Karelian dishes recipes. Karelian cuisine: the strict charm of the north

A story about the sights of a particular region will be incomplete if you do not mention the features of the local national cuisine. After all, it is the traditions of cooking that largely influence the character and mentality of the people, revealing its traditional culture from a new perspective. We have been talking with you for a long time about Karelia, about the brightest, and other amazing cities of this northern region. It's time to get acquainted with traditional Karelian cuisine and find out what national Karelian dishes you can try in local restaurants and cafes.

Karelia is a marvelous land of forests, lakes and rivers. It is this national wealth of the region that has influenced the formation of gastronomic traditions since ancient times. Agriculture is not very developed here, but hunting, fishing and gathering at all times served as the basis of a well-fed life for Karelians.

It is not difficult to guess that it is fish in Karelia that is the king of the product on the table. Fish is boiled, steamed, simmered in an oven, dried, dried, marinated, fermented, smoked, baked… Most traditional Karelian dishes are made from fish.

It is hard to imagine a lunch in Karelia without a traditional fish soup (Calaqueitto), which is prepared from the meat of white fish, mainly whitefish or cod with the addition of milk. There is also a festive version of such fish soup. It's called lohikeyto and, unlike Kalakeitto, is made from fatty salmon with cream. It would seem that a dairy product and fish are completely incompatible. Actually it is not. Rich creamy fish soup is not at all like a traditional Russian fish soup. It is gentle, does not smell like fish at all and literally melts in your mouth. I advise you to definitely try.

In traditional Karelian cuisine, you can also find another fish soup, better known among the people as yushka. The ancestors of modern Karelians cooked yushka from whole, unpeeled pieces of fish. Flour, eggs, Icelandic moss and birch buds were added to the soup. Now such exotic can be found only in distant villages. At least we didn't see it on any of the menus.

If you are not a fan of experiments, traditional fish soup without cream can also be found on the menu of almost any cafe and restaurant.

As a main fish dish, we recommend trying the local vendace- a small freshwater fish similar to Baltic herring or capelin. Smoked vendace is especially revered by tourists, although in the tradition of cooking Karelian dishes, fish has never been smoked. Let's put it this way, this is a modern trend, loved by both residents and guests of Karelia.

On a note! It is best to take smoked trout in the Valaam Monastery. You will not find a more juicy and tender fish anywhere else in Karelia.

A common dish in Karelia are and fish pies. In addition to fish, sour cream is added to such a pie, sometimes mushrooms and finely chopped onions are added. The pie is juicy and tasty.

In the markets you can also find traditional Karelian sushchik- dried small fish. Previously, it was not only eaten in the form familiar to us, but also added to the traditional strong fish soup.

Kallalaatikko is one of the dishes of Pomeranian cuisine

We also had a chance to taste several fish dishes of the Pomeranian cuisine. Hotel "Gandvik", where we spent the night on the way to Solovki, is known for its restaurant, which serves national Pomeranian cuisine. The north of Karelia is especially harsh, and the inhabitants of this region need a hearty and nutritious lunch. Particularly impressed by the local roast fish with an unpronounceable name Callalaatikko. As in most Karelian dishes, the fish is stewed together with potatoes in cream, and a thin crust of cheese is sprinkled on top. It's incredibly tasty and satisfying!

Meat in Karelian cuisine

In ancient times, Karelians rarely ate meat. Now the situation has changed and traditional Karelian meat can easily be found in the menu of national cuisine cafes. Typically, this will forest game(venison, elk, game birds). Hunters appeared in these forests quite a long time ago and the traditions of cooking such dishes in Karelia are not small. Quite tender and tasty meat of deer or elk can be tasted with traditional sweet lingonberry sauce right in the capital of Karelia -.

Later, when animal husbandry began to develop in the region, such more familiar varieties of meat as beef, lamb and pork also came to Karelian cuisine. It is these varieties of meat that began to be actively used for food. From traditional meat dishes you can taste studen, mash, reminiscent of mashed meat, pearl barley and peas, or roast in Karelian, containing three types of meat (beef, lamb and pork) with the addition of offal.

Currently, the variant is also widely known - petrovsky roast. Why Petrovsky? Everything is simple! This is the signature dish of the Petrovsky restaurant. Prepared in pots of meat, potatoes and sour cream, with the addition of porcini mushrooms, onions and tomatoes.

On New Year's Eve, the Ladoga Karelians also prepared a traditional Eve in Karelian, from three types of meat with the addition of fish and vegetables.

Vegetable and mushroom dishes of Karelia

It is hard to imagine Karelian cuisine without the addition of mushrooms. Mushrooms in Karelia grow very different. The most common: porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, milk mushrooms, volnushki, boletus. Soups are cooked from them, added to main dishes, salted, marinated, dried, various sauces and cereals are prepared from them.

Mushrooms are an essential attribute of traditional Karelian cuisine

But the choice of vegetables in traditional cuisine is not great. This is primarily due to the fact that agriculture in the northern stony soils is poorly developed. Turnip has always been the king of vegetables on the Karelian table. It was consumed in large quantities in steamed, dried, boiled and raw form, sometimes called "second bread". Later, in the recipes of many dishes, turnips were replaced by the more familiar, but less healthy potatoes.

Radishes, onions, rutabaga, cabbage, zucchini and peas are also popular in Karelian cuisine. They are part of many Karelian dishes.

Desserts and pastries in Karelian cuisine

Confectionery and desserts have never existed in traditional Karelian cuisine. For sweets on the Karelian table, you can find the usual wild berries, porridge or your favorite pastry.

Cloudberry is one of the most expensive and rare berries in Karelia

From forest berries, lingonberries, cranberries, blueberries or cloudberries are popular. They are not difficult to find in the local forests. In every Karelian family, berries are always harvested for the winter. Pies are baked from berries, jelly is boiled, eaten fresh with sugar, cottage cheese, milk or oatmeal porridge. By the way, the latter is a real highlight of the national Karelian cuisine.

Kareliancake - cottage cheese dessert with lingonberries

They also love pastries in Karelia. Most often, coarse rye flour is used in its manufacture. In addition to berry and fish pies, you can always find Karelians on the table gates- open pies made from rye flour. Gates are so popular in Karelia that you can even buy them on the street. In shape, the gate resembles a boat, inside which all kinds of fillings are placed. The most common of these are mashed potatoes and millet. Also on the menu you can find gates with rice, cottage cheese, berries, fish or meat. The baking itself, in view of the fact that it is made from rye flour, turns out to be a little harsh. Therefore, according to tradition, in Karelian families, immediately before use, pies are “bathed” in hot milk with the addition of butter.

Kalitki - traditional Karelian pies

On a note! In Karelia, you can not only taste traditional Karelian wickets, but also learn how to cook them. Many excursion routes include such master classes.

No less popular traditional pastry in Karelian cuisine is Sulcina- a pancake made from rye flour with a filling, most often baked on hot coals. Rice, millet or potatoes are used as fillings in sulcina.

Sulcina - pancake with potatoes, baked on charcoal

We recommend tasting the famous Skants, which the people often call "pies for the son-in-law" or "pies for the son-in-law". Traditional skants are crescent-shaped pies made of rye flour, inside of which they put rice or millet porridge. Scanners were prepared for matchmakers and the groom when they came to woo the bride. Hence the name "pies for son-in-law." Modern pies are most often made from wheat flour, and sugar or honey is put inside instead of porridge. It makes a delicious treat for tea.

Drinks in traditional Karelian cuisine

The most popular drink in Karelia is milk. It is not only drunk, but also added to many dishes as one of the main ingredients.

less popular and kvass. It is made from malt, bread, turnips or cranberries. love here and berry fruit drinks. And of the warm drinks, the most widely consumed is tea, and often forest herbs are added to it and drunk for medicinal purposes.

Alcohol has long been known in Karelia beer, although at present the traditional recipe for Karelian beer is considered lost. Later, vodka appeared in these places. It was strong alcohol that became the basis of numerous tinctures on local herbs and berries. On the shelves of shops you can easily find tinctures of cranberries, lingonberries or cloudberries. A popular gift from Karelia will be " Karelian balsam"- tincture of local herbs and berries with the addition of honey. There are at least thirty ingredients in the Karelian balsam. Most of them are used for medicinal purposes, so drinking it is not only pleasant, but also healthy. The main thing is to drink in limited doses!

Where to try the national Karelian cuisine?

The most popular and well-known institution with traditional Karelian cuisine in Petrozavodsk is the restaurant "Karelskaya Gornitsa" (F. Engels St., 13). Here you can not only taste delicious food, but also enjoy the traditional northern interior. Each room in the upper room is filled with a certain meaning and creates an amazing atmosphere.

Restaurant of national Karelian cuisine "Karelskaya Gornitsa"

The interior of the "Karelian Room"

Each hall of the Karelian Room is decorated in a special style.

National dishes are also served in the restaurant "Karelia" (Gyullinga emb., 2) at the hotel of the same name in the center of Petrozavodsk, and in the restaurant "Petrovsky" (Andropova st., 1), and in the cafe "Kivach" (pr. Lenina, d.28).

Our national lunch at the Kizhi Museum-Reserve

Traditional cuisine of Karelia can be tasted not only in the capital of the republic, but also abroad. For example, we happened to taste Karelian dishes in the only cafe, and in the refectory, and even in a roadside cafe not far from.

Well, for Pomeranian cuisine, you should go to Belomorsk, to the Gandvik Hotel.

On this, perhaps, everything for today. When planning a trip to Karelia, be sure to try something from the local Karelian cuisine. I am sure you will remember it for a long time with its rich taste and uncomplicated recipe. Well, for those who plan to stay in Petrozavodsk, I recommend reading the post with a selection. Bright travels and new delicious discoveries!

This is a real storehouse for seafood lovers, because they are the distinctive feature of this cuisine. Salmon, herring, vendace, whitefish, trout have become the main components of delicious dishes, many of which are specific, not found in any other nations. Meat dishes do not dominate. For the most part, this is the influence of Swedish cuisine. But the use of elk, bear meat and venison is typical for Finland. By the way, the presence of fish and meat in one recipe at the same time is a characteristic combination.

The five most commonly used ingredients in recipes are:

Wild berries (cranberries, lingonberries, blueberries, cloudberries, blueberries) are used in desserts with cream, in jelly, jam, jelly, and even added to sauces and side dishes. Many mushrooms are used in stews and other dishes. As for bread and pastries, rye flour prevails here. Pies, pies, cakes, loaves are made with the addition of barley, oatmeal or wheat flour. The recipes of Finnish and Karelian cuisine have undergone changes over time, but basically remain almost unchanged. Cooking treats, despite their fancy names, isn't all that difficult. The main thing is to find the right ingredients and, as they say, put your soul into it.

The national Karelian cuisine is a kind of symbiosis of the old Russian cuisine and the cuisine of Northern Europe. In the restaurant menus, one can find especially much in common with the dishes of the closest neighbors of the Karelians - Finns and Estonians. Here, in Karelia, as nowhere else, traditional delicacies of Russian cuisine and Finnish soups and snacks organically coexist on the table: game and fish, pickling and curing, rich borscht and Finnish fish soup with Lohikeitto milk, Scandinavian muffins and Russian pies. However, there are also dishes that can only be found in Karelia. Here is their homeland, here they were traditionally cooked before and are cooked to this day.

Soups

The first dishes of the local cuisine are the inimitable taste of the ear. Moreover, it can be not only in fish broth, as we are used to, but also with the addition of cream, milk, butter. Traditional such stew on the meat of white fish in the menu of restaurants is called Kalakeitto (kala-keito). Salmon ear - a festive version with the addition of cream, is already called Lohikeitto (lohi-keito) and is known under this name all over the world.
It was customary to cook such a rich fish soup for dear guests, because it has a special, velvety taste, devoid of a fishy smell. Even an avid gourmet and fussy eater will not refuse a plate of this amazing soup.

Lohikeitto recipe (Karelian fish soup with cream)

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

Fish soup traditions in Karelia

Unlike a restaurant recipe, the method of preparing yushka (yushka is the more traditional name for fish soup in Karelian usage) is somewhat different. According to an old recipe, pieces of fish were cooked whole, without peeling. In order for the ear to be more satisfying, it was also churned with flour, eggs and such exotic things as Icelandic moss or birch buds were added.

It turned out not only hearty, 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 strong salt. It is interesting that even on fishing there was a kind of “separation” of prey: offal and head - to the rower, the best piece - to the cook, and the tail - to idlers.

In the old days, fish soup was also cooked from dried fish, which was poured 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 cooking Karelian fish soup is sauerkraut fish soup. However, this dish has become a rarity. V. Pokhlebkin in his book “National Cuisines of Our Nations” writes that the art of fermenting fish has been lost, and modern chefs do not master it to the extent that they could in the old days, they get fish with bitterness or an unpleasant odor.

Speaking of languor, as the main component of the recipes for cooking all kinds of dishes in Karelia, one cannot fail to mention such a dish as stewed fish for the second.

The secret of cooking such a juicy and tender fish with a tantalizing aroma lies in the long heating of the cast-iron with the contents in the oven. The contents of the cast-iron were, of course, fish and filling from milk or an egg-and-milk mixture. The feature of uniform heating of the cast-iron in the Russian stove is an important component of a successful result. To try such a fish languishing in the oven is a rarity not only for guests, but also for the average Karelian; if you manage to attack such a recipe on the menu - be sure to try it, you will not regret it!

Pies and pastries

Karelian cuisine is rich in various pies and other flour products. Most often they are made from rye dough. By the way, wheat flour, common in the middle lane and in the south of Russia, is rarely found in the national Karelian cuisine. Most often, ground rye, oats and barley are used in Karelian dishes.

Skants- or, as they are also called today, "pies for son-in-law" - a traditional type of pastry for Karelian cuisine. Classic skantsy are a crescent-shaped pie made of rye flour, stuffed with millet or rice porridge. By tradition, the dough was rolled out (hence the name "skane"), when matchmakers came to the house, baked and treated the groom, matchmakers, hence the name "pies for the son-in-law" was attached.

Today, when preparing skants, the dough is often made on white wheat flour, and instead of hearty porridge, they prefer a sweet filling of sugar or honey. It turns out wonderful holiday pastries and an excellent treat for tea - which is quick and easy to prepare.

Gates- another popular and well-known pie of Karelian cuisine in many countries of the world. Gate - a kind of open small pie, like a cheesecake, often square or polygonal in shape. The filling for gates could be the same porridge, as well as potatoes or berries.

The unusual name "gate" has two versions of possible origin. 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 "kalit" - that is, a purse or bag, which resembles gates in shape. In such a "bag" you can put almost any content - stuffing to your liking. Perhaps the most delicious and beloved by many gates are berry ones. They are generously lubricated with oil and put in a deep pan, which is carefully wrapped. Fragrant, oozing with berry syrup, they are loved by all the sweet tooth.

Video recipe for making wickets

They say that such pies were made already in the 9th century, that is, even before the baptism of Russia. Today, wickets are a popular type of baking not only in the north-west of Russia, but also in Finland and Scandinavian countries, where wickets made everywhere are called "Karelian pies".

A meal with gates in Karelia resembles a kind of family ritual. In the middle of the table is set a large bowl filled with hot milk with the addition of butter. All pies are stacked in a bowl and saturated with a creamy mixture. After the pies have become soft, they go to the hostess, who puts them on plates for everyone present, according to seniority. They eat this dish only with their hands, wiping them on a towel lying nearby.

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 extraordinarily tasty. Finnish Karelians, in order to flavor the fish, sometimes cover it with a layer of finely chopped pork fat. The fish in such a pie is put whole, in layers, sometimes layered with mushrooms and onions. The filling simply comes out with juice that soaks through a thin layer of rye dough, and the taste of such a pie is able to seduce any gourmet, even if he does not like fish dishes.

One notable variety of fish pies is the Finnish "Easter" pie - Kalakukko (Kalakukko). Outwardly, it is a closed loaf of rye dough, but instead of a 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 loaf spoon like a stew.

Menus in Karelian restaurants

While relaxing in Karelia, you will surely want to try real Karelian cuisine: hearty and rich fish soup, authentic kalitok cooked with fresh wild berries, tidbits of salted fish and fried game.

If you are relaxing in our Karelian dream house - a guest house on the shores of Lake Onega on Malaya Medvezhka (Medvezhyegorsk) - then at your service is the menu of the restaurant, which is located next to the cottage, just 5 minutes at a leisurely pace. , restaurant menu .

Those who are passing through Karelia, traveling around the world, can visit our restaurant, as well as other taverns and cafes, which will certainly please with their varied menu. Here you can find dishes not only of Karelian cuisine, but also, without difficulty, order Caucasian barbecue, Japanese sushi, Swedish meatballs or even Mediterranean lasagna.

While passing through Petrozavodsk, we recommend visiting the Karelskaya Gornitsa restaurant, where you can taste such exotic northern dishes as Karelian salmon meat mints in juniper sauce or bear meat roast in a bag of rye dough. Some names beckon and tease the appetite!

Also here you will be offered to taste a collection of tinctures on forest herbs and berries, with the addition of natural honey, prepared for visitors according to old recipes.

Video recipe for cooking whitefish on a barbecue from the chef of the Karelian Gornitsa

The harsh beauty of Karelia with its mirror lakes, age-old forests and fabulous northern lights touches to the core. Dishes of Karelian cuisine have absorbed the atmosphere of these places and have carefully preserved ancient culinary traditions.

Nordic Pancakes

Sulchiny is a recipe of Karelian cuisine, known in Russia since time immemorial. In fact, these are hearty pancakes with filling. We dissolve 1 tsp. salt in a glass of water and mix it with 200 g of rye flour. We divide the resulting dough into lumps the size of a chicken egg, roll out pancakes and bake in the oven for 5 minutes at a temperature of 200 ° C. Grease the hot sulcins with oil and stack them in a pile. Bring 250 ml of milk to a boil, pour ½ cup of rice and cook until tender. At the end, add salt and sugar to taste. We flavor the pancakes with rice porridge and roll them into rolls. Sulchiny for breakfast is a very tasty and unusual dish.

From mother-in-law, with love

Baking occupies a special place in Karelian cuisine. Son-in-law pies are one of the most popular recipes. Lightly beat the egg, add 2 tbsp. l. sour cream, 4 tbsp. l. milk, 1 tsp. sugar and a pinch of salt. Knead a thick dough and let it rest for half an hour. Then we roll it into a sausage, cut it into pieces and roll out thin scans, i.e. cakes. Sprinkle half of each skunk with sugar, cover with the other half and pinch the edges. Fry the pies in oil until golden brown. However, you can please your loved ones without any reason. By the way, pies for son-in-law were called pies, which were treated to a young groom when he came to woo a girl.

The boat carrying the sun

Another variety of traditional pastries of Karelian cuisine is kalitki, or open pies with filling. We suggest opting for mashed potatoes. We knead the dough from kefir, rye and wheat flour - we take 250 g of each ingredient, not forgetting to add 1 tsp. salt. We prepare mashed potatoes from 5 potatoes, 30 ml of milk, 50 g of butter, ½ tsp. salt and raw eggs. We divide the dough into 10 parts and roll out the scans with a diameter of 15–18 cm. We spread 2 tbsp. l. puree and pinch the edges to make "boats" with the filling in the center. Lubricate them with yolk and send them to the oven preheated to 200 ° C for 20 minutes. Elegant gates will decorate any festive table.

Ear in milky waters

Karelian cuisine cannot be imagined without fish dishes, the most important of which is fish soup. In a saucepan with butter, sauté the onion head. When it turns golden, pour 2 potatoes into slices and simmer until softened. Pour vegetables with 500 ml of warmed milk, and then send 500 g of salmon fillet in pieces. Salt to taste and cook the soup for 10 minutes. Pour in 100 ml of cream, put ½ bunch of chopped dill, 7-8 peppercorns and bay leaf. Cook the soup for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat and insist under a closed lid. Sprinkle with fresh dill before serving. It won't take long to persuade your family to try it.

Little fish treats

- a recipe for the second dish of Karelian cuisine. Knead the dough from 350 g flour, 1 tbsp. l. sugar, 1 tsp salt, 50 ml vegetable oil, 200 ml warm water and 2 tsp. dry yeast diluted in 50 ml of water. We divide the dough into 8 parts and roll out cakes 1 cm thick. Put 80–90 g of whitefish fillet on each, sprinkle with green onions and season with butter. We form envelopes from the dough, pierce with a fork and grease with a beaten egg. We bake them at a temperature of 200 ° C until golden brown. As befits delicious hot pies, they will scatter instantly.

Meat with northern flair

The hallmark of Karelian cuisine is Petrovsky meat in pots. Soak 80 g of dried mushrooms in water, cook for 20 minutes, finely chop and fry until golden brown. We breed 1 tbsp. l. flour in a glass of mushroom broth, pour it into the mushrooms, simmer the sauce for a minute and remove from the stove. Coarsely chop 600 g of veal and sauté with 2 onions until half cooked. At the bottom of six pots we put 2 potatoes in cubes, slightly adding salt, 1 chopped carrot. Next, lay out the veal with onions. We cover the pots with lids and put in the oven for 45 minutes at a temperature of 200 ° C. This dish will diversify your menu and will surely fall in love with the whole family.

Vitamin charge in a jar

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

We hope that your acquaintance with the Karelian national cuisine turned out to be productive and inspired you to try some of the dishes offered. And we are waiting for favorite recipes with Karelian flavor from experienced chefs.

Traditionally, all food was cooked in the oven: stewed, boiled, baked. There is no word in Karelian "fry" : even pies, which later began to be fried in a pan, were called keitinpiiroa / “pies boiled in oil”.

Fish were caught in winter and summer. Among the delicacies was even the spring kevätkala (literally - "spring fish"). In the north of Karelia (nowadays it is the Kalevalsky and Loukhsky districts), it was prepared with a suffocating smell: during spawning, they caught it, gutted it, salted it - and put it under load in a cool place for the whole summer, usually in a barn or canopy. In autumn, an appetizer decorated a rather bland Karelian table.

They hardly ate meat, only on holidays (or game would be caught in snares). But they knew how to cook: dried, salted. For this, elk, beef and lean lamb were hung in the breeze on sunny spring days - the stock helped out in haymaking. Karelians also loved dried meat (you can always take it on a long trip or to work in the forest).

By the way, they didn’t use it for game: except for a guy’s wedding, they poured a glass of imported vodka. In Karelian villages, even the brew began to be brewed only after the war (World War II, by the way).

Infographics of IA "Respublika"

The Karelian dinner table before the revolution usually looked like this: the first dish was served with fresh, salted or dried fish. They boiled it in water or milk. They loved soups made from boiled turnips, rutabaga, peas or potatoes. The second was cereal porridge, steamed and baked turnips or rutabaga, fried mushrooms, oatmeal and zagusta - flour mash brought to a boil. Who was poorer, limited himself to one dish: onion, radish and bread were crumbled into stew on water or kvass. Dessert is ice-cream milk and dried turnips.

The table of the Vepsians and Karelians was regulated, among other things, by the Orthodox Church: during the year, a total of 178 to 199 fast days ran up.

Turnip / Nagris

An important place on the Karelian table was occupied by turnips (for some reason it is called “blue” in historical documents). Turnips were grown in large quantities on undercuts until the 30s of the last century. For Karelians and Vepsians, it was like a potato for Russians.

They loved turnips: soups, cereals and casseroles were prepared from it, kvass was brewed on its basis. Karelian children considered dried turnips to be dried fruits, and dried turnips were sucked instead of sweets.

Ten years ago, the Karelskaya Gornitsa restaurant invited Tarmo Vasenius, a chef from Finland, to stage the “correct” national cuisine in the restaurant. The boss agreed and moved to Karelia for six months. We started to “set up the kitchen” with a search for products.

- I say - we need fish! They bring me some kind of frozen, smelly lump. And the fish needs fresh-me-me! - at the same time Tarmo shows the size of the fish with his hands. - Even the right potatoes at first could not be found. For roasting with meat in a pot, you need one potato, for mashed potatoes for gates, another. And everything is grown and caught in Karelia. I want to cook turnips - no! Where are you, Russians, deli turnip?!

Turnip, big-very big, is no longer grown in Karelia. And cooking it, as it turns out, is really simple: wash it and put it in the oven for half an hour. In nature it is even better - you bury turnips in the sand, and make a fire from above. You take it out, black, charred, cut it - a little salt, a little oil ... Tender, sweet!

Tarmo Vasenius: “I used to be a supporter of the historical “purity” of cuisine, but now I have changed my mind. What is happening today will be history fifty years from now.” Photo: Igor Gerasimenko

— I have always been a fan of Karelian cuisine, because everything is very natural. And simple, says the Finnish chef. - Take the gates - it's a brand! All of Finland eats and loves them. And the dish, by the way, is Karelian!..

How to get away from a chef without a prescription? Save to e-cookbook:

Infographics of IA "Respublika"

Bread / Leiby

The story that Karelians ate bark is history today. Northerners added sapwood, the inner part of pine bark, to cheap rye flour. In the famine years, bread for the most part consisted of bark.

"Daily note"

“Bread from pine bark is prepared as follows: after removing the bark, the surface is cleaned, dried in air, roasted in an oven, crushed and flour is added, dough is kneaded and bread is baked.

Bread from straw: they take and finely chop the ends of the ears and straw, dry, crush and grind, sprinkle with flour and prepare bread ... "

The note was compiled by Gavrila Derzhavin, governor of the Olonets province

In lean years, dried crushed fish was also mixed into flour - its share reached 90%. Both clover and potatoes were used.

A few years ago, Yuri Alexandrov (then chairman of the "Center for Primitive Technologies") not only studied the issue documentarily, but also conducted an ethnographic experiment. I baked surrogate bread, adding sapwood to flour in different proportions.

— Once my colleagues and I decided to bake such bread — and it turned out to be more than edible! Later, I re-read a lot of ethnographic literature and travelers' notes (Derzhavin, Polyakov, Ozeretskovsky, Lönnrot). To my surprise, it turned out that the Karelians did not have a SINGLE recipe for making bread with the addition of tree bark (however, the information that I managed to find was jerky). As a result, we found most of the details about baking bread with bark in the Kalevala epic. During the experiment, they tried different proportions of pine flour - depending on this, the taste seriously changed. Then they began to add berries and spices, moss. There is only one result: the Karelians were not so unfortunate! Hunger, of course, is not an aunt, but the bread turned out to be quite edible.

Beer

Barley is a cereal, which is considered the oldest and until a certain time the most important cultivated plant in Karelia. It was used in various rituals, and its Karelian name - ozra - is consonant with the word oza / "happiness".

Strong alcohol has long been known to the Finno-Ugric peoples, but was not very popular. They drank vodka extremely rarely: even at weddings, only the most respected guests were treated to one or two glasses; the bottle was never placed on the table.

Much more loved beer, which was prepared according to ancient recipes - today they are lost. The intoxicating drink is mentioned more than a hundred times in the Kalevala. The origin of beer and the traditional recipe is almost entirely devoted to the 20th rune.

That's why the name is glorious
Good name for beer
That it arose miraculously
That it is pleasant to husbands,
What makes women laugh.
And gives husbands fun
Gives joy to the brave
And he drives fools to fight.

(Kalevala, translation by L.P. Belsky).

Our ancestors drank mainly fruit drinks, compotes and kvass. Fruit drinks (as now) were cooked from wild berries - cranberries, lingonberries, blueberries. But kvass was made from turnips, and it was a favorite everyday drink.

Karelians and Veps also respected tea, but they drank it infrequently. Expensive imported teas were replaced with wild raspberry and currant teas. They used a coffee surrogate made from overcooked beans mixed with chicory. Natural coffee and tea were drunk on holidays.

Coffee / Kofei

Before the revolution, northern Karelian coffee was considered a “male” drink, and it was brewed slightly salted. Peddlers carried goods to neighboring Finland; returned back with coffee grinders and coffee. The peddlers themselves often had traveling coffee pots with them - both to cheer up and advertising. So coffee took root in the border region.

Roaster (coffee maker). Iron, wood. Stamping, riveting, wood turning. Finland (Suomi). Beginning 20th century

A roaster is a device for roasting coffee. The metal body of the mixer is made in the form of a stepped truncated cone, the widest part of which is a lid. One half is rigidly rolled with the body. The other half is pivotally attached and moved apart. The hook is carried out by a spring plate of the other, fixed, half of the cover. A mixer rod passes through the center of the lid, the rotation of which is carried out manually by a handle with a curved rod. A groove-shaped metal holder is riveted to the upper side wall of the housing. The fastening of the holder with a wooden cone-shaped handle is supported by reinforcement with an iron ring.

“As soon as Karelians get out of bed, the first thing they do is drink coffee. In the afternoon coffee again. A guest will come - he is served coffee. Tea is rarely consumed, and in some homes it is not consumed at all.

Coffee is prepared in its own way: in coffee pots with boiled water they put about a tea cup of ground coffee, and they put it not in a bag, but directly in the water. All this is again boiled on fire.

Salt is added to coffee to give it a salty taste. Some even drink coffee with onions.”

Proceedings of the Arkhangelsk Society for the Study of the Russian North. 1913.

Not without coffee sayings in Karelia. Elä juo kahvii, piä mustuu / Don't drink coffee - your head will turn black, they said in Suistamo. And they added:

- Kyl on kahvi kaunis juoma, vai isännal huonot housut / It's good to drink coffee, but the owner's pants are leaky!

In general, Suistamo had an ambivalent attitude towards coffee. Carefully.

Infographics of IA "Respublika"

Gates / Karjalazet šipainiekat

The Karelian hostess knows: "kalittoa - kyzyy kaheksoa", the gate asks for eight. Count: flour, water, curdled milk, salt, milk, butter, sour cream and stuffing. For the filling, they take potatoes, less often porridge - millet. And before they baked with barley groats.

- And now you've become a friend, and I'm already a friend - now that I'm even wearing pants. Never wear a skirt! Olga Prokkoilskaya says to me: why are you still walking around with your pants on? Whether business! I say: you know, you're used to it - very well. And I feel very good! Especially, I'm at home, more on my feet - now with firewood, then clean the street, then water the greenhouses ... Where is the skirt?

Anna Matveevna Chaikina is 85. She lives in Veshkelitsa, speaks Karelian, unless guests “from the city” come, then she switches to Russian. The whole day is spinning: the house needs to be repaired, and the potatoes should be spudded, and the cabbage should be watered. In the summer, children come for the weekend - prepare a treat. He also manages to sing in the folk choir - about his native coast in his native language.

- When I began to get married, they told me - Anya, you take all the songs with you! And then: sometimes our people will gather, I will come - I will cheer everyone up! I myself am from Prokkoyla, from a neighboring farm. Now sometimes I go to bed and keep thinking: how did I get to Veshkelitsa! This is a very great happiness for me, such a good village! ..

Anna Matveevna's house on the outskirts of the village. They built it together with my late husband, they chose the most beautiful place - a slope, a river, an open space ... In Veshkelitsa, locks are not needed: I propped up the door with a stick and went about my business. Everybody knows each other. And fences are not needed, and gates.

However, what are we? What is a Karelian village without gates?

We pinch the edge - we get a plate. Photo: Igor Georgievsky

Flour on the gates in this house is only rye. Wheat did not grow in Karelia, and buying wheat flour is expensive. Prepared from the products that were at hand.

Who taught me how to bake gates? Live taught! They used to say ... wait, I remember ... (mentally translates from Karelian): the bride began to marry a guy. Bake, he says, I can't. And the guy-husband says: listen, dear, you will learn how to bake, if you were from anything! When we returned from evacuation after the war, it was then that we saw grief: you grind flour with stones, but you put something else inside, into the dough: either moss - to make it thicker, or birch sawdust ...

Real gates do not like gas and electricity. Anna Matveevna cooks them in the oven, without any baking sheet, on the hearth - right on the bricks. Shine a flashlight into the depths - ready. And takes out a wooden shovel.

Beware it's hot! Photo: Igor Georgievsky

Different villages bake different wickets: round, oval, octagonal. But most often oval, similar to a boat.

- Once it doesn’t work out, the second one doesn’t work out - then it will come out! Anna Matveevna is melting butter. - You make the dough thicker, and put a little yogurt in the dough so that it is soft, this crust ...

Open the gate slowly. Photo: Igor Georgievsky

- Now apply oil. The first time they came out thicker, it's nothing. Don't feel sorry for the oil, the gate loves it. The oil will cover everything. Smear slowly, into each fold - that's when the cake will be!

Prepare for the lesson:
Evgeny Lisakov, journalist
Igor Georgievsky, photographer
Igor Gerasimenko, photographer
Pavel Stepura, designer
Elena Fomina, editor

With the support of the Ministry of the Republic of Karelia for National Policy, Relations with Public, Religious Associations and Mass Media