During the last weeks, we have had the chance to savour some more Finnish specialties:

Since we are both yoghurt-eaters, we tried viili, which is a nordic type of yoghurt with a slightly weird consistency. To be honest, it didn’t really convince us although I was smart and bought the toffee-flavoured one. It might have to do with the fact that one of our Finnish friends mentioned beforehand that it looks like snot. It somehow does. However, I often use kermaviili for cooking as a replace for créme fraiche and it works very well!

Another thing that we tried is the traditional Finnish  Easter treat: mämmi. Since the beginning of March you can find it in the supermarkets and it is kind of a malt pudding that was traditionally eaten on Good Friday because it doesn’t need to be cooked (nowadays it is enjoyed throughout Lent). You eat it cold with cream and sugar. And if viili reminds you of snot, mämmi looks a bit like…well. It didn’t really convince us either, but that was again more due to the texture than to the taste. The taste was actually quite nice though you can’t eat too much of it. I think it would be a great hit if it would be pressed into little pellets and rolled in sugar!

A treat that we very much enjoyed is the laskiaispulla. It is a sweet cardamom roll filled with whipped cream and marzipan. Although being mainly associated with Shrove Tuesday (the Scandinavian countries really know how to sell sweets on specific days!), it is sold throughout Lent (and probably during the rest of the year too). We tried three different ones from different bakeries and they were all good 🙂

Generally, the Finns are great when it comes to pastries….cinnamon buns have been my favourite for years now. But for the sake of our waist circumference we might end this culinary review for now!