National cuisine of Karelia what to eat. Karelian cuisine. Little fishy pleasures

The Republic of Karelia, located in northwestern Russia, is often called the lake region. It’s not surprising: there are really a lot of lakes in this region. It must be said that Karelia is not only a Russian region. The provinces of South and North Karelia are also in neighboring Finland. The population of Karelia consists of Russians, Karelians, Finns and Vepsians (a small Finno-Ugric people also living in the Leningrad and Vologda regions of the Russian Federation).

Karelia is a region visited by quite a large number of tourists. They are attracted here by the already mentioned numerous lakes - beautiful, restrained, strict northern beauty, the famous islands: Kizhi (with monuments of wooden architecture) and Valaam (Valaam Monastery). Karelian cuisine, without a doubt, also cannot but arouse interest among those who come to Karelia, and among those who simply love culinary experiments, expanding the geography of the dishes they prepare.

Fish

It is not for nothing that this small virtual culinary journey began with the mention of numerous Karelian lakes. The fact is that fish, which abounded in local reservoirs for a long time, is the main food of the people who inhabited the region. They used it in a variety of forms: they cooked it fresh, salted it (in Karelian - suolattu kala), fermented it, dried it (ahavoittu kala), but almost never smoked it.

To store salted fish by grade, special pits were used, as well as wooden barrels and tubs. The fish was covered with a splinter on top and a heavy stone oppression was placed - the brine was supposed to cover it. North Karelians cooked fish “with flavor” (kevätkala). In addition, northerners often ate raw salted fish, while southern and middle Karelians always cooked it, and even pre-soaked it.

Sushik (kabakala) - dried fish fines - was very popular. They made strong fish soup from the dry soup. For medicinal purposes, they ate fish oil melted from the insides of pike or perch. The consumption of fish by Karelians can be called almost waste-free: flour was made from fish bones. Basically, however, it was added to livestock feed. However, sometimes they were also used to prepare fish soup. The scales of large fish were used for jellied meat. Valuable caviar, as a rule, was sold, and the rest was often baked in the oven (even caviar pancakes were made) and eaten hot or cold.

Fish soup (kalaruoka) was and remains the main Karelian first course. A typical Karelian fish soup is made from whitefish. There may also be milk soup, and also fish soup made from pickled fish. However, the latter is now rarely prepared, except in villages. The fact is that, following the traditional recipe, before the end of cooking (about five minutes), such fish soup should be passed through a layer of birch charcoal - this will relieve the fish soup of bitterness and possible unpleasant odor. Agree, in urban conditions birch charcoal is not always at hand... Chicken eggs are added to Karelian fish soup. In general, unlike Russian fish soup - transparent, Karelian fish soup is cloudy. After all, in addition to milk and eggs, it may also contain Icelandic moss, birch and pine buds, sourdough and rye flour.

By the way, it’s worth special mention about the influence of the Russian oven on the Karelian culinary tradition. Its appearance in Karelian homes changed the technology of cooking. Karelians cooked, stewed or baked their food in a Russian oven. There is no word for “fry” in the Karelian language. Even some types of pies that were actually fried in oil were called keitinpiiroa - "boiled (in oil) pies."

All the rest

Let's return to the first courses - in addition to fish soup, Karelians ate something else. They prepared, for example, cabbage soup or soup (both were called in one word: ruoka). Shchi was made from fresh or pickled cabbage leaves. They also added onions, turnips, and later potatoes (when they began to grow them), as well as barley. These cabbage soup were common, everyday Karelian food. They had lunch or dinner. Sometimes meat was added to the cabbage soup. Karelian potato soup is also known, which is prepared from only potatoes and seasoned with sour cream. However, if the housewife had stocked up on mushrooms (pickled or dried them), they and onions were added to the soup. In addition, the ancient Karelian soup with wheat flour, potatoes and linseed oil is famous.

Meat. In ancient times, Karelians ate little. Basically, it was meat from wild animals (elk, deer, wild boar, game birds). Later, when the Karelians mastered cattle breeding and agriculture, they also began to eat livestock meat (beef, sometimes lean lamb, less often pork). Mostly meat was eaten during haymaking and in winter. To keep it for a long time, it, like fish, was salted and dried. They often took dried meat with them on long journeys.

Turnip is the main root vegetable of Karelian cuisine. Many different dishes were prepared from it: soups, casseroles, porridges, stewed fruit, kvass, and dried. Potatoes replaced it only at the beginning of the last century. Other vegetables consumed by Karelians: radish, onion, cabbage, rutabaga, carrots in small quantities. Vegetable gardening in Karelia was previously quite poorly developed.

Karelians loved (and love) milk, as well as products made from it. Cottage cheese is especially popular. Many Karelians prepared cottage cheese during the spring-summer period, and from it for the winter they made homemade cheese (muigiemaido), which was eaten with boiled potatoes and sour cream. In addition, the cottage cheese was dried. There was also yogurt on Karelian tables. It was often served mixed with unleavened milk. Goat milk became widespread among the Karelians only in the 1930s. It is also worth remembering colostrum - the milk of the first milk yield. In some areas of Karelia it was baked in pots, producing a product similar to cheese (yysto). Karelians did not consume reindeer milk, although they were engaged in reindeer herding (especially in the north). Karelians also churned butter. It was mainly put into porridge, and later into potatoes. They hardly ate butter with bread.

As for the bread itself, in Karelia it was baked from rye, barley or oatmeal. Often there was not enough flour, so the practice of various additives to flour appeared and took root: moss, barley straw, pine sapwood. In addition to simple bread, they baked pies. In addition to the already mentioned fishmongers, they also baked wickets (sipainiekku) - pies filled with millet and barley cereals, oatmeal, and mashed potatoes. Local housewives had a saying: “A gate requires eight.” It was meant that to make such pies, as a rule, eight components are needed: flour, water, salt, milk, curdled milk, sour cream, butter and filling.

It must be said that in Karelian cuisine there are no fruit dishes or confectionery products. Dessert was and remains pies with wild berries (cranberries, blueberries, lingonberries). Karelians often ate cloudberries and still eat them soaked. But some Karelians did not collect blueberries at all - many believed that they were an “unclean” berry and that they gave them “a headache.” Fresh berries with milk are a favorite Karelian delicacy.

Among the drinks, it is worth noting kvass (from turnips, bread or malt). Karelians also knew tea and drank decoctions of forest herbs, including for medicinal purposes. Karelian beer is known among alcoholic drinks. True, the traditional recipe for its preparation is now considered lost. From a certain time, Karelians knew vodka and wine, but these drinks, naturally, were borrowed from other cuisines. First of all, from Russian, and also from Finnish.

Ritual Karelian dishes.

One cannot fail to mention the dishes that Karelians ate during various rituals. So, at holidays and weddings, oatmeal jelly was always served. There is an interesting Karelian custom: oatmeal jelly was served to the groom after the first wedding night. If he started eating the jelly from the edge, everything was fine. But if it’s from the middle, it means the bride lost her virginity before the wedding. And this was a shame for her and for all her relatives. However, the wedding was not necessarily upset because of this...

Another old Karelian custom is also known: if matchmakers came to the younger sister in the family, and the eldest was not yet married, then they were offered to first taste the bottom layer of jelly, so as not to touch the top layer that covered it.

The same oatmeal jelly, however, was also served at funerals, along with rye jelly (it is now customary for Karelians to remember the deceased with berry jelly). Bread kvass was also an obligatory “funeral” drink. Moreover, they slurped it with spoons from common dishes. In some regions of Karelia, kulaga was prepared from sprouted rye. Rye malt was poured into boiled water and eaten hot with bread. It, like kvass, was enjoyed from common dishes.
On St. Peter's Day (06/29/12/07) they baked cottage cheese cakes (kabu), and when they said goodbye to summer (08/1/14) - pies with blueberries.

Karelian cuisine recipes

Naturally, many ancient Karelian dishes are now, alas, forgotten. Others have changed somewhat. Karelian cuisine in the twentieth century borrowed a lot from Russian cuisine. Borsch in Petrozavodsk (the capital of Karelia) today is as common as in Moscow. But “Culinary Eden” still offers you more traditional recipes of Karelian cuisine. As they say, let's taste Karelia. Let's start, of course, with fish.

Salted fish “with flavor” (kevätkala).

Ingredients:
bucket of fish,
1700 g salt,
nettle.

Preparation:
To cook fish “with flavor,” it is advisable to catch it yourself in Karelian lakes or rivers. You can, of course, buy it in a store, but it won’t be the same pleasure.

The fish is caught during spring spawning (except for burbot), cut from the back - large, or along the belly from head to tail - medium and small. The fish is gutted and washed well. Coarse salt is poured inside. The fish is placed in a wooden barrel or tub with its backs down. Each row must be sprinkled with salt. Then cover the barrel with a lid. When the fish releases juice, place a weight on top and place the fish in a cool place.

After standing like this all summer, the fish will be salted, but will begin to emit an unpleasant odor. To avoid this, you can top it with nettles while salting. Kevätkala is considered good if the fish does not bend when held by the tail in a horizontal position.

Caviar pancakes

Ingredients:
fresh fish roe,
rye or oat flour,
melted butter,
salt to taste.

Preparation:
Peel the caviar from films, lightly salt it, mix with flour. No need to add water. Cook in a frying pan in ghee.

Soup soup (kabarokka)

Ingredients:
sushchik (dried small fish, including roach),
water,
potato,
black peppercorns,
onion.

Preparation:
Place the dryer in cold water and soak for 1 hour. Then, without changing the water, put the dryer on the fire. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes. After this, cut the potatoes into medium-sized slices. Before the end of cooking (when the potatoes are cooked), chop the onions. This soup can be served both hot and cold.

Roast Karelian style (Karjalanpaisti)

Ingredients:
200 g beef,
200 g pork,
150 g lamb,
100 g liver and kidneys,
2 heads of onions,
Bay leaf,
salt to taste.

Preparation:
Rinse the meat well. If using salted meat, soak it first. Cut into pieces and place in a clay pot. First lamb, then beef, pork, and on top - pieces of liver and kidneys. Fill everything with water so that it covers all the meat, add salt. Add chopped onion. Place the pot in the oven, but not very hot, or in a Russian oven, if you have one. The idea is to keep the roast in the oven or oven for a long time, perhaps even a whole night or day until evening.

Fishing is one of the main industries of the local population, so fish in all forms occupies an important place in the diet of Karelians - salted, dried, dried, smoked.

Salted fish is used to prepare soups, main courses, and is also served with hot potatoes. Fish is included in vegetable salads, it is boiled, fried, baked in dough.

The favorite snack of Karelians is salted fish with boiled potatoes. It is typical that finished fish products are not topped with sauce when served.

Karelian cuisine also uses meat products: pork, beef, veal, poultry.

In summer and autumn in Karelia they prepare a lot of mushrooms for future use (mostly salted). Salted mushrooms are served with vegetable oil, onions or sour cream. In addition to mushrooms, strawberries, blueberries, blueberries, cranberries, and cloudberries are used.

Among the second courses, products made from rye and wheat flour, potatoes and various cereals predominate. Pancakes and flatbreads made from unleavened dough are served along with porridge, mashed potatoes, generously sprinkled with butter.

Fish, mushrooms, turnips and other products baked in dough are served whole or pre-cut into portions.

Recipes of Karelian cuisine

1. Karelian salad

The caviar is salted, and the milk and liver are boiled. Then the caviar, milk, liver and onion are finely chopped and everything is mixed.

Fresh fish caviar 75, milt 30, fish liver 30, green or onion 25.

2. Maimarekka (soup with sushi)

Place potatoes and onions, cut into large slices, into boiling water. When the water and potatoes boil, add sushik (small dried fish), bay leaf, pepper and cook until tender.

Sushik (dried fish) 80, potatoes 150, onions 25, spices, salt.

3. Kalaneitto (soup)

Potatoes are placed in boiling water, allowed to boil, then milk, fish, and onions are added and cooked until tender.

Fresh pike perch 100, potatoes 195, milk 300, onion 10, salt.

4. Naparokko (dried snapper soup)

Place thoroughly washed and pre-scalded dried perch into boiling salted water and cook until tender. The pulp is separated. Strain the broth, add fish pulp, bring to a boil, add potatoes, cut into cubes, and continue cooking. At the end of cooking, add flour diluted with cold broth and bring until cooked. When serving, add sour cream.

Dried perch 80, potatoes 200, flour 3, spices, sour cream 10, salt.

5. Maitokalakeitto (fish in milk)

A piece of fish is placed in a portioned frying pan, poured with milk and placed in a hot oven. Serve with oil.

Cod fillet 180, butter 15, milk 50, salt.

6. Kalalimtikko (fish and chips)

Raw potatoes, cut into slices, are placed in an even layer in a frying pan, and thin slices of herring are placed on it, sprinkled with chopped onions, flour, poured with oil and baked. When the potatoes are ready, the fish is poured with a raw egg mixed with milk and baked again.

Potatoes 150, egg 1/2 pcs, fresh herring 40, onions 20, sunflower oil 10, milk 25, wheat flour 3, salt.

7. Lanttulaatikko

Prepare rutabaga puree, dilute it with milk, add sugar and eggs, put it in a pan greased and bake.

Rutabaga 160, butter 5, milk 25, sugar 10, egg 1/5 pcs.

8. Rice baked with beets

The rice is boiled and combined with pieces of boiled beets. Raw eggs are diluted with milk, salt is added and mixed. This mixture is poured over rice mixed with beets and baked.

9. Kalaladika with pork (casserole)

Fresh or salted herring fillets are cut into pieces. Slices of raw potatoes are placed in a layer on a baking sheet, sprinkled with pieces of herring and chopped onions; Place another layer of potatoes and a layer of fatty pork on top. Sprinkle with onions, cover with a layer of potatoes, pour in fat and bake.

The finished dish is poured with eggs mixed with flour, salt and milk, and baked a second time. Serve hot.

Potatoes 150, salted or fresh herring 20, pork 20, onions 20, egg 1/5 pcs., flour 3, milk 25, fat 5.

10. Kalakayareytya (fish farmers)

The sour dough is rolled out into a flat cake 1 cm thick, fish fillets are placed on it, salted, sprinkled with fat, the dough is wrapped and baked.

Wheat flour 145, sunflower oil 10, sugar 5, yeast 5, fresh cod or herring, or trout or whitefish 120, butter 5.

11. Potato gates

Round cakes are formed from unleavened dough, and a filling of mashed potatoes diluted with hot milk and mixed with butter or margarine is placed in the middle of each. The edges of the cakes are pinched, the products are greased with sour cream and baked in the oven.

Flour 230, potatoes 750, milk 250, butter margarine 50, sour cream 75, salt.

12. Kakriskukka (turnip pie)

The unleavened dough is placed in a warm place and allowed to rise. Roll out thin layers, place turnips cut into thin slices on them, sprinkle with salt and flour, cover the filling with a second layer of dough and bake. The finished pie is cut into portions.

Flour 550, water 230, sugar 38, yeast 15, turnip 440, margarine 30, melange 30, fat 5, egg 1/2 pcs., salt.

13. Pannukakku (pancake)

Sugar, ground with egg, sour cream and milk, is added to wheat flour. The dough is thoroughly kneaded, placed in a greased frying pan and baked in the oven. The hot flatbread is cut into portions.

Wheat flour 390, milk 390, sour cream 80, sugar 80, egg 2 pcs., butter 15, salt.

14. Kapkarat (unleavened pancakes in a frying pan)

Pour a little cold milk into wheat flour mixed with salt and mix thoroughly. Then pour in the rest of the milk and stir with a whisk. The dough is poured in a thin layer into a frying pan greased with lard and fried on both sides. Before serving, place a thin layer of viscous rice or wheat porridge on the pancake. Drizzle with butter.

Wheat flour 50, milk 125, egg 1/2 pcs., lard 2, butter 15, salt.

15. Ryyunipiiraita (fried pie)

The unleavened dough is rolled out into a flat cake 1 mm thick, and crumbly wheat porridge with sugar is placed on it. The edges are connected, giving a semicircular shape. Fry in melted butter.

Flour 30, butter 10, millet 20, sugar 5.

16. Makeita piiraita (sweet pies)

From choux pastry, rolled out in a thin layer, cut out mugs with a notch, place granulated sugar in the middle, fold them into a semicircle and fry.

Wheat flour 30, sugar 17, melted butter 10.

17. Skantsy (flatbread with cheese)

Thin flat cakes are rolled out from unleavened dough and lightly dried in the oven. The flatbread is placed in a frying pan, sprinkled with grated cheese, covered with another flatbread, poured with oil and baked.

Flour 30, sour cream 10, water 50, grated cheese 15.

18. Coconut with cottage cheese

From unleavened dough, roll out a skaniets (flatbread) 2 mm thick, grease it with butter and place two pancakes on it, greased with oatmeal mixed with butter and cottage cheese. The layered pancakes are folded in half, greased with butter, covered with skeins, the product is given a semicircular shape, pinched and baked. Served with butter.

Wheat flour 50 (including for pancakes 20), sour cream 10, water 50, ghee 5, oatmeal 30, cottage cheese 15, butter, salt.

19. Potato kolobos

Flatbreads are rolled out from sour dough to a thickness of 1 cm, on which mashed potatoes are placed, greased with sour cream and baked.

Wheat flour 40, potatoes 115, yeast 1, milk 50, butter 10, sugar 1, sour cream 15, salt.

20. Perunapiyraita (potato pies)

The boiled potatoes are stirred, flour and salt are added and the flatbreads are cut, millet porridge is placed in the middle of each, the product is shaped into a semicircle, greased with butter and baked.

Potatoes 75, flour 18, butter 8, millet 10.

21. Kulebyaka with mushrooms

The sour dough is rolled out into a strip 18–20 cm wide and 1 cm thick. Minced salted chopped mushrooms and onions are placed in the middle of the strip. The edges of the dough are connected and pinched. Brush with egg and bake.

Wheat flour 160, sugar 8, sunflower oil 8, yeast 3, egg 1/6 pcs., onions 35, mushrooms 150.

22. Cocachipea

Flatbreads are formed from sour dough. Place minced meat in the middle of each, join the edges of the dough and pinch them together. The products are greased with vegetable oil and baked. Minced meat is prepared from peas, minced and mixed with oatmeal, chopped onion and butter, and salt.

Rye flour 60, sourdough 10, oatmeal 10, peas 15, onions 10, sunflower oil 15, salt.

23. Oatmeal spikes

Flatbreads 1 cm thick are formed from sour dough. Minced meat made from curdled milk mixed with oatmeal and egg is placed in the middle of each. Spread with sour cream and bake.

Rye flour 30, sourdough 10, oatmeal 20, curdled milk 20, egg 1/10 pcs., melted butter 5, sour cream 10, salt.

24. Lingonberries with oatmeal

Lingonberries are washed, then pounded and mixed with oatmeal and sugar.

Lingonberries 100, oatmeal 50, sugar 50.

25. Oatmeal jelly

“Hercules” cereal is poured with warm water and placed in a warm place for 24 hours, the mixture is filtered, salt is added and boiled, stirring frequently, to form a thick jelly. Butter is placed in hot jelly, then poured into molds and cooled. Served with milk. When serving, you can sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Traditional Karelian cuisine is an element of the culture of the people. Food is one of the most important elements of the material culture of a people. Its specificity depends on many factors, and, first of all, on the geographical environment in which the people live, on their economic activities, social and economic living conditions; contacts with neighboring peoples also affect it.
Traditional cuisine is the most consumed and widespread dishes among the people, prepared from those food products provided by flora and fauna, the main economic activity. It took shape over many centuries. Cooking skills, food processing features, and food preservation are passed on from generation to generation.

“The earth will not feed, the water will”

Since ancient times, one of the first places in the Karelian diet has been fish, which was consumed in a wide variety of forms: fresh, salted, dried, etc. Everywhere they prepared dried fish for future use - sushik (kabakala), which was boiled for a year. Strong soup made from dry bean was an excellent medicine for stomach diseases. They used fish oil melted from the insides of perch and pike for food and medicinal purposes.
The traditional national cuisine of Karelians has evolved over many centuries. Since ancient times, the first place on the Karelian table was occupied by lake fish, which was consumed in a variety of forms: fresh, dried, salted, dried. Meat of wild animals (elk, deer), forest products (berries, mushrooms).
Salted fish - kaba - was prepared for future use and eaten all year round. Fish, as a rule, was not fried; it was baked in milk and sour cream. There is no word for “fry” in the Karelian language. Even pies that were fried in oil were called keitinpiiroa, literally “boiled” pies. Flour was made from fish bones, which was added to cattle swill in winter. And jellied jellied meat was made from the scales of large fish. Caviar of valuable breeds was sold, others were baked, consumed hot and cold. The favorite food of Karelian-Livviks still remains fresh fish soup, fish soup and jellied meat. Despite the importance of fish, the basis of food was still grain products. Round-shaped bread (leiba) was baked from rye, barley and oat flour and was grown everywhere. And pelenitsa was cultivated mainly on the Olonets Plain.
Various porridges were very popular - pearl barley, barley, pea, bearberry and oatmeal. Traditional dishes of Sunday and holiday tables are kalitki, skants, rybniki. Karelians were skilled cooks.
Along with fish, Karelians almost always had milk and dairy products on the table - sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, baked milk.
Various stews and soups made from fish, meat, turnips, and salted mushrooms were widespread, and the soup was served not only for lunch, but also for dinner and breakfast.
Among the drinks, the Karelians' favorite drink was tea; they made kvass (turnip kvass, bread kvass) and jelly.
The Karelians had many special ritual dishes that were prepared on the occasion of one or another event in a person’s life. For example, fish soup is a mandatory dish at all celebrations and at funeral dinners.
National Karelian cuisine is a kind of symbiosis of Old Russian cuisine and the cuisine of Northern Europe.

The most popular first dish of Karelian cuisine, which is mandatory for all guests, is fish soup - “Kalaruokka”. There are a lot of options for its preparation, but the most typical use is whitefish. In addition, milk soup and fermented fish soup are also distinguished. Quite an unusual combination for our people, isn’t it? Nevertheless, the taste of this dish is not inferior to the traditional Russian fish soup. The secret to preparing Karelian fish soup is this: five minutes before it’s ready, the fish broth is passed through a thick layer of birch coals. Unlike Russian fish soup, which is more transparent, the tastier, “Kalaruokka” is slightly cloudy: it contains not only eggs and Icelandic moss, but also rye flour, birch or birch buds, and dried fish.

It is interesting that despite the rather diverse assortment of first fish dishes, there are few recipes in Karelian cuisine for preparing second courses. First of all, these are fish pies, which are usually prepared from the same fish, which acts as a filling, and unleavened dough based on rye flour. Not many people know that, just like in Udmurt, in Karelian cuisine they put fish in pies without cleaning them - along with their scales. Other versions of pies are baked with porridge, but unlike elongated fish pies, they are usually made crescent-shaped or semicircular.

Among vegetables, Karelians eat turnips, radishes, potatoes, cabbage and green onions. But local residents practically do not know fruits and confectionery. So, malted dough – “Myammi” – is used as sweets here.

A popular drink in Karelia is kvass, which is prepared from completely different raw materials: turnips, malt or bread. In addition, you don’t mind enjoying a cup of hot aromatic coffee or tea here. Karelians prefer wine and vodka when it comes to alcohol, but beer is no less in demand.

Salted fish is used to prepare soups, main courses, and is also served with hot potatoes. Fish is included in vegetable salads, it is boiled, fried, baked in dough. The Karelians' favorite snack is salted fish with boiled potatoes. It is typical that finished fish products are not topped with sauce when served.

Traditions of cooking fish soup in Karelia

The first courses of local cuisine are the inimitable fish soup. Moreover, it can be made not only with fish broth, as we are used to, but also with the addition of cream, milk, and butter. This traditional white fish stew is called Kalakeitto (kala-keito) on restaurant menus. Salmon soup - a festive version with the addition of cream, is already called Lohikeitto (lohi-keito) and is known under this name throughout the world.
It was customary to prepare such rich fish soup for dear guests, because it has a special, velvety taste, devoid of fishy smell. Even an avid gourmet and picky eater will not refuse a bowl of this amazing soup.

Unlike a restaurant recipe, the method of preparing yushka (“yushka” is the more traditional name for fish soup in Karelian use) is somewhat different. According to the old recipe, pieces of fish were boiled whole without cleaning. To make the fish soup more filling, it was also coated with flour, eggs and exotic items such as Icelandic moss or birch buds were added. The result was not only satisfying, but also very healthy food, because all these original seasonings are a storehouse of vitamins that are so necessary to support the human body during the long northern winter.
Before the meal, they always took out pieces of fish from the fish soup, which they ate separately as a second course, adding a lot of salt. It is interesting that even during fishing there was a kind of “division” of the catch: the offal and head went to the rower, the best piece went to the cook, and the tail went to the slackers.

In the old days, fish soup was also cooked from dried fish, which was filled with water and simmered in a Russian oven for about a day. Often this dish resembled a dense and satisfying fish porridge.

Another recipe for making Karelian fish soup is fermented fish soup. However, this dish has become rare. V. Pokhlebkin in his book “National Cuisines of Our Peoples” writes that the art of fermenting fish has been lost, and modern cooks do not master it to the same extent as they could in the old days; their fish turns out with a bitterness or an unpleasant odor.

Speaking about simmering as the main component of recipes for preparing all kinds of dishes in Karelia, one cannot fail to mention such a dish as stewed fish for the main course. The secret to preparing such juicy and tender fish with a tantalizing olfactory aroma lies in prolonged heating of the cast iron with its contents in the oven. Naturally, the contents of the cast iron pot were fish and a filling made from milk or an egg-milk mixture. The peculiarity of uniform heating of cast iron in a Russian stove is an important component of a successful result. Trying such fish, poached in the oven, is a rarity not only for guests, but also for the average Karelian; If you manage to come across such a recipe on the menu, be sure to try it, you won’t regret it!

Recipe for Lohikeitto (Karelian soup with cream)

The recipe for lohi-keito is quite simple: the salmon is cut, separating the fillet from the bone and skin. Putting the fillet aside, make broth from the rest, to which, after boiling, add salt, black pepper, bay leaf and onion head. Then, after straining, the broth takes in potatoes, leeks, and carrots. After 15 minutes of cooking over low heat, add flour and butter to the soup, then diced fillet and, at the very end, cream.

The traditional national cuisine of Karelians has evolved over many centuries.

Among the second courses, products made from rye and wheat flour, potatoes and various cereals predominate. Pancakes and flatbreads made from unleavened dough are served along with porridge, mashed potatoes, generously sprinkled with butter.

Maitokalakeitto (fish in milk)

A piece of fish is placed in a portioned frying pan, poured with milk and placed in a hot oven. Serve with oil.

Cod fillet 180, butter 15, milk 50, salt.

Kalalimtikko (fish and chips)

Raw potatoes, cut into slices, are placed in an even layer in a frying pan, and thin slices of herring are placed on it, sprinkled with chopped onions, flour, poured with oil and baked. When the potatoes are ready, the fish is poured with a raw egg mixed with milk and baked again.

Potatoes 150, egg 1/2 pcs, fresh herring 40, onions 20, sunflower oil 10, milk 25, wheat flour 3, salt.

Lanttulaatikko

Prepare rutabaga puree, dilute it with milk, add sugar and eggs, put it in a pan greased and bake.

Rutabaga 160, butter 5, milk 25, sugar 10, egg 1/5 pcs.

Rice baked with beets

The rice is boiled and combined with pieces of boiled beets. Raw eggs are diluted with milk, salt is added and mixed. This mixture is poured over rice mixed with beets and baked.

Kalaladika with pork (casserole)

Fresh or salted herring fillets are cut into pieces. Slices of raw potatoes are placed in a layer on a baking sheet, sprinkled with pieces of herring and chopped onions; Place another layer of potatoes and a layer of fatty pork on top. Sprinkle with onions, cover with a layer of potatoes, pour in fat and bake. The finished dish is poured with eggs mixed with flour, salt and milk, and baked a second time. Serve hot.

Potatoes 150, salted or fresh herring 20, pork 20, onions 20, egg 1/5 pcs., flour 3, milk 25, fat 5.

Kalakayareytya (fish farmers)

The yeast dough is rolled out into a flat cake 1 cm thick, fish fillet is placed on it, salted, sprinkled with fat, the dough is wrapped and baked.

Wheat flour 145, sunflower oil 10, sugar 5, yeast 5, fresh cod or herring, or trout or whitefish 120, butter 5.

Potato gates

Kalitki is another popular and well-known pie of Karelian cuisine in many countries of the world. The housewives said: “Kalitoa - kyzyy kaheksa” - “The gate requires eight,” i.e. to make them, 8 components were required: water, salt, flour, milk, curdled milk, butter, sour cream and filling. A wicket is a kind of open small pie, like a cheesecake, often square or polygonal in shape. The filling for the gates could be the same porridge, as well as potatoes or berries. The unusual name “wicket” has two possible origins. According to one, the name of Karelian pies comes from the Finnish “kalittoa - spread”, because the viscous filling is spread on a base pancake made of unleavened dough. According to another, from the Russian “kalita” - that is, a wallet or bag, which is reminiscent of a gate in shape. In such a “bag” you can put almost any contents - filling to your liking. Perhaps the most delicious and beloved by many are the berry ones. They are generously greased with oil and placed in a deep pan, which is carefully wrapped. Fragrant, oozing with berry syrup, they are loved by all those with a sweet tooth. They say that such pies were made already in the 9th century, that is, even before the baptism of Rus'. Today, wickets are a popular type of baked goods not only in the north-west of Russia, but also in Finland and the Scandinavian countries, where wickets made everywhere are called “Karelian pies”. A meal with wickets in Karelia resembles a kind of family ritual. A large bowl filled with hot milk and butter is placed in the middle of the table. All pies are placed in a bowl and soaked in the creamy mixture. After the pies have become soft, they are taken by the hostess, who places them on the plates of everyone present, according to seniority. They eat this dish only with their hands, wiping them on a towel lying nearby. Round cakes are formed from unleavened dough, and a filling of mashed potatoes diluted with hot milk and mixed with butter or margarine is placed in the middle of each. The edges of the cakes are pinched, the products are greased with sour cream and baked in the oven.

Flour 230, potatoes 750, milk 250, butter margarine 50, sour cream 75, salt.

Kakriskukka (turnip pie)

The unleavened dough is placed in a warm place and allowed to rise. Roll out thin layers, place turnips cut into thin slices on them, sprinkle with salt and flour, cover the filling with a second layer of dough and bake. The finished pie is cut into portions.

Flour 550, water 230, sugar 38, yeast 15, turnip 440, margarine 30, melange 30, fat 5, egg 1/2 pcs., salt.

Pannukakku (pancake)

Sugar, ground with egg, sour cream and milk, is added to wheat flour. The dough is thoroughly kneaded, placed in a greased frying pan and baked in the oven. The hot flatbread is cut into portions.

Wheat flour 390, milk 390, sour cream 80, sugar 80, egg 2 pcs., butter 15, salt.

Kapkarat (unleavened pancakes in a frying pan)

Pour a little cold milk into wheat flour mixed with salt and mix thoroughly. Then pour in the rest of the milk and stir with a whisk. The dough is poured in a thin layer into a frying pan greased with lard and fried on both sides. Before serving, place a thin layer of viscous rice or wheat porridge on the pancake. Drizzle with butter.

Wheat flour 50, milk 125, egg 1/2 pcs., lard 2, butter 15, salt.

Ryyunipiiraita (fried pie)

The unleavened dough is rolled out into a flat cake 1 mm thick, and crumbly wheat porridge with sugar is placed on it. The edges are connected, giving a semicircular shape. Fry in melted butter.

Flour 30, butter 10, millet 20, sugar 5.

Makeita piiraita (sweet pies)

From choux pastry, rolled out in a thin layer, cut out mugs with a notch, place granulated sugar in the middle, fold them into a semicircle and fry.

Wheat flour 30, sugar 17, melted butter 10.

Scans (flatbread with cheese)

Skants - or, as they are also called today, “pies for son-in-law” - are a traditional type of pastry for Karelian cuisine. Classic skants are a crescent-shaped rye flour pie filled with millet or rice porridge. According to tradition, the dough was rolled out (hence the name “skanets”) when matchmakers came to the house, baked and treated to the groom and matchmakers, hence the name “pies for son-in-law.” Today, when preparing skants, the dough is often made with white wheat flour, and instead of rich porridge, they prefer a sweet filling of sugar or honey. The result is a wonderful holiday pastry and an excellent treat for tea - which is quick and easy to prepare. Thin flat cakes are rolled out from unleavened dough and lightly dried in the oven. The flatbread is placed in a frying pan, sprinkled with grated cheese, covered with another flatbread, poured with oil and baked.

Flour 30, sour cream 10, water 50, grated cheese 15.

Sulchins

Sulchiny is a recipe from Karelian cuisine, known in Rus' since time immemorial. Essentially, these are hearty filled pancakes. Dissolve 1 tsp. salt in a glass of water and mix it with 200 g of rye flour. Divide the resulting dough into lumps the size of a chicken egg, roll out the pancakes and bake in the oven for 5 minutes at 200 °C. Grease the hot sulchins with oil and place them in a stack. Bring 250 ml of milk to a boil, add ½ cup of rice and cook until tender. At the end add salt and sugar to taste. Season the pancakes with rice porridge and roll them into rolls. Sulchini for breakfast is a very tasty and unusual dish.

Coconut with cottage cheese

From unleavened dough, roll out a skaniets (flatbread) 2 mm thick, grease it with butter and place two pancakes on it, greased with oatmeal mixed with butter and cottage cheese. The layered pancakes are folded in half, greased with butter, covered with skeins, the product is given a semicircular shape, pinched and baked. Served with butter.

Wheat flour 50 (including for pancakes 20), sour cream 10, water 50, ghee 5, oatmeal 30, cottage cheese 15, butter, salt.

Potato bulbs

The yeast dough is rolled out into flat cakes 1 cm thick, onto which mashed potatoes are placed, brushed with sour cream and baked.

Wheat flour 40, potatoes 115, yeast 1, milk 50, butter 10, sugar 1, sour cream 15, salt.

Perunapiyraita (potato pies)

The boiled potatoes are stirred, flour and salt are added and the flatbreads are cut, millet porridge is placed in the middle of each, the product is shaped into a semicircle, greased with butter and baked.

Potatoes 75, flour 18, butter 8, millet 10.

Kulebyaka with mushrooms

The yeast dough is rolled out into a strip 18–20 cm wide and 1 cm thick. Minced salted chopped mushrooms and onions are placed in the middle of the strip. The edges of the dough are connected and pinched. Brush with egg and bake.

Wheat flour 160, sugar 8, sunflower oil 8, yeast 3, egg 1/6 pcs., onions 35, mushrooms 150.
Kokachi pea

Flatbreads are formed from yeast dough. Place minced meat in the middle of each, join the edges of the dough and pinch them together. The products are greased with vegetable oil and baked. Minced meat is prepared from peas, minced and mixed with oatmeal, chopped onion and butter, and salt.

Rye flour 60, sourdough 10, oatmeal 10, peas 15, onions 10, sunflower oil 15, salt.

Oatmeal spikes

Flatbreads 1 cm thick are formed from yeast dough. Minced meat made from curdled milk mixed with oatmeal and egg is placed in the middle of each. Spread with sour cream and bake.

Rye flour 30, sourdough 10, oatmeal 20, curdled milk 20, egg 1/10 pcs., melted butter 5, sour cream 10, salt.

Lingonberries with oatmeal

Lingonberries are washed, then pounded and mixed with oatmeal and sugar. Lingonberries 100, oatmeal 50, sugar 50.

Oatmeal jelly

Oatmeal is poured with warm water and placed in a warm place for 24 hours, the mixture is filtered, salt is added and boiled, stirring frequently, to form a thick jelly. Butter is placed in hot jelly, then poured into molds and cooled. Served with milk. When serving, you can sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Cereals 60, water 240, salt 2, milk 200, butter 4.

Semolina mousse with rhubarb

The rhubarb is cleared of fibers, washed, finely chopped, boiled in water with sugar for 5 minutes, wiped, cottage cheese is added and mixed, and then brought to a boil. Add semolina and cook until thickened. After cooling to 40°, the mass is whipped into foam, poured into molds and cooled. Served with fruit or berry sauce.

Semolina 100, water 700, sugar 175, rhubarb 350.

Fish in Karelian style

A dish loved by many residents of Karelia. It occupies an intermediate position between the first and second courses. It is prepared from any fish. It is especially tasty from vendace or cod fish. The cleaned and washed fish is placed in a deep frying pan, with chopped potatoes, bay leaves, pepper, and finely chopped onions on it. After salting, pour the whole thing with cold water so as to just cover the contents, and put it on the fire. After the water boils, turn down the heat and pour a little sunflower oil into the frying pan. The fish should simmer slowly for 30 - 40 minutes. Eaten hot or cold. 500 g fish, 2 medium potatoes, 2 onions, 1 bay leaf, 4 - 5 peppercorns, 2 tbsp. spoons of sunflower oil (can be replaced with butter).

Pies with fish.

All kinds of fish pies are very common in Karelia, oblong in shape, with a hole into which sour cream is poured, which makes the filling unusually tasty. To flavor fish, Finnish Karelians sometimes cover it with a layer of finely chopped pork fat. The fish in this pie is placed whole, in layers, sometimes layered with mushrooms and onions. The filling simply comes out with juice that soaks into a thin layer of rye dough, and the taste of such a pie can tempt any gourmet, even if he doesn’t like fish dishes.

One of the notable varieties of fish pies is the Finnish “Easter” pie - Kalakukko (kalakukko). Outwardly, it looks like a closed loaf of rye dough, but instead of bread crumb, inside it is a juicy fish filling mixed with onions and lard. Easter fish bread is served warm with a crispy crust and eaten with a spoon from the loaf like a stew.

Desserts are almost never found in Karelian cuisine. Steamed lingonberries, so beloved in the north, are difficult to classify as one of them. But you can bake a delicious pie with it, so a lingonberry preparation will come in handy. In the old days, berries were steamed in a Russian oven, but a slow cooker will help us. Pour 500 g of washed lingonberries into a bowl, select manual mode and temperature 90 °C. After 30 minutes, reduce it to 70 °C and simmer the berries for half an hour. Then we switch the multicooker to the “Heating” mode and keep the lingonberries for another 30 minutes. Now you can put it in jars, tightly closing the lids. By the way, tea with such berries is a thousand times tastier and healthier.

This region is famous for its large flow of tourists. The attraction for them is the beautiful lakes and islands that captivate with their splendor. Among them, Valaam and Kizhi should be highlighted. The first island is famous for the Valaam Monastery located on its lands, and the second has many wooden monuments.

Tourists are also attracted by the famous Karelian cuisine, which attracts with its diversity and unique taste.

Fish dishes

Due to such an abundance of lakes, Karelia has a wide variety of freshwater fish. They learned to cook it in a variety of ways. Fish dishes were served baked, salted, dried, pickled and fresh.

The catch was sorted and stored in special pits and wooden barrels. The top of the fish was covered with a splinter and a heavy stone weight, which ultimately produced brine. It covered the fish, which ensured that it was in its own juice.

The northern side of Karelia used a different type of preparation of the dish, which was called fish “with flavor.” Residents of the north often ate fish raw. South Karelians preferred to soak fish in water and then cook it with spices.

Small fish were dried, it was called sushik. After this, it could be used to make fish soup, which would have a strong, rich taste. Fish oil was also consumed in food, as it is a source of many fat-soluble vitamins and microelements, which has a beneficial effect on the immune system. Fish oil is obtained by rendering the internal organs of perch and bream.

Eating fish among Karelians has no waste; even the bones were used to make flour. It was a nutritious raw material for livestock, which significantly saved feed costs. Sometimes fishmeal was added to the soup to make the soup seem thicker and richer. Fish scales also found their use - they were added during the preparation of jellied meat.

The caviar was mainly sold and brought in a lot of income. The rest of the variety, which was of no value, was eaten hot or cold. Karelians even baked pancakes from caviar.

Cooking fish soup

The number one dish has always been considered a fish soup called ukha. To prepare this dish, a fish from the whitefish family is used. Some housewives added milk to the soup, and fish soup made from pickled fish is also considered very tasty. Unfortunately, this type of soup can only be prepared in rural conditions, since the recipe for a successful fish soup requires passing it through birch charcoal 4-5 minutes before the end of cooking. This approach makes the fish soup more tasty, because charcoal takes away the unpleasant smell and bitterness. For urban residents, mining birch coal is a difficult task.

In addition, it is customary to add chicken eggs to traditional fish soup, which makes it cloudier and the broth richer. This is precisely what distinguishes fish soup from Karelia from Russian fish soup.

In addition to the above, moss, rye flour, dried fish, birch and pine buds can be added to the fish soup.

Fish pies

Second courses include so-called fish pies. They are made from rye dough, which has no taste (unleavened), and are baked in Russian ovens. Moreover, the slave was added to the pie along with the scales. The typical shape for this dish is rectangular. But, for example, porridge pies had a crescent shape. This is explained by the fact that the sickle was a symbol of peasant labor.

As for porridges, they are an integral part of the dinner table. The diet of a resident of Karelia is not complete without this side dish: they eat oatmeal, barley, wheat, pearl barley and pea porridge.

A few words should be said about the Russian oven, which plays a big role in the preparation of Karelian dishes. Along with its appearance in the kitchen of Karelian houses, the technology in cooking also changed. The Russian oven was suitable for baking, stewing and cooking Karelian food. By the way, in the vocabulary of the inhabitants of this region there is no word “fry” at all, and pies were called boiled in oil.

Other dishes of Karelia

As for first courses, in addition to fish soup, Karelians also prepared other types of soups or cabbage soup. The main component for cabbage soup is cabbage, in any form: pickled or fresh. In addition, the soup also contained other vegetables: turnips, onions and potatoes. For greater thickness, barley was added. Such cabbage soup is an everyday food for Karelians, which is consumed as lunch and dinner. For greater satiety, many housewives put meat products in cabbage soup.

Another type of soup is potato soup. Its main components were potatoes and sour cream. Sometimes dried mushrooms and onions were added.

Meat products

Previously, meat appeared infrequently in the Karelian diet, and often these were wild varieties (boar, venison and elk). Later, when the inhabitants of Karelia began to acquire livestock, beef, pork and lamb appeared in the diet. This product was mainly used in winter. For longer storage of the carcass, it was salted and dried. People who traveled took such meat with them on the road.

Vegetables on the Karelian table

The main root crop of Karelia is not potatoes at all, but turnips. It goes into preparing many dishes. These can be turnip soups, porridges, casseroles; Kvass, compote are made from it, and even eaten dried.

Soon turnips were replaced by potatoes (at the beginning of the 20th century). In addition to these two products, the Karelian diet also contains other vegetables: onions, white cabbage, carrots, radishes and rutabaga.

Dairy

Milk is highly valued in Karelia. Among dairy products, cottage cheese is the most favorite. Karelians made cottage cheese themselves, and made homemade cheese for winter supplies. It was suitable for a hearty dinner with boiled potatoes and sour cream.

On the Karelian table there was also yogurt, which was mixed with whole milk. Since the 1930s, the use of goat's milk has become famous. Colostrum was also consumed as food, which was baked in Russian ovens to produce something similar to cheese.

Reindeer milk is not widely used among the inhabitants of Karelia. This product was not eaten, although the noble animal was bred in the north.

Butter was also produced by Karelians. It was used in the preparation of porridges and added to mashed potatoes. It is interesting to know that butter was not spread on bread at all, as the Russians do.

Baking bread

Karelian bread is baked from different types of flour: barley, oatmeal, rye and barley. In the old days, when there was not enough flour, the Karelians managed to add straw, moss and pine shavings to the dough. In addition to bread, pies called wickets were often baked in Karelia. They had a filling made from crushed potatoes, wheat and barley porridge, and so on. There was even a saying among local residents that a wicket requires eight ingredients: water, salt, flour, curdled milk, milk, butter and sour cream. The eighth component was the filling itself.

The abundance of Karelian cuisine does not include confectionery and fruit sweets. If the Karelians wanted to enjoy dessert, they baked pies with berry filling: blueberries, wild strawberries, cranberries, etc. As for blueberries, they were practically not collected at all, since they were considered to be the cause of headaches.

The most favorite dish for the residents of Karelia is milk and fresh berries, which replace all sweets.

Karelian drink

Kvass is considered a traditional drink in Karelia. It is made not only from bread; the main components can be turnips or malt. In addition, in the Karelian kitchen there is always tea, as well as herbal decoctions that are used as a therapeutic agent.

Among alcoholic beverages, the famous beer of Karelia should be highlighted. However, the traditional brewing recipe has been lost. On the Karelian holiday table you can find vodka and wine, but they are not prepared independently. This alcohol is borrowed from Russian and Finnish cuisines.

Dishes for celebrations

During the celebration of any special events, Karelians always prepared ritual dishes. For example, birthdays and weddings have always been accompanied by the ritual of drinking oatmeal jelly. There has long been a custom when the drink is served to the husband after the wedding, when the newlyweds spent their first night together. It was important where he would start drinking the jelly: if from the edge of the dish, then the night went well, but if from the middle, then the wife was no longer a virgin. In those days, this was considered a disgrace for the whole family by the wife.

Oatmeal jelly was mandatory on the Karelian table and during a sad event - a funeral. But at funerals, preference was given to bread kvass. It is interesting to know that the drink was in a large container, which was common to everyone. People slurped kvass with spoons.

In addition to oatmeal jelly, they also drank rye jelly at the wake, but today the traditions have changed somewhat. Currently, they commemorate the dead with jelly made from various berries.

In addition, the main treat was kulaga, which was prepared from sprouted varieties of rye or wheat. Malt cereals were thrown into boiling water, and after cooking, they were eaten. Moreover, the dish must be hot. Kulaga can be eaten together with bread.

It was also a ritual to bake cottage cheese cakes on Peter’s Day, and to see off the passing summer, blueberry pies were baked.

Like any national cuisine, Karelian cuisine consists mainly of what grows, lives and lives in a certain territory. The Karelian region, mostly located in the north-west of Russia and in Finland, is rich in its forests and lakes. And Karelian cuisine is replete with a variety of fish dishes. It is boiled, dried, salted and even fermented. There is very little meat in local cuisine.

In addition, gifts of the forest are widely added to dishes - mushrooms and berries: strawberries, blueberries, blueberries, cloudberries, cranberries. Wheat flour is practically not used in cooking. It is replaced by rye and barley. Dairy products are not as common as in neighboring Estonia. The heat treatment of products in Karelian cuisine is also special. They don’t have the concept of “Frying”. They even call fried pies boiled in oil. Smoking fish is also not typical for them, as in Estonia, located next door.

Fish is the basis of Karelian cuisine

Speaking about Karelian cuisine, one cannot fail to mention the signature Karelian fish soup - kalaruokka. This is fish soup prepared in a very special way. It is cooked mainly from whitefish. Unlike traditional Russian fish soup, which is transparent like a tear, kalaruokka is somewhat cloudy in appearance. The peculiarity of its preparation is that shortly before the end of cooking it is passed through a thick layer of coal. This is done to ensure that all bitterness and unnecessary impurities are removed. After all, it is cooked with the addition of moss, pine and birch buds. Egg, milk, and also dried small fish – sushik – are added to the kalaruokka.

Fish is the main component of all Karelian cuisine. It was prepared in incredible quantities. They salted and fermented fish in pits according to grades. Thin sticks were placed on the fish placed in the pits and pressure was placed on top so that all the fish were under the brine. Small fish also did not disappear. It was dried and added to various dishes for fat. The valuable caviar was mainly sold, and the leftovers were used to make filling for pancakes. Some peoples ate raw salted fish, while others cooked it after soaking it.

Features of the national cuisine of Karelia

Another characteristic feature of Karelian national cuisine is the almost complete absence of main courses. They were replaced by a variety of pies with the same fish made from unleavened dough. Pies were baked in a variety of shapes, but mostly they were crescent-shaped or semicircular pies. Mainly rye flour was used for baking. An unexpected feature of Karelian fish pies for us is that they put it without cleaning it first, right with the scales.

Vegetable dishes in Karelian cuisine include turnips, potatoes, and in smaller quantities radishes, carrots, and onions. Moreover, potatoes began to be grown in Karelia quite recently.

In Karelian cuisine there is no such thing as dessert. Almost no sweet dishes were prepared. Among the delicacies familiar to our understanding, the Karelians had only pies with wild berries. The favorite delicacy for the peoples of Karelia was milk with the same berries. They collected quite a lot of berries in the rich local forests.

Kvass is a very popular drink. It is made from malt, turnips and bread. Also in Karelia they drink coffee and tea, including infusions of various medicinal herbs.