56-633: Meltzer is a surname of German or Yiddish origin, meaning " malt or beer maker". Notable people with the surname include: Malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as " malting ". Malted grain is used to make beer , whisky , malted milk , malt vinegar , confections such as Maltesers and Whoppers , flavored drinks such as Horlicks , Ovaltine , and Milo , and some baked goods, such as malt loaf , bagels , and Rich Tea biscuits. Malted grain that has been ground into
112-404: A coarse meal is known as "sweet meal". Malting grain develops the enzymes (α-amylase, β-amylase) required for modifying the grains' starches into various types of sugar, including monosaccharide glucose , disaccharide maltose , trisaccharide maltotriose , and higher sugars called maltodextrines . It also develops other enzymes, such as proteases , that break down the proteins in
168-725: A common dessert. Homemade berry juices and jams are common, especially among older people. While berries are most often used for desserts, they are also served with meat, especially the sour lingonberry relish. Bilberry kissel|kiisseli ( mustikkakiisseli ) and pie ( mustikkapiirakka ), made from wild bilberries ( Vaccinium myrtillus ), are traditional Finnish desserts. Bilberries are frequently used in Finnish cuisine, both as an ingredient, such as bilberry pie, and also served with cream or ice cream. They are often used on top of viili and other yogurt-type dishes. Lakes and rivers in Finland and
224-595: A daily food started to emerge only at the beginning of 20th century, after periods of malnutrition in the 19th century caused by failed crops. In former times, the country's harsh climate meant that fresh fruit and vegetables were largely unavailable for at least nine months of the year, leading to a heavy reliance on staple tubers (initially turnip , later potato ), dark rye bread and fermented dairy products, occasionally enlivened with preserved fish and meat. Traditionally, very few spices other than salt were available, and fresh herbs like dill and chives were limited to
280-550: A human food supplement have suggested that it could potentially improve the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and chronic constipation , due to the way it can break down carbohydrates in the small intestine that IBS has been found to hinder. However further research is ongoing to fully prove this link. Finnish cuisine Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental-style cooking. Fish and meat (usually pork, beef or reindeer) play
336-532: A pan with onions as a side dish. They are preserved for the winter by pickling or drying. Chanterelles are frequently featured in Finnish haute cuisine with their relatives winter chanterelles which often end the season. Just like berry picking, mushroom hunting is also a popular outdoor activity among Finns. Dark and fiber-rich ruisleipä , rye bread, is a staple of the Finnish diet. Breads are made from grains like barley , oat , rye and wheat , or by mixing different grits and flours. For example, sihtileipä
392-686: A prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in some parts of the country, while the dishes elsewhere have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms . Evacuees from Karelia contributed to foods in other parts of Finland in the aftermath of the Continuation War . Finnish foods often use wholemeal products ( rye , barley , oats ) and berries (such as bilberries , lingonberries , cloudberries , and sea buckthorn ). Milk and its derivatives like buttermilk are commonly used as food, drink or in various recipes. Various turnips were common in traditional cooking, but were replaced with
448-437: A special party to prepare it during the night, and cook it from late in the evening until the daylight, singing related songs. In Tajikistan and Afghanistan , they sing: Samanak dar Jūsh u mā Kafcha zanēm – Dīgarān dar Khwāb u mā Dafcha zanēm (meaning: "Samanak is boiling and we are stirring it, others are asleep and we are playing daf " ). In modern times, making samanu can be a family gathering. It originally comes from
504-498: A substantial portion of porridge . Rolled oats, rye or multi-grain porridge are most common. However, there are other options such as the milk-based mannapuuro ( semolina -milk porridge) and helmipuuro (starch grain-milk porridge). Porridges are often eaten with milk, sugar, butter or berry kiisseli . The Christmas season introduces milk-based rice porridge ( riisipuuro ), sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and often topped with prune kiisseli ( luumukiisseli ). There
560-606: A sweet paste made entirely from germinated wheat is called samanū ( Persian : سمنو ) in Iran , samanak ( Persian : سمنک ) in Afghanistan , ( Tajik : суманак ); ( Uzbek Latin : sumalak ) or sümölök ( Kyrgyz : сүмөлөк ), which is prepared for Nowruz (Persian new year celebration) in a large pot (like a kazan ). A plate or bowl of samanu is a traditional component of the Haft sin table symbolising affluence. Traditionally, women have
616-415: Is porridge ( puuro ), often made of rolled oats, and eaten with a pat of butter ( voisilmä , lit. 'butter eye') or with milk, or fruit or jam, especially the sort made of raspberries or strawberries (sometimes lingonberries). Drinks are milk, juice, tea, or coffee. Finland has the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world, averaging 12 kilograms (26 lb) of coffee per person annually. It
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#1732855405425672-401: Is a seasonal delicacy decorating cakes, served alone, with cream, or with ice cream. Farmed strawberry ( mansikka ) is also very common. Today, berries are no longer dried for winter consumption but usually frozen. They may be used as ingredients, or eaten on their own, for example, with porridge and sugar. Kiisseli (a sweet soup of berry juice and berries thickened with potato starch) is
728-401: Is a variety of types distinguished largely by the kilning temperature. In addition, barley malts are distinguished by the two major cultivar types of barley used for malting, two-row, and six-row. Malt extract, also known as extract of malt, is a sweet, treacle -like substance used as a dietary supplement . It was popular in the first half of the 20th century as a nutritional enhancer for
784-410: Is achieved during the mashing process. Various cereals are malted, though barley is the most common. A high-protein form of malted barley is often a label-listed ingredient in blended flours typically used in the manufacture of yeast bread and other baked goods. The term "malt" refers to several products of the process: the grains to which this process has been applied, for example, malted barley;
840-413: Is also a semolina-based porridge flavored with fresh or frozen lingonberries called vispipuuro ("beaten porridge"). Water and coffee are the most common drinks in Finland, but during meals milk and sour milk ( piimä , a fermented milk ) are popular too, even among adults. Coffee is often drunk several times a day and Finland has the highest per capita consumption of coffee in the world. Tea
896-579: Is also an afternoon snack ( välipala ) or a coffee break where a light snack is served. In all primary and secondary schools, including high school , a hot free lunch is served as part of Finland's welfare state system. Lunch, eaten around noon, is usually a warm meal, although some people may select a lighter meal such as a sandwich or a salad. Taking a lunchbox is not as common as elsewhere in Europe. Universities also provide lunch for students, but contrary to primary and secondary schools, lunch in universities
952-429: Is also available in most homes. There are several types of home-brewed alcoholic beverages, such as sima (mead) and sahti (traditional beer ). Spirits brands include Koskenkorva ( vodka -like clear spirit) and a salmiakki flavored shot Salmiakkikossu , Jaloviina ( cut brandy ), Finlandia vodka , and Marskin ryyppy ( Marshal Mannerheim 's shot). Around Christmas time a type of mulled wine called glögi
1008-508: Is also common. Famines caused by crop failures in the 19th century caused Finns to improvise pettuleipä or bark bread , bread made from rye flour and the soft phloem layer of pine bark, which was nutritious, but rock-hard and anything but tasty. It was eaten also during the Second World War, and the tradition of making this bread has had a minor come-back with claims of health benefits. The Finnish breakfast traditionally includes
1064-620: Is also one of the most popular salmon dishes in Finland. It is common to smoke any type of fish, like salmon , zander , pike , perch and Baltic herring . A popular dish among the Swedish-speaking population is smoked herring ( Finnish : savusilakka , Swedish : böckling ). There are many styles of pickled herring which is a common appetizer and also served around Midsummer accompanied by small potatoes called uusiperuna ( nypotatis in Swedish) which means 'new potato', usually
1120-581: Is dominated by pale lagers. Local brands with the highest market share include Koff , Lapin Kulta , Karjala , Olvi and Karhu and their taste is rather similar to the Danish counterparts like Carlsberg and Tuborg . Non-alcoholic beer has also become a popular alternative during recent years. Kotikalja (similar to Slavic kvass ) is the traditional small beer. Kotikalja is a malty, sugar-containing sweet beer fermented only for carbonation, thus its alcohol content
1176-689: Is extremely good. Especially I love Finnish salmon, mushroom soup and desserts. I have also got very good Finnish wines. The worldwide reputation of Finnish cuisine isn't very good – but it should be!" (Liliane Delwasse, Le Figaro , Paris, France) "I have eaten only good food in Finland. Food in Finland is very fresh. Bread, berries, mushrooms and desserts are very delicious. Finnish berries (especially cloudberry ), salmon, cheeses and reindeer should be available in London, too." (April Hutchinson, Abta Magazine , London , England). Finnish pizza chain Kotipizza won
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#17328554054251232-559: Is low enough (<1.2%) to be served as a soft drink. Hops are often absent. Fresh kotikalja is unfiltered, cloudy and cannot be stored. A Finnish beer specialty is sahti , a traditional ale flavoured with juniper berries. The term perinneruoka ("traditional dish") is often applied to specialties that are rarely eaten on a daily basis. These are often regional, associated with the older generations or specific holidays—for example, mämmi on Easter—and most people eat these dishes rarely, or not at all. In contrast, with perinneruoka ,
1288-451: Is made of a combination of rye and wheat. There is also a variety of flat breads called rieska , like maitorieska (milk flatbread ), ryynirieska with barley grits from Savonia , läskirieska (lard flatbread) a somewhat flat barley bread with pieces of lard from Western coast, and perunarieska (potato flatbread). In Kainuu , North Finland, the flatbreads are very flat and baked on naked flame. Näkkileipä , crisp rye bread,
1344-856: Is mainly consumed within households and is rarely obtainable in restaurants. Arctic wild berries are distinctively featured in Finnish cuisine with their strong flavor and high nutrient content. Traditionally, they were eaten fresh in summer and dried at other times of year. It is still quite common to go picking berries straight from the forests – in fact, wild berries are free to pick in any forest, state or private, except in close proximity to dwellings (see freedom to roam ). Wild raspberries ( vadelma ), bilberries ( mustikka ) and lingonberries ( puolukka ) are found in almost every part of Finland, while cloudberries ( lakka ), cranberries ( karpalo ), arctic brambles ( mesimarja ) and sea buckthorns ( tyrni ) grow in more limited areas. The intensely flavored wild strawberry ( metsämansikka )
1400-540: Is no longer diastatic . The liquid produced from this, wort , is then concentrated by using heat or a vacuum procedure to evaporate water from the mixture. The concentrated wort is called malt extract. Two forms of malt extract are used by brewers: liquid malt extract (LME), containing about 20% water, and dry malt extract (DME), dehydrated to 2% water. LME is a thick syrup that typically gives off more pleasant flavors than its counterpart, while DME provides better consistency in color. When using large amounts of extract, LME
1456-485: Is not free of charge but subsidized. Lunch typically consists of a single course with optional side salad, bread and dessert. Many workplaces have a lunch restaurant, and if not, employers often give lunch vouchers. Restaurants often have a separate lunch menu for this purpose. In the evening, the dinner is usually a hot meal, again with sides. Meals are usually single-course, commonly consisting of meat of some sort (pork, lamb, chicken, beef) and potatoes, rice or pasta with
1512-407: Is seen as a substantial meal and usually consists of open sandwiches . The sandwich is often buttered, with savoury toppings such as hard cheese or cold cuts . Sour milk products such as yoghurt or viili are also common breakfast foods, usually served in a bowl with cereals such as corn flakes , muesli , and sometimes with sugar, fruit or jam. A third food that is commonly eaten at breakfast
1568-454: Is served, also often as a non-alcoholic version. Many berries are used to season liqueurs, e.g. cloudberry liqueur and there are fruit wines produced from red and black currants. A national specialty would be multiple brands of flavored hard ciders (as in Sweden) and long drink mixes with the pet name lonkero , which was originally a gin and grapefruit soda long drink. The Finnish beer scene
1624-428: Is the process of converting barley or other cereal grains into malt for use in brewing, distilling , or foods, and takes place in a maltings , sometimes called a malthouse, or a malting floor. The cereal is spread out on the malting floor in a layer of 8 to 12 centimetres (3 to 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches) depth. A "maltings" is typically a long, single-storey building with a floor that slopes slightly from one end of
1680-495: Is typical for a Finn to drink coffee continuously throughout the day, often accompanied by a sweet bun or a sandwich. Most workplaces allocate time for coffee breaks and serving coffee is very likely to happen to a visitor to a private home. Finns consider it as a small courtesy. In 2005, Finnish cuisine came under heavy fire from two leaders of countries renowned for their cuisine. The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi claimed that "I've been to Finland and I had to endure
1736-566: Is typically used because its ability to dissolve in boiling temperatures, whereas DME can clump up and become difficult to liquefy. LME is also sold in jars as a consumer product. Scientists aim to discover what happens inside barley grains as they become malted to help plant breeders produce better malting barley for food and beverage products. The United States Agricultural Research Service scientists are interested in specialized enzymes called serine-class proteases that digest beta-amylases, which convert carbohydrates into "simple sugars" during
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1792-443: Is unsweetened, even bitter. Finnish cuisine also bears some resemblance to German and Russian cuisines . Sausages and buttered bread (like Butterbrot ), and kiisseli ( kissel ) and lihapiirakka (cf. pirozhki ) are similar to their respective German and Russian counterparts. Finnish recipes, however, tend to favour fresh ingredients over canned or pickled foods, as fresh vegetables, fish, and meat are available throughout
1848-414: The mash of converted grain to create a filter bed during lautering . As all grains sprout, natural enzymes within the grain break down the starch of which the grain is composed into simpler sugars, which taste sweet and are easier for yeast to use as food. Malt with active enzymes is called "diastatic malt". Malt with inactive enzymes is called "nondiastatic malt". The enzymes are deactivated by heating
1904-672: The potato after its introduction in the 18th century. The way of life and culture of Finns was mainly based on agriculture already at prehistoric times. However, in the harsh and cold environment, agriculture was neither a very effective nor secure way of life, so getting food from nature has often been an important secondary livelihood. When crops failed, it might have been the only way to survive. Also, while farms mainly produced plants like crops or turnips, and often families had only some farm animals to get milk products and meat, hunting and especially fishing were important ways to get more protein. Large-scale meat production and therefore meat as
1960-645: The 20th century, when the majority of Finnish women entered the workforce, many traditional dishes that require long preparation time are reserved for holidays. Even with modern agriculture and transportation, food remains expensive in Finland relative to other European countries. This is notwithstanding the effect of accession to the European Union in 1995. The consequent elimination of trade barriers led prices of products like grains, meat, and milk to drop as much as 50%. Before that, heavy taxes and outright bans on imports that competed with local produce severely limited
2016-517: The Baltic Sea provide many opportunities for fishing and fish has always been an important protein source. Numerous methods of preparing fish are used, including frying, boiling, drying, salting, fermenting, cold smoking or simply slicing sea fish and eating it raw. Salmon is a popular choice, both as kylmäsavustettu lohi : cold smoked salmon, lox , or served raw with lemon juice as graavilohi ( gravlax in Swedish). The soup called lohikeitto
2072-589: The Finnish diet so I am in a position to make a comparison." Berlusconi started his anti-Finnish food campaign in 2001. He went on: "The Finns don't even know what prosciutto is." This followed the initial decision by the European Commission to establish the European Food Safety Authority in Helsinki . On 4 July 2005 French President Jacques Chirac claimed that "After Finland, [Britain is]
2128-468: The Great Persian Empire . Mämmi , or Easter Porridge, is a traditional Finnish Lenten food. Cooked from rye malt and flour, mämmi has a great resemblance (in the recipe, color, and taste) to samanū . Today, this product is available in shops from February until Easter. A (nonrepresentative) survey in 2013 showed that almost no one cooks mämmi at home in modern-day Finland . Malting
2184-569: The availability of foreign or unseasonal food. Nowadays Finnish supermarkets and restaurants provide a variety of food from all over the world. Finnish cuisine is very similar to Swedish cuisine . Swedish dishes like Janssons frestelse ( janssoninkiusaus ), pyttipannu , and gravlax ( graavilohi ) are common in Finland. The overarching difference is the Finns' preference for unsweetened foods. For example, while traditional Swedish rye bread includes plenty of syrup and spices, Finnish rye bread
2240-423: The barley in water to encourage it to sprout, then drying it to halt the progress when the sprouting begins. The drying step stops the sprouting, but the enzymes remain active due to the low temperatures used in base malt production. In one before-and-after comparison, malting decreased barley's extractable starch content by about 7% on a dry matter basis and turned that portion into various other carbohydrates. In
2296-430: The building to the other. Floor maltings began to be phased out in the 1940s in favor of "pneumatic plants", where large industrial fans are used to blow air through the germinating grain beds and to pass hot air through the malt being kilned. Like floor maltings, these pneumatic plants use batch processes, but of considerably greater size, typically 100-ton batches compared with 20-ton batches floor maltings. As of 2014 ,
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2352-459: The children of the British urban working class, whose diet was often deficient in vitamins and minerals. Children were given cod liver oil for the same reason, but it proved so unpalatable that it was combined with extract of malt to produce "Malt and Cod-Liver Oil." The 1907 British Pharmaceutical Codex ' s instructions for making a nutritional extract of malt do not include a mashout at
2408-535: The country with the worst food." After Jacques Chirac's and Silvio Berlusconi's critiques, some international food reporters answered: "Chirac and Berlusconi are wrong! Finnish cuisine is much more international than I expected. I have eaten very good food in wonderful restaurants, visited market places and enjoyed in good cafeterias. Cheese is very good in Finland. I also love Finnish cloudberry and smoked fish." (Ute Junker, Australian Financial Review Magazine , Sydney , Australia ) "Food in Finnish restaurants
2464-419: The end of extraction and include the use of lower mash temperatures than is typical with modern beer-brewing practices. The Codex indicates that diastatic activity is to be preserved by the use of temperatures not exceeding 55 °C (131 °F). Malt extract is frequently used in the brewing of beer. Its production begins by germinating barley grain in a process known as malting, which consists of immersing
2520-517: The first harvests of potato. Whitefish and vendace roe are Finnish delicacies served on top of a toast or with blinis. Crayfish can be found in many lakes and streams in Finland and, in August especially, the Swedish-speaking population often arranges parties centered around eating crayfish and drinking. Various species of mushrooms grow in abundance in Finnish forests and false morels start
2576-403: The grain into forms that can be used by yeast . The point at which the malting process is stopped affects the starch -to-enzyme ratio, and partly converted starch becomes fermentable sugars. Malt also contains small amounts of other sugars, such as sucrose and fructose , which are not products of starch modification, but which are already in the grain. Further conversion to fermentable sugars
2632-529: The largest malting operation in the world was Malteurop, which operates in 14 countries. Barley is the most commonly malted grain, in part because of its high content of enzymes , though wheat, rye , oats , rice, and corn are also used. Also very important is the retention of the grain's husk , even after threshing , unlike the bare seeds of threshed wheat or rye. This protects the growing acrospire (developing plant embryo ) from damage during malting, which can easily lead to mold growth; it also allows
2688-527: The malt. Malt is often divided into two categories by brewers: base malts and specialty malts. Base malts have enough diastatic power to convert their own starch and usually, that of some amount of starch from unmalted grain, called adjuncts . Specialty malts have little diastatic power, but provide flavor, color, or "body" ( viscosity ) to the finished beer. Specialty caramel or crystal malts have been subjected to heat treatment to convert their starches to sugars nonenzymatically. Within these categories
2744-399: The meat. Soups, such as pea soup or fish soup, are not considered appetizers only, but may be served as lunch or dinner, and they are correspondingly heavier and come in larger portions. Dinner is typically the most substantial meal of the day. However, it is served rather early at 5 pm, so that there is often a separate supper at 8-9 pm. This supper ( iltapala ) is a light snack. Breakfast
2800-400: The next step, brewers use a process called mashing to extract the sugars. Brewers warm cracked malt in temperature-modulated water, activating the enzymes, which cleave more of the malt's remaining starch into various sugars, the largest percentage of which is maltose . Modern beer-mashing practices typically include high enough temperatures at mash-out to deactivate remaining enzymes, thus it
2856-437: The season in spring and are used in creamy dishes. Chanterelles and ceps pop up after Midsummer and are popular in the whole country, while in eastern Finland almost all edible fungi are consumed, including milkcaps and russulas . Most of the mushroom recipes originate from Russia, since Finns used mushrooms in coloring fabrics rather than as food. Mushrooms are used in soups, sauces, stews, pie fillings, or simply fried in
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#17328554054252912-492: The sprouting process. The enzyme also breaks down stored proteins into their amino-acid derivatives. The balance of proteins and carbohydrates broken down by the enzyme affects the malt's flavor. Enzyme-rich malt extract (ERME) is a specialised form of barley malt extract (marketed by Ateria Health ), that has undergone preparation to activate the natural amylase and glucanase enzymes in the grain. Initially researched as an equine food supplement, pilot studies using ERME as
2968-483: The sugar, heavy in maltose, derived from such grains, such as the baker's malt used in various breakfast cereals; single malt whisky , often called simply "single malt"; or a product based on malted milk, similar to a malted milkshake (i.e. "malts"). Malted grains have probably been used as an ingredient of beer since ancient times, for example in Egypt ( Ancient Egyptian cuisine ), Sumer , and China. In Persian countries,
3024-910: The summer months. Many Finnish traditional dishes are prepared by stewing them for a long time in an oven, which produces hearty but bland fare. Forests and lakes were historically a major source of food, and produce from forests currently accounts for the distinctive traits in Finnish cuisine. The simplicity of traditional Finnish food has been turned into an advantage by shifting the emphasis to freshness. Modern Finnish restaurateurs now blend high-quality Finnish products with continental cooking techniques. This approach helped Helsinki's Chez Dominique to receive two Michelin stars in 2003. The restaurant closed in 2013. Internationalization brought imported goods. As pasta, pizza, kebab, and hamburgers were integrated into Finnish menus, they displaced some traditional everyday dishes like kaalilaatikko (cabbage casserole), or herring fillets, which some consider inferior. As of
3080-481: The term kotiruoka ("home-made food") is applied to daily staple dishes. Meatballs, pea soup and rye bread are examples of such staples. The following list is a sample of typical dishes traditionally consumed in Finland. Due to the location on the West coast, the cuisine has some local specialities. Common meals are breakfast ( aamupala ), lunch ( lounas ), dinner ( päivällinen ) and supper ( iltapala ). Sometimes there
3136-775: The year. The most popular meats in Finland are pork (33.5 kg/year/person in 2005), beef (18.6 kg), and chicken (13.3 kg). Approximately one third of this is eaten as sausage ( makkara ), which is mostly made from pork but often mixes in other meats as well. Horse meat , lamb and reindeer make up a small portion of the total meat consumption, but they are widely available. In addition to domesticated animals, there are long traditions of hunting and fishing in Finland. The hunters focus on deer , moose and bear , but small game such as hare , duck and grouse are popular. Approximately 70,000–80,000 moose are culled yearly, producing significant amounts of meat. Due to very strict food hygiene regulations, moose meat
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