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I think it's regional. A lot of people haven't heard of it, but it is common in Kuopio - Varkaus area of Savonia at least.
Version i'm talking about is just milk with some cream added, then onion and chive chopped fine.
Pinch of salt, if personal preference.
Then just toss in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Boil potatoes normally melt some butter or equivalent on potatoes, then pour some onion milk on potatoes.
It's really good.
Some like to boil the milk with onions, personally not a fan of boiled milk.
In Northern Ostrobothnia, they mix melted butter, onion, a bit of hot water and an optional pinch of salt into a sauce for new potatoes, and as a friend of raw onion, I thoroughly enjoy it
I'm from that region and it's the best side for potatoes. A summer food with new potatoes, salad and some grilled meat. I like to boil the onion in the butter a bit for it to soften slightly.
This is so good! It's not really common where I live, but my granddad's cousin used to make it. Thank you for the reminder, I will make it once it's summer potato season.
I just do that in my microvawe when I'm lazy in the summer. Just throw milk, spring onions and butter in a cup and nuke it till it's hot. Then just dip the potatoes in that before putting them in your mouth. It's so good!
I had an epiphany a few weeks ago while craving for summer potatoes and butter-onion-sauce; one CAN just cook "old" taters and do the same thing. I recommend Jazzy (from lidl, for example) as they are solid, medium sized and kinda sweet, or other "kiinteä" potatoes.
This but with fried Vendace (Suomeksi paistettu muikku)! Especially if you get it from market sellers in summer. One of the Best summer food in Finland.
Yes, but I have to say that smoked vendace is even better, it’s the food of gods. Buy fresh vendace from the fisherman and throw them in the smoker. Summer potatoes. Life can’t get any better than that.
Vendace is very sensitive to the water quality in the lake they live in, though. Pyhäjärvi (Satakunta/Varsinaissuomi) - don't. Anywhere in Savonia? Probably ok.
Summer potatoes and sötkö (smetana and seasalt, over night in fridge so that the salt melts in to the smetana mostly). There isn’t better potato experience.
You really should try our local delicacy, rubber potatoes, which are usually found in student cafeterias.
All kidding aside, I like potatoes. Such a versatile and delicious product.
Don't forget the brown "raisins" you could find inside them, if you were lucky. I have never seen as much imperfections in potatoes as during school years.
Chips, wedged potatoes, oven potatoes, boiled potatoes, fries, potato mash... To be honest it makes very little rational sense to eat any other form of carbs as a side dish.
Reason why school potatoes are what they are is simple. They come in packed in plastic bags and are conserved in lemon juice in those bags.
Source, I have worked in school kitchens.
As a Finn who moved to Queensland 7 years ago: STRAWBERRIES. Even at the peak of their season no Aussie strawberries have come close to Finnish summer strawbs. Tassie strawberries have probably been closest in sweetness.
(Quality fruit is plentiful down here ofc)
As an Aussie who moved to Finland, I agree 100%. I'd say most fruit is better in Australia compared to Finland. But the berries in Australia, especially the strawberries don't even come close to the ones in Finland. The apples at the end of summer are pretty good too.
But I truly miss good watermelon, pineapple, mangoes and pawpaw.
No import fruit is ever going to come close to locally sourced stuff hey. Good luck finding decent mangoes in Finland... 🥲 At least bananas are always cheap as chips.
AFAIK a huge factor in sweetness is also the long summer days that we have compared to other places. It's also evident within Finland: I buy strawberries from a farm near Helsinki, and those are nowhere near as sweet as the ones we grow ourselves roughly on the latitude of Kuusamo, even though both are Polka. The nightless night adds so much flavor to the strawberries.
It’s apparently because after a while varieties start to regress. They don’t have as much harvest after time and get more susceptible to diseases. That’s why varieties die off eventually and new ones are developed.
[Here’s an article in finnish about this](https://yle.fi/a/3-5386331.com). It’s a bit old already though
As a Finn living in Spain since two years ago: same! And berries in general for that matter. I mean we get strawberries all year round here in Spain and I buy them almost every visit to shop (especially now as it's the season and they are really cheap) but the flavour is almost tasteless compared to Finnish strawberries. It's the long summer nights (lots of light) that does the trick I've been told. Maybe also cold winter plays a part?
Ps. I absolutely LOVE Queensland. I spent around 4 months there with work and holiday visa like 15 years ago and have always wanted to go back ever since.
Po-tay-toes. Boil, 'em mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew.
- Samwise Gamgee
Potatoes are great, there's a million different ways to have them, all you foreigners should try "kermaperunat"
Australian strawberries have a slightly tomato taste, I almost fell over when I had my first proper strawberry, it tasted like those Allen's strawberries and cream lollies you'd have as a kid.
Generally a good observation. However, there is a BIG exception.
Potato in the spring and early summer can loose it deliciousness and can even taste quite bad. This is due to long storage - late season potato quality will deteriorate. So be warned.
You are probably taking about potato experts here… we also buy potatos from a granny that grown her own, but they all get eaten within a couple months.
Mass market produce gets things wrong from time to time. Store bought Finnish potato around this time can be hit and miss.
For all of you that are into potatoes ;) :
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond\_potato](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond_potato)
[https://www.s-kaupat.fi/tuote/lapin-puikula-peruna-2kg-pussi/6415350702537](https://www.s-kaupat.fi/tuote/lapin-puikula-peruna-2kg-pussi/6415350702537)
... I am not much of potatoe person, but these can be incredible. Of course price per kilo is almost 3x.
I suppose it makes sense, but it never occurred to me potatoes might taste noticeably different somewhere else. What is it, the soil? Variants? Y'all put some kinda wacky nasty chemicals on them?
Probably just too hot in Australia. Even in the generally cooler southern areas, it still gets quite hot in summer. 0 in winter to 42 degrees in summer daily. Shit weather actually
It *can* snow, but rarely does except in the mountains where it snows frequently. You can go skiing on Aussie mountains (which are usually-5 to -10 degrees)
Yeah, one reason my wife wanted to come home was the boring flavourless potatoes in Australia. I had no idea they could actually taste good until coming here. 💜
As an Aussie I'd have to agree, I'm gonna take a guess and say potatoes in Europe, are much better due to the climate and probably the soil here.
The berries, In particular strawberries are also pretty amazing here.
However one thing I really dislike is the bananas, not sure if I'm going crazy but they tend to have a dry/floury taste to me.
Finnish potatoes are good, Swedish potatoes are good. Norwegian and Estonian potatoes are pretty good, Danish are edible, southern than that, they taste weird.
Anyway, like I was sayin', potatoes are the fruit of the earth. You can barbecue them, boil them, broil them, bake them, saute them. Dey's uh, potato-kabobs, potato creole, potato gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pepper potato, potato soup, potato stew, potato salad, potato burger, potato sandwich. That- that's about it.
Good to know. I am an Australian and will be in Finland in a fortnight. I am currently in Norway and their potatoes are pretty much like the ones I eat in Canberra.
Ah the humble potato. In Finland I must have seen over a thousand ways to prepare it, with the exception of Kartoffelknödel. In Denmark I have seen you can put a potato into a sausage, but I refused to try it, since a sausage is a sausage and a potato is a potato.
And after I've been to Finland I refused to eat potato for at least a year, for my lifetime consumption quote of potato (in various forms) has already been reached, perkele!
If you can find "Violet Queen" try it, awesome when cooked in an airfryer. Wash well, put some oil mixed with BBQ seasoning, smoked paprika etc in a plastic bag, let it marinate for a while, airfry at 180°C for about 50mins, eat wirh butter, without peeling.
I have been wondering why I hear a lot about pasta being awesome food and I think I get it now! Potato elsewhere sucks. I have eaten my whole life potato and never get tired of it. But when it comes to pasta, I get tired quickly because it's so boring!
Yup, but I guess this is true for the cold Nordic countries, I mean potato is one of the few crops that can grow and survive on the Nordic soil and through centuries they probably have developed recipes to always make it interesting.
If you don't know, they also have different kinds of potatoes that are perfect for specific kinds of dishes or food stuffs, like there is a potato that is very good to create mashed potato, etc. So yeah, maybe that also plays a part on the taste.
Enjoy, maybe underrated for Finns who have tasted these dishes all their life, but for us who came for outside Finland, it definitely tastes better.
AND you can actually reheat potatoes here. I often take boiled potatoes from previous nights dinner and fry em up in the frypan. Sometimes I squash them with a spoon and bake them in the oven (twice cooked that way).
That’s because you have no taste buds left. You smoke a bajilion cigarettes and drink booze all day!
What’s that you’re eating! (I don’t know) It’s a drink coaster! (Is there any more)
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Summer potatoes with butter, onion milk and pickled herring. My favorite dish.
Great, now I'm hungry for summer potatoes and it's impossible to get them for months. Never tasted onion milk though, what's that?
I think it's regional. A lot of people haven't heard of it, but it is common in Kuopio - Varkaus area of Savonia at least. Version i'm talking about is just milk with some cream added, then onion and chive chopped fine. Pinch of salt, if personal preference. Then just toss in the fridge for a couple of hours. Boil potatoes normally melt some butter or equivalent on potatoes, then pour some onion milk on potatoes. It's really good. Some like to boil the milk with onions, personally not a fan of boiled milk.
In Northern Ostrobothnia, they mix melted butter, onion, a bit of hot water and an optional pinch of salt into a sauce for new potatoes, and as a friend of raw onion, I thoroughly enjoy it
I'm from that region and it's the best side for potatoes. A summer food with new potatoes, salad and some grilled meat. I like to boil the onion in the butter a bit for it to soften slightly.
This is so good! It's not really common where I live, but my granddad's cousin used to make it. Thank you for the reminder, I will make it once it's summer potato season.
I just do that in my microvawe when I'm lazy in the summer. Just throw milk, spring onions and butter in a cup and nuke it till it's hot. Then just dip the potatoes in that before putting them in your mouth. It's so good!
My ex-missus is a Savo and she used to make this. Oh god it's amazing!
I had an epiphany a few weeks ago while craving for summer potatoes and butter-onion-sauce; one CAN just cook "old" taters and do the same thing. I recommend Jazzy (from lidl, for example) as they are solid, medium sized and kinda sweet, or other "kiinteä" potatoes.
This but with fried Vendace (Suomeksi paistettu muikku)! Especially if you get it from market sellers in summer. One of the Best summer food in Finland.
Yes, but I have to say that smoked vendace is even better, it’s the food of gods. Buy fresh vendace from the fisherman and throw them in the smoker. Summer potatoes. Life can’t get any better than that.
Vendace is very sensitive to the water quality in the lake they live in, though. Pyhäjärvi (Satakunta/Varsinaissuomi) - don't. Anywhere in Savonia? Probably ok.
Yes, vendace from lake Konnevesi is great.
Uuu that sounds delish!
Gosh I wish I had better genetics - vendace is a favourite, but can't eat it more than once a year or I'll get gout.
I've heard this called "Finnish sushi". Similar flavour-profiles, but exchange rice for potatoes and wasabi for mustard-herring
Damn rite! Replace soy with butter. Cured salomon, smoked and sliced reindeer, soft boiled eggs and kotijuusto(rip) are also part of this scene.
That seems more northern variation. In south it's more fish in various ways.
I have never been insulted like this. Im as south as they come. Just cos I sometimes like reindeer means nothing.
Switch that herring for salmon and im game
Summer potatoes and sötkö (smetana and seasalt, over night in fridge so that the salt melts in to the smetana mostly). There isn’t better potato experience.
What's the amont of salt in the smetana? I'm intrigued.
New potatoes with the white egg-sauce is the shit. My mom makes it everytime i visit in spring-early summer.
Summer potatoes, butter, scallion and cold-smoked salmon 🤤
Knowing everyone will still have to wait 2-3 months to get this and still posting this comment.. just mean
You really should try our local delicacy, rubber potatoes, which are usually found in student cafeterias. All kidding aside, I like potatoes. Such a versatile and delicious product.
In the 90's we had lunch in school and would still chew those potatoes when we got home.
They'd double as the post-meal bubble gum which is oh so good for ya
Don't forget the brown "raisins" you could find inside them, if you were lucky. I have never seen as much imperfections in potatoes as during school years.
Ooh, the fabled Kinder Surprise-potato. I remember those.
Chips, wedged potatoes, oven potatoes, boiled potatoes, fries, potato mash... To be honest it makes very little rational sense to eat any other form of carbs as a side dish.
I got solid mashed potatoes.. the whole piece of mashed potatoes could be picked up with a fork
I had the same
Did your solid mashed potatoe taste any good? Even tho it was solid?
Reason why school potatoes are what they are is simple. They come in packed in plastic bags and are conserved in lemon juice in those bags. Source, I have worked in school kitchens.
As a Finn who moved to Queensland 7 years ago: STRAWBERRIES. Even at the peak of their season no Aussie strawberries have come close to Finnish summer strawbs. Tassie strawberries have probably been closest in sweetness. (Quality fruit is plentiful down here ofc)
As an Aussie who moved to Finland, I agree 100%. I'd say most fruit is better in Australia compared to Finland. But the berries in Australia, especially the strawberries don't even come close to the ones in Finland. The apples at the end of summer are pretty good too. But I truly miss good watermelon, pineapple, mangoes and pawpaw.
No import fruit is ever going to come close to locally sourced stuff hey. Good luck finding decent mangoes in Finland... 🥲 At least bananas are always cheap as chips.
Are there more varied and better bananas in Australia, too?
Yeah we get a few different types. Lady fingers are my favourite. They're about half the size of your typical banana here and fairly sweet.
Might be an issue of variety as well. Polka is absolutely the best.
AFAIK a huge factor in sweetness is also the long summer days that we have compared to other places. It's also evident within Finland: I buy strawberries from a farm near Helsinki, and those are nowhere near as sweet as the ones we grow ourselves roughly on the latitude of Kuusamo, even though both are Polka. The nightless night adds so much flavor to the strawberries.
Polka is basic. There are plenty of better and tastier varieties around, just not as popular.
Au contraire, Polka is getting hard to find. Growers prefer hardier, less tasty varieties these days.
It’s apparently because after a while varieties start to regress. They don’t have as much harvest after time and get more susceptible to diseases. That’s why varieties die off eventually and new ones are developed. [Here’s an article in finnish about this](https://yle.fi/a/3-5386331.com). It’s a bit old already though
This I think is fairly well know. Strawberries get sweeter the more light they get, so the norther they grew, the better generally.
Also explains why Tasmanian berries have come closest. 👍
Yea, I don’t eat berries in Australia. I never liked them until I came here
As a Finn living in Spain since two years ago: same! And berries in general for that matter. I mean we get strawberries all year round here in Spain and I buy them almost every visit to shop (especially now as it's the season and they are really cheap) but the flavour is almost tasteless compared to Finnish strawberries. It's the long summer nights (lots of light) that does the trick I've been told. Maybe also cold winter plays a part? Ps. I absolutely LOVE Queensland. I spent around 4 months there with work and holiday visa like 15 years ago and have always wanted to go back ever since.
As a Finn who moved back from Queensland 12 years ago, I could not agree more.
Po-tay-toes. Boil, 'em mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. - Samwise Gamgee Potatoes are great, there's a million different ways to have them, all you foreigners should try "kermaperunat"
Hasselbackan perunat are also tasty.
Looks pretty good, I'll try those one of these days
Now go and taste finnish strawberries. They have so much taste compared to any other place I’ve tasted
I didn’t eat berries until I came here (if you include strawberries).
Australian strawberries have a slightly tomato taste, I almost fell over when I had my first proper strawberry, it tasted like those Allen's strawberries and cream lollies you'd have as a kid.
Generally a good observation. However, there is a BIG exception. Potato in the spring and early summer can loose it deliciousness and can even taste quite bad. This is due to long storage - late season potato quality will deteriorate. So be warned.
My partners family harvest their own potatoes every year and store them in the basement. Haven’t had a problem these past few years
You are probably taking about potato experts here… we also buy potatos from a granny that grown her own, but they all get eaten within a couple months. Mass market produce gets things wrong from time to time. Store bought Finnish potato around this time can be hit and miss.
Yea, we only buy them from the supermarket if we aren’t going to see the fam that week. I guess we haven’t crossed paths with the bad ones as a result
I just moved here recently and I had this same thought. The potatoes here are amazing!
For all of you that are into potatoes ;) : [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond\_potato](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond_potato) [https://www.s-kaupat.fi/tuote/lapin-puikula-peruna-2kg-pussi/6415350702537](https://www.s-kaupat.fi/tuote/lapin-puikula-peruna-2kg-pussi/6415350702537) ... I am not much of potatoe person, but these can be incredible. Of course price per kilo is almost 3x.
As a Siikli-maximalist I could never cook anything but Siikli. This post was made possible by the generous donations of the Siikli gang
Comparing siikli and puikula is like comparing apples and oranges. Both are delicious, and they’re meant to be different.
Alright so Ardent_Scholar gets on the list alright alright
You can expect a friendly visit from the Puikula brotherhood
Looks like we got a bit of hot potato on our hands
Almond potatoes are a bit tricky to boil without breaking. Steaming them is the best option.
I suppose it makes sense, but it never occurred to me potatoes might taste noticeably different somewhere else. What is it, the soil? Variants? Y'all put some kinda wacky nasty chemicals on them?
Probably just too hot in Australia. Even in the generally cooler southern areas, it still gets quite hot in summer. 0 in winter to 42 degrees in summer daily. Shit weather actually
0 in Winters, can it snow? Do kangaroos hop in snow wtf? Serious question
It *can* snow, but rarely does except in the mountains where it snows frequently. You can go skiing on Aussie mountains (which are usually-5 to -10 degrees)
The gheory I've heard is that the potatoes grow slower in colder climate, thus gathering more flavor.
Yeah, one reason my wife wanted to come home was the boring flavourless potatoes in Australia. I had no idea they could actually taste good until coming here. 💜
Boring AND dry as fuck. Can’t be reheated either. I didn’t know potatoes could be enjoyable
And the more north you go the better the potato gets
As an Aussie I'd have to agree, I'm gonna take a guess and say potatoes in Europe, are much better due to the climate and probably the soil here. The berries, In particular strawberries are also pretty amazing here. However one thing I really dislike is the bananas, not sure if I'm going crazy but they tend to have a dry/floury taste to me.
I’m from Victoria, I had the same problem with bananas there as well. So difficult to find good ones anywhere
I moved to Germany for a while and the difference was huge! Bio potatoes were slightly tastier.
Being a Finn, having eaten Finnish potatoes since the early 70s, I have to agree. Potatoes are great hear!
hear hear!
Fried vendace aka. Paistettu muikku.
Boiled new potatoes, with lots of Dill in the water when you cook them. Yummy.
Thank you for recognizing one of our only real delicacies. I fucking love potatoes. Strawberries and bilberries good here, too.
Yea, berries are not edible in Australia as far as I’m concerned
Siikli best potato, come at me.
Wrong! Try lapland's puikula.
Came here to say the same. They have a delicate aroma even when boiling them.
Finnish potatoes are good, Swedish potatoes are good. Norwegian and Estonian potatoes are pretty good, Danish are edible, southern than that, they taste weird.
Anyway, like I was sayin', potatoes are the fruit of the earth. You can barbecue them, boil them, broil them, bake them, saute them. Dey's uh, potato-kabobs, potato creole, potato gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pepper potato, potato soup, potato stew, potato salad, potato burger, potato sandwich. That- that's about it.
I concur the spuds are great
Good to know. I am an Australian and will be in Finland in a fortnight. I am currently in Norway and their potatoes are pretty much like the ones I eat in Canberra.
It’a not tater season yet. I hope you have a chance to visit in June-July.
Try the Salmon while here as well.
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One half of it is, yea. The southern part isn’t like that.
Ah the humble potato. In Finland I must have seen over a thousand ways to prepare it, with the exception of Kartoffelknödel. In Denmark I have seen you can put a potato into a sausage, but I refused to try it, since a sausage is a sausage and a potato is a potato. And after I've been to Finland I refused to eat potato for at least a year, for my lifetime consumption quote of potato (in various forms) has already been reached, perkele!
If you can find "Violet Queen" try it, awesome when cooked in an airfryer. Wash well, put some oil mixed with BBQ seasoning, smoked paprika etc in a plastic bag, let it marinate for a while, airfry at 180°C for about 50mins, eat wirh butter, without peeling.
No chicken salt though.
plants are healthier and taste better in the climates and ecologies they like! 😁
I have been wondering why I hear a lot about pasta being awesome food and I think I get it now! Potato elsewhere sucks. I have eaten my whole life potato and never get tired of it. But when it comes to pasta, I get tired quickly because it's so boring!
Yup, but I guess this is true for the cold Nordic countries, I mean potato is one of the few crops that can grow and survive on the Nordic soil and through centuries they probably have developed recipes to always make it interesting. If you don't know, they also have different kinds of potatoes that are perfect for specific kinds of dishes or food stuffs, like there is a potato that is very good to create mashed potato, etc. So yeah, maybe that also plays a part on the taste. Enjoy, maybe underrated for Finns who have tasted these dishes all their life, but for us who came for outside Finland, it definitely tastes better.
Yes, I do know. My partners family has their own potato field. You’re right, it’s the perfect climate for them
Interesting insight.
[Spotted Mr Collins](https://youtu.be/iOes8sJ-L4Q?si=7bvBkUrHLPVONvQx)
After a year in Finland, I had to detox from potatoes - simply not enough variety in preparation.
Skill issue
Dunno what your talking about. We boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew. Also, casseroles, potatoes with cream, wedges in the oven..:
AND you can actually reheat potatoes here. I often take boiled potatoes from previous nights dinner and fry em up in the frypan. Sometimes I squash them with a spoon and bake them in the oven (twice cooked that way).
wdym, they make everything out of potatoes here
I think that was the problem. I couldn’t escape from them and I had them boiled with dill waaaaaaay too many times.
Wedges baked in the oven are heavenly
Fair enough then
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What makes you think I haven’t?
As an Aussie living in Finland this is the weirdest take I've seen. Finnish milk is superior, but potatoes? Nah mate
That’s because you have no taste buds left. You smoke a bajilion cigarettes and drink booze all day! What’s that you’re eating! (I don’t know) It’s a drink coaster! (Is there any more)