12 regional dishes covered across Finland, each with the canonical version and where to eat it, city by city.
Graavilohi (cured salmon)Main course · HelsinkiSalmon cured with salt, sugar and dill until silky and translucent, sliced thin and served with mustard-dill sauce on dark rye.
Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pie)Main course · HelsinkiA thin rye crust pinched around a filling of rice porridge, eaten warm under a slick of egg-butter.
Korvapuusti (cinnamon bun)Main course · HelsinkiThe Finnish cinnamon roll, scented heavily with cardamom and shaped into a slapped-ear twist, finished with pearl sugar.
Leipäjuusto (bread cheese)Bread · HelsinkiA mild, squeaky fresh cheese baked until it browns in patches, served warm with cloudberry jam.
Lihapiirakka (Finnish meat pie)Main course · HelsinkiA deep-fried wheat pastry stuffed with minced meat and rice, dressed at the kiosk with mustard, ketchup and sometimes a sausage and fried egg.
Lohikeitto (salmon soup)Soup · HelsinkiFinland's national bowl: chunks of salmon and potato in a dill-flecked, lightly creamy broth.
Mustikkapiirakka (blueberry pie)Main course · HelsinkiA soft, cake-like pie base topped with Finnish forest blueberries set in a light quark or cream custard.
Poronkäristys (sautéed reindeer)Main course · HelsinkiThin shavings of reindeer braised soft in butter and stock, served over mashed potato with lingonberry and pickled cucumber.
Ruisleipä (rye bread)Bread · HelsinkiDense, dark, sour rye bread, the backbone of the Finnish table.
Runebergintorttu (Runeberg torte)Main course · HelsinkiA small cylindrical almond-and-rum cake topped with a ring of raspberry jam and white icing.
VorschmackMain course · HelsinkiA long-simmered hash of minced lamb or beef with herring, onion and garlic, served with sour cream, pickles and boiled potato.Silakka (Baltic herring)Main course · HelsinkiSmall Baltic herring floured and fried, or pickled in countless ways, from mustard to garlic to spiced.