“I can’t believe this is real!” my husband exclaimed.

“They use DNA to solve crime all the time,” I replied.

I was corresponding online with a distant cousin who had matched my DNA profile. No crimes were involved, by the way.

“No one would know that!” he said after she even recalled something about me.

Several years ago, I bought DNA testing kits. I was excited to send in a saliva sample, but my husband was skeptical.

He perked up when his results showed that he was more German than I was Norwegian. Later, as more people did the analysis, my profile was updated to show I am almost 94% Scandinavian. I am almost a thoroughbred.

“Ha ha!” I exclaimed when I showed my husband of 33 years my updated results.

Through the years, many people have become interested in knowing their roots. I remember having my face studied at family reunions to determine which side of the family I resembled.

Food is a powerful connector from generation to generation. Granted, I wasn’t thrilled with all the Scandinavian delicacies that appeared during the holidays. Despite plenty of coaxing, lutefisk, herring and stinky cheese did not appear on my holiday plate.

Our region is a melting pot of cultures, but many people trace their ancestry to Scandinavia (primarily Norway and Sweden), Germany or Indigenous tribes of North America. My students and I have developed educational programs and handouts about the foodways of Scandinavians and Germans from Russia, with an Indigenous and Native American program in the works with outreach through North Dakota State University Extension programs.

The Germans from Russia program was developed in collaboration with the staff of the heritage collection at the NDSU Library — it’s worth checking out.

Let’s try naming some foods from those cultures.

1. This German-style red-colored soup features beets, beef and cabbage.
2. What tortilla-like bread is made from potatoes and remains a popular holiday food?
3. This tasty turnover was often stuffed with pumpkin and is similar to a turnover (it has multiple possible spellings).
4. What pickled vegetable found its way on many tables during holidays in the Midwest, especially in Scandinavian households?
5. The creamy German soup features dumplings, or “little buttons.”
6. What is the name of a berry-based sauce popular among some Indigenous tribes?
7. What is the Swedish “sandwich cake” consisting of bread, cream cheese, salmon and egg salad?

Here are the answers: 1) borscht (borsht); 2) lefse (lef-suh); 3) blachinda (bluh-chin-duh, also spelled plachinda); 4) pickled beets; 5) knoephla (nef-la); 6) wojapi (woh-zjah-pee) and 7) smörgåstårta (smor-gohs-tor-tah).

Check out the recipes mentioned in these online handouts, and watch for the Indigenous Foodways handout to be released this summer.

• Exploring North Dakota’s Foodways: Scandinavian Cuisine (Past and Present)
• Exploring North Dakota’s Foodways: Germans from Russia
• Food Preservation 101: Wojapi (Berry Sauce)

Whether you learn about your heritage through DNA or family stories, don’t overlook the recipes on tattered recipe cards or well-worn cookbooks. The foods we make and share connect generations.  

This week’s recipe is in the Germans from Russia foodways publication and appeared in “Alma’s Favorite Recipes” by Alma Janke Schott, published in 2012.

Blachinda (or Plachinda)

4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
⅞ cup oil (14 tablespoons)
¾ cup milk

Filling:
2 cups pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup sugar
¼ cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and cut in oil with a pastry blender or fork. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. Combine filling ingredients in a mixing bowl. Divide dough into small balls about the size of a large walnut. Roll into 3-inch circles. Place 1 tablespoon of filling on a circle and fold over and seal by pressing the tines of a fork around the edges. Bake until light brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Makes 25 servings. Each serving has 220 calories, 12 grams (g) fat, 3 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber and 130 milligrams sodium.

(Julie Garden-Robinson, Ph.D., R.D., L.R.D., is a North Dakota State University Extension food and nutrition specialist and professor in the Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences.)

NDSU Agriculture Communication – May 14, 2026

Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, 701-231-7187, julie.garden-robinson@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu