My favorite foods of Finland

Among the many touristic attractions of Finland, surely the unforgettable northern lights occupy the first place. But what about its gastronomy? Well, here is a brief review of my favorite foods after my visit to Helsinki and Lapland.

Ruisleipä

Don’t let the translation disappoint you: it’s just rye bread, but taken to new heights. It’s no coincidence that it has been chosen as the national food of Finland! And usually, rye bread is the local product that expats Finns most miss abroad. There are many varieties, either as fresh bread or as näkkileipä / näkkäri (Swedish knackebröd style crispbread).

Sili

As in the previous case, herring could come as a surprise in this list. But in Finland I found an almost endless offer. In all breakfasts you can try a good slice of rye bread with herring with different marinades: mustard, dill, sweet and sour, and many other options that you should experience on your own.

Leipäjuusto

Probably my favorite discovery and my moment of glory at every breakfast. This is a fresh cheese produced from colostrum, that is, the milk of an animal that has recently given birth. The curdled milk is poured in a wide and round container, as if it were a pizza. Then it is baked or roasted, obtaining a cheese no more than 2 centimeters high. Then is’s cut into triangular portions and served with cloudberry jam, an exotic and delicious golden-orange Scandinavian berry.

Graavilohi

To be strict, this appetizer is typical of all Scandinavian countries, although it’s mainly associated with Sweden. In fact, the well-known name gravlax is precisely Swedish. It’s salmon cut into very thin slices and that used to be fermented in the past. Today that process is replaced with a marinade of salt, sugar, and dill. It’s usually eaten (of course!) with rye bread seasoned with a little mustard.

Reindeer (poron) and elk (hirvi) meat

Rather than indicating a specific dish, in this case I mention these two types of meat, both very exotic for the visitor, but very frequent for the locals. Despite being game meat, both generally come from semi-raised animals. In other words, the animals might have an owner, but they live part of the year in freedom in the forests. Reindeer and elk never know the slaughterhouse, they feed naturally and are not killed indiscriminately.

Reindeer has a distinctive and strong flavor, but always very pleasant, and more refined than deer in my taste. Elk has a more pronounced flavor and may on first impression not be to everyone’s taste. But after a few bites, the initial surprise is over and I have no doubt that it can conquer the palate of any diner.

Both meats are very low in fat and have a great nutritional value, since in addition to being an excellent source of high-quality protein, they also provide many minerals and vitamins.

Other Popular Finnish Foods

In all the Nordic countries, salty licorice or salmiakki is a very popular sweet and many products are obtained with this ingredient.

Karelian pies or Karjalanpiirakka are a kind of long open pie made with rye flour and a filling of rice, butter and egg.

Another typical national dish is Kalakukko, which combines two ingredients already mentioned: different types of fish cooked in a loaf of rye bread.

Finland also has a type of local beer called Sahti, made from different cereals such as barley, rye, wheat and oats.

One last comment deserve the small black pancakes called veriohukainen, in which preparation an amazing egg substitute is used: animal blood. This ingredient can come from cow, pig, even reindeer or elk. Because of this, blood pancakes are dense and dark. Nutritionally, they are especially rich in iron and are accompanied with blueberries or jam. The sweet touch is necessary to balance a possible somewhat metallic taste of the blood.