Learn all about the top five dishes you just have to try while traveling
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| Tiina: Hi everyone, I'm Tiina, and welcome back to FinnishPod101.com's All About series. This is lesson 7: Top 5 Finnish Foods. In this lesson, we’ll be talking about Finnish cuisine! Finns really love their food. The world of Finnish cuisine is absolutely huge, isn't it Reeta. |
| Reeta: It really is! It’s hard to summarize Finnish cuisine in just one lesson! |
| Tiina: And I think when most people try to think of Finnish food, they have trouble, because it’s not that well known. |
| Reeta: Hmm, that’s true to some extent, but it is really a shame because there are some super tasty dishes out there! |
| Tiina: Yeah, once you’ve eaten Finnish food, you’ll never forget its flavors and textures! We’ll talk about the most popular dishes in this lesson. |
| Reeta: So, maybe you shouldn’t listen to this on an empty stomach! |
| Tiina: But first, before we get into the food, we want to touch on the phrase you'll hear when you have a meal with Finns. |
| Reeta: First, it’s polite to wait until your host says olkaa hyvä, which is a formal way of saying “please go ahead”, before you start eating. It can be used for one person or for many people. |
| Tiina: Can you say that again please? What do we hear before the meal? |
| Reeta: Olkaa hyvä. |
| Tiina: Okay, so keep an ear out for this. Where shall we start? |
| Reeta: I’ve got the list of “Top 5 Finnish Foods” |
| Tiina: Sounds interesting! But who chose them? |
| Reeta: Well… actually, I did...! |
| Tiina: Really? Wow, well I’m curious to see what you’ve chosen! What’s the first food on the list? |
| ( Drum roll ! ) |
| Reeta: poronkäristys! |
| Tiina: Ah, yes, sautéed reindeer. This is a typical dish from northern Finland, or Lappi. It is usually served with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam. A mixture of many tastes! |
| Reeta: Yes, you can get get it almost everywhere in North, but in South it's a little bit more difficult to find. It's worth trying! |
| Tiina: Reindeer meat is nice – it tastes a little different to other forest animals like deer. So what’s the second food on the list? |
| Reeta: graavilohi! |
| Tiina: graavilohi - marinated salmon! I know, I know – you might think of smoked salmon, but this is a little different. It is marinated in herbs, and has a very nice flavor. This is good stuff! |
| Reeta: Yeah – it can be eaten on a top of a piece of bread, as a starter to a meal, or just together with the rest of the meal. Very nice! |
| Tiina: mm, it sure is! What’s next? |
| Reeta: Next is… ruisleipä. |
| Tiina: Mmm, you’re making me hungry now! So Reeta, can you tell our listeners what ruisleipä is? |
| Reeta: It is "rye bread" in English. Finns eat a lot of types of bread, and rye bread is the most common type. |
| Tiina: Ah, yes, that’s right. You might be wondering – what’s the difference between rye bread and wheat bread? Well, rye bread is made with rye flour and has a dense texture. Its taste is a little bit bitter. Wheat bread, on the other hand, is made with wheat flour and is usually soft, and it has a slightly sweet taste. |
| Reeta: Yep, that sounds about right. |
| Tiina: So, what’s next, Reeta? |
| Reeta: lohikeitto is next on our list. This is the Finnish take on salmon soup. |
| Tiina: Yeah, salmon in general is a famous dish in Finland, right? |
| Reeta: Yes, you are right. Finns love salmon. Finnish lohikeitto usually has just a few ingredients in it. Usually it's potatoes, onion, salmon, and dill, the herb that is often used for fish seasoning. |
| Tiina: Sounds delicious! |
| Reeta: And last on our list is mustikkapiirakka! |
| Tiina: Ooh, yum! Tell us more about it. |
| Reeta: It is a blueberry pie, and homemade ones are usually made with blueberries picked straight from the Finnish woods. |
| Tiina: Mmm… I love mustikkapiirakka! One time when I had it, the dough was a little crunchy and the pie was just full of blueberries. My mouth was all blue after eating it. |
| Reeta: That does sound good! Tiina, are there any Finnish dishes that YOU recommend? |
| Tiina: Karjalanpiirakka – rye pastry filled with rice porridge. It is originally from Carelia, in Finnish Karjala, but nowadays it’s a famous food all over the country. |
| Reeta: Nice recommendation! |
| Tiina: Alright, now here’s another Top 5 list: The Top 5 Foods for the brave! |
| Reeta: Yes, the foods on this list require some bravery to try. What’s the first one? |
| Tiina: Salmiakki! |
| Reeta: This is "liquorice" in English. Actually, it is not a food but a candy, and Finns love it. It is usually hard and black in color! |
| Tiina: Oh yeah – well, it sounds like a unique candy. |
| Reeta: That’s right - Next is mämmi, which is a dish served during Easter in Finland. Tiina, can you tell our listeners what this dish is? |
| Tiina: Sure – it’s basically a dessert made of beer malt. It is black and a little bit sticky and... |
| Reeta: Oh that doesn’t sound appetizing! |
| Tiina: Well, Finns eat it together with milk or cream, and it actually has a pretty nice and soft taste. Just don’t think about what it looks like. |
| Reeta: Oh wow – this is definitely something for the brave. Some people might be surprised when they see these kinds of dishes! |
| Tiina: So what’s next? |
| Reeta: mustamakkara. This is a dish from a special region in Finland. A city called Tampere, in fact. |
| Tiina: This literally means "black sausage", and it is called black because, well, it's black. It is a Finnish blood sausage traditionally eaten with lingonberry jam. There is also some crushed rye in it, so the taste is a bit richer than normal sausages. |
| Reeta: It looks quite unique. And it's sometimes fried, so it's surely a good energy source. |
| Tiina: Yeah – but not all Finns like it because of how peculiar it is, but it is certainly worth a try. |
| Reeta: Well, I am sure that's going to be an interesting experience… |
| Tiina: Okay, now the next one might top the list for me. It’s kalakukko – a rye bread filled with fish, pork and bacon. |
| Reeta: Yeah, this is a typical food from the region of Kuopio. The fish it's usually filled with is either vendace (in Finnish muikku) or European perch (ahven). |
| Tiina: So what’s the last item on our list? |
| Reeta: This time, it’s not a food, but it’s a drink – a special type of milk called piimä. |
| Tiina: Oh, yeah, piimä. This means “sour milk” or “butter milk”. But how does it taste though? |
| Reeta: Piimä tastes like a bit like sour milk, and it is denser than milk. They say it's good for the stomach because it contains a lot of lactic acid bacteria. |
| Tiina: When is it normally drunk in Finland? |
| Reeta: Well, Finns drink it sometimes with their meal, or it can be drunk just on its own, especially if you have some stomach-ache. |
| Tiina: That sounds good. So it works the same way as some of those yoghurts available, am I right? |
| Reeta: Yeah – so it's a nice drink actually! |
| Tiina: Right, everyone should try it. |
| Reeta: Definitely! |
| Tiina:Okay, so there you have it. The Top 5 foods for the brave. If you’re feeling brave, give some of these a try! Finnish cuisine has a huge variety of food for you to try. You’re sure to find something you like! And that does it for our lesson on cuisine! |
| Reeta: And don’t forget the phrase you’ll hear before the meal. |
| Tiina: Olkaa hyvä- right? See you next time. |
| Reeta: Hei hei! |
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