What is in season in Helsinki, and what to order when the market changes.

Next up in Helsinki

Viini ja Ruoka Wine and Food Expo

22-25 OctWine and food tasting expo

Hotels for these dates

Spring

Mämmi
The dark, malted rye pudding eaten at Easter, served cold with cream and sugar. It looks alarming and tastes mild and treacly; spring is its only season.
Sima and tippaleipä
For May Day (Vappu), Helsinki drinks the fermented lemon mead sima and eats funnel-cake tippaleipä, sold at stalls and bakeries around the start of May.
Festivals this seasonRuokamessut Helsinki (Food Fair)2-4 Apr 2027Helsinki Coffee Festival and Chocolate CarnivalExpected 16-18 Apr 2027

Going to Ruokamessut Helsinki (Food Fair)?

Hotels in Helsinki, 2-4 Apr 2027

Holidufrom USD 103 a night

Hotels for these dates

Summer

New potatoes and herring
Midsummer means the first new potatoes with dill and butter, eaten alongside pickled or fried Baltic herring. It is the most Finnish plate of the year.
Finnish strawberries
Short, intense and prized, Finnish strawberries pile up on Market Square and Hakaniemi stalls through July; locals buy them by the litre box.
Fried vendace (muikku)
Tiny lake fish floured and fried whole, sold from summer market stalls by the cupful. Eaten head, tail and all with a squeeze of lemon.
Festivals this seasonCraft Beer HelsinkiExpected 24-26 Jun 2027

Autumn

Chanterelles and wild mushrooms
Autumn foraging fills market stalls with chanterelles and funnel chanterelles, which turn up in soups and on the menus at Grön, Nokka and Skörd.
Baltic herring
The October Baltic Herring Market brings salted, pickled and spiced herring to the harbour, the autumn event Helsinki has kept since 1743.
Lingonberries and cloudberries
Tart lingonberries accompany game and meatballs, while rare amber cloudberries from the north top leipäjuusto bread cheese and desserts.
Festivals this seasonViini ja Ruoka Wine and Food Expo22-25 OctHelsinki Christmas Market (Tuomaan Markkinat)27 Nov to 22 DecHelsinki Baltic Herring MarketExpected 4-10 Oct 2027

Going to Helsinki Christmas Market (Tuomaan Markkinat)?

Hotels in Helsinki, 27 Nov to 22 Dec

Holidufrom USD 103 a night

Hotels for these dates

Winter

Reindeer (poronkäristys)
Sautéed reindeer with mashed potato and lingonberry, a Lapland dish that warms Helsinki menus through the dark months from Savoy to Nokka.
Joulutorttu
The Christmas star pastry of puff pastry and prune jam appears in every bakery through December, alongside glogi mulled wine and gingerbread.
Salmon soup (lohikeitto)
Creamy salmon soup with dill and potato is a year-round comfort, but it comes into its own in winter, ladled hot in the market halls.

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