Finland, the land of many things - #1 in milk consumption, #1 in coffee consumption, home to Nokia and Angry Birds, birthplace of the best race car drivers in the world, and possibly have the most interesting in food as well.
The cold dark winters breeds some interesting flavors. Mostly potatoes and rye - Finnish staple ingredients.
These are the 20 most interesting(weird) foods from Finland I've found (I'm gonna try them all some day).
1. Rusinamakkara - Raisin Sausage
Sausage with raisins inside. Apparently it's a traditional Turku invention.
2. Luumukiisseli - Plum jam
Kiisseli is half way jam and soup consistency. It's thickened with potato starch instead of just sugar. I'm not fan of plums, it tastes like old people.
3. Perunamakkara - Potato sausage
From pictures it looks like it's just potato inside, though I haven't seen any being sold anywhere.
4. Aladobi - Meat jelly
Blast from the 70s.
5. Piimäjuusto - Cheese from sour milk
Piimä is almost yogurt but not quite. Looks like "fresh" cottage cheese.
6. Lapskoussi - Meat and potato mash
Also known as holomuussi in the archipelago, is a staple for sailors in Rauma.
7. Mustaleipä - Dark bread
The dark brown color comes from the brown sugar syrup and rye malt in the ingredients. Mustaleipä and saaristöleipä are breads that originated from the archipelago in Southwest Finland.
8. Perunalimppu - Potato loaf
It's regular bread with potato flakes baked in it. Because carbs on carbs is what I want.
9. Munajuusto - Egg cheese
It's exactly what it says. Boil expired milk with buttermilk and egg, and then bake it.
10. Veripalttu - Baked blood pudding
Looks like brownies. I wonder if it tastes like it too.
11. Pyöröset - Sweet rice porridge on a bun
Traditional food from Karelia. Another famous food from that area is the Karelian pie that is made with rye pastry with rice porridge filling instead of a bun. This looks amazing already, I wonder if it will taste good with munavoi (egg butter) too.
12. Sulhaspiirakka - Pan fried Karelian pies
How do you make something good better? You fry it. It's like calzone but with rice porridge / mash potato filling.
13. Hapanvelli - Sour pea soup
Soak pea with sour dough and yeast, cover with linen and leave overnight. Then boil it with potato pieces and season well. Serve when there is a thin layer of "skin" above the soup.
I don't know how to feel about yeast soup, really.
14. Perunarieska - Potato flat bread
Bread made with mashed potatoes. To be honest, it sounds delicious with butter.
15. Taikinakiisseli -Dough jam/soup
Unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures of this. But there is a short discussion here. I am guessing they put dough with sugar and milk and make it a soup. Similar to penkkivelli, whereby it's rolled oats with cold milk, essentially muesli without the crunchiness.
16. Naurisleipä - Turnip bread
Similar to potato flat bread, but with turnips instead. Turnips tastes quite strong to me, I wonder how it would make the bread taste like.
17. Blinit - Pancake with fish roe and sourcream
K-ruoka listed this as starter dish. Honey no, this is the dish.
18. rusinasoppa - Raisin soup
Usually served with rice porridge. Seems like something you'd find on Christmas day.
19. Prötti - Mämmi, but with potato flour
I didn't like Mämmi, I doubt I'll like this one.
20. Juhannusjuusto - Midsummer Cheese
Cheese boiled in it's own whey. This looks the weirdest of the bunch. Basically you add rennet to milk and boil away until the curds redden from caramelization.
These are the weirdest food I would want to try some day. Do you have a weird food from your country?
References
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_milk_consumption_per_capita
[3] http://vintti.yle.fi/yle.fi/blogit.yle.fi/puoliseitseman/lapskoussi.html
[4] https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luettelo_suomalaisista_perinneruokalajeista
[5] https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perinneruoka
[6] https://www.ruokatieto.fi/ruokakasvatus/hyva-tavaton-ruoka-ja-tapakulttuuri/mista-ruokakulttuuri-koostuu/maakuntien-ruokaperinteita
[7] http://www.ahvenus.net/sanoja/ruokaohjeet/docs/munajuusto.htm
[8] https://www.k-ruoka.fi/reseptit/marjakiisseli
[9] https://keskustelu.anna.fi/threads/mitae-eroa.1581390/
[10] https://www.kotikokki.net/reseptit/nayta/158405/Hapanvelli Virolahdelta/
[11] https://keskustelu.suomi24.fi/t/13546267/taikinakiisseli
[12] https://www.vauva.fi/keskustelu/901911/ketju/tiedatko_mita_on_penkkivelli
[13] https://www.maajakotitalousnaiset.fi/reseptit/etela-pohjanmaan-naurisleipa-179N
[14] https://www.k-ruoka.fi/reseptit/blinit