Cornish flag
Contents

The Cornish Pasty

Cornish flag
Cornwall

Finnish pasties

The kalakukko & the Karelian karjanpiirakat

 

Finnish kalakukko
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalakukko
Finnish kalakukko

 

From Wikipedia - Kalakukko

"Kalakukko is a traditional Savonian food made from fish baked inside a loaf of bread. The Cornish pasty from Cornwall has the same basic idea of complete packed lunch.

Traditionally, kalakukko is prepared with rye flour, although wheat is often added to make the dough more pliable. The filling consists of fish, pork and bacon, and is seasoned with salt (unless the pork is already salted). After being baked for several hours, kalakukko looks much like a large loaf of rye bread. If prepared correctly, all the bones of the fishes inside it have softened and the filling is moist as all the meat and fish juices have been cooked inside the bread.

Traditionally, the fish used in kalakukko is either the vendace (Finnish muikku), or European perch (Finnish Ahven), but salmon is also sometimes used. In southern Savonia the vendace is advocated as the only fish for the true kalakukko whereas in the northen parts of the province the same is said about the perch. Instead of fish, also combinations of potato and pork or rutabaga/sweet and pork are possible. The appropriate drink to accompany kalakukko is buttermilk or piimä.

You can heat kalakukko in an oven. It takes about one hour in 130 degrees Celsius if the size of the kalakukko is about 1 kg. You can also eat it cold. One way (and many say the only right way) to eat kalakukko is to open the top with a sharp knife, eat the top with butter, and then slice some of the bread making the hole on the top larger and eat it with the the filling. Traditionally you only need a knife and your fingers for eating kalakukko.

Kalakukko will keep for a long time when unopened. It used to be a practical lunch for workers away from home.

An average Finnish speaking person today finds the name somewhat amusing, as kala is Finnish for "fish" and kukko is Finnish for "rooster". However, the archaic form of kukko is derived from the same root as kukkaro (purse).

It is said that Kuopio marketplace is the original and best place to buy kalakukko. There you can also buy very small kalakukkos to try it."

 

                                                                                                            

 

From Wikipedia - Karjalanpiirakat .....

Finnish Karelian karjanpiirakat
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karjalanpiirakat
Finnish Karelian karjanpiirakat

"Karelian pasties (Karjalanpiirakat in South Karelian dialect of Finnish and Karjalanpiiraat in North Karelian dialect. Also commonly known as Karelian Pie or karjalanpiirakka) are traditional pasties from the region of Karelia. Today they are eaten throughout Finland.

The oldest traditional pasties usually had a rye crust, but the North Karelian and Ladoga Karelian variants also had wheat alongside of rye to improve the baking characteristics of the available rye breads. The common fillings of this era were barley and talkkuna. The 19th century first introduced potato and buckwheat as new fillings, and later due to trade, also rice and millet.

Nowadays in the most familiar and common recipe the pasties are made from a thin rye crust with a filling of rice. Butter, often mixed with boiled egg (eggbutter or munavoi), is spread over the hot pasties before eating."

                                                                                                             

 

New York Times Online - Travel - Friday, May 18, 2007 says ......

"Oven-baking is a characteristic of Karelia, quite different from the on-the-stove cookery of western Finland. Most often in Karelia - as with the pasties and the fish, cabbage and rutabaga pastries - the fillings are added before the baking. The workmen of eastern Finland, many of them lumbermen, carried pasties with them to their jobs. These days, the pasties, particularly those filled with mashed potatoes, are favorite foods of the sauna, to enjoyed along with a glass of schnapps in the cleansing heat."

 

                                                                                                             

 

Also, a Finnish miners pasty with afters ..............

 

 

Celtic spiral animation