On the menu of any local Finnish restaurant stands the potato:served mashed or simply boiled, it accompanies the majority of fish, grilled, smoked or marinated. Gravlax, salmon in brine particularly popular, alongside herring, fish eggs or various lake fish. In Finland, don't neglect the bread! Ruisleipä, a sourdough rye bread, features on all menus. As for the kukko, it is stuffed with rutabaga, potato or fish. When it comes to pies, Finnish cuisine specializes in karjalanpiirakka, these pies filled with rye flour… or their larger cousins, the kalakukko, made with fish. Finally, try the grillimakkara, traditional grilled sausages, washed down with beer and mustard.
Impossible to leave Finland without having tasted reindeer, unless you are a vegetarian. A culinary specialty often served as a stew, reindeer meat is served with mash and cranberries. For the more daring, try the poronkieli, or reindeer tongue… or stick to reindeer fillets, or even slices of dried meat. As for the deluxe kitchen version, go for the elk! Its meat is tastier, but also rarer and more expensive. Another typical meat? The roast ptarmigan, a high-altitude bird.
Far from reindeer meat, Finnish specialties highlight a number of gourmet pastries, such as korvapuusti, cinnamon rolls. On the fruit side, berries hold first place, especially in summer. Most popular? Lingonberries, available in sauces or as an accompaniment, in jams or pastries. Also make time to sample leipäjuusto, sometimes called juustoleipä:an unusual textured cheese made from cow, reindeer or goat milk. As for washing down a typical meal, dare fermented milk, or piimä!
