Food & Drink

Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; the food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Potatoes, meat, fish, butter and rye bread form the basis of Finnish diet, but the cuisine has been greatly influenced by French, Swedish and Russian cooking.

Finnish food can vary from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish is a major feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer may be more common. Expect excellent fresh fish, such as pike, perch, trout, whitefish, salmon and Baltic herring.

Main Dishes

• Cabbage rolls (Kaalikääryleet)
• Cold Smoked fish, such as Gravlax (Graavilohi) and cold smoked salmon or Lox (Kylmäsavustettu lohi)
• Hernekeitto - Peasoup
• Karelian Stew/Hot Pot
• Lihapullat - Finnish meatballs
• Mustamakkara - blood sausage from Tampere
• Pickled Herring (usually with small potatoes)
• Sautéed reindeer (traditional in Lapland)
• Smoked fish
• Smoked ham or beef (palvikinkku) (palviliha)

Breads

• Läskirieska (flat barley bread with pieces of lard)
• Maitorieska (milk flat bread)
• Pulla (sweet bread)
• Rieska (barley bread (in the shape of half ball, Savo, or very flat and baked with naked flame)
• Ruisleipä (rye bread)
• Sihtileipä (rye and wheat bread)

Desserts

• Fruit soups (a mixture of liquidised berries (nowadays often canned or frozen) and potato flour, served with milk/cream and sugar)
• Korvapuustit (cinamon rolls)

Drinks

• Glögi (mulled wine)
• Jaloviina (cut brandy)
• Kilju (a notorious home-brewed beverage traditionally fermented without flavouring)
• Koskenkorva (famous vodka-like clear spirit)
• Mesimarja (arctic bramble liqueur)
• Polar (cranberry liqueur)
• Pontikka (Finnish moonshine)
• Sahti (traditional beer)
• Sima (mead)