Finnish cuisine, often perceived as simple, is a rich tapestry woven from traditional country fare, haute cuisine, and contemporary continental influences. The Finns have a deep connection to their land, and this is reflected in their food. From hearty rye breads to fresh fish and wild berries, the Finnish diet is a testament to resourcefulness and a celebration of natural flavors.
Staple Ingredients and Culinary Influences
The Finnish diet historically relied on staple tubers like turnips and later potatoes, dark rye bread, and fermented dairy products. Fish and meat, particularly pork, beef, or reindeer, are prominent in many traditional dishes. Vegetables and mushrooms also play a significant role. Wholemeal products, such as rye, barley, and oats, and berries like bilberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn, are commonly used. Milk and its derivatives, like buttermilk (piimä), are integral to Finnish cuisine, used both as food and drink.
The way of life and culture of Finns has been based on agriculture since prehistoric times. Hunting and fishing have been important secondary livelihoods. The country's harsh climate dictated a heavy reliance on preserved foods. Traditionally, few spices were available, and fresh herbs were limited to the summer months.
Finnish cuisine shares similarities with Swedish, German, and Russian cuisines. Swedish dishes like Janssons frestelse (janssoninkiusaus), pyttipannu, and gravlax (graavilohi) are common in Finland. Finnish rye bread is unsweetened, unlike the sweeter Swedish version. Sausages and buttered bread are similar to German counterparts, while kiisseli and lihapiirakka resemble Russian dishes.
Regional Specialties: A Taste of Finland's Diversity
Beyond national classics, Finland boasts a wealth of regional treats, each reflecting the unique ingredients and traditions of its area.
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Kalakukko: A Savonian Delight
In eastern Finland's Savo region, you'll find kalakukko, a rye-crusted loaf baked with fish and pork inside. This Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) product is dense, hearty, and surprisingly satisfying. The warm crust tastes amazing with soft butter. For an authentic experience, visit a local marketplace in the Savo region during the summer.
Mustamakkara: A Tampere Treat
In Tampere, don't miss mustamakkara, a black sausage served hot with lingonberry jam, best eaten straight from a market stall. Made from pork, blood, and barley, it's rich, filling, and beloved by locals.
Rönttönen: A Kainuu Pie
Head north, and you might taste rönttönen, a small open rye pie from Kainuu filled with mashed potatoes and lingonberries. Kainuun rönttönen is a product with Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), meaning its production, processing, and handling must occur within a specific geographical area, and its quality and characteristics must be attributable to that area.
Saaristolaisleipä: Archipelago Bread
In the archipelago, try a slice of saaristolaisleipä - a dark, sweet rye bread made with malt and syrup. It's dense and moist, often topped with butter and smoked salmon.
Lörtsy: A Savonlinna Pastry
In Savonlinna, lörtsy is the local pastry of choice. This thin, half-moon-shaped dough is filled with either savory meat or sweet apple. It’s street food with a small-town soul, especially popular in Savonlinna.
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Vety and Atomi: Lappeenranta Buns
In Lappeenranta, look out for vety and atomi, two local legends in the form of meat-filled buns. Vety (“hydrogen”) comes with ham and egg, while atomi (“atom”) contains just one. These buns are essential post-swim, post-party, or post-anything food.
Lemin Särä: South Karelia's Slow-Roasted Lamb
And in South Karelia, there's Lemin särä, one of Finland's oldest traditional dishes. It's simply lamb and potatoes, slow-roasted for hours in a wooden trough.
Breads and Pastries: Cornerstones of the Finnish Table
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. Sihtileipä, for example, is made of a combination of rye and wheat. There is also a variety of flatbreads called rieska, like maitorieska (milk flatbread), ryynirieska with barley grits from Savonia, läskirieska (lard flatbread), and perunarieska (potato flatbread). In Kainuu, flatbreads are very flat and baked on an open flame. Näkkileipä, crisp rye bread, is also common.
Famines in the 19th century led to the creation of pettuleipä or bark bread, made from rye flour and the soft phloem layer of pine bark. While nutritious, it was hard and not very tasty.
Karjalanpiirakka, or Karelian pasty, is a beloved Finnish delicacy. Originating from the Karelia region, these small, rye-crusted pies are typically filled with rice porridge, although variations with potato or carrot fillings are also popular. Often enjoyed with a generous spread of egg butter (a mixture of hard-boiled eggs and butter), Karjalanpiirakka is traditionally served warm.
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Korvapuusti, the Finnish cinnamon roll, is a pastry that embodies the warmth and comfort of Finnish baking. These rolls are made from a rich, buttery dough, generously spiced with cinnamon, and sweetened with sugar. Unlike other cinnamon rolls, Korvapuusti are known for their unique shape-flattened and folded, with the cinnamon spirals visible on top, and often sprinkled with pearl sugar.
Fish and Seafood: A Bounty from the Waters
Lakes and rivers in Finland and the Baltic Sea provide many opportunities for fishing. 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 (cold smoked salmon, 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. It is common to smoke any type of fish, like salmon, zander, pike, perch, and Baltic herring. A popular dish among the Swedish-speaking population is smoked herring (Finnish: savusilakka, Swedish: böckling). 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. Whitefish and vendace roe are Finnish specialties served on top of a toast or with blinis. Fried vendace (Coregonus albula) is a traditional summertime dish in Finland, as is fried Baltic herring.
Berries and Mushrooms: Gifts from the Forest
Forests and lakes were historically a major source of food, and produce from forests currently accounts for the distinctive traits in Finnish cuisine. 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 raspberries (vadelma), bilberries (mustikka), and lingonberries (puolukka) are found in almost every part of Finland, while cloudberries (lakka), cranberries (karpalo), arctic brambles (mesimarja), and sea buckthorns (tyrni) grow in more limited areas. The intensely flavored wild strawberry (metsämansikka) is a seasonal delicacy decorating cakes, served alone, with cream, or with ice cream. 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. Kiisseli (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.
Mustikkapiirakka, or Finnish blueberry pie, is a delightful dessert that showcases the bounty of Finland’s forests. Made with fresh or wild blueberries, this pie is beloved for its simplicity and natural flavors.
Various species of mushrooms grow in abundance in Finnish forests. Chanterelles and ceps pop up after Midsummer and are popular in the whole country, while in eastern Finland almost all edible fungi are consumed, including milkcaps and russulas. 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.
Meat and Game: From Reindeer to Pork
In addition to domesticated animals, there are long traditions of hunting and fishing in Finland. The hunters focus on deer, 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.
For the Sami people in the north, reindeer is one of their staple foods. It is an exquisite meat, very lean and low in fat, that is also widely used in the south and used on pizzas, or in sausages or salamis. A typical roasted reindeer steak sautéed with cranberries called poronkäristis is a must-try. Other specialities are meatballs or grilled liver with bacon, both served with mashed potatoes.
Meals and Drinks: Daily Life in Finland
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 high school, a hot free lunch is served as part of Finland's welfare state system.
Breakfast is seen as a substantial meal and usually consists of open sandwiches. The sandwich is often buttered, with savory toppings such as hard cheese or cold cuts. Sour milk products such as yoghurt or viili are also common breakfast foods, usually served in a bowl with cereals 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).
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. Tea 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 cloudberry liqueur, and fruit wines are produced from red and black currants.
Traditional vs. Modern: A Culinary Evolution
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. 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.
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%. Before that, heavy taxes and outright bans on imports that competed with local produce severely limited the availability of foreign or unseasonal food.
A Taste of Finland: Must-Try Dishes
- Kalakukko: A savory fish and pork pie from the Savo region.
- Karjalanpiirakka: Karelian pasties, small rye-crusted pies filled with rice porridge or other fillings.
- Lohikeitto: Salmon soup, a creamy and comforting classic.
- Poronkäristys: Sautéed reindeer, a Lappish delicacy.
- Mustikkapiirakka: Finnish blueberry pie, a celebration of wild berries.
- Leipäjuusto: Finnish squeaky cheese, often served with cloudberry jam.
- Hernekeitto: Finnish pea soup, traditionally served on Thursdays.
- Korvapuusti: Finnish cinnamon rolls, a sweet and aromatic treat.
- Ruisleipä: Finnish rye bread, a hearty and flavorful staple.
- Salmiakki: Salty black licorice, an acquired taste that many Finns adore.