Okay, so if you’ve been even a little bit around, you know I just love food. And therefore, trying food in Finland was such a highlight. I was told that Finnish people eat a lot of fish (and this may be true) but I was thrilled to find out that my friends aren’t into fish (I almost died of happiness).
Fish are friends not food (actually I’m very much a meat eater, but I want you to guess where that quote is from).
Anyway, food.
I was assured that the following foods I’m about to share with you are “very Finnish.” That’s a phrase I had said to me quite often while I was in Finland. It was oddly comforting, kind of like an authenticity stamp.
Karelian Pies (which I nicknamed K-pies because I just couldn’t remember the name)
This little boat-shaped pastries are just scrumptious. Not sweet nor very salty. You spread egg butter across the top for such amazingness. I think this would really just be the perfect start to the day. Carbs and Eggs. Perfect.
Rye Bread
I’ve never seen such absolutely gorgeous, deeply colored bread. This stuff was dense and divine. Very Finnish. When I went to the grocery store, there were so many types to choose from. Where I live, you’re lucky if you find one type of Rye! I was more than happy to delve into this delicious bread (toast it, butter it, ham and cheese it).
Korvapuusti (cinnamon rolls)
But wait. The direct translation of this word is pretty great. It means “slapped ears”. Now think about the shape of a cinnamon roll, I bet you’re squinting your eyes and slowly nodding your head. They kinda do look like slapped ears. These are serious goodness.
Salmiakki (salted licorice)
I can’t tell you how much of this stuff I was told to try. The outcome was the same every time. Gross. Nasty. Not yummy. But here’s the crazy thing. Women in Finland might rate Salmiakki higher on the crave list than chocolate. Let that blow your mind please.
I know Finland has so many other types of wondrous foods, but I really need to do a shout out to cake buffet that I visited in Helsinki. Did you know this was a thing? CAKE BUFFET. You pay 12 euro and can eat as much cake as you want. I’d never heard of this, but when my friend mentioned it, I was like, “We’re going right?”
We went. We ate. We walked out pleased with how we demolished the cake display.
I bet you just went and googled to see if there are any cake buffets near you.
NEMO!