Finnish food is known for its mild flavors. Very often only
salt and pepper are used to spice the food, because Finnish people like pure flavors
and do not wish to change the taste of the ingredients with strong spices. The Finns also appreciate local foods and I am glad to have noticed that the foods in the supermarkets in general are becoming more healthy: there
are numerous products that contain less added sugar or salt, more fiber or no
additives.
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| Rye bread |
Often the first thing I want to have when I visit Finland is
rye bread. The best kind is the organic sourdough rye bread made in a small
village near my hometown. The ingredients are simple: organic whole rye flour, water
and sea salt. When it is fresh, it is the best thing: it tastes amazing and it is
very healthy. I like to eat it with a buttery spread only,
but sometimes I add cheese and cucumber. Other breads are very good as well,
there are many excellent rye and whole grain breads, white bread is not very
popular. Sugar is added less often than in the U.S., which I find important
both taste-wise and health-wise.
The variety of dairy products is marvelous. In addition to
good milk, buttermilk, yogurt and cheese, there are very nice dairy snacks. I
don’t even know what some of them are called in English! They make full fat,
low-fat and fat-free anything made from milk. There is also a cheese of which
milk fat is mostly replaced by a more healthy kind of oil, such as olive oil.
One item that I wish would find its way into the U.S. is a cream that is used
in cooking and is not as heavy as heavy cream but has a more creamy texture
than half-and-half. There are also
different flavors, such as three-cheese cream. The Finns use all kinds in sauces
and soups, my mom for instance uses it to make excellent chantarelle or winter
mushroom soup.
The Finns like to eat hot cereals and so there are a good
variety of different kinds. In addition to oatmeal, the Finns love also cream
of wheat, rye porridge and rice porridge to name a few. There are many kinds of
healthy muesli and cold cereal that taste very nice with milk or yogurt.
Even though there are many great food products in Finland,
finding nice vegetarian friendly restaurants has been more challenging than in
the States or in Bulgaria. Each restaurant does offer one or two vegetarian
choices, but they are usually pasta, risotto or pizza. Other than a goat cheese
salad, the veggie food is often unimaginative and unhealthy. This is not surprising, however, because traditionally meat has been the most important ingredient in Finnish cooking. Thus, eating out
is nice for the meat eaters, but usually not very exciting for the vegetarians.
The snacks in the cafés and the like are delicious, especially if the choice is
some sweet pastry, but unfortunately these pastries are not very healthy (though
this is common everywhere).
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| Chantarelle mushrooms |
The best thing about Finland and its food, however, is what
you can find in the forest and what you can pick for free even on someone
else’s land. There are guaranteed organic blueberries, lingonberries, wild
raspberries and many kinds of mushrooms up for grabs. According to a magazine I
read lately, only about 1% of all the mushrooms are picked! What is more,
picking berries and mushrooms is nice and relaxing exercise and it also calms
the mind effectively. Fishing is also very popular in Finland, there are
thousands of lakes after all!
In all, if you visit Finland, try the sweet pastries, dairy
products and rye bread and get someone to take you into the forest to pick some
berries or mushrooms. If you are an omnivore, there are many traditional and
delicious meat and fish dishes as well.
See you next time,
Anna-Kaisa
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