The Finnish army has had "pea soup and pancake" -Thursday since the 18th century. Raw chopped onion is served separately. Civilians can experience this dish at Amica restaurants 😆
I'm gonna make sure I can try all those fantastic snacks like Finnish cinnamon when I visit Finland. Too bad, I can't any Finnish bakery and restaurant in my country.
I visited Finland a long time ago, I was 12. I'm Italian and I tend to be a bit picky when it comes to food. I can tell you this: Finnish food is good, it's just fine. I never had to complain when I was there. Good people, even better food. Nothing but respect and affection for Finland and Finns.
I love it how enthusiastic you are about Finland and the Finnish food! I seriously think that our food really is weird to foreigners. I mean, since I was a child, I loved the liver casserole WITH raisins. So yeah, we have weird and creepy, but so delicious food!
Liver casserole is great. Definitely the best of the laatikko's at a christmas feast, except maybe for lanttulaatikko. But the raisins are a crime against humanity.
@@chryssalidbait8765 Lanttulaatikko is heaven! And raisins are great! Though it´s really a battle :D I love raisins and my brother don´t. My poor parents had to be careful :D
Finnish food is actually incredible if people stop being close minded and try to learn a bit of their origins. I am portuguese, we are hard snobs about out culinary and everyone here thinks our food is the best and all central, eastern and northern European cuisines are bad. When I went to Finland on long holidays I was told awful things about your food. Well I actually tried about everything that's in this video and loved every single one. I even ate some delicacies (some fish bread and dried reindeer meat that I didn't dislike either). Honestly, still to this day I remember this reindeer stew with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam I ate in Pyha (Lapland). It was honestly one of the best meals I had in my life and will always remember it.
When Alko began to sell Salmiakki-Koskenkorva in the 1990s, they had to pull it from market, because so many teenagers ended up in the hospital having drunk dangerous amounts of it. In a Finnish mouth, it tastes like child's candy, so you don't realize how strong it is.
I make my own. Get whichever vodka you prefer and some of the hard double salt licorice coins. Pour out some vodka and let the candy soak for like three weeks. Strain out the bits and you are good to go.
i dont think anybody in finland actually likes to stop by R-kioski (it's a brand name derived from the words "railway kiosk"). their stuff is twice as expensive as anything from regular stores and half as good. like ive see meat mince pies(?) from regular milk stores that are just plain better. but alas, R-kioski are fast to get in and out of and usually attached to railway terminals here, so i believe the dang chain will stay in business for a long while.
R-Kioski have great deals. If you're buying for like a birthday party or something. But ironically. If you're buying one item for yourself "on the go" it's SO overpriced.
One great thing about living in Finland is if you are allergic to milk. Many of us are lactose intolerant, and that's why most places make their foods and drinks passively with lactose free milk. And if some of them don't, they usually have the option to if you request for it! I didn't appreciate this enough until I lived in the uk for 3 months. Eating or drinking anything outside was a struggle, and stomach pains were maaaaany 😂
Milk allergy and lactose-intolerance are actually not the same thing. Lactose is a sugar. People, who allergic to milk are allergic to milk proteins, which are there still even when you remove lactose. Usually, Finnish food is ok for people with lactose-intolerance, because it is so common, however, people with actual milk allergy should always ask as milk and dairy are often used in foods. Finnish restaurants usually try to accomodate allergies if it is possible and may substitute dairy milk with soy or oat products. Just ask.
Don't stress too much about your finnish pronouncing. It sounds very understandable and we do appreciate when travellers are trying to learn. ☺️ I'd like to hear, have you tried cabbage rolls (kaalikääryle)? They are one of my favorites, thi I'm not sure how traditional they are.
@@Liir85 Yeah, IIRC the story goes that after the Swedish king got his ass handed to him at Poltava, he hung out at the Ottoman empire for a while before returning home, and brought the recepie with him.
you have to try the finnish classics: creamy salmon soup, karelian pies with eggbutter, karelian stew and korvapuusti(cinnamon buns) rye bread with coldsmoked salmon and rieskabread with toppings:mushroom salad or smoked salmon.and meatpies with sausage and cucumber relish, lov it!
@@radiorakim oh vau, I certainly need a couple of hours to explain😂 To make a long story short I just love the country so much, I even think about getting citizenship (even though it automatically disqualifies the citizenship from my original country) Hyvä Suomi🇫🇮 I'm sorry if you got multiple notifications, something is stupid and my comment keeps getting deleted*
Years ago when I was in high school, my mom and I took a trip to Europe and visited relative north of Helsinki. I remember for dinner on evening, the dad came home with a bunch of orange , can’t remember the variety, fresh caviar! That and local cloudberry liquor was dinner that night! Man, I want to town on that! Lol One of the best meals ever as I remember!
I love it how enthusiastic you are about Finland and the Finnish food. I seriously think that our food really is weird to foreigners. I loved the liver casserole with raisins. So yeah, we have weird and creepy, but so delicious food!!! 😘🌏
Absolutely stunned me... i had couple of my friends from Poland visiting. You'r video nailed 100% accuracy what all we tried and pretty much the order! Even with the sushi part....
Hei, terveisiä Puolasta! :D What a coincidence. My Finnish friend and her husband are going to visit us in exactly 2 weeks, and we hopefully will visit them around June next year. Just can't wait! Have you ever been to Poland?
Dried, fried or smoked reindeer are a must for anyone visiting. Smoked, open fire or butter cooked pike is amazing fish to have too instead of the usual salmon from Norwegian fish farms.
We have Hesburger in Latvia too, condiments are exactly the same - and that's probably the best part of it. I'm never a fast-food or burger fan, but sure it beats McDonalds.
I would only go to a R-Kioski if everything else is closed. You can get snacks, baked goods, and drinks and anything you'd want at the larger supermarkets like S-Market, Prisma, or K-Market.
An interesting note on the tradition of these pies, the name Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pie) can only given to those pies traditionally made in the Karelia region, if they are made elsewhere then they must be called 'Riisipiirakka' (rice pie) the topping is a mashed boiled egg/butter mix which is spread on the warmed pie, wonderful.
Only karelian pies filled with rice are called "riisipiirakka", they can also have a potato filling which is called "perunapiirakka", but both are Karjalanpiirakka.
Mom made them also. Along with cinnamon rolls. So many cinnamon rolls! There were always cinnamon rolls for coffee. They were such a staple around the house, that as a kid, they weren't special, and even still, as an adult, they are many things I'd choose before them. On occasion, she'd make leipäjuusto (Bread cheese). It wasn't often as it took a lot of milk ( and time) to make. (at least we had our own milk cow) When she did, it was a treat! At Christmas it was always cardamon bread and "Prune stars"
The "little potatoes" you describe are actually new season potatoes that are taken out of the ground when they're small and cook fast, you must cook them like you would with boiledeggs by dropping them into boiling water. You wont get any of them if you come here at winter or fall or early spring as they are a summertime treat. And yes the skin just comes off that easy, even when they're uncooked if its early summer you can use a bucket and a stick to tumble them and the skin comes right off.
I love Finland. I've been there 3 times. It's a wonderful country. My favorite thing to eat are these little fried fish, I think they are called muuki or something like that. I eat them with the most amazing garlic mayonnaise. And I actually HATE mayonnaise but that Finnish one is absolutely delicious !
6:57 actually it's bilberry pie because we use the forest berries and those are called bilberries. We do call them blueberries but not many knows that blueberry grows on bush and bilberry grows on the ground, in finnish we just call them "forest blueberries" or "bush blueberries" so you can see where the information got mixed.
0:10 I'm was in that place before. When I started my vocational school 8 weeks ago, Ammattikoulun Spesiasta (Which isn't not that far away from where Viking Line & Silja Line cruise ships are.) It's also nice to see someone who is reviewing our food for this city.
A good friend lived in Imatra for about a decade. He would always rave about just how outstanding Finnish coffee is! Problem is trying to get that here in the US is absurdly expensive.
@@anderspaulsson It's best for both of us, Swedes and Finns, that there are subtle differences in the seemingly similar things we make. It means twice the amount of choices!
In Finland there are all kinds of soups, salmon soup is the version of fish soup with salmon, there are starchy soups like pea soup, but also other velvety soups with pasta, fruit soups, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, rosehip...... vegetable soups such as spinach soup. Rye bread exists in many forms and I love it, but it's not the only one, there is "Rieska", the traditional Sami bread, made with flour or potatoes, it's ideal for toast or sandwiches, it's a bit like a thicker corn tortilla, you can open it like a naan.
It's Salmon or trout in the restautants mostly because it's easy to get from fish farms/fisheries, but most common is pike or bass if you meet a fisherman... or maybe herring or whitefish.
3:26 I used to be good at peeling potatoes. Then I went to army and because we had just few minutes to eat, I learned to eat potatoes with their skins on and I've been doing that ever since. I also ate boiled eggs with the shells on in the army but I haven't done that after the army. Gives an idea about the haste to eat though.
Same here with the potatoes. We generally referred to eating as "refueling" because it was rare when you had time to do it in peace. Just inhale what's in front of you and be done with it.
@@herrakaarme I was in the best physical condition in my life when going to army. I lost about 20kg of muscle mass in 6 months. I can not describe how hungry I was. I'm about 19cm and I was 90kg when I went to army and 70kg when I got out. I ate everything I could there. If there were any leftovers from the meal that I could get, I ate those. I ate leftover butter with a spoon too to give an idea and once I ate 11 bananas when we got a lot of bananas for breakfast in the forest. We got to eat once a day in the forest.
I am German living in Canada! Salmon, salmon and more salmon, yes siree bob! Ryebread and mushrooms, bring it on! Greetings to 🇫🇮 the country I want to be, it's the country for me❤.
A woman I knew who was of Finnish descent used to make a casserole of Salmon, Pork and Potatoes. It was quite tasty, and I should have gotten the receipt from her at the time. It always struck me as an unusual combination that should not have been as good as it was. As it was a family dish, I don't know if it was common in Finland at all or was just from one specific area.
@@Gentlemanclub5 Jotenkin ajattelisin, että ulkomaalaisille suunnatussa suositteluvideossa lähtökohtana olisi ravintolatarjonta sen sijaan, että koitettaisiin päästä jonkun karjalaismummon kotiin syömään. Toisekseen, ehkä opit kuitenkin jotain.
Here's the thing about Nordic food: If you only order what's recognizable to you as an American, you're going to be disappointed. The Nordic countries aren't like going to Italy where you can get better versions of things you get at Olive Garden. There's not a lot of beef, pork, or chicken on the menu. If you make a point of trying things that are totally new to you, you're probably going to be happy. If you just order salmon the whole time because that's what's familiar to you, you're going to be bored. The Nordics are foodie paradise because there are tons of things you really don't see anywhere else, and the quality tends to be great. Order boar sausage. Order a moose burger. Order the toast with an assortment of foraged mushrooms you've never heard of before. Order the unusual looking bread. Have caviar with every meal. Have the local alcohols. Go to both the super traditional restaurants and the avant garde ones. You'll love it. If you just order salmon soup and cinnamon buns from mid-tier restaurants, yeah, it's going to be boring.
You pretty much nailed it. I think one additional thing to watch out for here in Finland is how delicate the seasoning on food is. If you're not used to the style, it might at first seem a bit bland. In particular, for an American palate, the sugar and nowadays even the salt and fat contents tend to be *vastly* lower, and apart from black pepper, the emphasis is more on herbs than the traditionally big, internationally traded spices. However, what's lost in seasoning can be gained in the variety and high quality of the raw materials. Especially the latter is something we truly excel at. Just as an example, around here you could in principle eat even chicken or eggs raw with very little risk, and all of it's going to be fully free of hormones, antibiotics and the like. Not just the stuff sold as being organic/luomu, but the whole shebang. So really, in Finnish cuisine you'll probably get the best value from the subtlety of high quality ingredients, and not so much heavy handed, haute cousine means of preparation and the complexity of flavour that comes with them. Perhaps the best example in this vein is the new potato crop we're so enamoured to, year on end: the spuds are just ridiculously delicious with just a dab of butter and a pinch of dillweed and salt. Absolutely no peeling required.
hint: if you want to check out salmiakki, the ones that look like regular liquorice you already know, they´re are the most nuanced ones. the ones that look like hard candy or seem to come with any form of powder on it - be it sugar or something else, those are the "wtf happened to my face? IT MELTS!" kind.
Turkish Peper candy is a pure Finnish invention. The name comes from old Finnish name of chilies, which was "Pepper from Turkey" - "Turkinpippuri". For some reason, the name of the candy is in Swedish. It is the other official language in Finland but it is still a bit odd.
Aaaand now I NEED to go back to Finland ... Last time the wife and I went to Helsinki (April, 2014), we tried different restaurants within the same chain. One was Sami, one was Finnish (From the good, old days when EVERYBODY was a lumberjack and was felling trees all day long! Had a ground beef made from bear! Nice one! ^^), and one had Russian cuisine. Really cool experience! :) And BTW ... I don't know if it's still in effect, but in Finland (at least it was in 2014!), those who make the food (Ranging food-plants to mom'n'pop cafés and fast food-joints) are not allowed to salt said food. There will be salt on tables at the restaurants, but chefs doesn't salt the food for you! A bit odd, when you get you fries at Mcd and no salt! ^^
There is salt in those foods but not much. We have real problems with heart and vascular diseases (many many of my relatives have died to those) and controlling the amount of salt you eat, helps with that. But as you observed, you are given the option to add more salt.
Well if you've only been to Helsinki then you haven't really been in Finland, just the crap infested gateway that has very little to do with actual Finland.
Of course, salt is added to food in all normal restaurants in Finland. Once upon a time there was however the so called "North-Carelia Project" in years 1972-1997 which was a campaign to decrease the use of salt and saturated fats in our food industry, restaurants and households and also, to decrease smoking cigarettes. In the eighties there was also added the goals of adding awareness of low-sugar and low-fat diets, of increasing consumption of vegetarian foods and adding more physical exercise and decreasing stress and obesity in people's lives. Much of this is still very much a living tradition in Finland, which is of course commercialized to great extent nowadays. Therefore, it's hip to have less salt in your fries and no sugar in your Coke.
im a fin and tbh not all of the food is the best theres lot of really good ones too but karjalan piirakat are prob everyones favorite and a personal favorite of mine
Soup is not a starter here in finland its a full meal with bread because the finnish climate is cold and soup is the best at getting you warm and is very cheap and efficient food.
I had luch at a restaurant in Finland, I asked them about foods that doesn't contain any of the things I'm allergic too. They responded with making me a special meal off the menu. It was really good. I don't get that in Sweden. If I'd ever move to Finland, it's only for the food.
Karjalanpiirakka, "Karelian pie" = Exactly what you described, from rye dough. Riisipiirakka, "rice pie" = Same thing but does not have as high percentage of rye in the dough, so it was decided that it can't be called with the same name. Try a "real" Karjalanpiirakka first, and if you feel like it's too bitter (shouldn't be, especially with boiled egg & butter mix), try a "riisipiirakka" instead, as they are milder. Especially kids might like those more.
I am familiar to all of these foods, although I dislike liquorice. For a really long time, Swedish Haparanda, with Finnish Tornio right across the border, was my home.
Just because you don't like black licorice doesn't mean other people don't I love it but I'm actually more excited about that fish meals you were showing me those look delicious
Thank you for bunmping up Hesburger, if you love mayo-filled burgers, Hesburger is your choise! Also, I think their burgermeat tastes better than Finnish McD.
Salmiakki is fantastic. As an American I always HATED black licorice. But licorice in Finland is on a WHOLE other level. It's atrocious in America. It's delicious in Finland. I hated it at first, then grew to love it. On all three of my visits to Finland, I ate Salmiakki ice cream everyday. I could not get enough of it. Also, ice cream in Finland is the best in the world. I know those are fighting words, but I swear, it is DIVINE. The flavors are unique, (cloudberry, pear, licorice) it's perfection. Finns are incredibly humble about all their creations and all things Finnish. They don't hype anything about themselves. They are culturally unable to self-promote. So, me the brash American is happy to help. Finnish food is fantastic, and Finland is absolutely wonderful.
Main reason for that is because we don't think we have anything special over here, most of us thinks it is like this everywhere. Throughout these kind of videos i have learned that this is not the case, let's take tap water for example, we grow up using very high quality water on everything, so we don't think twice about it. To us it is just regular tap water
Great. Thanks so much. I used to live in Helsinki and you bring back the nostalgia for me. I love the fish soup and the pea soup and of course the cinnamon buns. Question: how many cups of coffee did you have before doing the video? lol
I wouldn't say Hesburger is better than McDonald's, pretty much the same, what I would say is, Hesburger isn't fast food, the joint can be empty, it's still easily going to take them 20 minutes easily to fill your order, the only reason why I go to Hesburger is that my friend gets cravings for it, I myself hate going to Hesburger.
There are obviously plenty of differences, but overall, Finnish and Swedish cuisine are very similar. The fact that Finns have lingonberries and brown gravy with their meatballs says it all. I cannot think of anything more quintessentially Swedish. It is obviously not a coincidence as Finland was part of Sweden for 600-700 years, but still, it is quite surprising how similar the food is. If any Finn reads this, I would like to know if Finnish food is also heavy on salt. When foreigners come to Sweden they sometimes mention how salty the food is. Considering that the food conservation method that led to Swedes developing such a love of salt was also employed in Finland, I would imagine that that is the case. It would certainly explain why salmiakki* is so popular in both countries.
I never really noticed the food being "salty" per se, but now that I think about it I never felt obligated to put salt on anything. Not sure if that means anything though.
In locations that serve lunch buffet, one can save money by going with "keittolounas" (lit. soup lunch), which includes breads, sallads and soup, but no other warm foods - a cup of coffee is usually included in every form of lunch in finland. Gas stations on main highways and other locations where lot of blue collar people eat usually have this 2-tier buffet, where one can have either full lunch "lounas" (lit. lunch) which is everything at the table + coffee, or you can opt for the cheaper "keittolounas" (soup lunch). Soup lunch is in locations I usually visit between 7-10 euros and full lunch 10-14 euros, which is roughly the same in dollars on today's rate. Lunchtime depends on location, but usually between 11-14 every location that serves lunch buffet does so. Some have it available even untill 18 hundred hours. And you can always take a look and see what's available on lunch buffet locations, to see if it looks good and then decide if you'd prefer to order something from á la carte menu instead. (Many locations do this too while they're serving the buffet lunch, but not all.)
The Finnish army has had "pea soup and pancake" -Thursday since the 18th century. Raw chopped onion is served separately. Civilians can experience this dish at Amica restaurants 😆
My school serves pea soup and pancake on Wednesdays…
Dont forget the mustard
@@TommiJKeranen Absolute blasphemy
Pea soup is from the swedish time
You can get pea soup and pancake in every lunch buffet on thursdays
I like how excited you get over Finnish food. Even Finns don't get that excited about it!
Ah yes, the world known Finnish excitement. =P
Well when you eat a food regularly, it becomes less exciting
@@kekkoinen Haha true. But I also think we Finns notoriously undersell our food, thinking that nobody would be interested in it.
I'm gonna make sure I can try all those fantastic snacks like Finnish cinnamon when I visit Finland. Too bad, I can't any Finnish bakery and restaurant in my country.
I love Finland! Can't wait to visit it someday.
I visited Finland a long time ago, I was 12. I'm Italian and I tend to be a bit picky when it comes to food. I can tell you this: Finnish food is good, it's just fine. I never had to complain when I was there. Good people, even better food. Nothing but respect and affection for Finland and Finns.
I love it how enthusiastic you are about Finland and the Finnish food! I seriously think that our food really is weird to foreigners. I mean, since I was a child, I loved the liver casserole WITH raisins. So yeah, we have weird and creepy, but so delicious food!
I love this comment
Liver casserole is great. Definitely the best of the laatikko's at a christmas feast, except maybe for lanttulaatikko.
But the raisins are a crime against humanity.
@@chryssalidbait8765 Lanttulaatikko is heaven! And raisins are great! Though it´s really a battle :D I love raisins and my brother don´t. My poor parents had to be careful :D
Finnish food is actually incredible if people stop being close minded and try to learn a bit of their origins.
I am portuguese, we are hard snobs about out culinary and everyone here thinks our food is the best and all central, eastern and northern European cuisines are bad.
When I went to Finland on long holidays I was told awful things about your food. Well I actually tried about everything that's in this video and loved every single one. I even ate some delicacies (some fish bread and dried reindeer meat that I didn't dislike either).
Honestly, still to this day I remember this reindeer stew with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam I ate in Pyha (Lapland). It was honestly one of the best meals I had in my life and will always remember it.
Your food is fine and you are good people. I visited your country when I was 12 and most of my memories from it are very good ones. Respect and Love.
When Alko began to sell Salmiakki-Koskenkorva in the 1990s, they had to pull it from market, because so many teenagers ended up in the hospital having drunk dangerous amounts of it. In a Finnish mouth, it tastes like child's candy, so you don't realize how strong it is.
I remember that.
I make my own. Get whichever vodka you prefer and some of the hard double salt licorice coins. Pour out some vodka and let the candy soak for like three weeks. Strain out the bits and you are good to go.
i dont think anybody in finland actually likes to stop by R-kioski (it's a brand name derived from the words "railway kiosk"). their stuff is twice as expensive as anything from regular stores and half as good. like ive see meat mince pies(?) from regular milk stores that are just plain better. but alas, R-kioski are fast to get in and out of and usually attached to railway terminals here, so i believe the dang chain will stay in business for a long while.
the hot dogs are "great"
Actually, R-kioski is derived from "Rautakirja" = "Iron Book", the name of the original company
@Riskrunner Don't forget smokes and coffee.
R-Kioski have great deals. If you're buying for like a birthday party or something. But ironically. If you're buying one item for yourself "on the go" it's SO overpriced.
Better to find Lidl or S-market..
I can't tell you how tickled I am every time you speak so nicely about my home city :)
I loved living there
Long-range tickling - is there an app for that?
One great thing about living in Finland is if you are allergic to milk. Many of us are lactose intolerant, and that's why most places make their foods and drinks passively with lactose free milk. And if some of them don't, they usually have the option to if you request for it! I didn't appreciate this enough until I lived in the uk for 3 months. Eating or drinking anything outside was a struggle, and stomach pains were maaaaany 😂
Milk allergy and lactose-intolerance are actually not the same thing. Lactose is a sugar. People, who allergic to milk are allergic to milk proteins, which are there still even when you remove lactose. Usually, Finnish food is ok for people with lactose-intolerance, because it is so common, however, people with actual milk allergy should always ask as milk and dairy are often used in foods. Finnish restaurants usually try to accomodate allergies if it is possible and may substitute dairy milk with soy or oat products. Just ask.
Congratulations for your national holiday on 6th December Finland from your friends in Germany
its not national holiday xD
Small correction: paprikamajoneesi is bell pepper mayo. So it doesn't have any heat in it.
My friend in Finland Love the Dutch DropShot and Dutch cigars
Don't stress too much about your finnish pronouncing. It sounds very understandable and we do appreciate when travellers are trying to learn. ☺️
I'd like to hear, have you tried cabbage rolls (kaalikääryle)? They are one of my favorites, thi I'm not sure how traditional they are.
I have. They were worth ordering again. I remember that
Cabbage rolls have been eaten in Finland and Sweden for quite a long time. Originally, we got the inspiration from Turkey. They are delicious!
@@emmamemma4162 I tought maybe they came from Russia, would've never tought they are from Turkey. Thanks for the info!
@@Liir85 They're also a ''traditional'' dish in Poland - we call them ''gołąbki'' (literally ''tiny pigeons'') :)
@@Liir85 Yeah, IIRC the story goes that after the Swedish king got his ass handed to him at Poltava, he hung out at the Ottoman empire for a while before returning home, and brought the recepie with him.
you have to try the finnish classics: creamy salmon soup, karelian pies with eggbutter, karelian stew and korvapuusti(cinnamon buns) rye bread with coldsmoked salmon and rieskabread with toppings:mushroom salad or smoked salmon.and meatpies with sausage and cucumber relish, lov it!
punkkimies onpa hyvä nimi lmao
Now I'm drooling 🤤
Thank you so much for this video!!! I'm 17 and my life's ambition is to go live in Finland - Can't wait to try all of them!!! Suuri kiitos sulle!!😄
May i ask why? Im finnish and i wonder why would anybody want to move here😅
@@radiorakim oh vau, I certainly need a couple of hours to explain😂 To make a long story short I just love the country so much, I even think about getting citizenship (even though it automatically disqualifies the citizenship from my original country) Hyvä Suomi🇫🇮
I'm sorry if you got multiple notifications, something is stupid and my comment keeps getting deleted*
@@chaelipark I wouldn't want to live anywhere else than here in Finland.
@@lassipls No niin, sama mulle!!
@@chaelipark I hope you get to fulfill your dreams sooner than later.
Tervetuloa!
Thank you for mentioning the cinnamon rolls. I’m here now and considering buying the stores out to send home. Never had anything like it before. Ever.
Finland has been one of my favorite trips! Beautiful country and wonderful people! Amazing overall!
First time I've heard "makkaraperunat" being described as cut up french fries and hotdogs.
Not far off tho, I approve 👍
Not sure a better way to describe it. It was one of my favorite post bar snacks when I lived there (Mark)
wdym hotdogs its fries and sausage i call is nakkiranskalaiset i buy them when im at linnanmäki (amusement park)
@@HienoPaita "hot dog" can also refer to just the sausage or the "nakki". So calling makkaraperunat fries and hot dogs is accurate imo.
@@oskioskioski It is like buying frozen hamburger patties in Sweden, they call them hamburgers but there is no bread, just the patties.
Can't believe I got recommend this video while on the Tallinn-Helsinki ferry. Useful.
Have fun!!
@@WoltersWorldEats 😁 Suomi is always fun
I remember eatting Lihapirrakka at the train station in Helsinki - my favorite during my 2 weeks in Finland
Years ago when I was in high school, my mom and I took a trip to Europe and visited relative north of Helsinki. I remember for dinner on evening, the dad came home with a bunch of orange , can’t remember the variety, fresh caviar! That and local cloudberry liquor was dinner that night! Man, I want to town on that! Lol One of the best meals ever as I remember!
I love it how enthusiastic you are about Finland and the Finnish food. I seriously think that our food really is weird to foreigners. I loved the liver casserole with raisins. So yeah, we have weird and creepy, but so delicious food!!! 😘🌏
Oooh the blueberry cake!!! Had the best one in my life in Austria, it was like a pound cake with warm blueberry compote yummmmmm
Absolutely stunned me... i had couple of my friends from Poland visiting. You'r video nailed 100% accuracy what all we tried and pretty much the order! Even with the sushi part....
Hei, terveisiä Puolasta! :D What a coincidence. My Finnish friend and her husband are going to visit us in exactly 2 weeks, and we hopefully will visit them around June next year. Just can't wait!
Have you ever been to Poland?
Cool
Peeling your own potatoes is a thing you learn when you’re a child in Finland. It’s an essential skill
Peels, when not greenish and strychninish, are tasty! - a note to the Finnish. if you can cross that line.
The workday (mon-fri) lunch concept is a good budget tip.
Dried, fried or smoked reindeer are a must for anyone visiting. Smoked, open fire or butter cooked pike is amazing fish to have too instead of the usual salmon from Norwegian fish farms.
I’m going to Finland this summer of 2024. We are staying just north of Espoo. This video was really helpful!
hesburger paprika mayonnaise mentioned! finland gang represent!
It's heaven in a small packet 😀
We have Hesburger in Latvia too, condiments are exactly the same - and that's probably the best part of it. I'm never a fast-food or burger fan, but sure it beats McDonalds.
I loved the sausages and yogurt in Finland and holy crap, the korvapuusti...to die for. I also quite like salmiakki.
Yes thank you .Finaly someone (you) where positive ,and liked finnish food.Good video.Turku is my home .I❤Turku.😊
I would only go to a R-Kioski if everything else is closed. You can get snacks, baked goods, and drinks and anything you'd want at the larger supermarkets like S-Market, Prisma, or K-Market.
I can understand
An interesting note on the tradition of these pies, the name Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pie) can only given to those pies traditionally made in the Karelia region, if they are made elsewhere then they must be called 'Riisipiirakka' (rice pie) the topping is a mashed boiled egg/butter mix which is spread on the warmed pie, wonderful.
I was wondering about that. Thank you!
doesn’t everyone still call them “karjalanpiirakka”
Only karelian pies filled with rice are called "riisipiirakka", they can also have a potato filling which is called "perunapiirakka", but both are Karjalanpiirakka.
@@janiturunen4059 spot on and the best breakfast, i have cheese on perunapiirakka... Please don't judge me 😆
@@K-TheLetter they do indeed.
My Finnish grandma made those "pies". She called them "coffee cakes". Dang it! Now I want some (weeps bitter tears)
They're not easy to master, but well worth the trial, keep your heritage alive.
Mom made them also. Along with cinnamon rolls. So many cinnamon rolls! There were always cinnamon rolls for coffee. They were such a staple around the house, that as a kid, they weren't special, and even still, as an adult, they are many things I'd choose before them. On occasion, she'd make leipäjuusto (Bread cheese). It wasn't often as it took a lot of milk ( and time) to make. (at least we had our own milk cow) When she did, it was a treat! At Christmas it was always cardamon bread and "Prune stars"
The "little potatoes" you describe are actually new season potatoes that are taken out of the ground when they're small and cook fast, you must cook them like you would with boiledeggs by dropping them into boiling water. You wont get any of them if you come here at winter or fall or early spring as they are a summertime treat. And yes the skin just comes off that easy, even when they're uncooked if its early summer you can use a bucket and a stick to tumble them and the skin comes right off.
watching this today on 4th of October, national korvapuusti day!!! going to have coffee and a korvapuusti with a friend :) great video!!
Yeah!!
as an finn im so excited that your excited about finnish foods💙🤍
I love Finland. I've been there 3 times. It's a wonderful country. My favorite thing to eat are these little fried fish, I think they are called muuki or something like that. I eat them with the most amazing garlic mayonnaise. And I actually HATE mayonnaise but that Finnish one is absolutely delicious !
I believe you mean muikku (vendace in English).
@@ihanba yes yes ! That's it. Thanks :)
6:57 actually it's bilberry pie because we use the forest berries and those are called bilberries. We do call them blueberries but not many knows that blueberry grows on bush and bilberry grows on the ground, in finnish we just call them "forest blueberries" or "bush blueberries" so you can see where the information got mixed.
Great !
No tipping is such a good suggestion.
I feel so in touch with Finland now, deeply enjoyed every second of this, thank you warmly!!!
You are very welcome
That salmon soup looks absolutely delicious looks so very good I have to go to Finland someday just for that salmon
0:10 I'm was in that place before. When I started my vocational school 8 weeks ago, Ammattikoulun Spesiasta (Which isn't not that far away from where Viking Line & Silja Line cruise ships are.) It's also nice to see someone who is reviewing our food for this city.
Smoked herring and ryebread is wonderful
Finnish food looks delicious. Wanna try them. I'm from tropical Philippines, we don't get a taste of Finland here.
You sold me on the mushrooms. It's such a great keto snack
Reindeer is fantastic. Everyone should try it atleast once in their life. Its probably the best meat money can buy
It is good
A good friend lived in Imatra for about a decade. He would always rave about just how outstanding Finnish coffee is! Problem is trying to get that here in the US is absurdly expensive.
I feel the same way. I buy Lavazza and use a Bialetti for my coffee in the states.
as an finn im so happy about this video💙🤍
So many tasty treats!!!
Nothing against Finland, it's my neighbour country and i love them, but us swedes do a lot of these foods way better. 😉
Max is pretty good but hesburger still wins 😀
@@WoltersWorldEats i agree 😃👍
@@anderspaulsson It's best for both of us, Swedes and Finns, that there are subtle differences in the seemingly similar things we make. It means twice the amount of choices!
@@anderspaulsson noup.
Enjoy your cinnamon roll! I love the cinnamon rolls in Finland and Sweden.
I ate smoked reindeer when I was there. It was lovely.
In Finland there are all kinds of soups, salmon soup is the version of fish soup with salmon, there are starchy soups like pea soup, but also other velvety soups with pasta, fruit soups, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, rosehip...... vegetable soups such as spinach soup.
Rye bread exists in many forms and I love it, but it's not the only one, there is "Rieska", the traditional Sami bread, made with flour or potatoes, it's ideal for toast or sandwiches, it's a bit like a thicker corn tortilla, you can open it like a naan.
Another great video
It's Salmon or trout in the restautants mostly because it's easy to get from fish farms/fisheries, but most common is pike or bass if you meet a fisherman... or maybe herring or whitefish.
3:26 I used to be good at peeling potatoes. Then I went to army and because we had just few minutes to eat, I learned to eat potatoes with their skins on and I've been doing that ever since.
I also ate boiled eggs with the shells on in the army but I haven't done that after the army. Gives an idea about the haste to eat though.
Same here with the potatoes. We generally referred to eating as "refueling" because it was rare when you had time to do it in peace. Just inhale what's in front of you and be done with it.
Those army potatoes was something else ....... :D
You ate the eggshell? That's hardcore. I have never seen anyone do that, not even in the army.
@@herrakaarme I was in the best physical condition in my life when going to army. I lost about 20kg of muscle mass in 6 months. I can not describe how hungry I was.
I'm about 19cm and I was 90kg when I went to army and 70kg when I got out.
I ate everything I could there. If there were any leftovers from the meal that I could get, I ate those. I ate leftover butter with a spoon too to give an idea and once I ate 11 bananas when we got a lot of bananas for breakfast in the forest.
We got to eat once a day in the forest.
Great video, good work with the pronunciations.
I am German living in Canada! Salmon, salmon and more salmon, yes siree bob! Ryebread and mushrooms, bring it on! Greetings to 🇫🇮 the country I want to be, it's the country for me❤.
A woman I knew who was of Finnish descent used to make a casserole of Salmon, Pork and Potatoes. It was quite tasty, and I should have gotten the receipt from her at the time. It always struck me as an unusual combination that should not have been as good as it was. As it was a family dish, I don't know if it was common in Finland at all or was just from one specific area.
Salmon and pork together? Quite unusual.
"Karjalan paisti " is very good also !!
In most restaurants they just don't give a crap and it's dry as hell.
Also, it's karjalanpaisti.
@@Gentlemanclub5 Jotenkin ajattelisin, että ulkomaalaisille suunnatussa suositteluvideossa lähtökohtana olisi ravintolatarjonta sen sijaan, että koitettaisiin päästä jonkun karjalaismummon kotiin syömään. Toisekseen, ehkä opit kuitenkin jotain.
@@Gentlemanclub5 äidinkielenopettajaa*
Here's the thing about Nordic food: If you only order what's recognizable to you as an American, you're going to be disappointed. The Nordic countries aren't like going to Italy where you can get better versions of things you get at Olive Garden. There's not a lot of beef, pork, or chicken on the menu. If you make a point of trying things that are totally new to you, you're probably going to be happy. If you just order salmon the whole time because that's what's familiar to you, you're going to be bored.
The Nordics are foodie paradise because there are tons of things you really don't see anywhere else, and the quality tends to be great. Order boar sausage. Order a moose burger. Order the toast with an assortment of foraged mushrooms you've never heard of before. Order the unusual looking bread. Have caviar with every meal. Have the local alcohols. Go to both the super traditional restaurants and the avant garde ones. You'll love it. If you just order salmon soup and cinnamon buns from mid-tier restaurants, yeah, it's going to be boring.
❤ Finland from Indonesia
First time I have seen EATS...about TIME!.!...
We have quite a few! Hlad you're seeing them now 😉
Good video. And as a finnish this warms my heart to see how excited when explainin this :D❤️
Kiitos
You pretty much nailed it.
I think one additional thing to watch out for here in Finland is how delicate the seasoning on food is. If you're not used to the style, it might at first seem a bit bland. In particular, for an American palate, the sugar and nowadays even the salt and fat contents tend to be *vastly* lower, and apart from black pepper, the emphasis is more on herbs than the traditionally big, internationally traded spices.
However, what's lost in seasoning can be gained in the variety and high quality of the raw materials. Especially the latter is something we truly excel at. Just as an example, around here you could in principle eat even chicken or eggs raw with very little risk, and all of it's going to be fully free of hormones, antibiotics and the like. Not just the stuff sold as being organic/luomu, but the whole shebang.
So really, in Finnish cuisine you'll probably get the best value from the subtlety of high quality ingredients, and not so much heavy handed, haute cousine means of preparation and the complexity of flavour that comes with them. Perhaps the best example in this vein is the new potato crop we're so enamoured to, year on end: the spuds are just ridiculously delicious with just a dab of butter and a pinch of dillweed and salt. Absolutely no peeling required.
Omg yes! This is the video i needed 😋
i like your friendly explanations....😀
Thank you
Im from Finland,
And i like very much salmiakki
im from harjavalta, finland and now i live in pori, finland
The food alone is making me want to visit Finland lol
hint: if you want to check out salmiakki, the ones that look like regular liquorice you already know, they´re are the most nuanced ones. the ones that look like hard candy or seem to come with any form of powder on it - be it sugar or something else, those are the "wtf happened to my face? IT MELTS!" kind.
Reading this made me salivate.
@@jattikuukunen i´d fancy some SUPER! right now.
Thank you!!!!
👍👍👏👏😋😋😋great content to share !!!!
i hope to try in oneday im so excited hehe
Turkish Peper candy is a pure Finnish invention. The name comes from old Finnish name of chilies, which was "Pepper from Turkey" - "Turkinpippuri". For some reason, the name of the candy is in Swedish. It is the other official language in Finland but it is still a bit odd.
Love the energy!
Aaaand now I NEED to go back to Finland ...
Last time the wife and I went to Helsinki (April, 2014), we tried different restaurants within the same chain. One was Sami, one was Finnish (From the good, old days when EVERYBODY was a lumberjack and was felling trees all day long! Had a ground beef made from bear! Nice one! ^^), and one had Russian cuisine. Really cool experience! :)
And BTW ... I don't know if it's still in effect, but in Finland (at least it was in 2014!), those who make the food (Ranging food-plants to mom'n'pop cafés and fast food-joints) are not allowed to salt said food. There will be salt on tables at the restaurants, but chefs doesn't salt the food for you! A bit odd, when you get you fries at Mcd and no salt! ^^
There is salt in those foods but not much. We have real problems with heart and vascular diseases (many many of my relatives have died to those) and controlling the amount of salt you eat, helps with that.
But as you observed, you are given the option to add more salt.
Well if you've only been to Helsinki then you haven't really been in Finland, just the crap infested gateway that has very little to do with actual Finland.
Of course, salt is added to food in all normal restaurants in Finland. Once upon a time there was however the so called "North-Carelia Project" in years 1972-1997 which was a campaign to decrease the use of salt and saturated fats in our food industry, restaurants and households and also, to decrease smoking cigarettes. In the eighties there was also added the goals of adding awareness of low-sugar and low-fat diets, of increasing consumption of vegetarian foods and adding more physical exercise and decreasing stress and obesity in people's lives. Much of this is still very much a living tradition in Finland, which is of course commercialized to great extent nowadays. Therefore, it's hip to have less salt in your fries and no sugar in your Coke.
im a fin and tbh not all of the food is the best theres lot of really good ones too but karjalan piirakat are prob everyones favorite and a personal favorite of mine
I would like to try Finish food. I don't have a problem eating food from other countries. That means I am accepting of them when I can eat their food.
Soup is not a starter here in finland its a full meal with bread because the finnish climate is cold and soup is the best at getting you warm and is very cheap and efficient food.
I had luch at a restaurant in Finland, I asked them about foods that doesn't contain any of the things I'm allergic too. They responded with making me a special meal off the menu. It was really good. I don't get that in Sweden. If I'd ever move to Finland, it's only for the food.
That's awesome
🤤Mushrooms 🤤Licorice 🤤
Finland is on my travel wishlist. Any recommendations for must-visit places?
Karjalanpiirakka, "Karelian pie" = Exactly what you described, from rye dough.
Riisipiirakka, "rice pie" = Same thing but does not have as high percentage of rye in the dough, so it was decided that it can't be called with the same name.
Try a "real" Karjalanpiirakka first, and if you feel like it's too bitter (shouldn't be, especially with boiled egg & butter mix), try a "riisipiirakka" instead, as they are milder. Especially kids might like those more.
I am familiar to all of these foods, although I dislike liquorice. For a really long time, Swedish Haparanda, with Finnish Tornio right across the border, was my home.
Just because you don't like black licorice doesn't mean other people don't I love it but I'm actually more excited about that fish meals you were showing me those look delicious
Salmiakki ice cream is really good
Thank you for bunmping up Hesburger, if you love mayo-filled burgers, Hesburger is your choise! Also, I think their burgermeat tastes better than Finnish McD.
Reindeer is very good with mashed potatoes
I LOVE salmiakki❤😊
Liquorice or Salmiakki ice cream is the best you have to try it if you haven’t already
Liam's got some dance moves!
Yes he does!!
Nice one! I hope You enjoy Your stay!
Kiitos!
Salmiakki is fantastic. As an American I always HATED black licorice. But licorice in Finland is on a WHOLE other level. It's atrocious in America. It's delicious in Finland. I hated it at first, then grew to love it. On all three of my visits to Finland, I ate Salmiakki ice cream everyday. I could not get enough of it. Also, ice cream in Finland is the best in the world. I know those are fighting words, but I swear, it is DIVINE. The flavors are unique, (cloudberry, pear, licorice) it's perfection. Finns are incredibly humble about all their creations and all things Finnish. They don't hype anything about themselves. They are culturally unable to self-promote. So, me the brash American is happy to help. Finnish food is fantastic, and Finland is absolutely wonderful.
Main reason for that is because we don't think we have anything special over here, most of us thinks it is like this everywhere. Throughout these kind of videos i have learned that this is not the case, let's take tap water for example, we grow up using very high quality water on everything, so we don't think twice about it. To us it is just regular tap water
Clean water, fresh sweet air, delicious fish, yummy pastries, the BEST ice cream, you all have a lot to be proud of in your culture and cuisine.
@@maribelcosta5284 those are all good and i'm happy we have good stuff ofc. Looks like it just have to be someone foreign to point these out to us 😅
You left out pulla. It's delicious!
Great. Thanks so much. I used to live in Helsinki and you bring back the nostalgia for me. I love the fish soup and the pea soup and of course the cinnamon buns. Question: how many cups of coffee did you have before doing the video? lol
No coffee. Just cinnamon buns 😀
@@WoltersWorldEats You love Finland as much as me. Good!
I wouldn't say Hesburger is better than McDonald's, pretty much the same, what I would say is, Hesburger isn't fast food, the joint can be empty, it's still easily going to take them 20 minutes easily to fill your order, the only reason why I go to Hesburger is that my friend gets cravings for it, I myself hate going to Hesburger.
There are obviously plenty of differences, but overall, Finnish and Swedish cuisine are very similar. The fact that Finns have lingonberries and brown gravy with their meatballs says it all. I cannot think of anything more quintessentially Swedish. It is obviously not a coincidence as Finland was part of Sweden for 600-700 years, but still, it is quite surprising how similar the food is.
If any Finn reads this, I would like to know if Finnish food is also heavy on salt. When foreigners come to Sweden they sometimes mention how salty the food is. Considering that the food conservation method that led to Swedes developing such a love of salt was also employed in Finland, I would imagine that that is the case. It would certainly explain why salmiakki* is so popular in both countries.
I never really noticed the food being "salty" per se, but now that I think about it I never felt obligated to put salt on anything. Not sure if that means anything though.
In locations that serve lunch buffet, one can save money by going with "keittolounas" (lit. soup lunch), which includes breads, sallads and soup, but no other warm foods - a cup of coffee is usually included in every form of lunch in finland. Gas stations on main highways and other locations where lot of blue collar people eat usually have this 2-tier buffet, where one can have either full lunch "lounas" (lit. lunch) which is everything at the table + coffee, or you can opt for the cheaper "keittolounas" (soup lunch). Soup lunch is in locations I usually visit between 7-10 euros and full lunch 10-14 euros, which is roughly the same in dollars on today's rate. Lunchtime depends on location, but usually between 11-14 every location that serves lunch buffet does so. Some have it available even untill 18 hundred hours. And you can always take a look and see what's available on lunch buffet locations, to see if it looks good and then decide if you'd prefer to order something from á la carte menu instead. (Many locations do this too while they're serving the buffet lunch, but not all.)
Kiitos!
Reindeer is the bomb!
I would love to visit the land of my ancestors
It's a wonderful place. I loved living there