Finland

Recipes by the places recorded in their sources.

Finland

11 recipes

A dark, flour-dusted Finnish rye ring loaf with fork-pricked marks on a pale board.

Ruisleipä (Finnish sourdough rye bread)

A Finnish rye sourdough shaped here as two flat ring loaves, made from rye flour, water, salt and an established rye leaven.

Finland · Traditional method
· Grains and starches
Photograph of Pitkäpiimä.

Pitkäpiimä

Pitkäpiimä is a Finnish cultured milk whose defining trait is a long, stretchy, ropy texture. It is closely related to viili and is made by lactic fermentation with a specific culture.

Finland · Traditional method
· Dairy
Golden Karelian pasties with pleated rye crusts and exposed rice porridge filling; egg butter is served separately.
Elevated risk

Karjalanpiirakka

Karjalanpiirakka are open, pleated rye-and-wheat pastries filled with creamy rice porridge, baked hot and brushed with butter and milk.

Karelia
· Grains and starches
Plain piimä in a clear tumbler, with a separate ceramic milk jug behind on an ivory surface.

Piimä with a countertop culture

A thin cultured-milk drink made with a commercial countertop starter. Finnish piimä is a mealtime sour milk with distinct regional traditions.

Finland · Modern adaptation
· Dairy
Thin slices of mahogany smoked reindeer meat on a shallow birchwood plate, with a smoked piece behind.
High risk

Suovas

Salted reindeer meat hung in the smoke of a lávvu fire over willow, birch or juniper, then cooled and in some Sámi communities dried outdoors into travelling provisions.

Sápmi · Traditional method
· Meat
A clear glass jar of cooked milk-cap mushrooms layered under brine, illustrating Finnish-style salted mushrooms.
High risk

Salted Mushrooms

Salted mushrooms are a traditional wild-mushroom preserve, especially of Finnish and Russian milk caps, made by layering boiled mushrooms with coarse salt or keeping them under brine, and kept cold.

Russia · Traditional method
· Vegetables
Two thin, round, lightly toasted Lapin ohrarieska barley flatbreads with fork-pricked surfaces on a wooden board.

Lapland barley rieska

Two barley flatbreads made with cold dough and baked rapidly on a hot sheet, following Timo Lepistö's northern Finnish formula.

Finnish Lapland · Modern method
· Grains and starches
Plain softly set viili in an ivory bowl, with a small milk jug behind and no utensils.

Viili

Viili is a Finnish cultured milk with a soft set and, in its western form, a stretchy texture. This small recurring batch uses a spoonful of previously cultured viili.

Finland · Modern method
· Dairy
A bowl of creamy Finnish cold-smoked reindeer soup topped with reindeer crumble and thyme, served with dark bread.
Elevated risk

Cold-smoked reindeer soup

Kylmäsavuporokeitto is a creamy cold-smoked reindeer soup with onion, stock and cheese, served with bread.

Finland · Modern method
Meat
Finnish pea soup with smoked ham, mustard and chopped onion in a white bowl.
Elevated risk

Finnish pea soup

Finnish pea soup simmers dried peas with palvikinkku or a vegetable alternative, then is served with mustard and chopped onion.

Finland · Modern method
Legumes and seeds
Finnish sima, a lightly sparkling amber lemon drink with raisins
Elevated risk

Finnish Vappu sima

A lightly fermented Finnish May Day drink of lemon, white and brown sugar and a little yeast, bottled with raisins that rise as the carbonation builds.

Finland · Traditional method
· Drinks