Finnish Food: Typical Finnish dishes and ingredients

Are you looking for information regarding typical Finnish food? Do you want to discover the typical dishes and ingredients of Finnish gastronomy on your next trip? If so, you have arrived at the right place. The gastronomy of Finland is a pleasant surprise to anyone venturing to explore the northern area of Europe. We could say that our expectations regarding Finnish food not very good. But we cannot be more wrong, it is true that Finnish food is based on fish, however, most of the dishes are true feasts of intense and elaborate flavours, where the bitter mix of the sweet is the perfect combination. Are you ready to learn more about the Finnish Food? On this post, we have selected some of the most delicious and famous dishes in Finland. Are you ready? Check them out!

Dishes and basic ingredients of Finnish Food

For this post, we have selected some of the most famous dishes and the main ingredients of the traditional Finnish Food along with some new recipes of the most contemporary cuisine of the city. Join us for this delicious trip through the tastes of the Finnish population.

Rusleipä or rye bread:

Rye bread, yes, the dark and brown. This bread made with sourdough is very popular at the Finnish tables. We can also say that Rusleipä is a typical Finnish food as you can enjoy it for breakfast or at lunch. Simply spread some butter and add cheese, vegetables or whatever you want. The most popular is Reikälepia, which means “bread with a hole”. It’s dense, flat and heavy bread with an almost bitter taste.

Perunat or the potato:

The potato is the main ingredient in the Finnish food. Like tomatoes in Italy, the potato is the ubiquitous ingredient in most of its dishes. The Finns love it, perhaps also because it’s the cheapest food in the supermarket. Finns love potatoes with a little butter, dill and salt, and use mashed potato as a complement for meats, cooked in the stews, in the fillings, with herring, with roe, with fresh fish … Finns can be talking about potatoes for hours, debating between varieties and recipes without getting bored or reaching agreement.

Porkkanat or carrots:

The potato is the favourite tuber for Finns but is not the only one present in its gastronomy. The carrot, the sweet potato and some others also claim their place. The carrot is another of the ingredients that are usually present in most of the typical Finnish food like the delicious, and traditional, Finnish carrot cake.

Punajuuri or beet:

Most of the tubers are very important in the Finnish gastronomy, since in the winter months, due to the cold and the snow, it is difficult (if not impossible) to obtain crops from the outside, so that tubers such as potatoes, Carrots or Beets are present in most of their typical foods served in winter. Beets can be found in soup, in a salad, as an accompaniment and in juices. Eating a pink soup is a whole new gastronomic experience not only for the palate but also at the visual level.

Poro or Reindeer meat.

Certainly, the star meat of Finland’s typical food is the reindeer (Pore in Finnish). This meat from Lapland is the queen in any of its presentations. One of the most common is to serve it with mashed potatoes. Finns consider the Reindeer Meat one of the healthiest meats in the world. The truth is that has a high content of B-12, omega-3 and omega-6, and is also lean.

Salmon

We cannot fail to mention the favourite fish in Finland, Salmon. Pink, soft texture and fat-filled healthy, salmon is one of the most demanded ingredients in Finnish dishes. One of the most delicious dishes with salmon is the Lohikeitto, a delicious salmon soup with potatoes, carrots, dill amongst many other ingredients.

Karjalanpiirakka or Karelian Cakes.

But not everything is salmon and reindeer in the Finnish gastronomy. One of the typical dishes is the “Karjalanpiirakka”, which translated would be something like Karelian cakes with eggs and butter. Karelian Cake is a pie, sweet or salty, made with rye flour and stuffed with rice (it can also be stuffed with potato or carrot). One of its most typical presentations for breakfast is with boiled egg mixed with butter.

Korvapuusti or the mythical cinnamon rolls:

Undoubtedly, if you come to Finland you must try the Cinnamon Rolls. This delicious dessert can be seen in any bakery or at any kitchen in Finland. The main ingredients to prepare Cinnamon rolls are flour, sugar, butter, a little milk and cardamom, as well as cinnamon, of course. The best way to delight them is with coffee. Sit, unwind and enjoy this delicious dish at any cafeteria of the country.

Leipäjuusto or Bread Cheese

This very soft cheese is usually made with goat cheese, although it can also be made with reindeer or goat cheese. It’s like a cheesecake, with a somewhat plastic texture that softens when approaching the heat. Mostly, the Bread Cheese is taken for breakfast and is accompanied with blackberry jam.

Have you ever been to Finland? Do you know any other typical Finnish recipe? Have you tried any of this traditional Finnish Food? Comment!