he won’t reveal. The lady takes two kilos. “Two kilos is the average for Harju,” Orgmets says, tying a knot on the bag and another bag around it. Do not pass. Right next to it is a row of one-liter jars with buckwheat, heather, honeysuckle and who knows what else honey and sauerkraut juice. “Pure vitamin C, as well as sauerkraut,” says Orgmets, picking through bags of turnips, potatoes and carrots. After finding what he was looking for, he slaps a grated carrot on the cabbage. There is one type of juice, three types of cabbage: strong, medium and weak.
The action of Orgmets cabbage is precise like clockwork. The strong is acidified for more than 20 days, the medium for 14-20 days and the weak for up to eight days. Orgmets, who becomes more and more secretive every year, does not say how much cabbage he produced this year, but the cabbage juice: in a few days it went into his 15 jars, 15 liters to be exact.
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2023-12-23 06:00:07
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