Freaky Finnish Food

Mustamakkara with Lingonberry Jam

Let’s be honest, George Bernard Shaw could not have been more right when he wrote: “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” Seriously, how can romantic love measure up to sitting in front of a table piled high with all your favorite foods? And there’s another thing about food: Some of the most pervasive stereotypes we have about other cultures are about what they eat. Think Krauts as a name for Germans. Think Fast Food as the American export. Think Wiener Schnitzel.

It seems reasonable to conclude that culture and food are in some way intertwined in the human mind. Which is why I cannot, in good conscience, withhold what I know about Finnish Food.

We’ve heard previously that Finns are somewhat freaky. Or at least that the rest of Europe thinks that Finns are somewhat freaky. Besides some behavioral and musical tendencies, however, Finns do also eat some things that everyone else might consider to be somewhat weird, if not downright yucky. The prime example is Mämmi:

©Yle / Arja Lento

Mämmi is a traditional Easter dessert and Finns just love it. I’m pretty sure it’s one of those dishes you can only possibly like if you have grown up with it. To me, Mämmi tasted like pureed rye bread, which is not my idea of a delicious dessert. At all.

Other Easter treatsthat please my palate more include Pasha and Fazer Mignon Eggs: 

Hazelnut nougat filled into real egg-shells – one of the things I think should be imported to Germany and Austria (if only because the idea is ingenious). Actually, anything Fazer produces should be sold in supermarkets across Europe.

But let’s look at another dish that, for me, will forever be bound up with what it means to be Finnish: pea soup served with pancakes and marmalade.

Before you walk away disgusted, let me assure you that they do not put the pancake and the marmalade into the pea soup (not even the Finns are that crazy); pancake and marmalade are served on an extra plate of course. Not only is this something every Finn I know likes to eat, it is also a regular feature on the menu of the University cafeteria, usually on Thursdays. As with other, somewhat strange aspects of Finnish behavior, I have my very own theory as to why pea soup is so popular with Finnish students, and it goes something like this: Finnish parents (the sneaky bastards that they are) tell their children that they can have pancake with marmalade if they’re good and eat their pea soup. Thus, by the time young Finns enter University, they’re thoroughly conditioned to love the stuff.

One more farethat is typical for Finland, and particularly for Tampere,is mustamakkara (which you have already seen at the very beginning of this blogpost). Actually, they are such a specific feature of Tampere cuisine that they’re often called ‘Tamperelainen’ (which means ‘someone from Tampere’). Tamperelainen are usually served with lingonberry jamand can be bought at kiosks as well as in restaurants. But do not confuse these with tasty German or Austrian black pudding. As many things in Finland, mustamakkra, too, are somewhat different from what you'd expect. For one thing, there is a lot of rye in these sausages, which not only changes the taste, but also the way these sausages feel when you chew them.

When it comes to snacks, Salmiakki is something many Finns are crazy about. In fact, they love it so much that there’s even a Salmiakki liqueur. (I’ve tried it. You’re not missing out on anything if you don’t.) Now, you might call me somewhat biased when it comes to Salmiakki because I don’t even like normal licorice, but I don‘t think I will ever warm up to it. Not in a million years. Probably not even if it were the last snack left on earth. (And I’m a complete sucker for snacking in front of the TV.)

On to something much more tasty. My absolute favorite when it comes to edibles from Finland are Munkkis; donuts spiced with cardamom and coated in sugar.

 The best Munkkis can be bought at Pyynikki Observation Tower in Tampere, a location I and some fellow Munkki-addictswould hike to every few weeks to get a fix. If it was possible to have them sent here by post without them turning either mouldy or hard as stone, I’d already be running an importing business. Of course,Munkkis are not for you if you don’t like cardamom. Generally speaking, if you don’t like cardamom, most Finnish pastries are not for you, since it can be found in almost everything that’s sweet, baked, and not a cake .One exception to this rule is Runebergin Torttu, which was named for Finland’s national poet, Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Apparently, he lived off them.

However, weird dishes seem to be something not only the Finns are good at (ever heard of ‘Surströmming’?); there even is an iPhone app called ‘Nordic Food Glossary’ that helps unsuspecting tourists to find out what the strange words on the menu mean before they order.

A Fun Fact About Finland: The average Finn drinks nine cups of coffee per day.