Popalis Family History
June 6, 2003, 2:50 PM EDT
The Associated Press
http://www.ap.org
More Lithuanians Are Eating Crow
By LIUDAS DAPKUS
Associated Press Writer
VILNIUS, Lithuania -- A squawking, garbage-loving nuisance in most
countries, the wild crow is under attack in Lithuania not for its
reputation, but for its tender meat.
A revival of sorts is enveloping part of the Baltic state of 3.5 million, a
dietary demand that more Lithuanians eat crow.
"It may sound like an oddity to many," Audrius Gudzinskas, a 44-year-old
Lithuanian lawyer leading the back-to-crow movement, told The Associated
Press Friday. "But believe me, those birds are really tasty."
The dish was a common sight on the tables of Medieval noblemen who presided
over Lithuania's monarchy, then one of Europe's most powerful. The
marinated dish was also embraced by impoverished peasants as a cheap and
plentiful food source.
Gudzinskas said the traditional meal of crow remained widespread as late as
the 1930s but died out after the Soviet occupation, which lasted from 1940
to 1991.
The dish is prepared now as it was then, boiled in cooking oil over a
bonfire and served with various vegetables. The younger the birds the
better. Crows that are still in the nest and unable to fly are considered
delicacies and "taste like quail."
He said hunts for the pitch-colored birds, found nearly worldwide, last
several days and involve driving hundreds of kilometers (miles) in search
of crow colonies.
Several dozen of the unlikely connoisseurs planned to gather for a crow
cookout Saturday in Pakruojis, 160 kilometers (99 miles) north of the
capital, Vilnius.
"Pakruojis will become the capital of the crow eaters," he said.
Some crow-meat lovers recently helped to produce a new light beer called
"Young Raven," to wash down the fowl food with.
Copyright ? 2003, The Associated Press
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