Cuisine of Finland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine
Haute cuisine
Haute cuisine or grande cuisine was characterised by French cuisine in elaborate preparations and presentations served in small and numerous courses that were produced by large and hierarchical staffs at the grand restaurants and hotels of Europe.The 17th century chef and writer La Varenne...

with contemporary continental style cooking. Fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

and meat

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

play a prominent role in traditional Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

dishes from the western part of the country, while the dishes from the eastern part have traditionally included various vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

s and mushroom

Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...

s. Refugees from Karelia

Karelia

Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...

contributed to foods in eastern Finland.

Finnish foods often use wholemeal products (rye

Rye

Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...

, barley

Barley

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

, oat

Oat

The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...

s) and berries (such as blueberries

Blueberry

Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...

, lingonberries, cloudberries

Cloudberry

Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...

, and sea buckthorn). Milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

and its derivatives like buttermilk

Buttermilk

Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly...

are commonly used as food, drink or in various recipes. Various turnip

Turnip

The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock...

s were common in traditional cooking, but were substituted by the potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

after its introduction in the 18th century.

Characteristics

In former times, the country's harsh climate meant that fresh fruit and vegetables were largely unavailable for nine months of the year, causing a heavy reliance on staple tubers (initially turnip

Turnip

, later potato

Potato

), dark rye bread

Rye bread

Rye bread is a type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour...

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

Dill

Dill is a perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens C.B.Clarke.-Growth:...

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 a major source of food and today produce from forests counts for the distinctive traits in Finnish cuisine. The simplicity of traditional Finnish food has later been turned into an advantage by placing an emphasis on freshness instead, and modern Finnish restaurateurs now blend high-quality Finnish produce with continental cooking techniques, culminating with Helsinki's Chez Dominique
Chez Dominique
Chez Dominique is a restaurant in Helsinki, Finland. The chef and owner is Hans Välimäki. The restaurant is located in Rikhardinkatu 4, and seats 50 people.- Cuisine :...

receiving two Michelin star

Michelin Guide

The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...

s in 2003.

Internationalization brought imported goods widely available and pasta, pizza, and hamburgers were integrated into Finnish menus, thus replacing many traditional everyday dishes, such as cabbage casserole or herring fillets which were considered inferior. During the 20th century also majority of Finnish women entered workforce, and most of the dishes requiring long preparation time were reserved for holidays.

Even with the modern agriculture and transportation, food is expensive in Finland compared to other European countries, even though the European Union membership in 1995 and the consequent elimination of trade barriers such as opened the floodgates, with prices of some products like grains, meat and milk dropping by up to 50%,. Before that heavy taxes and outright bans on imports that competed with local produce severely limited the availability of foreign or unseasonal food, but now Finnish supermarkets and restaurants serve up a wide variety of food from all over the world.

Finnish cuisine is largely shared with Swedish cuisine. The overarching difference is the preference to unsweetened foods. For example, while traditional Swedish rye bread includes plenty of syrup and spices, Finnish rye bread is unsweetened and even bitter. Finnish cuisine also bear resemblance to German and Russian cuisines.

Meats

The most popular meats in Finland are pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....

(33.5kg/year/person in 2005), beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

(18.6kg) and chicken

Chicken

The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

(13.3kg). Approximately one third of this is eaten as sausage

Sausage

A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...

(makkara), which is mostly made from pork but often mixes in other meats as well.

In addition to domesticated animals, there are long traditions of hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

and fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

in Finland. The hunters focus on deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

and moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

, but small game such as hare

Hare

Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...

, ducks and grouse

Grouse

Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

are popular for their taste, and game makes a natural addition to the Finnish cuisine. 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. Finnish restaurants are accustomed to serving reindeer

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

dishes instead.

Berries

Arctic wild berries are distinctively featured in Finnish cuisine with their strong flavor and high nutrient content. It is still quite common to go picking berries straight from the forests. Wild raspberries

Raspberry

The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...

, bilberries

Bilberry

Bilberry is any of several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium , bearing edible berries. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., but there are several other closely related species....

and lingonberries (cowberries) are found almost in every part of Finland, while cloudberries

Cloudberry

Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...

, cranberries

Cranberry

Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...

, arctic brambles and sea buckthorns grow on more specific areas. The wild strawberry (metsämansikka) with strong aroma is also a seasonal delicacy decorating cakes, served with ice cream or just cream. Nowadays the berries are no longer dried but usually frozen and eaten at winter with for example porridge and sugar. Home-made berry juices and jams are common, especially amongst older people. Berries are used for desserts and served with meat, too, especially the sour lingonberry relish. A more exclusive but not uncommon jam is the cloudberry

Cloudberry

Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...

jam. Bilberry

Bilberry

kiisseli

Kissel

Kissel or kisel is a fruit soup, popular as a dessert in Eastern and Northern Europe. It consists of sweetened juice, thickened with arrowroot, cornstarch or potato starch, and sometimes red wine or fresh or dried fruits are added...

and pie

Pie

A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....

are traditional Finnish desserts, made from wild bilberries

Bilberry

(Vaccinium myrtillus). Blueberries

Blueberry

Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...

are not used in Finnish cuisine, although they have become available relatively recently.

Fish

Lakes in Finland provide many opportunities for fishing and fish has always been an important protein source. Several ways to prepare 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: cold smoked salmon, lox

Lox

Lox is salmon fillet that has been cured. In its most popular form, it is thinly sliced—less than in thickness—and, typically, served on a bagel, often with cream cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber and capers...

, or served raw with lemon juice as graavilohi (gravlax in Swedish). It is common to smoke

Smoked fish

Smoked fish are fish that have been cured by smoking.Foods have been smoked by humans throughout history. Originally this was done as a preservative...

any types of fish, like salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

, zander

Zander

Zander is a species of fish. The scientific name is Sander lucioperca , and it is closely allied to perch. Zander are often called pike-perch as they resemble the pike with their elongated body and head, and the perch with their spiny dorsal fin. Zander are not, as is commonly believed, a pike and...

, pike, perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

and Baltic herring

Herring

Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...

. There are many styles of pickled herring which is a common appetizer and also served around Midsummer accompanied by small potatoes. Whitefish

Common whitefish

Coregonus lavaretus is a species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of its genus Coregonus.There are widely different concepts about the number of species in the genus Coregonus and the delimitation of the species Coregonus lavaretus.-Lavaret:In a narrow...

and vendace

Vendace

Vendace can refers to several species of fish, but especially these species of freshwater whitefish:*Coregonus albula, widespread in northern continental Europe...

roe are Finnish delicacies served on top of a toast or with blinis. Crayfish

Crayfish

Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...

can be found in many lakes and streams in Finland and in August especially the Swedish-speaking population often arranges parties

Crayfish party

A crayfish party is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in the Nordic countries. The tradition originated in Sweden, where a crayfish party is called a kräftskiva...

centered around eating crayfish and drinking.

Mushrooms

Various species of mushrooms grow plentiful in Finnish forests and false morel

False morel

Gyromitra esculenta , one of several species of fungi known as false morels, is an ascomycete fungus from the genus Gyromitra, widely distributed across Europe and North America. It normally sprouts in sandy soils under coniferous trees in spring and early summer...

s start the season in spring and are used in creamy dishes. Chanterelle

Chanterelle

Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as the chanterelle, golden chanterelle or girolle, is a fungus. It is probably the best known species of the genus Cantharellus, if not the entire family of Cantharellaceae. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped...

s and ceps

Boletus edulis

Boletus edulis, commonly known as penny bun, porcino or cep, is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus Boletus. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere across Europe, Asia, and North America, it does not occur naturally in the Southern Hemisphere, although it has been...

pop up after Midsummer and are popular in the whole country, while in eastern Finland almost all edible fungi are consumed, including milkcaps

Lactarius

Lactarius is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi. The genus, collectively known commonly as milk-caps, are characterized by the fact that they exude a milky fluid if cut or damaged...

and russula

Russula

Around 750 worldwide species of mycorrhizal mushrooms compose the genus Russula. They are typically common, fairly large, and brightly colored - making them one of the most recognizable genera among mycologists and mushroom collectors...

s. 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 part of Finnish diet. Breads are made from grains like barley

Barley

, oat

Oat

, rye

Rye

and wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

, or mixing different grits and flours, for example sihtileipä, a rye and wheat bread. There is also a variety of flat breads called rieska, for example maitorieska (milk flatbread), ryynirieska with barley grits from Savonia, läskirieska (lard flatbread) flat(ish) 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, bread made from rye flour and the soft phloem

Phloem

In vascular plants, phloem is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients , in particular, glucose, a sugar, to all parts of the plant where needed. In trees, the phloem is the innermost layer of the bark, hence the name, derived from the Greek word "bark"...

layer of pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

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

Porridge

Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...

. Rolled oats, rye or multi-grain porridge are most common. However, there are other options such as the milk-based mannapuuro (semolina

Semolina

Semolina is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta, and also used for breakfast cereals and puddings. Semolina is also used to designate coarse middlings from other varieties of wheat, and from other grains such as rice and corn.-Name:The term semolina derives from...

-milk porridge) and helmipuuro
Helmipuuro
Helmipuuro is a type of porridge traditional in Finland and in Russia. The porridge is made from monodisperse grains of potato starch that are swelled in boiling milk into translucent "pearls" of ca. 5 mm in diameter, thus the name helmipuuro...

(starch grain-milk porridge). Porridges are often eaten with milk, sugar, butter or berry kisel. The Christmas season introduces milk-based rice porridge (riisipuuro), sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

Beverages

Water is the most common drink in Finland but on meals milk

Milk

and buttermilk

Buttermilk

(piimä, a fermented milk) are popular too, even among adults. Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

is often drunk several times a day and served everywhere, although also tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

is available. There are several types of home-brewed alcoholic beverages, sima (mead)

Sima (mead)

Sima is a sweet mead, still an essential seasonal, sparkling brew connected with the Finnish Vappu festival. It is usually spiced by adding both the flesh and rind of a lemon...

, sahti

Sahti

Sahti is a traditional beer from Finland made from a variety of grains, malted and unmalted, including barley, rye, wheat, and oats; sometimes bread made from these grains is fermented instead of malt itself...

(traditional beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

), pontikka (Finnish moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...

), and kilju

Kilju

Kilju , in English also known as sugar wine, is a Finnish home-made alcoholic beverage made from sugar, yeast, and water. Its alcohol content is usually 15%–17% ABV....

(sugar wine, a notorious drink traditionally fermented without flavouring). Famous brands of spirits include Koskenkorva (vodka

Vodka

Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....

-like clear spirit) and a salmiakki

Salmiakki

Salty liquorice, also known as salmiak or salmiakki is a variety of liquorice flavoured with ammonium chloride, common in Netherlands, Nordic Countries, Baltic States and Northern Germany. Ammonium chloride gives salty liquorice an astringent, salty taste , which has been described as...

flavored cocktail Salmiakkikossu, Jaloviina (cut brandy
Cut brandy
Cut brandy is a liquor made of brandy, neutral grain spirit and water. Sometimes, sugar is used to soften taste. It is often colored with caramel coloring.-Grades:Most cut brandies are graded by the relative amount of brandy it contains....

), Finlandia Vodka

Finlandia Vodka

Finlandia Vodka is produced from Finnish-grown six-row barley and pure glacier water.The barley is distilled into a grain spirit using a continuous multi-pressure distillation system at Altia Corporation's distillery in Finnish village of Koskenkorva...

, and Marskin ryyppy

Marskin ryyppy

Marskin ryyppy is a strong alcoholic drink, served as a shot. The drink is named after Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, the Marshal of Finland...

(Marshal Mannerheim's shot). Around Christmas time a type of mulled wine

Mulled wine

Mulled wine, variations of which are popular in Europe, is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween.-Glühwein:...

called glögi is served, also often as non-alcoholic version. Many berries are used to season liqueurs, e.g. cloudberry liqueur

Lakka

Lakka or Lakkalikööri is a liqueur produced in Finland which derives its flavor from the cloudberry fruit. The word "Lakka" means cloudberry in Finnish....

and there are wines produced from redcurrants and blackcurrants. A national speciality 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.

Desserts

Pulla
Pulla
Pulla is a mildly-sweet Finnish dessert bread flavored with crushed cardamom seeds and occasionally raisins or sliced almonds. Braid loaves are formed from three or more braided strands of dough. The braids may also be formed into a ring. These braided strands or rings are typically coated with...

, sweet bread eaten with coffee or as dessert
- Cinnamon rolls (korvapuustit) - pulla made into a roll with cinnamon and sugar
Golden cloudberry
Cloudberry
Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...

dessert
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 (Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

blåbärssoppa
Blåbärssoppa
Blåbärssoppa, is a Swedish drink made from bilberries, which can be served cold or hot. The drink is sweet and contains starch which gives it a fairly thick consistency.In the USA, blåbärssoppa is imported and sold under the trade name Blåbär...

), depending on preparation, but not gelatinous.
Vispipuuro
Vispipuuro
Vispipuuro or klappgröt is a sweet, wheat semolina dessert porridge made with berries, usually lingonberries. It's eaten in both Sweden and Finland. The semolina is cooked with the berries and also some kind of sweetener. After the mixture has cooled down, the porridge is vigorously whipped to a...

(whipped porridge) a sweet pink dessert porridge with lingonberries or other berries, served with milk and sugar.
Runeberg's tart
Runeberg's tart
Runeberg's torte is a Finnish pastry flavored with almonds and rum and it usually weighs about 100 grams. There is usually raspberry jam in a sugar ring on the tart....

named after a national poet J.L. Runeberg and served on his memorial day on February 5.
Rönttönen
Rönttönen
A Rönttönen is a traditional sweet Finnish delicacy from Kainuu.A small open faced pie consisting of a crust made of barley or rye dough, filled with a sweetened mashed potato and berry filling....

pastry with lingonberry filling

Sweets

Salmiakki – ammonium chloride
Ammonium chloride
Ammonium chloride NH4Cl is an inorganic compound with the formula NH4Cl. It is a white crystalline salt that is highly soluble in water. Solutions of ammonium chloride are mildly acidic. Sal ammoniac is a name of natural, mineralogical form of ammonium chloride...

flavored candy
Variety of licorice, most famous manufacturer are Panda and Halva
Fazer
Fazer
Fazer is one of the largest corporations in the Finnish food industry.The company was originally founded by Karl Fazer in 1891, as a "French-Russian conditory" in central Helsinki...

Sininen milk chocolate
Wood tar (terva) flavored candy, such as Terva Leijona
Terva Leijona
Terva Leijona is a Finnish liquorice candy with tar flavouring. The candy is produced by the Leaf Candy Company.It is available in "Traditional flavours" such as sugarless, licorice, salmiakki...

Examples of Finnish dishes

Note that the term perinneruoka ("traditional dish") is often applied to specialities that are rarely eaten on a daily basis. These are often regional, associated with the older generations or confined to a specific holiday (for example, mämmi

Mämmi

Mämmi is a traditional Finnish Easter dessert. The Swedish language name for it is memma.Mämmi is made from water, rye flour, and powdered rye malt, seasoned with dark molasses, salt, and dried powdered Seville orange peel. The mixture is then allowed to go through a slow natural sweetening...

in Easter or most Christmas dishes), and most people eat them rarely or not at all. To contrast with perinneruoka, the term kotiruoka ("home-made food", even if in a restaurant) 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
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...

food. – Moose, deer, grouse, duck, hare, etc... dishes. Rarely attainable in restaurants. Common amongst those whose hobby is hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

.
Hernekeitto – peasoup, usually served on Thursday along with a dessert pancake
Leipäjuusto
Leipäjuusto
Juustoleipä or Leipäjuusto, which is also known in English as Finnish squeaky cheese, is a fresh cheese traditionally made from cow's beestings, rich milk from a cow that has recently calved. Reindeer or even goat milk can also be used. Commercially available versions are typically made from...

, alternate name juustoleipä – a fresh cow's milk cheese
Viili
Viili
Viili is a type of yoghurt that originated in the Nordic countries. It has a ropey, gelatinous consistency and a pleasantly mild taste resulting from lactic acid...

– a yogurt-like fermented milk product
Perunamuusi
Mashed potato
Mashed potato is made by mashing freshly boiled potatoes with a ricer, fork, potato masher, food mill, or whipping them with a hand beater. Dehydrated and frozen mashed potatoes are available in many places...

– Mashed potato, a common side dish
Lihapullat
Meatball
A meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...

– Finnish meatballs, often with gravy sauce
Palvikinkku and palviliha – Smoked ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...

or beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

Shrove Tuesday

Laskiaispulla
Pulla
Pulla is a mildly-sweet Finnish dessert bread flavored with crushed cardamom seeds and occasionally raisins or sliced almonds. Braid loaves are formed from three or more braided strands of dough. The braids may also be formed into a ring. These braided strands or rings are typically coated with...

– (Shrovetide pulla) filled with whipped cream and almond paste or jam

Easter

Mämmi
Mämmi
Mämmi is a traditional Finnish Easter dessert. The Swedish language name for it is memma.Mämmi is made from water, rye flour, and powdered rye malt, seasoned with dark molasses, salt, and dried powdered Seville orange peel. The mixture is then allowed to go through a slow natural sweetening...

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.
Pasha a dessert made of quark, butter, eggs and spices, originates from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

Vappu (May Day)

Sima (mead)
Sima (mead)
Sima is a sweet mead, still an essential seasonal, sparkling brew connected with the Finnish Vappu festival. It is usually spiced by adding both the flesh and rind of a lemon...

home-made or purchased
Munkki (deep-fried pulla
Pulla
Pulla is a mildly-sweet Finnish dessert bread flavored with crushed cardamom seeds and occasionally raisins or sliced almonds. Braid loaves are formed from three or more braided strands of dough. The braids may also be formed into a ring. These braided strands or rings are typically coated with...

dough coated in sugar)
Tippaleipä (May Day fritters)

Christmas

Joulupöytä
Joulupöytä
Joulupöytä is the name of the traditional food board served at Christmas in Finland, similar to the Swedish smörgåsbord. It contains many different dishes, most of them typical for the season. The main dish is usually a large Christmas ham, which is eaten with mustard or bread along with the other...

"Christmas table" consists of many dishes almost entirely reserved for Christmas and some side dishes
Glögi (mulled wine) is served around holiday season

Lapland

Sautéed reindeer (poronkäristys)
Lohikeitto
Lohikeitto
Creamy salmon soup is a common dish in Finland and other Nordic countries....

salmon soup with cream

Karelia

Karelian pasties popular throughout the whole of Finland
Karelian Stew/Hot Pot often part of Christmas menu everywhere in Finland
Sultsina
Sultsina
Sultsina is a traditional Karelian dish, a cross between a crêpe and a flatbread, made of unleavened rye dough and a farina filling. Rice pudding can also be used as a filling....

sold at the market square in Joensuu
Joensuu
Joensuu is a city and municipality in North Karelia in eastern Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of North Karelia region. It was founded in 1848...

and other places in the area

Savonia

Kalakukko
Kalakukko
Kalakukko is a traditional food from the Finnish region of Savonia made from fish baked inside a loaf of bread. The Cornish pasty from Cornwall has the same basic idea of complete packed lunch. Kalakukko is very polular food in Savonia head city Kuopio. There is even Finland "Kalakukko" competition...

fish pasty loaf
Mykyrokka
Mykyrokka
Mykyrokka is a soup that is a typical traditional dish in Middle-Finland . The main ingredient is myky: a palm sized dumpling made from blood and barley flour. The dumplings are cooked in the soup. The soup also contains potatoes, onion, fatty meat, and offal such as kidneys, liver, and/or...

blood dumpling soup
Lörtsy Sweet pastry filled jam

Ostrobothnia and Åland

Due the location on the West coast and the Swedish speaking majority, the cuisine differs from the Eastern one considerably.

Klimppisoppa flour dumpling soup
Åland's pancake typically made of leftover porridge and served with plum soup
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
Malax
Malax is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...

on the Ostrobothnian coast (malaxlimpa). This bread, colored dark brown, is made from rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...

and contains a substantial quantity of dark syrup.

Other specialties

Mustamakkara
Mustamakkara
Mustamakkara is a type of Finnish blood sausage traditionally eaten with lingonberry jam. It is nowadays available in many stores across Finland, but is held in the position of local delicacy and speciality of Tampere...

– blood sausage
Blood sausage
Black pudding, blood pudding or blood sausage is a type of sausage made by cooking blood or dried blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. The dish exists in various cultures from Asia to Europe...

from Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
Rössypottu
Rössypottu
Rössypottu is a traditional Finnish dish which originates from the Oulu region yet is very much unknown in the southern parts of the country. Essentially a very simple dish, it is a stew made using potatoes , some pork and the main ingredient, so-called "rössy" i.e...

from Oulu (mixed game and pork stew)
Hapanvelli
Hapanvelli
Hapanvelli is a traditional South-Eastern Finnish dish that resembles pea soup but has a more sour flavour. It takes roughly an hour to prepare hapanvelli which is made from a rye sourdough starter, potatoes and peas...

(rye and pea porridge) from Virolahti
Virolahti
Virolahti is the southeastern-most municipality of Finland on the border of the Russian Federation. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...

Meals

There are three meals per day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. In all primary and secondary schools, including high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, a hot free lunch is served as part of Finland's welfare state

Welfare state

A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...

agenda. Among workers, lunch is often not so heavy, and may be a sandwich

Sandwich

A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...

or a salad, depending on whether the company has a lunch restaurant. In the evening, the dinner is usually a hot meal. Meals are usually single-course, commonly consisting of meat of some sort (pork, 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.

Breakfast

Breakfast is seen as a substantial meal and usually consists of open sandwich

Open sandwich

An open sandwich, also known as an open face/faced sandwich, Ulrich Sandwich, bread baser, or tartine, consists of a single slice of bread with one or more food items on top.- In various countries :...

es. The sandwich is often buttered (with margarine

Margarine

Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes, typically composed of vegetable oils. In many parts of the world, the market share of margarine and spreads has overtaken that of butter...

), with savoury toppings such as hard cheese or cold cuts

Cold Cuts

Cold Cuts is a 2002 live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. It was their first live album to be released in a gatefold/digipack case...

. Sour milk products such as yogurt or viili

Viili

Viili is a type of yoghurt that originated in the Nordic countries. It has a ropey, gelatinous consistency and a pleasantly mild taste resulting from lactic acid...

are also common breakfast foods, usually served in a bowl with cereals

Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...

such as corn flakes

Corn flakes

Corn flakes are a popular breakfast cereal originally manufactured by Kellogg's through the treatment of maize. A patent for the product was filed on May 31, 1895, and issued on April 14, 1896.-History:...

, muesli

Muesli

Muesli is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital...

, and sometimes with sugar, fruit or jam. A third food that is commonly eaten at breakfast is porridge

Porridge

Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...

(puuro), often made of rolled oats, and eaten with a pat of butter (voisilmä, lit. "butter eye") and/or with milk, or fruit or jam, especially the sort made of raspberries or strawberries (sometimes lingonberries). Drinks are milk, juice, tea, or coffee.

Coffee breaks

It is typical for a Finn to drink coffee in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening, often accompanied by a sweet bun or a sandwich. Most workplaces allocate times for coffee breaks and serving coffee is an inevitable part of any visit to a private home.

Criticism

In 2005, Finnish cuisine came under heavy fire from two leaders of countries renowned for their cuisine. The Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

prime minister

Prime minister of Italy

The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...

Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...

claimed that "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 Parma ham
Prosciutto
Prosciutto |ham]]) or Parma ham is a dry-cured ham that is usually thinly sliced and served uncooked; this style is called prosciutto crudo in Italian and is distinguished from cooked ham, prosciutto cotto....

is." This followed the initial decision by the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

to establish the European Food Safety Authority

European Food Safety Authority

The European Food Safety Authority is an agency of the European Union that provides independent scientific advice and communication on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain, created by European Regulation 178/2002....

in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. On July 4, 2005 French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

President Jacques Chirac

Jacques Chirac

Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...

claimed that "After Finland, [Britain is] the country with the worst food."

After Jacques Chirac's and Silvio 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
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

)

"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
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...

, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, 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
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England).

Finnish pizza chain Kotipizza

Kotipizza

Kotipizza Oyj is the largest pizza restaurant chain in the Nordic countries. Its head office is in the Vaskiluodon Satamaterminaali in Vaasa, Finland....

won the 2008 America’s Plate International pizza contest in New York, while Italy 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

Silvio Berlusconi

earlier.

External links

Food from Finland

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Characteristics

Meats

Berries

Fish

Mushrooms

Bread

Porridges

Beverages

Desserts

Sweets

Examples of Finnish dishes

Typical Finnish dishes

Shrove Tuesday

Easter

Vappu (May Day)

Christmas

Lapland

Karelia

Savonia

Ostrobothnia and Åland

Other specialties

Meals

Breakfast

Coffee breaks

Criticism

See also

External links