This is a very classical porridge for breakfast or as a late evening snack before going to bed. Due to the cold climate barley was one of the main grains in Finland for centuries. Barley was the most important food grain until the 1800s, when rye took its place. Rice replaced barley in cooking in Finland in the 1950s. Wheat was for a long time mostly imported from abroad and considered a delicacy for the rich people. Ingredients: 1 l Water 3 dl Fine barley flour ½ tsp Salt Be

Many people have a cheesecake for Easter for desert or coffee. The classical Easter desert is Pasha (curd cheese desert), so cheesecake is not that far off the mark. The cheesecake is often flavoured with lemon or has a top layer of mango mousse. There are many recipes for this kind of cake. For decoration either decorate it with “willow cats” made from chocolate or with small chocolate easter eggs. Ingredients: Bottom: 100 g Melted butter 250 g Digestive Cookies Filling: 400

This is also a very classical recipe, and I love the crunch of those roses. Those roses were already known int the 17th century and can be found in the first Finnish cookbook from Cajsa Warg 1755. There she fried the dough in cleared butter and not in oil, but that is no longer fitting todays eating habits. Fat fried pastry is typical for Labour Day (1. May) celebrations. While most recipes allow some modifications and add here – change there, this one is not such a recipe. S

First of may is the celebration of spring. People go out into parks and have a picknick with sparkling wine, sima, and some Finnish style donuts or similar. People were their white hats which they received at graduating from high school. Sima is the meat of the Finn. Nowadays it is made with sugar, yeast, lemon and raisins. In the 15th century it was made with honey and yeast. It was then typically brewed by clerics, as they had bees for producing wax for the candles. Later t

In the Finnish forest one can find many types of “tatties” in late summer and autumn. Tatties are not an exact scientific term and basically encompass mushrooms with pores that are edible. The bolete or ceps is the most prominent of that family, but there are many more. This recipe is using dried mushroom, but they can of course be replaced by fresh ones. Dried mushrooms have a more intensive taste and I can recommend trying this soup with dried ones. Supermarkets usually sel

In the 60ties the health wave and low fat movement had not yet kicked in. Many “luxury” ingredients like rice and oranges were now affordable to the general population. This kind of desert was served for example at Christmas. The large movement from the countryside to the cities took off and with that people were buying their food from shops and were no longe producing a large part of their food themselves. The recipe below is from Riitta Mustonen “food memories” and it was h

This is a filling soup which is perfect for a day in November when the sleet is falling outside and the darkness is ruling. If you live in a country where Rudolph only visits once per year and a detour via the kitchen is not on the program, then you can replace the reindeer sausage with any game-salmi. The taste will be slightly different, but still very good. Ingredients: 75 g Butter 1 dl Flour 8 dl Water 2 dl Full-fat cream 250 g Processed cheese (if you find a strong flavo

Butter was always special in Finnish cooking culture. In the past it was a valuable trade good and even exported to other countries. In the 80ties it was common to make butter with herbs like parsley, paprika or garlic and put it on top of a steak. The origin of Chicken Kiev is a bit confusing and lost in history, if it was Ukraine, France or Russia. However, it was popular in the Soviet Union and in St. Petersburg (Leningrad at that time) and it can be assumed it travelled f

Uunifetapasta was introduced by Jenni Häyrinen in her food blog https://liemessa.fi/ in 2019. She was leaving her successful job at Nvidia as an office manager to become a full-time food blogger with good success. The Uunifetapasta became an instant hit in Finland and in many other countries. I warmly recommend visiting her blog for modern Finnish Recipes, check out the SuomiLOVE section. Of course many versions of the recipe evolved. Here is mine: Ingredients: 350 g Pasta 2

A classical school dish in the 70ties and 80ties which divided the students, for some it was their favourite food others hated it to the same level as Dill Beef. It was sometimes described as colourless and lumpy, but that might be because sauce was thickened often by hand and made in large batches and that easily results in lumps. While others stated clearly that this was their most loved dish. Most schools at that time had their own kitchen and the quality of the food depen

These is a traditional delicacy from the Lapland. Those Combs are a cross over between shortbread and English buttermilk scones. If you roll them very thin and make them small they are more in the cookie section, if you make the original 5 cm x 10 cm x 0.5 cm (or even thicker) it is more in the pastry domain. The ones you can find in the shop are more like pastry. Despite not being traditional, they go nicely with cream cheese and strawberry yam. Some recipes use baking powde

This is a very modern and “new” soup in Finland. It has become popular in the last few years, since people are trying to eat healthier and immigrants brought with them new spices. It is a warming soup with spices like cumin and ginger. It is often eaten for a light lunch. This soup is not chili-hot and is slightly sweet and fits the Finnish taste. It is often served at lunch places. Ingredients: 1 Large onion 2 Garlic cloves 2 Tablespoon oil 1 Tablespoon grated ginger 2 Teasp

Finns tend to eat their lunch between 11-12, so they get hungry at 17.00 and have then their dinner. For that reason, they eat a small “snack” called iltapala (evening piece) before they go to bed. Blueberry soup is a typical snack, eaten before going to bed or as an in-between snack. Sometimes it is eaten as a desert. If you can find forest blueberries go for those. The cultivated blueberries are ok, but just no the same taste. In Finland blueberry picking is quite common in

The opera bread seems to be originated from the Stockholm opera and became popular in Finland in the 1950. At that time the alcohol laws were very strict, and people had to order some food after each second drink. The opera bread served that purpose perfectly for the party goers. It became a popular quick lunch snack. It can be seen as the “bread”-brother of the burger. Nowadays, burgers are more popular. Ingredients 4 Large slices of bread e.g. Grahambread, white bread or ev

Bors soup shows the history of Finland and the culinary influence Russia had on Finland. Finland was the Grand Duchy of Finland a part of the Russian Empire from 1899 to 1917. During that time, it was not uncommon that Fins worked in St. Petersburg and that there was a cultural exchange. Ingredients: 500 g Cooking beef  or Kassler 1 ½ Litre water 2 Teaspoon salt 2 Bay leaves 4-5 White pepper corns 4-5 Piment 1 Onion 2 Carrot (medium sized) 150 g Root celery piece 4 Raw beetro

This rieska is quite “moist” and without yeast. The original recipe I had was without egg, but many rieskat add an egg to “glue” the dough together. Rieskat are very fast to make and nice for some leftover mashed potatoes. If you don’t have mashed potatoes ready, then use mashed potato powder with water (1 dl masthed potato mix + 3 dl water). This is one of my go-to if I need a quick bread to go along with a soup. I suggest only to make as much as you need, as they taste best

The small meat balls are one of the most popular home food in Finland and are part of the top 5 for decades. They are well known thanks to Ikea in the rest of the world as Swedish meat balls.  The meat balls are a shared history and to be fair, they are the comfort food in most Northern European countries. The meat balls are also the grandfather of todays Hamburgers. The Finnish meat balls “kötbollar” pop already up in 1755 in Cajsa Warg's cookbook.  In 1755 most of Finland w

Rieska is a Finnish flat bread, there exist a wide range of them, especially in the Savo region. Some of them are with yeast, some not. Some of them are very quick to make without kneading, others (the ones with yeast) take longer. They use different types of flour and sometimes include potatoes. But all of them are flat, baked in a very hot oven (220-250 C, whatever your oven manages) and taste best when still warm. They are a perfect companion to Finnish soups. Interestingl

Laskiaspulla are eaten during carnival, when its very cold outside and people go sledge ridding or skiing. People discussed whole evenings the fundamental question, which version is better. The one with the almond filling or the one with the strawberry yam filling. Diplomats tend to eat both and be happy. Ingredients 5 dl Milk 50 g Fresh yeast (one cube) 2 dl Sugar 1 Tbsp Cardamom 13-14 dl wheat flour 200 g Soft butter 1 tsp Salt For glazing: 1 Egg Granulated sugar For the F

Finland has some very tasty apple varieties, but they are often a bit smaller then the central European Apples. Many detached houses from the 70 or 80ties have a couple of apple trees in their garden. Many lake cottages have also an apple tree or two in their yard. Sometimes in good apple years, people put small bags of apple with a pot next to it at the street for sale, or people bring apples to their work place for collogues to take home. This is a simple straightforward c