Reflections of a Chinese-American on Finnish Cuisine

Finland! Land of saunas, snow, Santa Claus. Also known for being the "happiest country in the world" according to the World Happiness Report for seven years in a row. But certainly, the index must be mistaken. Because nobody could be truly happy with such horrid food.

The first time I visited Finland was in the spring of 2022. I was in my second semester at Berkeley, and I skipped a few days of class (to the detriment of my biology class grade) around Spring Break to visit my girlfriend, Kati, who I had only started dating a few months prior. This was a short trip, being only about eight days long, six if you don't count travel time. It was a good trip! I tried reindeer meat pizza (and enjoyed it immensely). But the short trip length meant that my girlfriend and I spent most days eating simple homecooked meals or getting takeout; I didn't get to properly try "Finnish cuisine".

My second trip to Finland was in the winter of 2023. Having mentioned me to her parents, this time I was able to visit Kati's family home and spend time with her parents. This was a much longer trip—I was scheduled to stay for about a month, which included Christmas and New Year's. Yay! Holiday feasting!

My excitement was quite short-lived. Unlike the well-seasoned Chinese meals I associated with homecooked food from my family, Nordic food was...bland to say the least. Almost all of the certified Finnish food classics I tried had a very profound lack of seasoning and the same very mushy texture across all dishes. Even what is arguably Finland's most iconic dish, the Karelian pie, although quite pleasant in appearance, was exceedingly disappointing, with next to no flavor and a texture that I can only describe as mush on thin cardboard.

A Karelian pie (aka karjalanpiiraka)
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karelian_pasty#/media/File:Karjalanpiirakka-20060227.jpg

(Sidenote: If your Wikipedia page for your country's cuisine includes a section titled "Criticism", that's probably not a great sign.)

I'm writing this blog to explore just why Finnish food (and Nordic food more broadly) is so—in my opinion—plain bad. What about the environment of the Nordic countries caused the development of such a cuisine? What ingredients did they historically have access to in their environment? I hope to answer these questions and more in my upcoming posts.

To the readers: Do you have any experience with Nordic cuisine? Perhaps you've tried some at an Ikea cafeteria (although I will note that American Ikea food and Nordic/Finnish Ikea food differ quite greatly in my experience). Feel free to share your thoughts on it if you do!