Finnish food culture - On the move (2024)

FAQs

What is the food culture of Finland? ›

Finns eat fairly common European food consisting mostly of meat, fish, potatoes, rice or pasta. Vegetarian food has become increasingly popular. It is common to eat two warm meals a day, lunch and dinner. In Finland, adults, too, often drink milk.

In the culture of Finland, people appreciate punctuality, good manners, and practicality. Finns love outdoor activities and public access rights “Everyman's rights” grant access to nature for all inhabitants.

Finns love smoked fish, whether it's white fish or salmon. Finnish fish dishes are often flavoured with lemon and fresh dill.

Equality, trust, honesty and nature are examples of values that are important to Finns.

Food culture (by definition) refers to the practices, attitudes, and beliefs as well as the networks and institutions surrounding the production, distribution, and consumption of food.

Italian food! 84 percent of people across the globe say they like it.

Simply put, things work well in Finland: public services run smoothly, there are low levels of crime and corruption, and there is an earned trust between the government and the public. All of this works together to create a functioning society and a culture of looking out for everyone.

Rye bread. No listing of Finnish foods is complete without rye bread. This bread is the most popular in Finland, eaten on its own for breakfast or as a snack, but also often as a side dish for lunch or dinner.

Traditional Finnish breakfast dishes

Breakfast is usually served at 7-8 am and consists of such satisfying meals as oat or rice porridge, rye bread with herb cheese and salt-cured salmon, eggs, traditional pastries and pies with fruit jam, and yogurt with freshly picked berries.

What meat is popular in Finland? ›

Pork and chicken are the most common meats at everyday meals in Finland, but on special occasions such as weddings and holidays, specialty meats from native Finnish species such as reindeer, elk, and bear are served. Karelian pot roast, for example, makes up the main dish for Christmas dinner in Eastern Finland.

Of the 26 DNA variations, 19 are either unique to Finnish individuals or over 20 times more frequent in Finland compared with elsewhere in Europe.

Despite having being referred to by some variation of 'Finland' since medieval times, the Finns continue as they have for centuries, referring to their country, and themselves, as 'Suomi'.

Finns have a reputation for reticence, thoughtfulness and unemotional behavior. They are quiet, reflective, somber and, for some, seemingly stubborn and standoffish. They are unwilling to speak unless they have something of importance to say. There is a saying that when a Finn says something, they really mean it.

People also connect to their cultural or ethnic group through food patterns. Food is often used as a means of retaining their cultural identity. People from different cultural backgrounds eat different foods. The areas in which families live and where their ancestors originated influence food like and dislikes.

Food Culture can be defined as the attitudes, beliefs and practices that surround the production and consumption of food. Food Culture incorporates our ethnicity, and cultural heritage and provides a mechanism of communication with others both externally and within our families and communities.

Pizza is the topmost liked food in the world. Today you can find pizza in almost every corner of the world. This traditional Italian dish is made of flattened round dough topped with cheese, and tomatoes, and additionally garnished with basil, olives, and oregano.

Karelian stew has been voted as the national food of Finland.

What is Finland's national drink? ›

One way to celebrate is by saying “kippis” and raising a glass of Finland's national beverage, lonkero, also known as long drink. Traditionally, long drinks were made with gin, distilled from Finland's Juniper berries, and grapefruit soda.

Finland is a Nordic welfare state that aims to be carbon neutral by 2035. It's also the happiest country in the world. Around 75% of its surface is covered with forests, and it has the world's biggest archipelago, as well as Europe's largest lake district and last untamed wilderness, Lapland.

This can be surprising to some but there isn't a word for 'please' in Finnish. It just doesn't exist. But that doesn't mean everyone is going around being rude to each other. When the situation calls for courtesy, the word for 'thank you' ('kiitos') is used instead.

Finland (Finnish: Suomi [ˈsuo̯mi] ( listen); Swedish: Finland [ˈfɪ̌nland] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta; Swedish: Republiken Finland ( listen to all)), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe.

Finland performs well in many dimensions of well-being relative to other countries in the Better Life Index. Finland outperforms the average in education, work-life balance, environmental quality, social connections, safety and life satisfaction. These assessments are based on available selected data.

When greeting, the parties shake hands and make eye contact. A deep bow denotes special respect – in normal circ*mstances, a nod of the head is enough. A Finnish handshake is brief and firm, and involves no supporting gestures such as touching the shoulder or upper arm.

In many cold, dark countries, people spend more time inside, staying warm. But the Finns tend to take advantage of their chilly climate. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and swimming in the Baltic Sea are regular activities Finns engage in to stay fit.

“They are often pessimistic by nature and reserved about their emotions. They drink too much, it's dark, the winters are cold and hard psychologically. This Finnish happiness we hear about is not about dancing or smiling or being outwardly happy. If that's your idea of happy, then no, they are not the happiest.

Kotipizza is the largest, with the Hamburger chains, Hesburger (operating around 270 outlets across Finland), Rolls (with just on 100 outlets), McDonalds (which came to Finland in 1984 and has around 80 outlets) and Subway following closely. Snacky, another Finnish burger chain, is an up and coming contender.

What is Finland's most popular dessert? ›

1. Korvapuusti (Cinnamon and Cardamon Buns) Korvapuusti (Finnish for "slapped ears") are essentially perfectly baked sweet buns of cinnamon and cardamon-spiced yeasted dough with plenty of butter, generously sprinkled with pearl sugar on top!

Finnish lunch options can vary. Many people might choose to have something light such as a salad, but other meals, such as soup or some kind of fish or meat with boiled potatoes, rice or pasta are very common.

The diligent Finns complied, reinforcing their pledge with a toast of “kippis” with each drink they downed. And Finns have been peace-loving people ever since. Kippis! Let's raise a toast for peaceful summer!

There are several words you can use for "Hello": Hei, Moi, and Terve. Hei has become semiformal and is more formal than Moi or Terve. These greetings may also be translated as an informal way of saying "Good bye".

The Finns consume an amazing 12 kilograms of coffee per capita annually, putting them at the top of the world. (This cup is from Finnish tableware manufacturer Arabia.)

A recent follow-up study has confirmed that regularly eating a Nordic diet reduces health risks, including Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, according to researcher Hanna-Mari Tertsunen, from the University of Eastern Finland.

The closest genetic relatives for Finns are Estonians (F_ST to Helsinki 40 and to Kuusamo 90) and Swedes (F_ST to Helsinki 50 and to Kuusamo 100).

As early as the 1960s and '70s, Finnish researchers made the significant discovery that one quarter of the Finns' genetic stock is Siberian, and three quarters is European in origin. The Samis, however, are of different genetic stock: a mixture of distinctly western, but also eastern elements.

By convention the Finns are white or Caucasian.

As Finland was Christianized, the old Finnish deities were regarded as demons. This led to the use of "Perkele" as a translation for "Devil" in the Finnish translation of the Bible. Later, in other translations, the word was rendered as paholainen (the evil one).

What does Hella mean in Finnish? ›

affectionate, fond, tender. gentle.

Finns are not regarded as being very talkative or chatty and telephone conversations with foreigners may feel uneasy for some. Even if Finns are quite good at speaking English, many of those who use the language less frequently are a bit shy to 'open their mouth' at first.

The most common Finnish-language surnames include Korhonen, Virtanen, Nieminen, Mäkinen, Hämäläinen, Koskinen, Heikkinen and Järvinen.

“Being honest is a characteristic of Finnish culture – at least if we compare to other cultures,” said Johannes Kananen, a lecturer at the Swedish School of Science at the University of Helsinki. “In English there is a saying that the truth is so valuable, it should be used sparingly.

The culture of Finland combines indigenous heritage, as represented for example by the country's national languages Finnish (a Uralic language) and Swedish (a Germanic language), the sauna, with common Nordic and European cultural aspects.

According to Finnish philosopher Frank Martela, Finns are generally happy because Finnish culture is more accepting of negative emotions and tough times. “Nobody goes through life without tragedies, so being able to accept the situation is helpful,” he says.

People also connect to their cultural or ethnic group through food patterns. Food is often used as a means of retaining their cultural identity. People from different cultural backgrounds eat different foods. The areas in which families live and where their ancestors originated influence food like and dislikes.