FINNISH DISHES AND FOOD ITEMS Suomalaisia ruokalajeja ja elintarvikkeita Various regional dishes with dialectal names are omitted, unless they are known or consumed throughout Finland.	Abbreviations and symbols: (sg.) = singular (pl.) = plural lit. = literally Syn. = synonyms = link to illustration
You will find recipes for some of the dishes mentioned below on Nordic recipe archive.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Å | Ä | Ö

A
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
Ahvenanmaan pannukakku	Aland pancake, Åland pancake	A traditional speciality of the Swedish-speaking province of Åland Islands, a large oven-baked pancake made using leftover wheat semolina (manna) or rice porridge as a base for the batter. The cold porridge is heated and thinned out with milk, enriched with eggs, sugar and spices like cardamom, saffron or cinnamon, poured in a wide oven pan and baked. The pancake may be served, usually lukewarm, with whipped cream and fruit compote, jam, berries, etc. Syn. Finland Swedish: ålandspannkaka.
ahvenkukko	perch loaf	See kalakukko.
aladobi	meat, fish or vegetable aspic jelly	Cooked meat, fish or vegetables cut in small pieces and placed in a form together with stock prepared from meat, poultry or fish items rich in gelatine and chilled until solidified. In lack of these gelatinous items, powdered or sheet gelatine is added to the stock. Aspics made with pork and/or veal are most commonly consumed in Finland.
apposet	peas in the pod	Finnish summer dish of fresh field or garden pea pods boiled in salted water until tender. The pods are dipped in melted butter, placed whole in the mouth and the pulp and peas stripped off by pulling the pod between the teeth. See a recipe for Peas in the pod.
auringonsilmä	eye of the sun	A piquant, colourful dish of chopped pickled and raw vegetables (beetroot, onion, gherkins, capers, etc), chopped parsley, chive/green onion or spinach, grated horseradish and chopped Swedish anchovies served with whole raw egg yolks. The dish may be assembled by dispersing upturned egg cups on a serving plate and arranging the chopped ingredients in circles or other patterns around them. The egg cups are lifted up and raw egg yolks or egg yolks placed in eggshell halves are placed in the empty spots left behind. In addition, boiled potatoes, rye bread or crispbread may be served with the dish.
avokukko	open-faced fish loaf	Similar to kalakukko, avokukko is an oven-baked pie with a rye crust and fish filling of eastern Finnish origin. The filling (eg whole small vendace, powan, salmon, etc, pork fat slices, butter and salt) is piled on the centre of a thickly rolled-out dough disk and the edges folded over to partly cover the filling. After baking in hot oven, the pie is brushed with butter and wrapped in parchment paper, tea towel, foil, etc, for the crust to soften before eating. See kalakukko.
B
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
berliininmunkki	sugar-glazed jelly doughnut, lit. "Berlin doughnut"	Round sweet yeast dough fritter, usually filled with apple marmalade or raspberry or strawberry jam and glazed with pink sugar icing. See munkki.
blinit (pl.), blini (sg.)	blins (pl.), blin (sg.)	Russian savoury yeast dough pancakes served as appetizers. In Finland, these are usually eaten around Shrovetide. Syn. linnit (pl.), linni (sg.). See a recipe for Russian blins.
borštškeitto	borshch soup	Thick Russian beetroot soup served with smetana. Besides the beetroot, root vegetables and cabbage are used to make the soup. See a recipe for Borshch soup.
bostonkakku	Boston cake	Sweet yeast dough cake made with dough rolls stuffed with cinnamon and/or almond flavoured filling, placed snugly in a round cake pan and baked. See a recipe for Boston cake.
E
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
etikkakurkku	sweet-and-sour pickled gherkin, lit. "vinegar cucumber"	See maustekurkku.
etikkapunajuuri	pickled beetroot	Boiled beetroots preserved whole, cubed or sliced in vinegar-based marinade seasoned with sugar, salt and spices like cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, etc. Pickled beetroots may be served as a piquant accompaniment for meat, fish and vegetable dishes or used in various salads, see punajuurisalaatti, rosolli. Syn. säilykepunajuuri, säilötty punajuuri. See a recipe for Pickled beetroots.
etikkasilakka	vinegar-pickled Baltic herring	1. Uncooked preparation of raw herring or Baltic herring fillets pre-marinated in cold water, salt and spirit vinegar mixture, drained and layered in a dish with spices (onion, dill, peppercorns, chives, parsley, etc). The ingredients are topped with vinegar brine flavoured with salt and sugar and left to marinate for about 24 hours before eating. Syn. etikkasilli.
		2. See silakkarulla.
		3. See marinoitu silakkapihvi.
etikkasilli	vinegar herring	1. See etikkasilakka, point 1.
		2. See silakkarulla.
G
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
glögi	Scandinavian mulled wine, Swedish: glögg	Red wine, white wine or various fruit juices heated up with sugar and spices like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, Seville orange, etc. Basic hot glögi is served from tea glasses or mugs mixed with a few raisins and blanched almonds. Syn. hehkuviini. See recipes for Red Christmas glögg, White Christmas glögg or non-alcoholic Glögg.
graavikala	salt-cured raw fish, freshly salted fish	Fresh fillet of fish (salmon, rainbow trout, whitefish, etc) which is sprinkled with salt and sugar mixture and fresh dill or other herbs and spices, wrapped and left to cure for a few hours or up to 3 days. Salt-curing does not "cook" the fish but only seasons it, so it is consumed raw. Syn. kraavikala, graavattu kala, kraavattu kala, tuoresuolattu kala. See a recipe for Gravlax.
graavilohi	salt-cured raw salmon, Swedish: gravlax	See graavikala.
graavisiika	salt-cured raw powan	See graavikala.
grillattu kana, grillattu broileri	grilled chicken, grilled broiler	A whole roasted chicken or broiler, a traditional Sunday dish in the 1950s and 60s, especially among urban families. Nowadays ready-grilled broilers are widely available at the supermarket and grocery store grilled food counters, although in many lower-quality stores the broilers are sometimes too heavily salted and seasoned, usually to mask the inferior quality of the (frozen) meat used for the product. Syn. grillattu kananpoika, grillikana, grillibroileri.
grillimakkara	barbecue sausage	Sausage in natural casing, especially suitable for barbecuing/grilling. Regular barbecue sausages are mainly made with pork, but also a variety of other meats may be used, like chicken, reindeer, salmon, etc. Besides using various meats, the sausage meat may be flavoured with different spices, herbs, peppers, cheese, etc. Nowadays also vegetarian "sausages" are available for grilling. Barbecue sausages are popular "junk food" in Finland, especially in summertime when outdoor grilling is widely practised.
H
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
halstrattu silakka	gridiron-grilled or panfried Baltic herring	Very fresh whole, gutted and headless Baltic herrings lightly salted and either placed between a hinged gridiron and briefly grilled over charcoal grill or open fire, or quickly fried on both sides on a thin layer of salt in a very hot cast iron pan. Because of their blackened appearance, this type of Baltic herrings are called sotare in Swedish, meaning "chimney sweeper".
Hanna-tädin kakut	aunt Hannah's cakes	Small, light-coloured round cookies of crumbly, fine texture. See a recipe for Aunt Hannah's cakes.
hapankurkku	fermented pickled gherkin	Small garden cucumbers preserved using the natural lactic acid fermentation process, the same method used to produce sauerkraut. The pickling liquid consists of correct proportions of water and salt with the addition of spices, which usually include crown dill, horseradish, fresh blackcurrant leaves and oak tree and/or cherry tree leaves, but also bay leaf, tarragon, garlic, peppercorns, chilli pepper, mustard seeds, parsley, thyme, etc, may be added. Some recipes also add some sugar or whey to speed up the starting of fermentation process. The prepared cucumber jars are first kept in cool temperature (18 - 22 ° C) for a couple of days to initiate the fermentation process. The process is let to continue in cooler temperature (15 - 18 ° C) until the acidity of the cucumbers has reached the pH of 4,1 or below, after which they are transferred to further storage in cold (0 - 8 ° C). No sugar or vinegar is used in the brine. Fermented cucumbers have a delicate, freshly-sour flavour and a pleasant smell. A popular way to serve them is dipping them in honey and smetana. Authentic, traditional Russian pickled gherkins are prepared using this method, so fermented cucumbers are often simply called venäläiset suolakurkut (lit. Russian salted cucumbers) in Finland, though most Finns, somewhat inaccurately, associate the name with regular, salt and/or sugar and vinegar pickled, garlic-flavoured gherkins. See a recipe for Russian gherkins served with smetana and honey.
hapanpaisti	sour roast	Roast of beef, elk, reindeer or lamb/mutton marinated for several days, even weeks, in a sweet-and-sour brine, usually consisting of homemade beer (= kalja) or red wine, vinegar, a rather large quantity of sugar, onion, and spices like white pepper, allspice, bay leaf, juniper berries, etc. The roast is drained of the marinade, browned and placed in a deep lidded pot to cook, together with onion, root vegetables and a dash of water or the marinade. The strained cooking liquid is thickened with flour and cream and served as sauce for the roast.
Hasselbackan perunat	Hasselback potatoes	Partially thinly sliced, whole oven-roasted potatoes. Syn. Hasselbackin perunat. See a recipe for Hasselback potatoes.
hedelmäkakku	fruit cake	Usually a light-coloured, soft-textured sponge or pound cake with added dried and candied fruit. Finnish Christmas fruit cake usually contains spices, brown sugar or molasses and nuts in addition to fruit, resembling rich and dark English fruitcakes. See a recipe for Christmas fruit cake.
hedelmäkeitto	fruit soup	See kiisseli.
hedelmärahka	fruit quark	See jälkiruokarahka.
hedelmäsalaatti	fruit salad	While nowadays a Finnish fruit salad may consist of any fresh exotic fruit imported from around the globe, a classic, simple fruit salad served for dessert usually consists of bananas, apples, grapes, oranges and their juice. In addition, other fresh fruit and berries may be added, according to the season, as well as sugar, syrups and other seasonings or spices. As many fresh fruits are available almost all year round, the use of canned or frozen fruit in fruit salads has diminished. See a recipe for Finnish fruit salad.
herkkukurkku	sweet-and-sour pickled gherkin, lit. "delicacy cucumber"	See maustekurkku.
hernekeitto	pea soup, green pea soup	Traditional Finnish and Swedish Shrovetide dish, pea soup is a thick soup made with dried, soaked green peas, cooked with a piece of smoked pork shank, carrots, onions and spices. Previously a traditional Thursday dish, followed by a dessert of oven-baked pancake. Especially at Shrovetide, the soup may be served with a small glass of warmed Swedish punsch. Syn. hernesoppa, hernerokka. See a recipe for Green pea soup.
hernemuhennos	green pea puree	A stew of reconstituted dry peas simmered in water or stock until tender and partly mushy, flavoured with salt and butter and served to accompany meat dishes like sausages or pork, or fish dishes like lutefisk. Also fresh or frozen peas may be used to make the puree, giving it a different, fresher flavour. A pinch of sugar and a dash of cream may be added to the puree.
hiekkahentunen	shortbread tartlet	Small pastry case of shortcrust dough, topped and decorated with sweet filling, like whipped cream, custard, lemon curd, jam, fresh berries, fruit, chocolate, etc. Besides wheat flour, the dough is usually made partly with finely ground almonds or potato flour, making the texture of the tartlet very light, fine and crumbly, resembling fine sand (= hiekka).
hiekkakakku	pound cake, lit. "sand cake"	A type of pound cake made with butter, sugar and eggs, with all or part of wheat flour replaced with potato flour, giving it a moist and crumbly texture. The batter may be flavoured with cognac, vanilla, grated lemon zest, etc. The egg whites and yolks may be added separately to the batter, the whipped whites giving the cake extra lightness. Some recipes call this type of cake murokakku, although this name usually refers to a regular pound cake made with wheat flour only. See murokakku.
hiillostettu silakka	charcoal-grilled Baltic herring	Very fresh whole, gutted and headless Baltic herrings lightly salted and cooked between a hinged gridiron over charcoal grill or open fire. The fish may also be fried in a very hot cast iron pan, see halstrattu silakka. Because of their blackened, charcoal-coated appearance, this type of Baltic herrings are called sotare in Swedish, meaning "chimney sweeper". Syn. hiilisilakka. See halstrattu silakka.
hopeakakku	angel food cake, angel cake, lit. "silver cake"	Ethereal sponge cake made by using stiffly-beaten egg whites and omitting egg yolks, giving the cake a lighter texture and colour than that of a regular sponge cake. Butter and/or spices may be added to flavour the batter.
hopeatee	nursery tea, cambric tea, lit. "silver tea"	Beverage of hot water with added milk or cream, drunk as a tea substitute mainly by small children, the elderly or those wanting to avoid caffeine. Some sweetening, like sugar or honey, or a small dash of brewed tea may be added to flavour the drink.
huttu	porridge or gruel	A dialectal name for a savoury or sweet porridge (= puuro) or gruel (= velli) dish. See puuro and velli.
hölskytyskurkut	pickled cucumber slices, lit. "shaken cucumbers"	See tillikurkut.
I
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
imellytetty perunalaatikko	sweetened potato casserole	Sweet casserole dish made with pureed potatoes, traditionally served at Christmas. Syn. imelletty perunalaatikko, perunatuuvinki. See a recipe for Sweetened potato casserole.
inkoonpuuro	Inkoo porridge, Ingå porridge	Syn. perunapuuro, Finland Swedish: Ingågröt, potatisgröt. See perunapuuro.
J
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
Janssonin kiusaus, janssoninkiusaus	Jansson's casserole	Swedish-origin casserole dish (lit. "Mr Jansson's temptation", Swedish: Janssons frestelse) made with julienne-cut potatoes, onion, Swedish anchovies and cream. See kinkkukiusaus, lohikiusaus, sillikiusaus. See a recipe for Jansson's temptation.
jauhelihakastike	meat ragout	One of the favourite everyday dishes of the Finns, especially children, meat ragout is made by frying ground meat (usually beef), seasoning it with spices and binding it with stock, cream, etc. Simmered until thickened, the sauce may be served with boiled potatoes or, more often, pasta. When properly made with good ingredients, Finnish meat ragout is similar to any rich, flavourful Bolognese sauce or the like, but unfortunately most versions of it, especially those served in places like school and workplace cafeterias, hospitals, lunch restaurants, etc, are poorly made and quite inedible. See a recipe for Beef pasta sauce.
jauhelihakeitto	minced meat soup	See lihakeitto.
jauhelihapihvi	hamburger patty, ground meat patty	Meat patties formed from finely ground meat, usually bound with eggs, cream, bread or breadcrumbs, seasoned and fried in frying pan or baked in oven. Besides ground beef, veal or pork, hamburger patties may also be made with ground chicken, venison, fish and offal, like liver.
jauhemaksapihvi	liver hamburger, ground liver patty	Hamburger patty or pancake made with ground liver (beef, pork, etc) bound with ingredients like grated potatoes and eggs, seasoned and cooked in butter in a frying pan or a pancake pan. See a recipe for Liver hamburgers.
jauhopuuro	flour porridge	Porridge cooked with powdered instead of whole, crushed or flaked grain. See puuro.
jauhovelli	flour gruel	Gruel cooked with powdered instead of whole, crushed or flaked grain. See velli.
jouluhauki	Christmas pike	A whole pike poached or baked in oven is a traditional centrepiece dish at Christmas dinner among fisherman families of the Finnish southwestern archipelago. In the old times, pike was a highly esteemed fish, and also today, being at their biggest around Christmas time, whole large pikes make a grand, festive dish. The pike, ideally weighing around two to three kilograms, is gutted, preferably through the mouth to keep its form intact, poached or baked and served with a béchamel sauce seasoned with horseradish (and mixed with chopped hardboiled eggs and/or herbs, etc).
joulukinkku	Christmas ham	Oven-baked salt-cured ham, the traditional centrepiece dish of Finnish Christmas dinner.
joulutorttu	Christmas pastry	Pinwheel-shaped pastry or turnover of puff pastry or quark-butter dough filled with prune or apricot jam. These pastries are served traditionally at Christmas, accompanied by glögg, the Scandinavian mulled wine. Syn. tähtitorttu, luumutorttu. See a recipe for Star-shaped Christmas pastries.
juustoleipä	Finnish oven cheese	Traditional Finnish unripened cheese pressed into a flat disk and broiled over open fire. Syn. leipäjuusto. Read more about oven cheese here.
jälkiruokarahka	dessert quark	Simple mousse-like dessert made by flavouring soft quark with fresh fruits (marjarahka) or berries (hedelmärahka). These may be chopped, pureed or mashed, and soft berries may also be added whole. The mixture is usually sweetened with sugar (and vanilla sugar) and enriched by folding in whipped cream, which gives the dish a fuller, softer and less acidic taste and a lighter texture. Depending on the fruit type used, also other spices may be added, like cinnamon to prune-flavoured quark. Instead of fresh fruit, canned or reconstituted dried fruit, jams, marmalades and compotes may be used to flavour the quark. Popular fruit and berries used include raspberries, strawberries, bilberries, cloudberries, lingonberries, cranberries, blackcurrants, peaches, prunes, apricots, pineapple, mango, bananas, apples, pears, kiwi and citrus fruits, among others. Also ingredients like nuts, chocolate, coffee, cream toffee, etc, are often used. Flavoured quarks may also be used to fill and top layer cakes, jelly rolls, pies, cheesecakes, etc. See a recipe for Fruit quark.
K
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
kaalikeitto	cabbage soup	Clear, thick and flavourful Russian-origin soup made with white cabbage, root vegetables, stock and spices. Instead of fresh cabbage, also sauerkraut may be used to make the soup. See a recipe for Cabbage soup.
kaalikääryle	stuffed cabbage roll	Cabbage leaves rolled around stuffing (usually ground meat, rice, cream, eggs and spices), glazed with molasses and melted butter and baked in oven. See a recipe for Stuffed cabbage rolls.
kaalilaatikko	cabbage casserole	Casserole dish made with chopped white cabbage stewed in butter, fried ground meat and cooked rice, seasoned with dark molasses and other spices and simmered in oven until sweet and succulent. Also onion and carrot may be added to the stew to flavour it. Boiled rice may be replaced with rice porridge, and milk and/or cream may also be added to the dish. The casserole is traditionally served with lingonberry jam or sugared lingonberries. See a recipe for Cabbage casserole.
kaalipiirakka	cabbage pie	Traditionally, a large rectangular flat pie with thin top and bottom crusts of yeast dough or puff pastry. The pie is generously filled with finely chopped white cabbage sautéed in butter and baked in oven in a large baking pan. Sautéed onion, hard-boiled chopped eggs or other ingredients may be added to the cabbage filling. Also sauerkraut may be used as filling in kaalipiirakka.
kalakeitto	fish soup	Typical Finnish fish soup can be made with various fish, most commonly salmon, perch, pike-perch, trout, burbot, whitefish, etc, vegetables, spices, herbs and fish stock. The soup can be clear or mixed or enriched with milk or cream. See lohikeitto, madekeitto. See a recipe for Finnish fish soup.
kalakukko	fish loaf, lit. "fish-rooster"	Traditional loaf-shaped fish and pork pie of the Savo region in eastern Finland. The filling consists of layers of fish and pork fat, which are wrapped inside a smooth rye crust and slowly baked in oven. The dome-shaped pie is eaten by cutting out pieces of the crust, topping them with the succulent filling. Kalakukko can be filled with whole small fish (vendace) or fish fillets (eg vendace, perch, rainbow trout) or vegetables (eg rutabaga), alternating them with layers of pork fat and salt. Patakukko is another version of kukko where the filling ingredients are layered in a deep pot or oven pan, covered with dough crust and baked. See kukko.
kalakääryle	fish roulade, fish roll	Rolled-up fillet of fish simmered in stock and/or cream. Small fillets or pieces of perch, burbot, pike, powan, salmon, trout or Baltic herring are usually used to make fish rolls. Before rolling up, the fillets are seasoned with spices and herbs or topped with some type of stuffing (eg flavoured butter or cream cheese, fish mousse, cod roe paste, shrimps, vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, onion, carrot, etc). The rolls may be fastened with toothpicks and placed in a skillet or oven pan, covered with fish or vegetable stock or cream and simmered on stovetop or in oven. Some types of fish rolls are cooked in vinegar-seasoned liquid, see silakkarulla. A slice of white and red fish may be rolled together to produce a two-colour roll. Instead of simmering, some types of fish rolls may be fried in butter in a skillet. Syn. kalarulla.
kalalautanen	fish platter	See sillilautanen.
kalamureke	fish pâté	Usually a very smooth-textured pâté-type of dish made with finely ground fish bound with cream, eggs or egg whites, butter, etc. The chilled ingredients are mixed together in a food mixer or blender to produce a light mousse, which is poured in a loaf pan, pâté dish or some other mould and gently baked in oven, often in a bain-marie. The fish mixture may be seasoned or decorated with a multitude of ingredients, like chopped herbs, vegetables, shrimps, smoked salmon slices, etc. The ingredients may be layered in the dish to produce an attractive pattern when the pâté is sliced, small whole fish fillets may be added to vary the texture, or a striped pâté may be assembled layering mixtures of white and red fish in the mould. Fish pâtés may be served warm or chilled, as an hors d'œuvre or main dish, or a part of fish platter. Syn. kalaterriini.
kalasalaatti	fish salad	A salad usually made with flaked or sliced poached or hot- or cold-smoked fish (salmon, powan, eel, Baltic herring, etc), lettuce and various other ingredients, like tomatoes, cucumber, hard-boiled eggs, shrimps, dill, green onion, apple, capers and/or various other fresh or pickled vegetables. Clear or creamy, oil, mayonnaise or sour cream based dressings may be served with fish salads.
kalja	traditional Finnish (homemade) beer	See kotikalja.
kantarellikeitto	chanterelle soup	Usually a creamy soup made with yellow chanterelles. The chopped mushrooms (and some chopped onion) are braised in butter, then cooked in stock until tender and flavourful. A bit of flour may be added to thicken the soup. Finally, some cream is added to the soup. Similar soup is made of funnel chanterelles, see suppilovahverokeitto. See a recipe for creamy Chanterelle soup.
kantarellimuhennos	chanterelle ragout	Chopped yellow chanterelles braised in butter, seasoned and slowly stewed in cream (and sometimes stock) until soft. In addition, chopped onion may be added to the mushrooms. Because of their harder texture, chanterelles need to be simmered longer than eg ceps. Chanterelle ragout may be served plain, perhaps with freshly boiled new potatoes, or on side of many meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Syn. kantarellikastike. See a recipe for Chanterelle ragout.
karjalanpaisti	Karelian stew, Karelian hot pot	Traditional meat casserole dish of the Karelia region in southeastern Finland. In its simplest form, this delicious dish is made with only two to three different types of meats (beef, pork and/or lamb), salt and water. In addition, variety meats (liver, kidneys, heart), spices (pepper, allspice, bay leaf), onions and root vegetables (carrot, rutabaga) are often added to the stew. See a recipe for Karelian stew.
karjalanpiirakka	Karelian pasty	Traditional small pasty of the Karelia region in southeastern Finland. The pasties have a very thin rye crust filled with creamy rice porridge or potato puree filling. Other cereals or vegetables may also be used to make the filling. See recipes for Karelian rice pasties, potato pasties or carrot pasties.
kartanopaisti	manor house roast	See linnapaisti.
kasvissosekeitto	pureed vegetable soup, cream of vegetable soup	Rich, usually thickish, pureed soup made with stock, herbs and/or spices and one or several types of vegetables, most often potato, carrot, cauliflower, tomato, spinach, peas, onion, leek, broccoli, mushrooms, lentils, beans, etc. The soup may be enriched with cream, cream cheese, processed cheese, milk, etc, or further thickened with flour. Syn. vihannessosekeitto. See recipes for Leek, potato and broccoli soup, Roasted pumpkin and bacon soup, Roasted tomato soup and Spinach soup.
kaurakeksi	oat biscuit	Thin sweet cookie made with rolled oats, sugar, butter and flour. See a recipe for Oat biscuits.
kaurapuuro	oat porridge	Porridge made with whole oat grains, oat grits or (most frequently) rolled oats and water or milk. See a recipe for Oat porridge with berries.
keitetty kieli	boiled tongue	Whole tongue of beef, veal, pork, reindeer, etc, simmered slowly in seasoned broth until thoroughly soft and skinned while still hot. The tongue is served sliced either hot or cold, usually accompanied by a piquant stock, (whipped) cream or mayonnaise based sauce seasoned with ingredients like horseradish, etc. Delicious cold, thinly sliced tongue is a popular charcuterie item in Finland.
keitetyt perunat	boiled potatoes	After its introduction to Finland in the mid-18th century, potato soon replaced the turnip as an important ingredient of daily meals. Peeled or unpeeled old winter potatoes are boiled in salted water until tender and served (usually with butter) to accompany numerous meat or fish dishes. An old, simple dish was to serve boiled potatoes with brown sauce, once a staple food in poorer, agrarian societies. Although potatoes are one of the most important basic ingredient in Finnish cuisine, they are never served on the same plate with another starchy ingredient, like pasta, rice, couscous or other cereals, nor together with other potato preparations (like mash with chips/French fries, potato gratin with boiled potatoes, etc), a common oddity practised in other potato-eating countries like Ireland and Britain. New potatoes are an early-summer delicacy in Finland, see uudet perunat.
keitetyt ravut	boiled crayfish	Fresh crayfish briefly boiled in water seasoned with salt and crown dill, a great (and expensive!) delicacy of the Nordic cuisine. The crayfish are left to cool in the strained cooking liquid, absorbing the flavour of salt and the wonderful aroma of dill. The crayfish are shelled and eaten with the hands, their tail and claw meat usually piled on freshly toasted, buttered bread topped with fresh dill. During the month of August, traditional crayfish parties are commonly arranged in Finland and Sweden. See a recipe for Boiled crayfish.
keksikakku	refrigerator cake	See Rex-kakku.
kermakakku	cream layer cake	Sponge cake cut in layers and filled with whipped cream and fruits, berries or some other flavouring ingredient. This festive cake is usually garnished with whipped cream as well.
kermaviili	Finnish curd cream	Traditional Finnish and Swedish cultured milk product made by curdling half cream with special starter bacteria. Kermaviili has a thick, smooth consistency and a mild, fresh flavour. Kermaviili may be eaten for breakfast or as a snack or dessert, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, with fruit and berries or a multitude of other toppings. It is also widely used in cooking to make cold savoury or sweet sauces and dips or added as a binding ingredient to sweet or savoury pie fillings, hamburger mixes, etc. See viili. See a recipe for homemade Kermaviili.
kesäkeitto	summer vegetable soup, lit. "summer soup"	Summertime soup made with fresh, young carrots, green peas, cauliflower and new potatoes. Milk is usually added to the stock. See a recipe for Summer vegetable soup.
kesäkurkut	pickled cucumber slices, lit. "summer cucumbers"	See tillikurkut.
kiisseli	fruit soup, Russian: kisel	Various fruit soups made with fresh, frozen or dried fruits or berries. The fruit (reconstituted, if dried) are cooked with water or juice and sugar and thickened with potato flour, if required. Some fresh, soft fruit or berries may be added to the cooked soup. The plainest, but also least appetizing, fruit soups are made with just thickening some fruit or berry juice with starch. The soups may be served warm or chilled, either plain or with milk, cream, whipped cream, ice cream, etc. Fruit soup made with mixed dried fruit (eg prunes, apricots, apples, pears, raisins) flavoured with cinnamon, cloves, etc and served with whipped cream or Christmas rice porridge is an old, traditional Finnish Christmas dessert. Also some milk and/or cream-based cooked, thin custard-like desserts flavoured with vanilla, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramelized sugar, etc, are called kiisseli. Besides whipped cream, these may be served with jams or fresh fruit or berries. Syn. hedelmäkeitto, sekahedelmäkeitto/kiisseli (= mixed fruit soup/kisel), marjakeitto/kiisseli (= berry soup/kisel), mehukeitto/kiisseli (= fruit juice soup/kisel), etc. See luumukiisseli, mustikkakeitto, rusinakeitto, ruusunmarjakeitto. See a recipe for Cranberry soup.
kinkkukiusaus	smoked ham and potato casserole, lit. "ham temptation"	Baked casserole dish similar to the Swedish Jansson's temptation, made with julienne-cut potatoes, onion, smoked ham and cream. See Janssonin kiusaus.
kinuski	tianuchka	See tšinuski.
kinuskikakku	tianuchka cake	See tšinuskikakku.
kirjolohenmäti	rainbow trout roe	See mäti.
kola	cream toffee candy	Soft cream toffee candy of Swedish origin, kola is made by cooking together cream and/or milk, sugar and/or light or dark molasses, glucose, etc. The candy mixture can be flavoured in a number of ways and is poured to set in a pan, tray or simply a sheet of parchment paper before being cut in pieces. Kola candies can be soft, similar to fudge, or chewy. Syn. kermakola, kermakaramelli, kolakaramelli.
korppu	rusk	Small, oblong or round cookies that are slowly dried in oven until crisp. Also slices of cakes and sweet yeast breads can be dried into rusks. Rusks can be savoury or sweet. See a recipe for Honey rusks.
korvapuusti	cinnamon roll	Butter, cinnamon and sugar filled sweet yeast dough pastry. See a recipe for Cinnamon rolls.
korvasienikeitto	false morel soup	Clear or creamy soup made with the deadly toxic false morel mushrooms. After being boiled twice to render them safe(r), the chopped mushrooms (and some chopped onion) are braised in butter and then cooked in stock until tender and flavourful. A bit of flour may be added to thicken the soup, and some cream for a creamy soup. Important information about Finnish false morels: Read about the Finnish false morel fungi and their consumption here, and see information about processing them correctly here.
korvasienimuhennos	false morel ragout	Creamy stew made with the deadly toxic false morel mushrooms. After being boiled twice to render them safe(r), the chopped mushrooms are braised in butter, seasoned and stewed in cream (and sometimes stock) until soft and thickened. In addition, chopped onion may be added to the mushrooms. False morel ragout may be served plain, perhaps with freshly boiled new potatoes, or on side of many meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Syn. korvasienikastike. Important information about Finnish false morels: Read about the Finnish false morel fungi and their consumption here, and see information about processing them correctly here.
kotikalja	homemade beer	Traditional, low-alcohol beer made with rye flour, rye malt, sugar, water and fresh yeast, using very simple technique. The beer is usually sweet, but not sugary, with a light to dark brown colour. In the old times, every rural household used to brew their own beer, especially around Christmas time. Although nowadays ready-made kotikalja is available in most stores, many people like to "brew" their own beer, either using store-bought starter kits involving nothing more than stirring the ingredients together, or more complex techniques, being closer to traditional brewing. The former method produces rather flat-tasting, uninteresting beer lacking the depth in flavour, while the latter gives a mellower, fuller-tasting beer, the flavour and consistency of which varies according to each brewer's recipe and brewing technique used. Modern Finnish homemade beer typically contains extremely low amount, if any, of alcohol, being suitable also for children to drink. Syn. kalja. See a recipe for Christmas beer.
kruska	kruska	Grainy porridge or muesli-like dish rich in fibre, made by cooking and slowly simmering crushed oat or barley grains, wheat bran, soaked raisins or dried figs and water in oven or vacuum flask. The porridge is served with milk and berries or fruit or berry puree. Kruska (from the Italian word for "bran", crusca) was introduced as a health-food in the 1930s by the Finnish-born writer and nutritionist Are Waerland (1876-1955), a pioneer in promoting healthy lifestyle and lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.
kuivakakku	sponge or pound cake, lit. "dry cake"	In general, the term kuivakakku refers to any type of sponge or pound cake, distinguishing it from the more elaborate and festive cakes, like the moist, filled and decorated layer cakes. Kuivakakku can be flavoured with various spices, cocoa powder, chocolate, fruit, nuts, etc. See recipes for Basic sponge cake, Currant cake, Date cake, Gingerbread cake and Walnut cake.
kukko	filled loaf or pie, lit. "rooster"	Thin-crusted rye or sourdough loaf, pie or pasty, the best known types of which are filled with raw fish and fatty pork or root vegetables and slowly baked in oven until succulent. Other versions of kukko include rye crust pies filled with bilberries (= mustikkakukko) or lingonberries (= puolukkakukko), among others. See avokukko, kalakukko.
kulitš	kulich	Tall and cylindrical, rich sweet yeast bread of Russian Orthodox origin. Kulich is usually flavoured with vanilla and/or saffron. Chopped nuts or candied fruit may be added to the dough. Kulich is served horizontally sliced, spread with paskha. Syn. kulitsa. See a recipe for Kulich.
kuningatarhillo	raspberry and bilberry jam, lit. "queen's jam"	Jam made with a mixture of raspberries and bilberries. See a recipe for Queen's jam.
kurkkusalaatti	cucumber relish	Pickle of coarsely grated (garden) cucumbers, onion, red bell pepper, dill and spices cooked in or mixed with hot brine of water, spirit vinegar, salt and sugar. Besides served as a piquant accompaniment to many meat and fish dishes, cucumber relish is mostly served as a condiment to hotdogs, hamburgers, grilled sausages or other "junk food". Syn. kurkkurelišši, kurkkurelissi, kurkkupikkelssi. Sinappikurkkusalaatti is cucumber relish flavoured with mustard powder.
kurpitsasalaatti	pumpkin pickles	Sweet-and-sour pickle of cubed pumpkin cooked in hot brine of water, spirit vinegar, salt, sugar and spices like cloves, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, or the like. Pumpkin relish is usually served as a piquant accompaniment to meat, fish and vegetable dishes, or it can be mixed (drained and chopped) in various sauces, sandwich fillings or dips as a tangy flavouring ingredient. Syn. kurpitsarelišši, kurpitsarelissi, kurpitsapikkelssi. See a recipe for Pumpkin pickles.
kääretorttu	jelly roll, Swiss roll	Sponge cake roll filled with jam, fruit, whipped cream, custard, ganache or various other sweet fillings.
köyhät ritarit	French toast, lit. "poor knights"	Sweet dessert of slices of stale white bread dipped in milk and egg mixture and slowly browned in butter. "Poor knights" become "rich knights" (= rikkaat ritarit) if served with whipped cream and jam. See a recipe for Poor knights.
L
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
laatikko(ruoka)	casserole (dish)	General term for many Finnish dishes in which the cooking ingredients are poured or layered in a deep casserole dish, often bound with liquid like stock, cream, milk and eggs, etc, and baked in oven. The ingredients used may include a mixture of vegetables, fish, seafood, meat, potatoes, pasta, rice, etc. See imellytetty perunalaatikko, Janssonin kiusaus, kaalilaatikko, kinkkukiusaus, lanttulaatikko, lohikiusaus, lohilaatikko, makaronilaatikko, maksalaatikko, porkkanalaatikko, silakkalaatikko, sillikiusaus.
lammaskaali	mutton and cabbage stew	Pieces of fresh or browned mutton or lamb and cabbage layered in a pot, moistened with water and simmered gently and slowly until done. The stew is seasoned with salt and allspice, sometimes also with dark molasses.
lanttukukko	rutabaga loaf, swede loaf	See kalakukko.
lanttulaatikko	rutabaga casserole	This traditional Finnish Christmas dish is made with boiled, pureed rutabaga mixed with cream, eggs, molasses and spices and baked in oven. See a recipe for Rutabaga casserole.
laskiaispulla	Shrove bun	Swedish sweet yeast dough bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream traditionally served at Shrovetide. Nowadays also strawberry jam is used instead of the authentic almond paste filling. See a recipe for Shrove buns.
leipä	bread	Since ancient times, bread and other grain products have been the staple food for Finns. Finnish bread culture is extremely rich. There are thousands of different bread varieties available in Finland, made with a variety of flours, grains, cereals and seeds. Listing them all in here would be impossible. Perhaps the most characteristic bread products of Finland are the various dark rye breads. Finnish main bread types: 1. ruisleivät  —  rye breads 2. vehnäruokaleivät  —  savoury wheat breads 3. sekaleivät  —  mixed grain breads 4. näkkileivät ja hapankorput  —  crispbreads and rye sourdough rusks Some Finnish breads: hapankorppu = thin rye sourdough crispbread hapanimelä leipä = sweet-and-sour malt bread hapanleipä, hapatettu ruisleipä, hapanlimppu = sour rye bread, sourdough rye bread (leavened using lactic acid fermentation method) hiivaleipä = dark wheat flour or mixed grain bread jälkiuunileipä = dense, dark rye bread baked slowly in residual oven heat korppu = rusk, see korppu kukko = thin-crusted filled loaf or pie, see kukko mallasleipä, mallaslimppu = rye malt bread maustelimppu = rye bread flavoured with gingerbread spices mustaleipä = blackbread, see mustaleipä näkkileipä = crispbread ohrarieska, ohraleipä = barley flatbread ohutleipä = crisp flatbread perunalimppu = potato rye bread perunarieska = potato flatbread pettuleipä = pine bark/phloem bread (famine bread) piimäleipä, piimälimppu = buttermilk rye bread piirakka = pie or pasty, see piirakka pulla = cardamom-flavoured sweet wheat bread, see pulla reikäleipä = ring-shaped flat, dark rye bread rieska = 1. soft flatbread, see rieska 2. leavened mixed grain loaf rievä = mixed grain loaf (mostly barley) ruisleipä = rye bread saaristolaisleipä = archipelago bread, islander bread, see saaristolaisleipä sekaleipä = mixed grain bread setsuuri = sweet-and-sour mixed grain bread flavoured with caraway silakkaleipä = Baltic herring-filled bread varilimppu = sweet-and-sour rye loaf vehnäleipä = wheat bread verileipä = blood bread, rye and barley bread with blood vierreleipä = wort bread See avokukko, kalakukko, kulitš, rinkeli, sarvi. Read more about the various flour and cereal types used in Finland: Flours, starches and breadcrumbs and Cereals and grains.
leipäjuusto	Finnish oven cheese	See juustoleipä.
lenkkimakkara	ring bologna, ringwurst	A popular sausage type in Finland, ring bologna is most often a rather large-sized and thick, unsmoked, cooked sausage with a very smooth texture and a mild flavour. The sausage is usually sold as two curved sausages attached together at both ends forming a round or oval ring-shape. The sausage may be eaten cold as it is, or sliced on an open sandwich, or, more frequently, sliced and fried in a skillet, or baked whole in the oven or placed foil-wrapped or inside a foil pouch on the hot stones of the stove of Finnish sauna, thus being called kiuaslenkki [= "sauna stove ring (sausage)"]. If baked in oven, the sausage is often cut with crosswise slits which are filled with slices of cheese, etc, see uunimakkara. Enjoying barbecued or baked sausage with cold beer after bathing in sauna is a popular custom among many Finns, having given rise to food terms like saunalenkki [= "sauna ring (sausage)"], and saunaolut or saunakalja (= "sauna beer"). A brand called HK:n Sininen (= "H.K.'s Blue") is one of the most popular ring bolognas in Finland. The letters H.K. stand for Helsingin Kauppiaat Oy, a small Helsinki-based meat wholesaler established in 1949, which started the production of this sausage in 1963. The sausage casing had a blue-coloured quality stamp printed on it, by which colour the merchants and consumers soon started to refer to the sausage. Helsingin Kauppiaat also produced a higher-quality ring bologna with red-coloured quality stamp, which in term was dubbed as HK:n Punainen (= "H.K.'s Red"), but as the lower-quality and cheaper "Blue" became more popular among the majority of Finnish consumers, the production of "Red" was unfortunately soon discontinued.
lettu	crêpe, pancake	See ohukainen.
lihakeitto	meat soup	Clear soup made with cooking meat (usually beef or mutton chuck, shoulder, etc), root vegetables, onion, leek, spices and herbs in stock, traditionally seasoned with allspice. After cooking, the meat is stripped from the bone and added to the clear stock together with the cooked, cubed vegetables. A cheaper, quicker and less palatable version is sometimes made with ground beef, called jauhelihakeitto, lit. "minced meat soup", or with sausage, see makkarakeitto.
lihakääryle	meat roulade, meat roll	A stuffed roll of thinly pounded slice of meat. Usually topside/inside roast of beef or veal is used for the rolls. The pounded meat slices are seasoned, spread with stuffing, rolled up and fastened with a toothpick or a piece of cooking twine, quickly browned and slowly braised in a dash of water, stock and/or cream until tender. The stuffing may consist of bacon, pork fat, prunes, mustard, Swedish anchovies, chopped onion, herbs, etc. The cooking liquid is thickened with flour and cream, seasoned and served as sauce for the roulades. Syn. lihakäärö, liharuladi.
lihaliemi	meat stock, beef stock, bouillon	Clear, strong stock cooked with beef (chuck, shoulder, knuckle, shin, etc), marrowbone, onion, leek, root vegetables and various spices and herbs. After cooking, the meat and vegetables are discarded (the meat may be used in other dishes), the fat removed and the clear stock used as a base for numerous soups or simply as a hot, nutritious beverage. Syn. naudanlihaliemi, "buljonki". See a recipe for Beef bouillon.
lihamureke	meatloaf	Oven-baked long loaf shaped from finely ground meat (usually beef, sometimes with some added pork, but also lamb, venison, etc), spices and seasonings and binding ingredients like eggs, breadcrumbs, cream, curd cream, crème fraîche, etc. After baking, the meatloaf is usually served with vegetables (boiled potatoes/carrots/peas/Brussels sprouts, etc) and/or sauce or gravy. To make the meatloaf look more decorative when sliced, whole hard-boiled eggs, cooked vegetables, prunes, dried apricots, etc, may be wrapped inside it before baking.
lihapiirakka	meat pasty	Pasty of yeast dough or puff pastry filled with cooked and seasoned ground meat into which rice, onion, chopped hard-boiled eggs or other ingredients may be added. Pasties can be baked in oven or deep-fried. See a recipe for Meat pasties.
lihapyörykkä	meatball	Small and round meatballs made with ground meat mixed with eggs, fresh bread or breadcrumbs, spices, cream, milk or other liquid. Meatballs are fried in skillet or baked in oven. Syn. lihapulla. See a recipe for Meatballs.
liha-riisipasteija	meat and rice pasty	A small pasty or turnover of puff pastry or yeast dough filled with a mixture of cooked ground meat, cooked rice and spices. Liha-riisipiirakka is a large, flat pie with meat and rice filling. Syn. lihapasteija.
lindströminpihvi	Lindström's hamburger	Swedish dish originating from Russia, a beef hamburger patty mixed with chopped boiled or pickled beetroot, capers, onion and other seasonings (Swedish: biff à la Lindström).
linnapaisti	castle roast	A traditional Sunday roast dish of Swedish origin, castle roast is made with knuckle roast, top round/inside roast, or the like, slowly simmered in a pot with a sweetish-sour sauce. The sauce gets its distinctive flavour from ingredients like Swedish anchovies, dark molasses, vinegar, crumbled gingerbread cookies, blackcurrant jelly, etc. The roast is traditionally served sliced with the cream-thickened sauce, boiled potatoes and/or other vegetables and blackcurrant jelly. In Sweden, the dish is called slottsstek, or herrgårdsstek. Syn. linnanpaisti, kartanopaisti, kartanonpaisti.
lipeäkala	lutefish, lutefisk, Swedish: lutfisk	Traditional old Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish Christmas dish made with dried white fish soaked in potash lye and water, then simmered until tender. Nowadays lutfisk is mainly made with ling, but also cod (pictured in link), pike, pike-perch, burbot, powan and bream were previously used. Read more about lutefisk here. See a recipe for cooking lutefisk here.
lohenmäti	salmon roe	See mäti.
lohikeitto	salmon soup	Clear or creamy salmon and vegetable soup. See a recipe for Salmon soup.
lohikiusaus	salmon and potato casserole, lit. "salmon temptation"	Baked casserole dish similar to the Swedish Jansson's temptation, made with julienne-cut potatoes, onion, dill, fresh, cooked or hot or cold-smoked salmon or gravlax and cream. Instead of salmon, rainbow trout or other fish may be used in the dish. See Janssonin kiusaus, lohilaatikko.
lohilaatikko	salmon casserole	Oven-baked casserole dish made with salmon (fresh, cooked, salted or smoked) layered with potatoes or rice, onion, spices and cream or stock.
lohipiirakka	salmon pie	Large or small pie(s) of puff pastry or yeast dough crust, filled with salmon (fresh, cooked, salted or smoked), rice, onion and/or chopped hard-boiled eggs, dill and spices. See a recipe for Salmon pie.
loimulohi	"blazed" salmon	Unskinned whole fillet of salmon cooked over open fire. The fillet is pinned with wooden sticks onto a plank of wood, which is held at an angle over the fire to cook the fish. Syn. loimutettu lohi.
Louhisaaren kurkut	pickled gherkins à la Louhisaari Manor	See maustekurkku.
luumukiisseli	prune soup	Traditional, simple fruit compote made with dried, reconstituted prunes cooked with water, sugar and spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, Seville orange peel, etc, and thickened with potato flour. A popular Christmas dessert, the soup may be served warm or chilled, either with whipped cream or Christmas rice porridge. Syn. luumukeitto. See kiisseli.
lusikkaleipä	spoon cookie	Light and fine-textured, buttery cookie made with pastry of melted butter, sugar, flour and baking powder, flavoured with vanilla. The pastry is pressed into the bowl of a deep, oval teaspoon of an old-fashioned type, forming a half-egg shape. After baking, two shapes are joined together with a thin layer of jam or marmalade (raspberry, strawberry, apple, orange, apricot, etc), creating a round, somewhat egg-shaped cookie. The cookie is rolled in caster sugar. Modern teaspoons with flat, shallow bowls are not suitable to be used in making spoon cookies.
lämmin voileipä	hot open-faced sandwich	A slice of bread spread with butter, mustard, mayonnaise, etc, topped with various fresh or cooked ingredients (cold cuts, meat, vegetables, fish, shellfish, fruit, etc) and/or some creamy sauce or ragout and grated cheese, quickly broiled in hot oven just before serving. Syn. lämmin juustoleipä.
läskisoosi	side pork sauce	See sianlihakastike.
M
Finnish	English	Description	Photo
madekeitto	burbot soup	Clear or creamy soup made with burbot, vegetables and spices.
makaronilaatikko	macaroni casserole	Oven casserole made with macaroni pasta, cooked ground beef and spices bound with cream and stock or milk and egg mixture. The meat may be omitted. Syn. liha-makaronilaatikko. See a recipe for Finnish macaroni and cheese.
makkarakastike	sausage sauce	A dish of cubed or sliced mild, smooth-textured Finnish Bologna-type sausage lightly fried in a skillet and simmered in brown sauce. The brown sauce may be prepared separately, or the sausage may be sprinkled with flour and topped with stock to produce a thickish sauce. The sauce is usually enriched with cream and served with cooked and/or fresh vegetables, usually boiled or mashed potatoes, a fresh salad, etc. Some versions of this dish may also use white, béchamel-type sauce mixed with the sausage, but the brown sauce version is more common and considered to be a cheap, quick alternative to "beef Stroganoff". Additional ingredients and seasonings like onion, tomato paste or puree, mushrooms, spices and herbs may be added to flavour the sauce. Wiener/frankfurter sausages are also used to make this dish. Syn. makkarastroganoff, makkarastroganov. See nakkikastike, stroganoff.
makkarakeitto	sausage soup	A cheaper and quicker version of meat soup (= lihakeitto), using pieces of uncooked or cooked sausage (mostly of smooth and mild bologna-like type) instead of meat. If uncooked sausage is used, the soft sausage meat is usually squeezed out from its casing in the stock to cook. See lihakeitto, siskonmakkarakeitto.
makkarastroganoff	sausage Stroganoff	See makkarakastike.
maksalaatikko	liver casserole	Oven casserole made with ground pork or beef liver mixed with rice, milk, egg, onion, molasses and raisins. See a recipe for Liver casserole.
maksamakkara	liver sausage, liverwurst	A smooth or coarse textured liver pâté most often sold formed into a sausage shape and eaten sliced or spread on sandwiches. Liver sausage usually has a firmer texture than liver pâté (= maksapasteija). See maksapasteija.
maksapasteija	liver pâté	A smooth or coarse textured pâté made with ground liver (of beef, pork, venison, reindeer, chicken, etc) mixed with various ingredients (ground meat, pork fat, bacon, etc), binding ingredients (eggs, cream, butter, flours, starches, etc) and seasonings. Liver pâté usually has a spreadable consistency, being softer than liver sausage (= maksamakkara). See maksamakkara.
maksapatee	liver pâté	See maksapasteija.
maksapihvi	liver steak	A thin slice of beef, pork, veal or lamb liver briefly fried in butter. The liver may also be ground to form liver hamburgers, see jauhemaksapihvi.
mannapuuro	wheat semolina porridge	Smooth, silky porridge cooked with fine wheat semolina and milk. The porridge is seasoned with salt, sugar and a pat of butter. Syn. mannaryynipuuro, mannasuurimopuuro. See a recipe for Semolina porridge.
mansikkakakku	strawberry cake	A popular summer treat in Finland, a classic version of which is a festive layer cake filled and garnished with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
marenkikku	meringue cake	A layer cake or pavlova-type dessert made with a meringue base or disks topped or filled with various ingredients, like whipped cream, fruit, berries, jam, nuts, flavoured butter cream, chocolate, tianuchka, etc.
marinoidut sienet	marinated mushrooms	Wild or cultivated mushrooms marinated or pickled in different brines, usually consisting of water, vinegar, salt, sugar and various spices. See recipes for Marinated champignons, Pickled chanterelles and Wild mushroom pickle.
marinoitu silakkapihvi	marinated fried Baltic herring fillets	Rye flour coated, stuffed and fried Baltic herring double fillets marinated in vinegar-based brine seasoned with salt, sugar, allspice, onion, dill, etc. See a recipe for Marinated fried Baltic herring fillets.
marjarahka	berry quark	See jälkiruokarahka.
martinhanhi	St. Martin's goose	A festive dish of roast goose stuffed with apples, prunes, herbs, etc. Goose being a symbol of Saint Martin of Tours, it is traditionally served around his feast day, November 11th in catholic Christian countries, and on November 10th, the eve of St. Martin's Day, in protestant Christian countries. Already in pagan times geese were eaten in late autumn, this being the traditional slaughtering time. In Christian era, the goose became linked with St. Martin, who after his death was buried on November 11th, and in Protestant countries with Martin Luther, who was born on November 10th. In Sweden, St. Martin's goose is usually served after a dish of goose blood soup, svartsoppa (mustakeitto in Finnish). Syn. martinpäivän hanhi/hanhipaisti. See mustakeitto.
mateenmäti	burbot roe	See mäti.
maustekakku	gingerbread cake	Finnish gingerbread cake made with (brown) sugar, eggs, butter and buttermilk or soured cream, seasoned with gingerbread spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, etc). Dark raisins or currants are usually added to the batter. Syn. piimäkakku. See a recipe for Gingerbread cake.
maustekurkku	sweet-and-sour pickled gherkin, lit. "spice cucumber"	Small garden cucumbers pickled whole or sliced in sweet-and-sour brine made with water, spirit vinegar, salt, sugar and spices like garlic, crown dill, mustard seeds, horseradish, blackcurrant leaves, pepper, bell pepper, chilli pepper, etc. Sweet-and-sour pickled gherkins are usually rather sweet. They are most often served as an accompaniment to several meat and fish dishes, hamburgers, hotdogs, etc.
mehukeitto, mehukiisseli	fruit or berry juice soup	See kiisseli.
Melanderin puuro	rice pudding à la Melander, lit. Melander's porridge	A dessert dish of rice slowly simmered in water with reconstituted prunes or/and other dried fruit and fresh apples or pears, etc. The porridge is sweetened with sugar, thickened with potato flour and usually served lukewarm with cold milk. Syn. melanderinpuuro.
metsästäjänleipä	hunter's steak sandwich	Open-faced sandwich topped with a sautéed hamburger patty, creamy mushroom sauce and grated cheese, broiled in oven.
metsästäjänpihvi	hunter's steak	Sautéed steak or hamburger patty topped with creamy mushroom sauce.
muikkukukko	vendace loaf	See kalakukko.
muikunmäti	vendace roe	See mäti.
munakaskääryle	omelette roll	Omelette mixture with added flour baked in oven in a wide pan until set. Seasonings like chopped herbs, spinach, mushrooms, and the like, may be added to the mixture before baking. The warm omelette is spread with a savoury filling (usually made with cooked meat, fish, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs and spices, etc) and rolled up like a jelly/Swiss roll. The roll is served sliced, either warm or cold, with vegetables, fresh salad, etc. Syn. munakaskäärö, munakäärö, munakasrulla, munarulla.
munakastike	egg béchamel sauce	Béchamel sauce mixed with chopped hard-boiled eggs, traditionally served with poached or oven-baked fish, like whole stuffed pike.
muna-riisipasteija	egg and rice pasty	A small pasty or turnover of puff pastry or yeast dough, filled with a mixture of cooked rice, chopped hard-boiled egg and spices. Muna-riisipiirakka is a large, flat pie with egg and rice filling.
munavoi	egg and butter spread	Mixture of finely chopped hard-boiled egg and softened butter, traditionally used as a spread on Finnish Karelian rice pasties. See a recipe for Egg and butter spread.
munkki	jelly doughnut	Spherical or flat and rectangular sweet yeast dough fritter, filled usually with raspberry or strawberry jam or apple marmalade and rolled in fine granulated sugar. See berliininmunkki.
munkkirinkilä	doughnut, donut	Torus-shaped baked or deep-fried pastry made of sweet batter leavened with baking powder. The fritters are served either plain, coated in fine granulated sugar or frosted with various icings. Syn. donitsi, munkkirinkeli.
mureke	meat or fishloaf	Mixture of finely ground meat or fish, seasonings and binding ingredients like eggs, breadcrumbs, cream, curd cream, crème fraîche, etc, formed into a long log or placed in a loaf pan, ring pan, terrine dish, etc, and baked in oven. The loaf is served sliced, hot or cold, with vegetables, fresh salad, etc. See kalamureke, lihamureke.
murokakku	pound cake	A cake made with butter, sugar, eggs and flour. The butter and sugar are thoroughly beaten until white and fluffy, the eggs added one at a time and finally the flour gently stirred in by hand. Part of the flour may be replaced with potato flour or cornstarch to give the cake a moister, crumblier texture. There are countless flavour variations of murokakku batter, with added vanilla, ground or chopped nuts, chocolate/cocoa, dried/candied fruit and peel, various spices, etc. Especially when containing potato flour or cornstarch, this type of cake may also be called hiekkakakku. See hiekkakakku, kuivakakku, maustekakku, tiikerikakku, toskakakku.
mustakeitto	goose blood soup, lit. "black soup"	A Swedish-origin, chocolate-coloured sweet-and-sour soup (Swedish: svartsoppa) thickened with goose blood, traditionally served before the main course of St. Martin's goose (Finnish: martinhanhi) around the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours, celebrated in catholic Christian countries on November 11th, and in protestant Christian countries on November 10th, the eve of St. Martin's Day. The tradition of serving blood soup with roast goose is especially strong in the southern Swedish province of Scania, but it is also eaten in some parts of northern Germany and may sometimes be found served in a few Finnish restaurants around St. Martin's Day. The base for the soup is prepared of good stock made with either chicken or goose bones and scraps, vegetables, herbs and spices. A swelled mixture of goose blood (or, if not available, pig blood) and wheat flour (and red wine) is whisked in the hot stock in thin stream to thicken it. The soup is simmered for several minutes, during which time it must be continually whisked to prevent it from splitting. Seasonings for the soup may vary considerably according to the recipe  —  they can include sugar, vinegar, red wine, white wine, cognac and/or fortified wine (port, sherry, madeira, etc), blackcurrant jelly or juice, pureed apples, prunes or apricots, dark molasses and spices like salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, etc. The soup is left to mature for about five to seven days before eating. Before serving, the soup is carefully reheated. In addition, stewed apple wedges, wine-soaked prunes or apricots, sliced goose liver sausage and cold pieces of cooked, browned goose liver, heart, neck and gizzard are served on a separate plate. The flavour of the soup is often described to resemble spicy mulled wine and gingerbread, the taste of blood being much less noticeable than that in dishes like blood pudding and the like. See martinhanhi.
mustaleipä	blackbread	A speciality of the Swedish-speaking province of Åland Islands and Finland's southwestern archipelago region, mustaleipä is a rye bread baked for several hours in cool oven, giving it a sweet-and-sour flavour and a very dark colour. Traditionally, it takes several days to produce the bread, including a long cooling period, during which the bread is wrapped in parchment paper or foil, towels and/or blankets. According to the recipe, besides coarse rye flour, water and yeast, mustaleipä may contain rye malt, dark molasses, brown sugar, buttermilk, salt and/or various other spices, and it may be basted with a mixture of coffee and dark molasses. Mustaleipä keeps well for several weeks, even improving in taste during storing. Syn. Finland Swedish: svartbröd.
mustamakkara	blood sausage, black pudding, lit. "black sausage"	Typical to the town of Tampere in southwestern Finland, mustamakkara sausages are made with pork, pork fat, blood, barley or rye grits and flour, onion and salt. The brownish-black, grainy-textured sausages are boiled and fried, nowadays thrice baked in oven, and served hot with lingonberry jam.
mustikkakeitto	bilberry soup, bilberry compote	Sweet dessert soup made of fresh or frozen bilberries cooked with sugar and water, pureed or pushed through a sieve and served warm or chilled, as a dessert soup with whipped cream, ice cream, etc, or drunk as a refreshing drink. The soup may be further thickened with potato flour or cornstarch. In Finland, bilberry soup is often served to accompany porridges, especially rice porridge at Christmas time. In the Nordic countries and Russia, eating bilberry soup has traditionally been thought to be a good remedy for diarrhoea, as bilberry has the effect of slowing down the digestion process. Syn. mustikkakiisseli, mustikkasoppa. See kiisseli. See a recipe for Finnish Christmas rice porridge including a recipe for bilberry compote.
mustikkapiirakka	bilberry pie	Pastry case of short pastry, puff pastry, sweet yeast dough, etc, filled with fresh or frozen bilberries mixed with sugar. Bilberry pies are especially popular in summertime, when Finnish bilberries are ripened. They may be served with vanilla custard, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. See a recipe for Bilberry pies.
muurinpohjalettu	large griddle pancake, muurinpohja-pancake	These large, thin and lacy crêpes cooked outdoors are an old, traditional dish of the Ylä-Savo region in eastern Finland. Originally, the pancakes were cooked in a large cauldron called muuripata, used for heating water for washing or boiling of laundry, usually placed outside on the farm yard or lakeshore. A special Finnish griddle pan of thin steel, often called by its manufacturer's brand name, Muurikka, was later developed to replace the old cauldrons. The wide and flat pan is fitted with two handles, resembling a paella pan. It is heated either over open fire or on an electric or gas grill. Also electrical pans are available. Besides pancakes, other food, like soups, stews and stir-fries, are often cooked or grilled in the pan. The batter for muurinpohja crêpes is similar to regular Finnish crêpe or pancake batter, only it is often made with barley flour instead of wheat flour. The pancakes are eaten with a sweet or savoury filling or topping. Syn. muurilettu, muurikkalettu.
mämmi	sweetened malt porridge	Traditional Finnish Easter dessert made with water, rye flour, powdered rye malt and orange peel cooked together, then baked in oven. Mämmi is usually eaten with cream or milk and a sprinkle of sugar. Read more about mämmi here.
mäti	fish roe, hard roe	Eggs of various fish species, some of which are considered a great delicacy, like the processed sturgeon roe (caviar). The roe of salmon, rainbow trout, vendace, burbot, powan, smelt, pike and ruffe, among others, is consumed in Finland. Fresh (usually pre-frozen and thawed) roe is most often eaten salted, either on its own or with finely chopped onion and smetana, crème fraîche or whipped cream. Read more about fish roe here. See a recipe for serving Fish roe.
mätitahna	smoked cod roe paste	Preserved fish preparation of Swedish origin, cod roe paste is made with slightly smoked cod roe, vegetable oil, salt, spices and preservatives. One of the best known brands of cod roe paste is Kallen mätitahna (Swedish: Kalles kaviar), a popular sandwich spread both in Sweden and Finland. In Finland, the term mätitahna may also be used of a mixture of fresh roe, cooked, chopped liver of the fish (usually burbot), salt, pepper, minced onion and smetana or crème fraîche, served on toast or with blins. Read more about Kalles kaviar here.
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nahkiainen	lamprey	Charcoal-grilled or hot-smoked fatty lampreys are a Finnish delicacy, especially popular in the coastal areas of western Finland during their catching season, around which time they are sold freshly prepared or pickled in vinegar at food stalls of various market places. Some Finnish lamprey preparations: hiillostettu nahkiainen = charcoal-grilled lamprey savustettu nahkiainen = smoked lamprey uppopaistettu/friteerattu nahkiainen = deep-fried lamprey Read more about Finnish lampreys here.
nakkikastike	wiener sauce	A dish of sliced, small and short wiener/frankfurter sausages lightly fried in a skillet and simmered in brown sauce, usually seasoned with tomato paste and cream. The brown sauce may be prepared separately, or the sausage may be sprinkled with flour and topped with stock to produce a thickish sauce. The sauce may be served with cooked and/or fresh vegetables, usually boiled or mashed potatoes, pasta, a fresh salad, etc. The dish is considered to be a cheap, quick alternative to "beef Stroganoff". Additional ingredients and seasonings like onion, mushrooms, spices and herbs may be added to flavour the sauce. Instead of tiny wieners, smooth-textured Finnish Bologna-type sausage is also used to make this dish. Syn. nakkistroganoff, nakkistroganov. See makkarakastike, stroganoff.
nakkistroganoff	wiener Stroganoff	See nakkikastike.
naurishaudikas	stewed turnip	Old, traditional dish of whole turnips slowly baked (usually overnight) until soft, browned, sweet and succulent, buried in hot embers or ash either in the ground or a wood-fired oven. Another way to stew turnips is to simmer them in a pot with a little water until soft, browned and sticky sweet. Nowadays stewed turnips are often baked in oven like jacket potatoes, wrapped in foil. Syn. naurispaistikas.
nauriskukko	turnip loaf	See kalakukko.
nekku	hard toffee candy, Swedish: knäck	Homemade toffee-type candy of Swedish origin, made by boiling together cream, sugar and dark or light molasses, especially popular at Christmas time. The hot mixture is poured into moulds to cool and harden, either using individual small candy moulds, or larger parchment paper cones stuck into sugar or snow to hold them upright, which is the traditional way. A lollipop stick may be pressed in the centre of the mixture before it hardens. Some chopped almonds or nuts, dry breadcrumbs or other additional ingredients may be added to the candy. Though usually hard, the consistency of the candy can also be soft and/or chewy, depending on the length of cooking time.
nokkoskeitto	nettle soup	Similar to creamy spinach soup, nettle soup is made with the first tender nettle shoots of early summer, parboiled, chopped and cooked with meat or vegetable stock, thickened and enriched with cream.
nokkosmuhennos	creamed nettles	Similar to creamed spinach, creamed nettle is made with the first tender nettle shoots of early summer, parboiled, chopped and mixed with meat or vegetable stock and cream and cooked until reduced.
nokkosohukainen	nettle crêpe, nettle pancake	Savoury, small pancake made by mixing pureed young nettle shoots in pancake batter. Syn. nokkoslettu.
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ohrapuuro	barley porridge	Porridge cooked with whole, usually pre-soaked, or crushed barley grains, milk and/or water, seasoned with salt and a pat of butter. The porridge is slowly simmered on stovetop or in slow oven for several hours, usually overnight, until thickened and creamy. It can be served with a pat of butter, sugar, cinnamon or other spices, milk, jam, fruit, etc. Previously a staple porridge dish, it has been widely replaced with riisipuuro, especially if served in Christmas time. Barley porridge made with barley flour may also be called ohrapuuro, or, more accurately, ohrajauhopuuro.
ohukainen	crêpe, pancake	Small and thin pancake cooked in a pancake pan. Larger sized pancakes with lacy edges may be cooked in a regular frying pan. Finnish pancakes may be served with sugar, molasses, whipped cream, ice cream, fresh fruit and berries or jams. Syn. lettu, lätty, räiskäle. See a recipe for Finnish crêpes.
omenahyve	apple delight	Moist apple layer cake of soft shortcrust pastry or sponge cake bottom topped with a thick layer of apple compote and soft meringue. The compote is made by stewing apple pieces with sugar and spices (dash of cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla and/or lemon juice, etc) and the cake is broiled in oven until the meringue is slightly coloured on top. Vanilla custard may be served with the cake. Omenahyveleivos is a portion-sized apple delight pastry.
omenapiirakka	apple pie	Pastry case of shortcrust pastry, puff pastry, etc, filled with apple pieces or slices mixed usually with sugar and spices, like cinnamon, vanilla, etc. Apple pies are usually served with vanilla custard, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Pies are especially popular in the autumn, when Finnish apples are ripened.
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Finnish	English	Description	Photo
paistetut perunat	fried potatoes, potato hash	Sliced or cubed potatoes slowly fried in butter. The dish is usually made with previously boiled, leftover potatoes but also raw potatoes may be used. Syn. paistinperunat. When cooked meat or sausages and onions are fried with the potatoes the dish is called pyttipannu. See pyttipannu.
paistetut silakat	fried Baltic herrings	Small gutted Baltic herrings fried in butter. Before frying, the fish may be coated in fine rye flour.
palviliha, palvattu liha	smoked meat (esp. one cured in Finnish smoke sauna)	See saunapalviliha.
pannukakku	oven-baked pancake	Pancake batter poured in a wide and shallow baking pan and baked in oven until puffed and golden brown. Served for dessert with jam, fruit, sugar, molasses, whipped cream, ice cream, etc. Also savoury pancakes are made by mixing fatty pork or bacon, potatoes, onion, etc in the batter before baking. Besides the usual eggs, milk and flour, also leftover wheat semolina or rice porridge may be used as a base for the batter, see ahvenanmaan pannukakku. See a recipe for Oven-baked pancake.
pappilan hätävara	breadcrumb and fruit trifle, lit. "rectory's makeshift"	Trifle-type dessert dish made with alternate layers of dry cake or cookie crumbs or rye or white breadcrumbs, jam or fruit puree and whipped cream. The name indicates that the dish can be quickly and easily assembled using simple ingredients, in case of receiving surprise visitors.
pasha	paskha	Sweet Easter dessert of Russian Orthodox origin, made with quark, sugar, eggs, butter, smetana or cream and vanilla. Paskha mixture is poured in a special pyramid-shaped mould to set. It is traditionally eaten spread on a slice of kulich. See a recipe for Paskha.
pasteija	1. pâté	Usually smooth and spreadable pâté, mainly made with liver (liver pâté = maksapasteija, maksapatee).
	2. pasty, turnover	Small pie, pasty or turnover, most often of puff pastry crust enclosing a meat, egg, fish, cereal or vegetable filling. See liha-riisipasteija, muna-riisipasteija.
patakukko	pot loaf, lit. "pot-rooster"	See kalakukko.
patapaisti	pot roast	A dish of whole browned roast, vegetables, spices, etc, gently braised in a deep, lidded pot or pan on stovetop or in the oven. See hapanpaisti, linnapaisti.
perunamuusi	"mashed potatoes", potato puree	See perunasose.
perunapuuro	potato porridge	Traditional dish of Inkoo (Finland Swedish: Ingå) municipality in southern Finland, made with boiled, pureed potatoes mixed with their cooking liquid and flour (traditionally rye flour, but also barley and wheat flours are used). The porridge is slowly simmered, sometimes for hours, until smooth and thickened and eaten with a knob of butter and cold milk. Similarly to polenta, leftover cold and firm porridge may be sliced and fried in butter and served with butter, milk, lingonberry jam, etc. In Finland, the first potatoes were grown in the village of Fagervik in Inkoo in the 1730s, introduced by German blacksmiths working in the area. Thus the potato porridge is also known as "Inkoo porridge". Syn. inkoonpuuro, Finland Swedish: potatisgröt, Ingågröt.
perunarieska	potato flatbread	Small, round and soft flatbread made of dough of mashed potatoes mixed with eggs, salt and flour (usually barley and/or wheat), briefly baked in oven. Although the dough is usually unleavened, some recipes may use a small amount of yeast or baking powder. Many modern recipes "cheat" by using instant mashed potato flakes and other similar, inferior products instead of real potatoes, resulting in a poorer flavour. Potato flatbreads are best served hot from the oven, spread with butter. They are a traditional food item of Lapland in northern Finland.
perunasalaatti	potato salad	Salad of cubed or sliced boiled potatoes, usually mixed with pickled gherkin, apple, onion and capers, bound with sour cream, mayonnaise or oil based dressing flavoured with mustard, vinegar, salt, sugar or other spices or herbs. Other vegetables or spices may be added according to taste. See a recipe for Potato salad.
perunasose	potato puree, "mashed potatoes"	Boiled potatoes pureed into a smooth, velvety mixture with a dash of milk and a lump of butter. Syn. perunamuusi. See a recipe for Potato puree.
perunavoitaikina	potato puff pastry	Puff pastry made by mixing cold, cooked, finely grated potato, butter, flour and salt (and baking powder). The pastry can be used to make savoury and sweet pies, pasties and turnovers. Although not as flaky as true puff pastry, potato puff pastry has a more delicious flavour.
piimäjuusto	fresh cheese, lit. "buttermilk cheese"	Homemade, fresh cheese made by curdling milk with buttermilk. The resulting curd is shaped into soft cheese using a cheese mould. Eggs may be added to enrich the cheese and spices to season it. The moulded cheese may be baked in oven until lightly browned. Syn. munajuusto, kotijuusto. See a recipe for Baked egg cheese.
piimäkakku	gingerbread cake, lit. "buttermilk cake"	See maustekakku.
piirakka	pie, pasty, pastry	Finnish culinary tradition is rich with a multitude of sweet and savoury stuffed pies, pasties and turnovers. The stuffing can be almost anything from fresh berries and fruit to various dairy products, cereals, vegetables, fish and meats. Syn. piiras. See kaalipiirakka, karjalanpiirakka, lihapiirakka, lohipiirakka, mustikkapiirakka, omenapiirakka, rahkapiirakka, raparperipiirakka, sienipiirakka.
pinaattikeitto	spinach soup	Creamy soup made with pureed spinach mixed with vegetable or meat stock and cream, or simply milk. The soup is traditionally served with a halved hard-boiled egg. See a recipe for Spinach soup.
pinaattiohukainen	spinach crêpe, spinach pancake	Savoury, small pancake made by mixing pureed spinach in pancake batter. Syn. pinaattilettu.
piparjuurikerma	horseradish cream	Sauce of whipped cream seasoned with grated horseradish, salt, white pepper, sugar and/or vinegar or lemon juice, served most often with hot or cold poached or fried fish, cooked tongue or other meats or coldcuts. See a recipe for Horseradish cream.
piparkakku	gingerbread cookie	Thin gingerbread dough cookies of various shapes, traditionally served at Christmas. See a recipe for Gingerbread cookies.
pirtelö	milkshake	Ice cream (usually vanilla), milk and various flavouring ingredients (cocoa, fruit, berries, etc) processed in a blender to produce a thick dessert drink. See recipes for Banana milk shake and Chocolate milk shake.
porkkanalaatikko	carrot casserole	Sweet casserole dish made with pureed or grated carrots mixed with cooked rice or rice porridge, eggs, cream, molasses and spices, traditionally served at Christmas. See a recipe for Carrot casserole.
porkkanaohukainen	carrot crêpe, carrot pancake	Savoury, small pancake made by mixing finely grated carrot in pancake batter. Syn. porkkanalettu.
poronkäristys	reindeer stew	Thin slices of frozen reindeer roast slowly braised in reindeer fat and/or pork fat, butter and water, seasoned with salt only, usually served with pureed potatoes and lingonberries or cranberries. This is a traditional dish of Lapland, northern Finland. See a recipe for Reindeer stew.
poronpaisti	reindeer roast	Reindeer roast is a traditional dish of Lapland, northern Finland. It can be baked whole or braised cut in thin slices. See poronkäristys.
pulla	sweet yeast bread or bun	Pulla is a common name for Finnish pastry items made of rich, sweet yeast dough, most often formed into a braided, long loaf shape, called pullapitko, or small, round buns (pulla, pikkupulla). Very popular in Finland, pulla in its various forms is frequently served with coffee. See korvapuusti, laskiaispulla, pullapitko, voisilmäpulla. See a recipe for Sweet buns.
pullamaito	sweet yeast bread milk	In the old time a favourite "comfort food" of children, pullamaito is a mushy dish of small pieces of fresh or dry sweet yeast bread or buns (see pulla) mixed in a cup or mug with hot milk (or a mixture of hot milk or cream and coffee or tea) until softened and eaten with a spoon. Also butter or sugar may be added to flavour the mush. Syn. "pullamössö".
pullapitko	braided sweet yeast bread	Popular Finnish pastry item made of rich, sweet yeast dough braided into a long bread shape and baked. Raisins, candied or dried fruit or nuts may be added to the dough. The braid can be garnished with sanding sugar and/or flaked or chopped almonds or nuts before baking. It is served sliced, usually with coffee. See pulla. See a recipe for Braided sweet yeast bread.
punajuurisalaatti	beetroot salad	Salad of shredded, pickled beetroot mixed with a creamy dressing made with smetana, crème fraîche, Finnish curd cream, mayonnaise, etc. In addition, shredded apple, boiled potato, pickled gherkin, onion or leek may be added to the salad, among other ingredients. See a recipe for Creamy beetroot salad.
punakaalipata	red cabbage stew	Sweet-and-sour stew of shredded red cabbage sautéed in butter or pork or goose fat and slowly simmered until tender, served with meat or poultry dishes, traditionally accompanying ham or roast goose. Onion and tart apples are usually added to the stew, along with spices and seasonings like cloves, cinnamon, allspice, juniper berries, herbs, vinegar, blackcurrant/red currant jelly, sugar, dark molasses, etc. Meat stock, red wine, fruit or berry juice (lemon, blackcurrant, lingonberry, cranberry) may be used as liquid in the stew. Also meat may be added to the stew, like (smoked) fatty pork or bacon and/or sausages. Syn. haudutettu punakaali.
puuro	porridge	Porridges made with a multitude of cereals, grits and flours have been the staples of Finnish diet since ancient times. Whole, crushed or powdered grains are slowly simmered with water or milk into a soft, smooth mixture, eaten either plain or topped with sugar, cinnamon, butter, berries, fruits, milk, honey, jams, etc. Nowadays porridges are less consumed, but are again gaining popularity as an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. See kaurapuuro, mannapuuro, ohrapuuro, perunapuuro, riisipuuro, ruispuuro, tattaripuuro, vispipuuro. Some Finnish porridges: graham-marjapuuro = whole wheat flour/graham flour and berry porridge (usually from lingonberries) grahampuuro = whole wheat flour porridge, graham flour porridge leipäpuuro = bread porridge (sweet, from dry rye sourbread and lingonberries) makaronipuuro = macaroni and milk porridge neljänviljanpuuro = four-grain porridge (from rye, oat, barley and wheat flakes) ohrahiutalepuuro = barley flake porridge ohrajauhopuuro = barley flour porridge ohrasuurimopuuro, ohraryynipuuro = barley porridge (from groats) ruishiutalepuuro, ruispuuro = rye flake porridge ruisjauhopuuro, ruispuuro = rye flour porridge ruis-marjapuuro, ruispuolukkapuuro = rye flour and lingonberry porridge ruis-perunapuuro = rye flour and potato porridge suklaapuuro, manna-suklaapuuro = chocolate porridge, wheat semolina and cocoa porridge (sweet) uutispuuro = porridge cooked with the first grain of new rye harvest vehnähiutalepuuro = wheat flake porridge vehnäjauhopuuro, vehnäpuuro = wheat flour porridge See also gruel.
pyttipannu	Swedish hash	Mixed dish made usually of leftover food, cut into cubes and slowly browned in butter. Most often boiled or raw potatoes, cooked meat or sausages and onions are used as the basic ingredients in hash. In addition, an egg may be broken in the middle of the hot hash just before serving or served on the side. "Beef Rydberg" (Swedish: biff Rydberg) is a more elaborate hash, prepared with pieces of fresh ox fillet.
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raakalihapihvi	steak tartare	See tartarpihvi.
raakaraaste	grated raw vegetable salad	See raastesalaatti.
raaste	grated raw vegetables (salad)	See raastesalaatti.
raastesalaatti	grated raw vegetable salad	Salad of one or several types of freshly grated raw vegetables, usually served as a healthy side dish for more substantial meat or fish dishes. Grated raw vegetable salads are mostly made with juicy vegetables and root vegetables, like carrot, cabbage, rutabaga, celeriac, kohlrabi, etc. To minimize the loss of vitamins and maintain their juiciness, the salads must be made with freshly grated vegetables and served as soon as possible. Additional ingredients like fruits (apples, pears, oranges, raisins, prunes, bell pepper), berries (lingonberries, cranberries), onion, celery, cheese/cottage cheese, nuts, pickled vegetables, spices, etc, may be added to flavour the salads and various citrus or fruit juice, oil, cream or mayonnaise based dressings to moisten them. See a recipe for Lingonberry and red cabbage salad.
rahkapiirakka	quark pie	Large open pie or small pies of usually soft sweet yeast dough crust, filled with quark mixed with sugar, eggs, cream, spices like vanilla and/or lemon juice and sometimes raisins. Instead of raisins, fruit slices (eg peaches, apricots, apples) may be added to the filling. See a recipe for Quark pies.
rahkavoitaikina	quark puff pastry, quark-butter dough	Puff pastry made by mixing soft quark, butter and flour (and baking powder). The pastry can be used to make savoury and sweet pies and pastries, pasties and turnovers. Although not as flaky as true puff pastry, quark and butter puff pastry has a more delicious flavour. See a recipe for Quark-butter dough.
rantakala	lakeshore fish	Simple eastern Finnish summer dish of small, whole gutted fish (mostly vendace, tiny perch, etc) slowly simmered in a small amount of butter, salt and pepper flavoured water (or just butter and no extra liquid) in a large pot over open fire. The name indicates the fact that the dish is traditionally cooked on the lakeshore, using freshly caught fish. Also onion, spring onion, dill, allspice or other spices may be added to the simmering liquid. The dish is traditionally served with dark rye bread slices, dipped in the flavourful cooking liquid.
raparperipiirakka	rhubarb pie	Pastry case of short pastry, puff pastry, sweet yeast dough, etc, filled and baked with sweetened raw or stewed rhubarb slices. Rhubarb pies are usually served with whipped cream, ice cream or vanilla custard. See a recipe for Rhubarb pie.
rapusilakat	crayfish Baltic herrings	Rolled Baltic herring fillets simmered in a mixture of tomato puree, ketchup or paste diluted with water, seasoned with fresh dill and dill seeds. The aim of this dish is to imitate the flavour of the great Nordic delicacy, crayfish cooked in crown dill seasoned brine, hence the name.
Rex-kakku	Rex cake	Unbaked cake made with a filling of beaten eggs and sugar, melted coconut butter and cocoa powder or melted dark chocolate, layered with moistened, rectangular cookies or crackers in a rectangular cake pan or assembled on wax paper. The cake is wrapped and placed in refrigerator until firm, then served sliced. Especially popular in the 1950s and 60s, Rex cake was named after a brand of crackers of that era, called "Rex". Similar type of cake is known in Sweden as radiokaka, and in Germany as Kalter Hund.
rieska	soft flatbread	Thin, unleavened bread, usually made with barley flour. Also wheat or rye flour, cereals or boiled potatoes may be used to make the dough. Rieska is eaten fresh from the oven, spread with butter. See perunarieska.
riimihärkä	raw salt-marinated beef (ox fillet)	See riimiliha.
riimiliha	raw salt-marinated meat	Similar to carpaccio, riimiliha is raw fillet of beef, preferably ox, rubbed with salt and pepper, sometimes also with herbs, sealed and left to marinate for a couple of days in refrigerator. The meat is briefly frozen before serving, sliced paper-thin and eaten raw.
riisipuuro	rice porridge	Porridge cooked with rice and milk, especially popular at Christmas time. Rice porridge is usually served with a pat of butter, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon or with fruit or berry compote. See a recipe for Christmas rice porridge.
rikkaat ritarit	French toast with jam, whipped cream, etc	See köyhät ritarit.
rinkeli	pastry ring, pretzel	Toroidal or pretzel-shaped sweet or savoury baked pastry or cookie (Old Norse: kringle). There are many shapes and sizes of rinkeli, made with different types of leavened or unleavened doughs, ranging from large, sweet or savoury soft yeast dough pastries to tiny, sweet cookies and crisp, savoury rusk-like snacks flavoured and/or garnished with various spices. Syn. rinkilä. See munkkirinkilä, vesirinkeli, viipurinrinkeli.
rosolli	mixed beetroot salad	Mixed salad made with finely cubed cooked, fresh and pickled vegetables, apples and salted herring, served especially at Christmas. The main ingredients in the salad are boiled carrots and potatoes and boiled or pickled beetroots. Syn. sillisalaatti. See a recipe for Mixed beetroot salad.
rosvopaisti	pit-roasted meat, lit. "robber's roast"	Time-consuming outdoor dish, where a whole lamb or a large roast of mutton, lamb, pork, bear, etc, is slowly roasted buried in a hole in the ground. The meat is first left to marinate and tightly wrapped in a thick layer of wetted baking parchment and/or kitchen towels, newspapers and aluminium foil. A hole from about half to one metre deep is dug in the ground, preferably in sandy clay soil, and lined with bricks or stones. A large fire is burnt down in the hole for several hours, and the meat parcel is placed on the hot coals and embers. The meat is covered with some of the hot coals and soil and left to cook for several hours until done.
ruispuolukkapuuro	rye and lingonberry porridge	Porridge cooked with coarse rye flour or rye grits, lingonberries and water, sometimes seasoned with a dash of sugar. The ingredients are slowly simmered on stovetop or in slow oven until thickened and sweetened. The porridge can be eaten hot or cold and served with milk. Syn. ruis-puolukkapuuro.
ruispuuro	rye porridge	Porridge cooked with whole, crushed or powdered rye grains and water or milk, seasoned with salt and a pat of butter. The ingredients are slowly simmered until thickened and creamy. Rye porridge can be served with a pat of butter, milk, berries, fruit, jam, sugar, etc. Rye porridge made with rye flour may also be called ruispuuro, or, more accurately, ruisjauhopuuro. See a recipe for Rye porridge with lingonberries.
runebergintorttu	Runeberg's cupcake, Runeberg's cake	Small cylindrical pastry named after the Finnish poet J. L. Runeberg. The pastry is soaked in Swedish punsch, rum or cognac flavoured sugar syrup and topped with a dollop of raspberry jam or apple marmalade, garnished with a ring of white or pink sugar icing. See a recipe for Runeberg's cupcakes.
rusinakeitto	raisin soup	Simple, old-fashioned fruit compote dessert cooked with soaked raisins, water or fruit juice, sugar and spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, vanilla, cardamom, Seville orange peel, etc. The soup is thickened with potato flour and served warm or chilled, usually to accompany Christmas rice porridge or topped with whipped cream. Syn. rusinasoppa, rusinakiisseli. See kiisseli.
ruusunmarjakeitto	rose-hip soup	Sweet dessert soup made of fresh or reconstituted dried rose-hips, cooked with sugar and water. The soup is pureed (perhaps seasoned with vanilla, lemon juice, etc) and served warm or chilled with whipped cream, ice cream, crushed rusks or almond cookies, etc. Syn. ruusunmarjakiisseli, ruusunmarjasoppa. See kiisseli. See a recipe for Rose-hip soup.
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Finnish	English	Description	Photo
saaristolaisleipä	dark, sweet-and-sour rye bread, lit. "island-baked bread"	Soft and dense dark rye bread, a speciality of Finland's southwestern archipelago region, made with rye flour, rye malt, buttermilk, molasses and bran. Lingonberries may be added to the dough. See a recipe for Island-baked bread.
sahti	sahti beer	Finnish sahti is a traditional rustic, unfiltered beer made mainly with malted barley and/or rye, sometimes with the addition of wheat or oats (or barley/rye) as adjuncts. Sahti may be flavoured with hops and/or juniper berries, and is always fermented using fresh baker's yeast or yeast saved from the previous batch of sahti. Sahti has a thick and velvety texture and a characteristic nutty, smoky, and fruity banana-like flavour, partly acquired from the yeast, and from juniper twigs through which it is usually filtered. Sahti typically has a very low amount of carbon dioxide, and the alcoholic content varies between about 7 to 9 % by volume. Since there is no one accurate recipe for brewing sahti, its taste and characteristics vary greatly according to the brewer. Dating from 16th century, the production technique of sahti has remained much the same up to these days. According to the renowned British beer connoisseur and journalist Michael Jackson (1942 - 2007), Finnish sahti is the only primitive, indigenous beer in western Europe to have remained almost continuously in commercial production, along with the Belgian Lambic. Although sahti-like primitive beers are brewed in many countries, Finnish sahti is the only one to have been granted a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status (TSG) for quality agricultural products and foodstuffs by the European Union, meaning that in order for a product to be called sahti, it must be produced using traditional raw materials and production technique.
sarvi	crescent roll	A small crescent-shaped pastry item, formed from rolled triangular pieces of yeast or baking powder leavened dough. The crescent may be filled and/or topped with various sweet or savoury ingredients before rolling and baking, like grated cheese, chopped ham, nuts, seeds, chocolate, almond paste, jam, etc. Voisarvi is the Finnish name for croissant, or a crescent roll of puff pastry made with real butter.
saunapalviliha, saunapalvattu liha	smoke sauna-cured meat	Curing meat in smoke sauna is an old, traditional Finnish method for smoking food. The ancient form of sauna, smoke sauna differs from a regular wood-fired Finnish sauna in that it is lacking a chimney, allowing the smoke rising from the stove to fill the bathing room. Besides for bathing, smoke sauna was also used for smoking meat, usually ham, bacon, mutton, beef, horse meat, sausages, etc. While the ancient sauna-smoking method has largely been replaced by the use of modern smoking facilities, the interest in traditional production methods has given rise to several small-scale smoking houses around Finland, offering authentic smoke sauna-cured products. Syn. savupalvi, saunapalvi, palviliha, saunapalvattu liha, etc. Some Finnish smoked meat products: nokipalvi(kinkku) = smoked or smoke sauna-cured ham, allowed to be blackened by a thin layer of soot during curing (see the picture link on right) saunapalvikinkku, palvikinkku = smoked or smoke sauna-cured ham saunapalvikylki, palvikylki = smoked or smoke sauna-cured fatty side pork savulammas, palvilammas = smoked or smoke sauna-cured (leg of) mutton or lamb savupotka = smoked or smoke sauna-cured pork shank, especially used to flavour traditional Finnish green pea soup ylikypsä kylki = smoked or smoke sauna-cured fatty side pork, slowly cured until "overcooked" and succulent.
savukala	smoked fish	Cold-smoked or hot-smoked fish. Under cold-smoking, the fish is slowly cured in cool smoke generated by burning wood chips. The temperature must be lower than +30 °C, ideally +18 °C. Under hot-smoking, the fish is smoked at higher temperature, between +65 and +70 °C. Either before or after smoking, the fish is salted. Fish species commonly smoked in Finland include salmon, Baltic herring and powan, among many others. Syn. savustettu kala. Read about smoked salmon here.
savukalasalaatti	smoked fish salad	See kalasalaatti.
savulohi	smoked salmon	See savukala.
savupalvi	smoke sauna-cured meat/ham	See saunapalviliha.
savusilakka	smoked Baltic herring	See savukala.
sekahedelmäkeitto	mixed fruit soup	See kiisseli.
sianlihakastike	side pork sauce	Fresh, fatty side pork sliced and slowly browned in its own fat. Wheat or rye flour and chopped onion are browned in the pork fat and hot water is added to make a sauce. The sauce is mixed with the meat and left to simmer slowly, until the meat and fat are tender and succulent. Syn. läskisoosi.
sienikakku	sponge cake (with added hot water)	See sokerikakku.
sienikastike	mushroom ragout	Thick, creamy sauce made with one or several varieties of wild and/or cultivated mushrooms. The chopped mushrooms are stewed in their own liquid, cream is added and the ragout is simmered until the mushrooms are softened and the sauce thickened. In addition, mushroom sauces may be flavoured with finely chopped onion and salt, pepper and/or other spices and herbs. Mushroom ragout may be eaten plain, eg with boiled new potatoes, or served to accompany many meat, fish or vegetable dishes. Syn. sienimuhennos. See kantarellimuhennos, korvasienimuhennos, tattimuhennos.
sienikeitto	mushroom soup	Creamy or clear soup made with one or several varieties of fresh or soaked dried wild mushrooms. In addition, mushroom soup usually contains onion, salt, pepper and/or other spices, like herbs or a dash of madeira, sherry, etc. Also cultivated mushrooms may be used, although wild mushrooms, abundant in Finnish forests, give the best flavour. See kantarellikeitto, korvasienikeitto, suppilovahverokeitto, tattikeitto.
sienipiirakka	mushroom pie	Large or small pasty, turnover or pastry case filled with mushroom filling and baked in oven. Wild or cultivated mushrooms are first slowly sautéed in butter, usually mixed with chopped onion and other spices. The filling is bound with cream, smetana, sour cream and/or eggs. See a recipe for Mushroom pie.
sienipikkelssi	pickled mushrooms	Wild or cultivated mushrooms pickled or marinated in different brines, usually consisting of water, vinegar, salt, sugar and various spices. See recipes for Pickled chanterelles, Wild mushroom pickle and Marinated champignons.
sienisalaatti	mushroom salad	Salad made with salted mixed wild mushrooms and chopped onion bound together with smetana, whipped cream, Finnish curd cream and/or mayonnaise. The mushrooms are first soaked to remove the excess salt. See a recipe for Mushroom salad.
siianmäti	powan roe	See mäti.
silakkalaatikko	Baltic herring casserole	Casserole dish made with fresh or salted Baltic herring fillets, pork fat, potatoes, onions and cream. In a less palatable version, a mixture of milk and eggs is used instead of cream to bind the dish.
silakkapihvi	fried Baltic herring fillet	Two unskinned double fillets of small Baltic herrings placed flat one on top of the other, with chopped dill or chives, salt, pepper and/or other spices sprinkled between them. The fillets may be fried in butter or baked in oven. Before frying, the fillets may be coated in fine rye flour. See a recipe for Fried Baltic herring fillets.
silakkarulla	Baltic herring roll	Rolled herring or Baltic herring fillets cooked by simmering in vinegar marinade seasoned with salt (and sugar), fresh dill and spices. The rolls are chilled in the marinade and served with dill, boiled new potatoes, etc. The term may also refer to any type of dish of herring/Baltic herring fillet rolls simmered on stovetop or baked in oven, usually in vinegar, stock or cream-based sauce seasoned with herbs, spices, tomato, mustard, cheese, etc. Syn. etikkasilakka.
silavapannukakku	oven-baked pork fat pancake	See pannukakku.
sillijäädyke	herring parfait	Savoury parfait usually made with cream and/or quark, chopped onion, spices and salted or marinated herring, served as appetizer with boiled potatoes, etc. See a recipe for Pickled herring parfait.
sillikiusaus	salt herring and potato casserole, lit. "herring temptation"	Baked casserole dish similar to the Swedish Jansson's temptation, made with julienne-cut potatoes, onion, soaked salted herring or Baltic herring and cream. See Janssonin kiusaus.
sillilautanen	herring platter	A kind of Nordic "ploughman's lunch", herring platter consists of herring salted, marinated and/or pickled in various ways, served with additives like chopped onion, pickled vegetables or vegetable salads, (beetroots, gherkins, onions, etc), hard-boiled eggs, cheese, dill, chives, sour cream, rye or crispbread, boiled potatoes, etc. Also other seafood may be included, like cold or hot-smoked, slightly salted, poached or baked fish, shrimps, mussels, fish roe, etc. Herring platter may be served as appetizer and it is very popular at Midsummer, Christmas and Easter time. See a recipe for Fish and herring platter.
sima	mead	Traditional low-alcohol beverage made with water, sugar, lemon juice and yeast, nowadays usually served during May Day celebration. See a recipe for Mead.
sinappikurkkusalaatti	cucumber relish flavoured with mustard	See kurkkusalaatti.
sipulipihvi	onion steak	Sautéed hamburger patty or steak of beef tenderloin or strip loin/top loin, topped with sliced onions slowly browned in butter.
siskonmakkarakeitto	siskonmakkara soup, "siskon sausage" soup	Clear soup made with vegetables (eg onion, carrot, potato), stock and sausage meat dollops squeezed out from the casings of fresh siskonmakkara sausages. Read more about siskonmakkara here.
sokerikakku	sponge cake, lit. "sugar cake"	Light and airy, soft-textured cake made with equal volumes of eggs, sugar and flour. A basic, classic sponge cake is made with these three ingredients only, without using any leaveners. Basic sponge cake batter may be flavoured with various ingredients, like vanilla sugar, cocoa powder, chopped fruit or nuts and other spices or essences. Voisokerikakku, lit. "butter-sugar cake", is a sponge cake with melted butter added to the batter. Sienikakku, lit. "sponge cake", is a sponge cake with added hot water, giving it a slightly different texture but also making the batter rather "foolproof" as it is more likely to rise well during baking and retain its shape. See a recipe for Basic sponge cake.
sosekeitto	puree soup	See kasvissosekeitto.
stroganoff	beef Stroganoff	Russian-origin dish of beef fillet, strip loin or inside roast cut in thin strips, quickly fried in butter with minced onion and simmered in a brown sauce enriched with smetana. Since usually the tenderest parts of beef are used, the cooking time for this dish is very short. In addition, tomato paste, mustard and/or mushrooms are often added to the dish. In Finland, beef Stroganoff is traditionally served with pickled beetroots and Russian pickled gherkins. Finnish makkarakastike/makkarastroganoff and nakkikastike/nakkistroganoff are cheap everyday dishes mimicking the flavour of beef Stroganoff, but using sausage instead of meat. Syn. stroganov, stroganov-pihvi. See makkarakastike, nakkikastike. See a recipe for Beef Stroganoff.
suolakurkku	gherkin pickled in unsweetened salt brine, lit. "salt cucumber"	1. Fermented pickled gherkin, see hapankurkku.
		2. Slightly salted gherkin. Garden cucumbers pickled in brine consisting of salt and spices like horseradish, blackcurrant/oak/cherry tree leaves, bay leaf, pepper, garlic, mustard seeds, etc. No sugar or vinegar is used in the brine. The preparation method is similar to the fermented pickled gherkins, but the cucumbers are not allowed to ferment. Slightly salted gherkins are very popular in Russia, where they are called malosol'nye ogurtsy.
suolasienet	salted mushrooms	Wild mushrooms preserved with coarse salt or salt brine. Salted mushrooms are soaked in cold water before consuming, in order to remove the excess salt. Mostly northern milkcaps, rufous milkcaps and woolly milkcaps are used for salting. See a recipe for Salted mushrooms.
suppilovahverokeitto	funnel chanterelle soup	Creamy or clear soup of funnel chanterelles. The chopped mushrooms (and some chopped onion) are braised in butter, seasoned and cooked in stock until tender and flavourful. A bit of flour may be added to thicken the soup, and some cream. Funnel chanterelle soup is also often made with dried, reconstituted mushrooms, which have a fine and strong, concentrated flavour. See kantarellikeitto. See a recipe for Funnel chanterelle soup.
suutarinlohi	cobbler's salmon	Salted fillets of Baltic herring pickled in vinegar brine with sliced carrot, onion and spices. See a recipe for Cobbler's salmon.
säilykekurkku	pickled gherkin	See etikkakurkku, hapankurkku, kurkkusalaatti, maustekurkku, suolakurkku, tillikurkut.
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Finnish	English	Description	Photo
talkkuna	talkkuna	Talkkuna is a dry mixture of powdered or coarsely milled grains, usually eaten mixed with cultured milk products like viili or yogurt, or cooked into porridge with the addition of liquid. Many types of grains can be used to produce talkkuna, most often barley, oats and/or rye is used, but also peas and/or beans. The grains (and pulses) are half-cooked or steamed, dried, roasted and ground. Similar products have been known in many cultures throughout the world. The Finnish name for talkkuna comes from its Russian name, tolokno, a word derived from the Russian verb toloch', which means "to crush, mash or grind". An old, traditional agrarian food in certain areas of Finland, talkkuna has been reintroduced as a trendy ingredient added to many savoury and sweet dishes, cereals, desserts and drinks.
tartarpihvi	steak tartare	Raw hamburger patty made of finely ground or scraped beef fillet or round of top quality. Steak tartare may be served with various piquant additives, like chopped pickled gherkins, beetroots, onion, capers, grated horseradish, etc, a raw egg yolk and/or other spices. Before serving, the meat patty may be briefly grilled on both sides, just enough to slightly brown the surface. Syn. raakalihapihvi, raakapihvi.
tattaripuuro	buckwheat porridge	Porridge made with whole or crushed buckwheat grain and water, seasoned with salt and a pat of butter. Depending on the type of grain used, the porridge will either be smooth and creamy or the grains will remain separate, like in the Russian and Eastern European type kasha, (Russian: grechnevaya kasha). The former type of porridge may be served with a pat of butter, sugar, milk, jam, berries, fruit, etc, the latter with a pat of butter or instead of rice to accompany meat and fish dishes. Syn. tattariryynipuuro. See a recipe for Buckwheat porridge.
tattikeitto	cep soup	Clear or creamy soup made with various ceps and boletes, the finest mushrooms of Finnish forests. The chopped mushrooms (and some chopped onion) are braised in butter and then cooked in stock until tender and flavourful. A bit of flour may be added to thicken the soup, and some cream for a creamy soup. Syn. tattisoppa.
tattimuhennos	cep ragout	Chopped ceps and boletes braised in butter, seasoned and stewed in cream (and sometimes stock) until soft and thickened. In addition, chopped onion may be added to the mushrooms. Cep ragout may be served plain, perhaps with freshly boiled new potatoes, or on side of many meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Syn. tattikastike.
ternijuusto	beestings cheese	Cheese-type dish of oven-baked bovine colostrum, the first milk generated by cows after they have given birth. Higher in protein than regular cows' milk, colostrum will coagulate and set during baking in slow oven. It may be seasoned with salt and sugar (and cinnamon) before baking and served as a dessert with sugar and cinnamon or berries, fruit, jam, milk, etc.
tiikerikakku	marble cake, lit. "tiger cake"	Pound cake made with alternate layers of plain and cocoa flavoured batter to produce a pattern resembling tiger's stripes visible when the cake is sliced.
tillikurkut	pickled cucumber slices, lit. "dill cucumbers"	Traditional Finnish cucumber salad prepared of fresh, thinly sliced garden or hothouse cucumbers marinated in brine mixed of water, spirit vinegar, salt, sugar and chopped dill. To drain out some liquid and/or to soften the cucumber slices (especially of the more robust garden cucumber), they may first be sprinkled with salt and either rubbed or pressed between two nesting deep plates before mixing with the brine, similarly to the Swedish pressgurka. The cucumber slices may also be shaken with the prepared brine, traditionally between two opposite deep plates or in some other closed container, or simply mixed with the brine in a bowl or jar, similarly to the Danish agurkesalat. The cucumbers keep for a long time stored refrigerated. Especially in summertime, this cucumber salad is served as a refreshing sweet-and-sour side dish to various meat and fish dishes. Syn. hölskytyskurkut, kesäkurkut, vanhanajan kurkkusalaatti. See a recipe for Dill cucumbers.
tilliliha	cooked veal in dill sauce, lit. "dill meat"	Shoulder or brisket of veal, lamb or beef slowly simmered with vegetables (eg onion, carrot, root celery), water and spices until tender. The meat is cut in pieces and mixed with a sauce made from the reduced, thickened cooking liquid (and cream), seasoned with fresh dill, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar or lemon juice.
tippaleipä	May Day fritter, funnel cake	Deep-fried cake made of liquid batter of eggs, sugar, flour, milk/cream, vanilla, lemon zest or other seasonings, drizzled into hot cooking fat through a very narrow funnel to form a shape resembling a spherical bird's nest. The fritter is cooked on both sides until crisp and browned, drained on paper towels and powdered with icing sugar. May Day fritters are traditionally enjoyed with mead during Finnish May Day celebration. See a recipe for May Day fritters.
toskakakku	tosca cake	Sponge or pound cake bottom or pie covered with a layer of creamy mixture of flaked or slivered almonds, sugar, butter and cream or milk, baked in oven until nicely browned and caramelised on top. Syn. toscakakku. See a recipe for Tosca cake.
toskalastu	tosca snap	Thin cookie made with a creamy mixture of flaked almonds, sugar, butter, flour and cream or milk, baked in oven until nicely browned and caramelised. Before hardening, the snaps are shaped to form curved biscuits. Syn. toscalastu. See a recipe for Tosca snaps.
tšinuski	tianuchka	Russian cream toffee made by boiling together milk, cream or smetana, sugar and vanilla. Tšinuski may be cooked into soft, creamy candies (Russian: (pl.) tianuchki) or used as a dessert sauce or cake filling and topping. Syn. tshinuski, tsinuski, kinuski, tjanutski, tjanutški. See a recipe for Tianuchka-sauce.
tšinuskikakku	tianuchka cake	A festive layer cake filled with tianuchka (Russian cream toffee) and whipped cream or butter frosting, topped with a layer of tianuchka. Syn. tshinuskikakku, tsinuskikakku, kinuskikakku. See tšinuski.
tuoresuolattu kala	freshly salted fish	See graavikala.
tuoresuolattu lohi	freshly salted salmon, gravlax	See graavikala.
täytekakku	layer cake	Festive cake made with sponge cake layers filled and garnished with ingredients like whipped cream, custard, sweetened quark, mousse, fruits, berries, chocolate, ganache, cream toffee, etc. See kermakakku.
täytetty tötterö	filled wafer cone	Crisp wafer-thin cone filled with whipped cream or ice cream and fresh fruit, berries, jams, chocolate sauce, etc. The batter for the cones is made with eggs, (icing) sugar and flour, spread to form thin disks on baking sheet and baked quickly in hot oven. While still hot and pliable, the disks are wrapped into cone shapes and left to cool and harden before being filled.
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Finnish	English	Description	Photo
uudet perunat	new potatoes	Freshly harvested new potatoes are an eagerly awaited early summer delicacy in Finland. At their simplest, boiled new potatoes are traditionally served with pickled herring, butter and fresh dill. See a recipe for New potatoes with herring.
uunihauki	oven-baked pike	A whole gutted pike baked in oven. The pike may be stuffed and/or seasoned with herbs, spinach, vegetables, rice, lemon slices, etc. Poached or baked whole pike is served as a traditional Christmas dinner dish among fisherman families of the Finnish southwestern archipelago, see jouluhauki.
uunijäätelö	baked Alaska, Norwegian omelette	Oven-baked ice cream dessert. A block of ice cream is placed on a slice of sponge cake together with some flavouring (fruit, berries, jam, etc) and covered with a layer of meringue. Acting as an insulator, the meringue protects the ice cream from melting when the dish is briefly browned in hot oven.
uunilenkki	oven-baked ring bologna	See uunimakkara.
uunimakkara	oven-baked (ring) bologna	Usually a ring-shaped, mild, bologna-type sausage baked whole in oven until nicely browned on top and served with mustard, ketchup, relish, or the like, and vegetables, fresh salad, etc. The sausage may be slit crosswise and the slits filled with slices of sharp, melting cheese (= juustolenkkimakkara, juustolenkki), or spread with mustard or other seasonings before baking. Ring bologna may also be baked over the hot stones of the stove of Finnish sauna, and is thus called kiuaslenkki [= "sauna stove ring (sausage)"] or saunalenkki [= "sauna ring (sausage)"]. Syn. uunilenkki, uunilenkkimakkara. See lenkkimakkara.
uuniomena	baked apple	Whole cored apple or apple slices or pieces baked in oven until tender. Baked apples are usually filled or topped with butter, sugar, dark molasses, cinnamon, ground or crushed almonds or nuts, rolled oats or rye flakes or other spices and flavourings. The apples are served hot with vanilla custard, ice cream, whipped cream, etc. See a recipe for Baked apples.
uuniperuna	baked potato, jacket potato	Large-sized, whole or halved unpeeled potato baked in oven until tender. The hot potato is slit open and eaten with a spoon, topped with butter, smetana or sour cream or various other dressings or toppings. See a recipe for Baked potatoes.
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Finnish	English	Description	Photo
valkosipuliperunat	scalloped garlic potatoes	Dish of thinly sliced potatoes layered in a casserole dish with salt, pepper, garlic and cream, baked in oven. Instead or in addition to garlic, onion, grated cheese, crumbled blue cheese, smoked fish or ham, Swedish anchovies, etc, may be used to season the potatoes. Syn. valkosipulikermaperunat, kermaperunat. See a recipe for Scalloped potatoes.
vanhanaikainen salaattikastike	old-fashioned salad dressing	Traditional salad dressing made with either whipped cream seasoned with vinegar, mustard, sugar and salt, or hard-boiled egg yolk rubbed together with mustard, vinegar and spices and diluted with cream. The dressing is served with green lettuce. Also chopped, hard-boiled egg yolks and whites may be added to the dressing or sprinkled on top of the salad. Syn. vanhanajan salaattikastike, isoäidin salaattikastike. See a recipe for Old-fashioned salad dressing.
vanhanajan kurkkusalaatti	pickled cucumber slices, lit. "old-fashioned cucumber salad"	See tillikurkut.
vaniljakastike	vanilla custard, custard cream, crème anglaise	Vanilla-flavoured dessert sauce made with cream and/or milk cooked with egg yolks until slightly thickened. The sauce may be served hot or chilled with various desserts and cakes, especially with apple pies or oven-baked apples. See a recipe for Vanilla sauce.
vatkattu marjapuuro	whipped berry porridge/pudding	See vispipuuro.
velli	gruel	Gruels and porridges made with a multitude of cereals, grits and flours have been the staples of Finnish diet since ancient times. Gruels are made similar to porridges, but with a larger quantity of liquid, making them thinner. Some Finnish gruels: grahamvelli = whole wheat flour gruel, graham flour gruel kauravelli = rolled oats gruel maissivelli = cornflour/cornstarch gruel (sweet) makaronivelli = macaroni gruel mannavelli = wheat semolina gruel munavelli = egg and milk gruel (sweet) neljänviljanvelli = four-grain gruel (from rye, oat, barley and wheat flakes) ohrajauhovelli = barley flour gruel ohrasuurimovelli = barley gruel (from groats) riisivelli = rice gruel ruishiutalevelli = rye flake gruel ruisjauhovelli, ruisvelli = rye flour gruel tattarivelli = buckwheat gruel vehnähiutalevelli = wheat flake gruel vehnäjauhovelli, vehnävelli = wheat flour gruel See also porridge.
venäläinen silli	Russian herring	Salted or marinated herring fillets served à la russe. The fillets are cut in thin strips, arranged on a platter and garnished with chopped onion, pickled beetroot, Russian-type pickled gherkins, chopped hard-boiled egg yolks and whites, capers, smetana dressing, etc. See a recipe for Herring à la russe.
venäläinen suolakurkku	Russian pickled gherkin	1. Russian-type fermented pickled gherkin, see hapankurkku.
		2. Russian-type slightly salted gherkin, see suolakurkku.
veriohukainen	blood pancake	Small and thin savoury pancake made with a batter mixed from pork blood, milk or beer, eggs, flour (rye, wheat, barley), onion, molasses and other spices. Syn. verilettu, verilätty. See a recipe for Blood pancakes.
vesirinkeli	bagel	Round wheat pastry ring made from savoury yeast dough, cooked briefly in boiling water before baking in oven.
viili	Finnish curd milk	Traditional Finnish and Swedish cultured milk product with a thick and viscous consistency and a mild, fresh flavour. Viili may be eaten for breakfast or as a snack or dessert, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, with fruit, berries or cereals and a multitude of other toppings. Traditionally there have been two Finnish viili types, called lyhyt piimä ("short curd milk"), produced in eastern Finland, and pitkä piimä ("long curd milk" or "longmilk"), produced in western Finland. The two types differ in consistency, the former being more soft pudding-like and/or somewhat lumpy, and the latter more viscous, thick and stretchy. See kermaviili. See a recipe for homemade Viili.
viipurinrinkeli	sweet wheat pretzel, lit. "Vyborg pretzel"	Pretzel-shaped soft wheat pastry made from sweet yeast dough, glazed with egg or water and baked in oven, traditionally on a bed of straw. Named after the formerly Finnish, now Russian, town of Vyborg.
viktoriakiisseli	Victoria pudding	Moulded pudding dessert made with cold rice porridge flavoured with sugar and fruit, usually with juice and grated zest of lemon, mixed with gelatine and whipped cream. The mixture is poured in a ring mould or bowl to set before unmoulding on a serving plate. Fruit or berry sauce is served as an accompaniment. Syn. viktoriankiisseli.
vispipuuro	whipped berry pudding, berry whip	Mousse-like sweet dish made by cooking wheat semolina with berry or fruit juice and sugar. After cooking, the mixture is cooled down by whipping it vigorously, making it increase in volume and obtain a light, ethereal consistency. Lingonberries, cranberries, apricots, gooseberries and strawberries are most often used to make this dish. Syn. vatkattu marjapuuro.
vohveli	waffle	Basic Finnish waffle batters contain eggs, flour and liquid (water, milk, cream, soured cream, buttermilk, etc). In addition, sugar, butter and various flavouring ingredients may be added to the batter, as well as leavening agents like baking powder or yeast. Whether sweet or savoury, modern Finnish waffles can be made with a multitude of different flours, including barley, rye, buckwheat, cornflour, potato flour, cornstarch, etc. Sweet dessert waffles are usually served with jams, syrups, dessert sauces, fresh fruit or berries, whipped cream and/or ice creams. Ingredients like chopped smoked salmon or Baltic herring, wild mushrooms, ham, bacon, onion and/or herbs, among many others, may be added to savoury waffle batters and/or served with the ready-cooked waffles. See recipes for Finnish Waffles.
vohvelikeksi	wafer	In Finland, the term wafer most often refers to a light and crisp, rectangular biscuit made with thin layers of diamond-pattern embossed wafers sandwiched together with a sweet creamy filling. The filling may be flavoured with vanilla, chocolate, coffee, fruit and/or berries, etc.
voileipä	open-faced sandwich, lit. "butterbread"	Buttered slice of bread topped with a multitude of ingredients. Open-faced sandwiches are very popular food and snacks in Finland and other Nordic countries, the most famous of them being the Danish smørrebrød. Read more about Nordic sandwiches and canapés here. See recipes for various sandwiches here.
voileipäkakku	savoury sandwich cake	Savoury layer cake made with bread slices sandwiched together with creamy fillings made with eg flavoured or unflavoured cream cheese, mayonnaise, Finnish curd cream, quark, various cheese/fish/meat pastes, etc. The filling is flavoured and the cake is decorated with various savoury ingredients, like cooked meat or cold cuts, liver pâté, cooked, smoked or salted fish and seafood, hard-boiled eggs, various cheeses, fresh or pickled vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs and other seasonings.
voisarvi	croissant, crescent roll	See sarvi.
voisilmäpulla	butter-eyed bun	Round, sweet yeast dough bun with a deep hole pressed in the centre, stuffed with butter and sugar. See a recipe for Butter-eyed buns.
vorschmack	vorschmack (pronounced for-shmahk)	Known also in Russia, Germany and the Baltic countries, vorschmack is an oven-baked soufflé type of dish made with cooked ground lamb (or beef or veal) and salted herring and/or Swedish anchovies, ground together and mixed with boiled potatoes, sautéed onion, egg yolks, spices and beaten egg whites. Vorschmack is usually served with pickled beetroots, salted or pickled gherkins and smetana. The word Vorschmack is German for "foretaste" or "taste sampling".
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Finnish	English	Description	Photo
wallenberginpihvi	Wallenberg hamburger	Swedish veal hamburger patty enriched with cream and egg yolks and sautéed in clarified butter (Swedish: wallenbergare). See a recipe for Wallenberg steaks.
wieninleike	Wiener schnitzel	Thinly pounded scallop of veal or pork dipped in egg, breaded with flour and breadcrumbs and sautéed in butter. In Finland, Wiener schnitzel is usually garnished with a round slice of lemon, topped with a ring of Swedish anchovy fillet filled with capers.