(karjalanpiirakka)
is a traditional Finnish dish made from a thin rye crust with a filling of barley or rice. Butter, often mixed with boiled egg ([[egg butter]] or munavoi), is spread over the hot pastries before eating.]]
Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and
haute cuisine with contemporary continental-style cooking. Fish and
meat (usually pork, beef or reindeer) play a prominent role in traditional
Finland dishes in some parts of the country, while the dishes elsewhere have traditionally included various
and
Edible mushroom. Evacuees from Karelia contributed to foods in other parts of Finland in the aftermath of the
Continuation War.
Finnish foods often use wholemeal products (rye, barley, ) and berries (such as bilberry, lingonberry, cloudberry, and sea buckthorn). Milk and its derivatives like buttermilk are commonly used as food, drink or in various recipes. Various were common in traditional cooking, but were replaced with the potato after its introduction in the 18th century.
Characteristics
The way of life and culture of
Finns was mainly based on agriculture already at prehistoric times. However, in the harsh and cold environment, agriculture was neither a very effective nor secure way of life, so getting food from nature has often been an important secondary livelihood. When crops failed, it might have been the only way to survive. Also, while farms mainly produced crops like turnips, and often families had only some farm animals to get milk products and meat, hunting and especially fishing were important ways to get more protein. Large-scale meat production and therefore meat as a daily food started to emerge only at the beginning of the 20th century, after periods of malnutrition in the 19th century caused by failed crops.
In former times, the country's harsh climate meant that fresh fruit and vegetables were largely unavailable for at least nine months of the year, leading to a heavy reliance on staple tubers (initially turnip, later potato), dark rye bread and fermented dairy products, occasionally enlivened with preserved fish and meat. Traditionally, very few spices other than salt were available, and fresh herbs like dill and chives were limited to the summer months. Many Finnish traditional dishes are prepared by stewing them for a long time in an oven, which produces hearty but bland fare. Forests and lakes were historically a major source of food, and produce from forests currently accounts for the distinctive traits in Finnish cuisine. The simplicity of traditional Finnish food has been turned into an advantage by shifting the emphasis to freshness. Modern Finnish restaurateurs now blend high-quality Finnish products with continental cooking techniques. This approach helped Helsinki's Chez Dominique to receive two Michelin Guide in 2003.
Internationalization brought imported goods. As pasta, pizza, kebab, and hamburgers were integrated into Finnish menus, they displaced some traditional everyday dishes like kaalilaatikko (cabbage casserole), and herring fillets, which some consider inferior. As of the 20th century, when the majority of Finnish women entered the workforce, many traditional dishes that require long preparation time are reserved for holidays.
Even with modern agriculture and transportation, food remains expensive in Finland relative to other European countries. This is notwithstanding the effect of accession to the European Union in 1995. The consequent elimination of trade barriers led prices of products like grains, meat, and milk to drop as much as 50%.
Finnish cuisine is very similar to Swedish cuisine. Swedish dishes like Janssons frestelse (janssoninkiusaus), Pyttipanna, and gravlax (graavilohi) are common in Finland. The overarching difference is the Finns' preference for unsweetened foods. For example, while traditional Swedish rye bread includes plenty of syrup and spices, Finnish rye bread is unsweetened, even bitter. Finnish cuisine also bears some resemblance to German and Russian cuisines.
Finnish food
Meats from Finland
The most popular meats in Finland are
pork (33.5 kg/year/person in 2005),
beef (18.6 kg), and chicken (13.3 kg).
Approximately one third of this is eaten as
sausage (makkara), which is mostly made from pork but often mixes in other meats as well.
, lamb and
reindeer make up a small portion of the total meat consumption, but they are widely available.
In addition to domesticated animals, there are long traditions of hunting and fishing in Finland. The hunters focus on Venison, moose and bear, but small game such as hare, duck and grouse are popular. Approximately 70,000–80,000 moose are culled yearly, producing significant amounts of meat. Due to very strict food hygiene regulations, moose meat is mainly consumed within households and is rarely obtainable in restaurants.
Berries
Arctic wild berries are distinctively featured in Finnish cuisine with their strong flavor and high nutrient content. Traditionally, they were eaten fresh in summer and dried at other times of year. It is still quite common to go picking berries straight from the forests – in fact, wild berries are free to pick in any forest, state or private, except in close proximity to dwellings (see freedom to roam). Wild
raspberry (vadelma), bilberries (mustikka) and
lingonberry (puolukka) are found in almost every part of Finland, while
cloudberry (lakka),
cranberry (karpalo),
rubus arcticus (mesimarja) and
(tyrni) grow in more limited areas. The intensely flavored
Fragaria vesca (metsämansikka) is a seasonal delicacy decorating cakes, served alone, with cream, or with ice cream. Farmed
strawberry (mansikka) is also very common.
Today, berries are no longer dried for winter consumption but usually frozen. They may be used as ingredients, or eaten on their own, for example, with porridge and sugar. Kissel (a sweet soup of berry juice and berries thickened with potato starch) is a common dessert. Homemade berry juices and jams are common, especially among older people. While berries are most often used for desserts, they are also served with meat, especially the sour lingonberry relish.
Bilberry kissel|kiisseli (mustikkakiisseli) and pie (mustikkapiirakka), made from wild bilberries ( Vaccinium myrtillus), are traditional Finnish desserts. Bilberries are frequently used in Finnish cuisine, both as an ingredient, such as bilberry pie, and also served with cream or ice cream. They are often used on top of viili and other yogurt-type dishes.
Fish
Lakes and rivers in Finland and the Baltic Sea provide many opportunities for fishing and fish has always been an important protein source. Numerous methods of preparing fish are used, including frying, boiling, drying, salting, fermenting,
cold smoking or simply slicing sea fish and eating it raw. Salmon is a popular choice, both as kylmäsavustettu lohi:
Lox, or served raw with lemon juice as
graavilohi (gravlax in Swedish). The soup called
lohikeitto is also one of the most popular salmon dishes in Finland.
[ Salmon soup is one of many Lappish wonders – Helsinki Times] It is common to
Smoked fish any type of fish, like salmon,
zander, pike,
perch and Baltic herring. A popular dish among the Swedish-speaking population is smoked herring (, ). There are many styles of
pickled herring which is a common appetizer and also served around
Midsummer accompanied by small potatoes called uusiperuna (nypotatis in Swedish) which means 'new potato', usually the first harvests of potato.
Common whitefish and
Coregonus albula roe are Finnish specialties served on top of a toast or with
blinis. Crayfish can be found in many lakes and streams in Finland and, in August especially, the Swedish-speaking population often arranges
Crayfish party and drinking.
Mushrooms
Various species of mushrooms grow in abundance in Finnish forests and
start the season in spring and are used in creamy dishes.
and
Boletus edulis pop up after Midsummer and are popular in the whole country, while in eastern Finland almost all edible fungi are consumed, including milkcaps and
. Most of the mushroom recipes originate from Russia, since Finns used mushrooms in coloring fabrics rather than as food. Mushrooms are used in soups, sauces, stews, pie fillings, or simply fried in a pan with onions as a side dish. They are preserved for the winter by pickling or drying. Chanterelles are frequently featured in Finnish
haute cuisine with their relatives, winter chanterelles, which often end the season. Just like berry picking, mushroom hunting is also a popular outdoor activity among Finns.
Bread
Dark and fiber-rich
ruisleipä, rye bread, is a staple of the Finnish diet. Breads are made from grains like
barley,
oat,
rye and
wheat, or by mixing different grits and flours. For example, sihtileipä is made of a combination of rye and wheat. There is also a variety of flat breads called rieska, like
maitorieska (milk
flatbread), ryynirieska with barley grits from Savonia, läskirieska (lard flatbread) a somewhat flat barley bread with pieces of lard from Western coast, and
perunarieska (potato flatbread). In
Kainuu, North Finland, the flatbreads are very flat and baked on naked flame.
Näkkileipä, crisp rye bread, is also common. Famines caused by crop failures in the 19th century caused Finns to improvise pettuleipä or
bark bread,
bread made from rye flour and the soft
phloem layer of
pine bark, which was nutritious, but rock-hard and anything but tasty. It was eaten also during the Second World War, and the tradition of making this bread has had a minor come-back with claims of health benefits.
Porridges
The Finnish breakfast traditionally includes a substantial portion of
porridge. Rolled oats, rye or multi-grain porridge are most common. However, there are other options such as the milk-based mannapuuro (
semolina-milk porridge) and
helmipuuro (starch grain-milk porridge). Porridges are often eaten with milk, sugar, butter or berry
kiisseli. The Christmas season introduces milk-based
rice pudding (riisipuuro), sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and often topped with prune kiisseli (luumukiisseli). There is also a semolina-based porridge flavored with fresh or frozen lingonberries called vispipuuro ("beaten porridge").
Beverages
Water and
coffee are the most common drinks in Finland, but during meals
milk and
sour milk (piimä, a
fermented milk) are popular too, even among adults. Coffee is often drunk several times a day and Finland has the highest per capita consumption of coffee in the world.
is also available in most homes. There are several types of home-brewed alcoholic beverages, such as
sima (mead) and
sahti (traditional
beer). Spirits brands include
Koskenkorva (
vodka-like clear spirit) and a
salmiakki flavored shot
Salmiakkikossu,
Jaloviina (
cut brandy),
Finlandia vodka, and
Marskin ryyppy (Marshal Mannerheim's shot). Around Christmas time a type of
mulled wine called
glögi is served, also often as a non-alcoholic version. Many berries are used to season liqueurs, such as
Lakka, and
fruit wines are produced from red and black currants. A national specialty would be multiple brands of flavored hard ciders (as in Sweden) and long drink mixes with the pet name
lonkero, which was originally a gin and grapefruit soda long drink.
The Finnish beer scene is dominated by pale lagers. Local brands with the highest market share include Koff, Lapin Kulta, Karjala, Olvi and Karhu and their taste is rather similar to the Danish counterparts like Carlsberg Lager and Tuborg. Non-alcoholic beer has also become a popular alternative during recent years. Kotikalja (similar to Slavic kvass) is the traditional small beer. Kotikalja is a malty, sugar-containing sweet beer fermented only for carbonation, thus its alcohol content is low enough (<1.2%) to be served as a soft drink. Hops are often absent. Fresh kotikalja is unfiltered, cloudy and cannot be stored. A Finnish beer specialty is sahti, a traditional ale flavoured with juniper berries.
Desserts
-
Pulla, sweet, cardamom-flavored bread eaten with coffee or as dessert
-
Cinnamon rolls (korvapuustit) – pulla made into a roll with cinnamon and sugar
-
Kiisseli – water, sugar, berry juice and berries (nowadays often canned or frozen) thickened with potato starch flour, served with milk/cream and sugar. These may be less liquid than drink-like. mustikkakeitto (), depending on preparation, but not gelatinous.
-
Leipäjuusto, a soft cheese often served with cloudberry jam (lakkahillo) and coffee.
-
Runeberg torte, named after a national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg and served on his memorial day on 5 February.
-
Rönttönen pastry with lingonberry filling
-
Uunijuusto, baked milk dish eaten with berries
-
Vispipuuro (whipped porridge) a sweet pink dessert porridge with lingonberries or other berries, served with milk and sugar
File:Ostrobothnian house interior with rye bread drying on a pole.jpg|Ruisreikäleipä (rye hole-bread)
File:Runebergstårtor.JPG|
File:Pullia.jpg|Several types of pulla sweet bread
File:Mustikkapiirakka 2, kypsä C IMG 7763.jpg|Blueberry pie (mustikkapiirakka) is a very popular dessert
File:Joulutorttuja.jpg|Joulutorttu (Christmas pastry)
File:Tippaleipä.JPG|Funnel cake (tippaleipä)
File:Leipäjuusto cheese with cloudberry jam.jpg |Leipäjuusto (bread cheese) served with cloudberry jam
File:Mämmi Kymppi.jpg|Mämmi (dessert during Easter time)
Sweets
Examples of Finnish dishes
The term perinneruoka ("traditional dish") is often applied to specialties that are rarely eaten on a daily basis. These are often regional, associated with the older generations or specific holidays—for example,
mämmi on Easter—and most people eat these dishes rarely, or not at all. In contrast, with perinneruoka, the term kotiruoka ("home-made food") is applied to daily staple dishes. Meatballs, pea soup and rye bread are examples of such staples.
The following list is a sample of typical dishes traditionally consumed in Finland.
Typical Finnish dishes
-
Kaalikääryleet – cabbage rolls
-
Game food. – Moose, deer, grouse, duck, hare, etc. dishes. Rarely attainable in restaurants, except the finest ones. Common amongst those whose hobby is hunting.
-
Hernekeitto – pea soup, usually served on Thursdays, along with pancakes for dessert.
-
Leipäjuusto, alternate names hiilikko and juustoleipä – a halloumi-like soft cheese
-
Viili – a Yogurt-like fermented milk product
-
Mashed potato – mashed potato, a common side dish
-
Meatball – Finnish meatballs, often in gravy and with lingonberry sauce on the side
-
Palvikinkku and palviliha – smoked ham or beef
Holiday specialties
Shrove Tuesday
Easter
-
Mämmi – Easter dessert pudding: sweetened, oven-baked rye malt porridge, served with sugar and milk or cream, available frozen around the year. In the Catholic era it was Lent food and also served on Good Friday.
-
Paskha – a dessert made of quark, butter, eggs and spices, originates from Russia
Vappu (May Day)
-
Sima – mead, home-made or purchased
-
Munkki (deep-fried pulla coated in sugar, similar to )
-
Tippaleipä ('May Day fritters'), a kind of funnel cake
Christmas
-
Joulupöytä ('Christmas table'), consists of many dishes, some of which are almost entirely exclusive to Christmas, e.g. lutefisk.
-
Glögi, mulled wine, is served during the holiday season.
Regional cuisine
Lapland
-
Sautéed reindeer (poronkäristys)
-
Lohikeitto salmon soup with cream
Kainuu
-
Rönttönen, pastry with lingonberry filling (PGI protection under EU law)
-
Smoked meat soup
-
Kainuun juustoleipä, bread cheese
-
Vendace fish soup
-
Pettuleipä ('Pettu-bread'), a bark bread made from rye flour and pine phloem during famine years
Karelia
Savonia
-
Kalakukko, fish pasty loaf
-
Mykyrokka, blood dumpling soup
-
Lörtsy, pastry filled with sour or sweet fillings (meat, vegetable or jam)
Ostrobothnia and Åland
Due to the location on the west coast, the cuisine has some local specialities.
-
Klimpsoppa, flour dumpling soup
-
Åland pancake, typically made of leftover porridge and served with plum jam
-
Swedish svartbröd ('black bread') is eaten in Swedish-speaking Åland; similar dark bread, known as skärgårdslimpa ('islander's bread', referring to Åland), is made on southern coast, and in Malax on the Ostrobothnian coast (malaxlimpa). This bread, coloured dark brown, is made from rye and contains a substantial quantity of dark syrup.
Other specialties
Meals
Common meals are breakfast (
aamupala), lunch (
lounas), dinner (
päivällinen) and supper (
iltapala). Sometimes there is also an afternoon snack (
välipala) or a coffee break where a light snack is served. In all primary and secondary schools, including
lukio, a hot free lunch is served as part of Finland's
welfare state system. Lunch, eaten around noon, is usually a warm meal, although some people may select a lighter meal such as a
sandwich or a salad. Taking a
lunchbox is not as common as elsewhere in Europe.
Universities also provide lunch for students, but contrary to primary and secondary schools, lunch in universities is not free of charge but subsidized.
Lunch typically consists of a single course with optional side salad, bread and dessert. Many workplaces have a lunch restaurant, and if not, employers often give lunch vouchers. Restaurants often have a separate lunch menu for this purpose. In the evening, the dinner is usually a hot meal, again with side dishes. Meals are usually single-course, commonly consisting of meat of some sort (pork, lamb, chicken, beef) and potatoes, rice or pasta with the meat. Soups, such as pea soup or fish soup, are not considered appetizers only, but may be served as lunch or dinner, and they are correspondingly heavier and come in larger portions.
Dinner is typically the most substantial meal of the day. However, it is served rather early at 5 pm,
Breakfast
Breakfast is seen as a substantial meal and usually consists of
. The sandwich is often buttered, with savoury toppings such as hard cheese or
. Sour milk products such as
yoghurt or
viili are also common breakfast foods, usually served in a bowl with
breakfast cereal such as
corn flakes,
muesli, and sometimes with sugar, fruit or jam. A third food that is commonly eaten at breakfast is
porridge (puuro), often made of rolled oats, and eaten with a pat of butter (voisilmä, lit. 'butter eye') or with milk, or fruit or jam, especially the sort made of raspberries or strawberries (sometimes lingonberries). Drinks are milk, juice, tea, or coffee.
Pannukakku, a type of baked oven pancake, is considered a dessert in Finland, but is often eaten for breakfast in the Finnish diaspora in the United States and Canada.
Coffee breaks
Finland has the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world, averaging of coffee per person annually.
It is typical for a Finn to drink coffee continuously throughout the day, often accompanied by a sweet bun or a sandwich. Most workplaces allocate time for coffee breaks, and serving coffee is very likely to happen to a visitor to a private home. Finns consider this a small courtesy.
Criticism
In 2005, Finnish cuisine came under heavy fire from two leaders of countries renowned for their cuisine. The
Italy prime minister Silvio Berlusconi claimed, "I've been to Finland and I had to endure the Finnish diet so I am in a position to make a comparison." Berlusconi started his anti-Finnish food campaign in 2001. He went on: "The Finns don't even know what
prosciutto is." This followed the initial decision by the European Commission to establish the European Food Safety Authority in
Helsinki. On 4 July 2005
France President
Jacques Chirac claimed that "After Finland, Britain the country with the worst food."
After Chirac's and Berlusconi's critiques, some international food reporters answered:
"Chirac and Berlusconi are wrong! Finnish cuisine is much more international than I expected. I have eaten very good food in wonderful restaurants, visited market places and enjoyed in good cafeterias. Cheese is very good in Finland. I also love Finnish cloudberry and smoked fish." (Ute Junker, Australian Financial Review Magazine, Sydney, Australia)
"Food in Finnish restaurants is extremely good. Especially I love Finnish salmon, mushroom soup and desserts. I have also got very good Finnish wines. The worldwide reputation of Finnish cuisine isn't very good – but it should be!" (Liliane Delwasse, Le Figaro, Paris, France)
"I have eaten only good food in Finland. Food in Finland is very fresh. Bread, berries, mushrooms and desserts are very delicious. Finnish berries (especially cloudberry), salmon, cheeses and reindeer should be available in London, too." (April Hutchinson, Abta Magazine, London, England).
Finnish pizza chain Kotipizza won the 2008 America's Plate International pizza contest in New York, while Italian-American pizza came in second. They named their award-winning smoked reindeer pizza Berlusconi as symbolic payback for the critique Finnish cuisine had received from the Italian prime minister earlier.
See also
External links
