Finnish Food: Redemption Arc

Despite all my complaints about Finnish cuisine, it does have its redeeming factors For one, they have the freshest, most delicious salmon, and great seafood in general. The best sushi I've ever had in my life was actually at a mall restaurant in Vaasa called Magokoro. If you ever find yourself on the west coast of Finland, I cannot recommend it enough. 

The Magokoro sushi! Please excuse the bad picture; I was too excited to eat to take a nicer one.

The baked sweets in Finland were also delicious. A highlight for me was joulutorttu, a traditional Finnish pastry eaten around Christmas, which consists of puff pastry stars filled with prune jam.

Joulutorttu made by Kati's family.
Photo taken by me.

Finland also knows how to do drinks right. Pear juice, blueberry juice, raspberry soda, and glögg (a traditional mulled wine served hot around Christmas) were just a few of the beverage highlights of my trip. These were always the perfect amount of sweetness, enough to be a pleasant treat without the sheer overpowering syrupy taste present in most American sodas and juices. I was very intrigued by the variety of flavors that we don't seem to have in the US. 

A glass of glögg! There are both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions. It's the perfect beverage to sip on while walking through a Christmas market on a snowy evening.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gl%C3%B6gg#/media/File:Gl%C3%B6gi_2.jpg

I also fell in love with lingonberry sauce. I ate it with almost every single meal I had. My complaints about blandness were drowned away in heaping portions of that delicious pinkish-red slurry. Like, I was eating straight spoonfuls of this stuff. I had it on top of everything, from sweet plättar (Swedish pancakes that are more like what we Americans would consider crepes), to mashed potatoes, to ham. 

Finally, I also had the opportunity to experience the taste of locally foraged chanterelles. On one occasion during my last visit, I had some pizza topped with reindeer and chanterelles. I also had chanterelles in a delicious seasonally available burger at a Finnish burger joint. 

The delicious chanterelle burger from Finnish burger chain Friends & Brgrs.
Photo taken by me.

As you might have noticed, there's a pattern here: (in my personal opinion) the best Finnish cuisine has to offer often comes from foraging. In general, I noticed a large foraging culture present in Finland and other Nordic countries that I have not witnessed on the same scale in the US. One very interesting cultural difference related to this is the concept of 'freedom to roam'. Wikipedia defines this concept as the following:

the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness or the right to roam.

As an American, this concept didn't make intuitive sense to me. Our notions of private property typically seem to include the right to exclude people from one's property. However, 'freedom to roam' means that all land is free for one's recreation, as long as you don't harm the natural environment. Exact details can vary depending on the region, but in Finland specifically, some of these rights include the right to "pick mineral samples, wild berries, mushrooms and flowers (as long as they are not protected species)". There are some restrictions, however. Aside from not littering, one is also not allowed to damage property, disturb birds and game animals, or cut down/damage living trees.

I think this provides insight into not only which aspects of the landscape are utilized by Nordic cultures, but also about the connection that Nordic cultures have with nature and their reliance on its resources. Foraging isn’t just a practical way to access fresh, seasonal ingredients; it also reflects a cultural ethos of respect for the land and its offerings. This connection is also reflected in the communal spirit of the 'freedom to roam,' which embodies the belief that nature is a shared resource, meant to be enjoyed and preserved by everyone.

This perspective deepened my appreciation for the meals I enjoyed during my visit. The chanterelles on my pizza or in my burger weren’t just ingredients; they were a direct product of the local environment and a culture that values sustainable practices. Despite my mixed feelings about Finnish cuisine, my experiences highlighted the country’s unique connection to its landscape. Whether it was the freshest salmon, the variety of juices and drinks, the foraged mushrooms and berries, or even the dreaded lutfisk, these culinary highlights offered me a glimpse into Finnish traditions and values. 

While it may not have won me over entirely, I genuinely appreciated how Finnish cuisine provided a lens into the unique relationship between the culture and its natural environment.