Yes, I haven't posted in over a month BUT I now have a lot to report, specifically on the Finnish diet/food. It's been almost 3 months here on exchange (which is CRAZY, it seems like just yesterday I was at the airport) so I'd like to say that I've experienced a lot of the most popular Finnish foods.
Salmiakki:
Let's get the most popular one out of the way!
For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about right now, just imagine black licorce. Doesn't sound too bad right? Now just add a bunch of salt and you've got salmiakki.
It comes in many different forms; hard candies, gummy candies, ice cream, gum, and much more. While I find it less than appealing, people really like it here. Of course not all Finns, but they're rare to find.
Here's some pictures of salmiakki treats that I've tried:
Turkisk Peber is by far the worst in my opinion, it's basically hot/spicy salmiakki and inside the hard candy there's a liquid that I don't even know how to describe, it's sweet but also sour?
(Little note, while I was editing this post I tried salmiakki chocolate and it was actually really good, it was one of those sweet and salty foods that worked! It's kinda like the equivalent of dipping curly fries in a milkshake (kate you know what's up))
Karjalanpiirakka
In English, this translates to Karelian Pie or the way to my heart. I LOVE this stuff. The crust is made of rye flour and the filling is made of rice porridge. You can top it with just butter or you can make a mixture of egg and butter (which is amazing). You can also just eat it plain which is what I usually do because they are already perfection without adding anything.
I actually made karjalanpiirakka with my host mom last Saturday and it was a whole day process but it was worth it! I actually really enjoyed rolling out the dough and creating the shape of the pie. Definitely something I will share with the USA when I get back.
Milk/Piimä
Milk is a really big part of the Finnish diet, people have it with every meal of the day and at first I was shocked at this. I had never really drank that much milk before in my life, simply because it was not something I was used to. I had maybe a glass with dinner but that's it. Since being here, the amount of milk I'm drinking has increased drastically, which I actually enjoy! I think the milk here is actually better than in the States, I'm not quite sure why but it has almost a cleaner taste?
Finns also might enjoy drinking a glass of Piima with dinner. My host mom offered it to me once, describing it as thick milk. I tried it and did not have a good reaction, it was pretty sour and it seemed to coat my throat.
Come to find out, it's straight buttermilk that they're drinking. I was shocked to learn that they were drinking plain buttermilk. That's so different than back home, in the US you would never catch someone drinking straight buttermilk, it just seems odd. (I think, if anyone in the US does and sees this let me know).
Chocolate!
I'm sorry Belgium but I am convinced now that Finland has the best chocolate. There's a really popular candy brand here called "Fazer" and they make amazing chocolate bars. They're not too sweet and not too bitter and they have tons of different flavors.
I haven't tried all of these but I can tell you that kismet, Tupla, Geisha and Dumle are 10/10. Kismet is a chocolate wafer, Tupla is chocolate with a nougat filling, Geisha is just a regular chocolate bar and Dumle is toffee.
The Bread:
My all time favorite bread here is the rye bread. A lot of the Americans reading this are probably really confused right now but rye bread or ruisleipä is actually a common household bread here and it's really good!
I think the most common way to eat rye bread is to put butter, cheese, some type of meat and cucumber on it, but people pretty much put on any type vegetable.
One time I tried putting honey on rye bread because to me, that seemed like a normal thing to do, but no, my host parents were very confused. Apparently, they don't put any sweet toppings on rye bread but hey, I can report that it was tasty so maybe I need to start an uprising of honey and ruisleipä.
Salad:
One of the big things I've noticed is that the Finns eat a lot more salad than us Americans do. Currently, I eat salad everyday with lunch and dinner. They put any fruit, vegetable or seed on it as well, meaning that I've eaten way more and way better salads than at home. Something else I've noticed is that Finns don't know what Ranch is. Ranch is apparently a very American thing and I just had no idea. Usually, my host family doesn't put a dressing on salad at all, they just coat it with a little balsamic vinegar or nothing at all.
One thing that I had no idea existed before coming here is beetroot salad. Before I knew what it was, I thought it was a sweet dessert because of it's bright purple color and creamy texture. However, that idea was quickly killed by my friend who informed me that it was actually made of beets. I have never been the biggest fan of beets but I'll have it known that I tried a little bit of it.
I think that beetroot salad will be one of those foods that I can say I've tried but never intend to do so again.
Sausage/Makkara!
To end this with a bang I'm sharing with you one of my favorite foods here, makkara! The sausage here is really good and it's basically the better version of an American hot dog.
During summer, it's usually grilled outside on a fire pit. Once it's finished cooking, you pick it up with a paper towel and eat it like that, no bun or anything. This still kind of confuses me because most Finns put mustard or ketchup on the sausage but there's not an efficient way to put the condiment on all at once. So if you put some on, there's a good chance you'll get it all over your hands. Unless you just keep putting a little on after you take a bite. BUT they're super tasty and worth the struggle. I would highly recommend it to any of those traveling to Finland.
There are still many Finnish foods I could share but I think that these are some of the most well known (Finns, if there are any blatantly obvious foods that I missed please let me know!)
That's all for now!
Emily Williams 🌍