last update:Aug122019June 5, 2015August 12, 20196Commentsby Santiago H

Finns eat tar: the strangest Finnish ingredient

Posted in Finnish food, Made in Finland: Finnish products

We already saw on the blog that Finns eat tar thanks to the Bizarre Foods’s video from Andrew Zimmern, Finnish edition. We saw him give his opinion about how tar tastes in food when he went to a marketplace: He actually liked the smokey flavor.

A road made with tar
A Finnish road. Main ingredient: tar.

What exactly is tar?

According to wikipedia, there are several kinds of tar. Some of them aren’t very good for people’s health.

In the North of Europe, Finland included, tar is produced by burning wood in a pile. It was already being used centuries ago in these nordic and scandinavian countries to coat ships… and as medicine.

Finns have a saying: “If sauna, vodka and tar don’t help, the illness is fatal.” The reason behind this expression is that tar is also a microbicide agent.

The word for tar in Finnish language is “Terva“. So if you see this word in the supermarket and you are not afraid to deal with the dark element, you know what to go for. For instance, this shampoo:

Shampoo made with tar
Shampoo with “chimney effect”. Just kidding: Tar is supposed to help with dandruff. Source (CC: by-sa)

This ingredient is also used as a scent for places such as the sauna. The Finns like the familiarity of the smell.

Eating tar

Tar is used as an additive and as a flavoring ingredient. It gives a smoky flavor to the dish you add it to, such as ice creams, beers, liquorice and sweets. In the Andrew Zimmern video we saw tar added to a herring sauce, and as a spray to add a bit of tar to any dish that you wish.

And what does tar have that is liked in Finland? Besides the smoky flavor we talked about, it might have something to do with Finns fondness (love!) for food items that are seen as strange everywhere else and that have unique – acquired taste – flavors, such as salmiakki or mämmi. The tar flavor is the closest thing you have to chewing smoke.

In this photos we can see some people eating tar ice-cream and also some Finnish candy that features the same flavor and that you can get at in many supermarkets and convenience stores. You can check out this Finnish delicacy by yourself and then decide if tar is for you. After all, all the cool Finnish kids are doing it.

tar ice cream
These people are eating tar ice-cream, or so it says the Source (CC: by-sa) of the photo.

Leijona candy
This candy brand is tar-flavored. Source (CC: by-sa)

What do you think of this curious gastronomical variant of Finland? Would you be up for trying it?

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Topics: Finnish food, Made in Finland: Finnish products | 6 comments | Print This Post Print This Post


last update:Aug122019May 20, 2015August 12, 20191Commentby Santiago H

Finnish Cuisine: a thorough overview on video

Posted in Misc.

Some time ago we saw how star chef Gordon Ramsay tasted traditional Finnish food. He didn’t like what he tasted but, unlike him, the readers of Big in Finland did like these parts of the Finnish cuisine. Ramsay, as always, brought in the polemic: Some people said that he has no manners, or that he barely put the food in his mouth before criticizing it and spitting it out. the common opinion was that you don’t judge Finnish cuisine like that.

I like Ramsay, though. I see a perfectionist that demands the same of others, or at least no fluff. He can also be a good mentor, as you can see in Master Chef. In any case, I understand that he’s a person not liked by everyone.

When I put his video on our Facebook page, a reader pointed me to another one that also deals with Finnish cuisine: an episode of Bizarre Foods about Finland and its most bizarre foods, with Andrew Zimmern.

Recording an episode of Bizarre Foods
Andrew Zimmern recording an episode of his show. Source (CC: by-nd)

I started to watch it and, indeed, it is a great overview of the whole spectrum of Finnish gastronomy. From family recipes of almost uninhabited islands to a visit to Finland’s top chef Hans Valamaki, from Chef Dominique. His restaurant used to be the only one in Helsinki with two Michelin Stars, but it was closed due to the chef’s lost love with the business side of having a restaurant.

All Finnish cuisine in a single video

The following videos of the Bizarre Foods chapter deal with Finland and its food. The episode is cut into three smaller videos and, above each video, I tell you what’s in it. In almost all the segments and dishes we can see an ever-present ingredient in Finnish food: potatoes.

The first segment about the Finnish cuisine, Andrew Zimmern tastes…

  • Blood pie (he really enjoys showing us how it is prepared)
  • Salmiakki
  • Lamprey
  • Herring on tar sauce
  • Bear

In the second segment, we see:

  • How to feed bears
  • Seal
  • Herring and salmon leftovers (head, tail, bones) soup
  • Reindeer milk (around 120 Euros/litre, he says, and with a fatty and sweet flavor that stays in the mouth)
  • Reindeer meat (liver, tongue, top round, medallions of the reindeer’s leg)

In the last segment chef Hans Valamaki, the former owner of the only Finnish restaurant with two Michelín Stars, Chef Dominique, prepares:

  • Reindeer tartar
  • Reindeer with the moss that it eats (mixing different ingredients that relate to each other in nature – as in here with the reindeer and the moss that it eats – it is one of the novelties of the new Nordic Cuisine and thus of the Finnish Cuisine)
  • Reindeer with poisonous wild mushrooms (cooked twice until all the toxins are gone)
  • Crayfish, served at a crayfish party

After this, Andrew Zimmern vistis Jarmo Pitkanen, from the Tundra restaurant in Ruka Kuusamo (in Lapland, the north of Finland) who serves him:

  • White fish with a sauté of zucchini, chanterelle mushrooms, new potatoes and sauce hollandaise

Finally, in the forest with other locals, he tries:

  • Birch tree bark (and they take some birch branches to hit each other in the sauna)
  • Cloudberry
  • Leippajusto (“cheese bread”)
  • A just-fished perch, that they proceed to smoke

What is missing for me in this video about the Finnish Cuisine? Maybe he should have traveled to Karelia as well, and tried the most Finnish dish of them all: the Karjalanpasti (Karelian stew), and of course the Karelian pie.

Did these videos about the Finnish cuisine make you hungry? What did you like the most from the videos, and what else should he have shown?

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Topics: Misc. | 1 comment | Print This Post Print This Post


last update:Apr162021May 6, 2015April 16, 2021Go tocommentsby Santiago H

The Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki

Posted in Finland Tourism, Helsinki

Some people ask us via Facebook: What to do in Helsinki? Finland’s capital is not only the main entrance point to the country, it is its biggest city too and therefore worth a visit. If you’re going to Helsinki and like to have fun – which I assume you do – read on: we’ll talk about Helsinki’s amusement park: Linnanmäki.

El Parque de atracciones de Helsinki
Down in the Linnanmäki theme park. Source (CC: by).

Linnanmäki’s attractions and opening times

This year’s new season has already begun at Linnanmäki (official page), as they open up in April each year. They close their doors again at the end of October – check the opening times here.

The Linnanmäki amusement park of Helsinki states that it has more attractions than any other park in the the Nordic (and Scandinavian) countries. If you want to check out what you would like to ride, this is the page to do so: probably you’ll find some equivalent of your favorite rides if you are a theme park aficionado.

Of course, the park is also apt for families, in case you visit Helsinki with the ones closest to you.

Linannmäki: a theme park in Helsinki
You’ve got a ticket to ride. Source (CC: by-sa)

The prices of Helsinki’s amusement park and directions how to get there

The entrance to this amusement park is already something amusing: it is free! You can go inside the park and take a walk for no cost, and you can also have fun watching the faces of the people currenty on the rides.

You will have to take out your wallet to ride an attraction though. Each separate ride costs approximately 8€ and the price for a full day of rides is 37€. You can also combine the day ticket with a SEA LIFE ticket and both will cost you 45€. These are, at least, the prices that they show on the English version of the website. The Finnish version has a myriad of ticket options (see them here, if you speak Finnish), like a special ticket for the last 3 opening hours or another day ticket for the next day for just 8€ more. Ask at the entrance of the Linannmäki for explanations in English if needed.

A good tip: Check out the Panorama sightseeing tower and experience Helsinki from 53 meters above the ground. This, alone, is worth visiting Linnanmäki: You get to see Finland’s capital scenery from the high ground… and is also free of charge.

The park at night
The park at night. Although if you visit it during the White Nights time you will see little darkness. Source (CC: by-sa)

The park’s address is the following: Tivolikuja 1, 3km from Helsinki’s centre. There are several options how to get there with public transport – check all the options here.

Linnanmäki also has some restaurants and live events. During recent years they were especially promoting some of their restaurants, where cooks who had 4 Michelin stars altogether were working at.

Have you already visited the amusement park of Linnanmäki? What’s your favorite attraction?

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Topics: Finland Tourism, Helsinki | Leave your comment! | Print This Post Print This Post


last update:Mar242024April 22, 2015March 24, 202411Commentsby Santiago H

Finnish Bands: the top 10

Posted in Finnish Music

How can I make a post about the top 10 Finnish bands? It is a herculean task and it will be polemic: Such a list will bring controversy.

In order to write something other than my own opinion, I asked for the opinion of Big in Finland’s friends on our Facebook page. In the comments of today’s post you can share your opinion too.

Here we list the top 10 Finish bands that you said were the best. They are mostly Finnish rock bands and metal bands. No indie or pop bands made the cut.

The top 10 Finnish bands, by the readers of Big in Finland

There were no rules when we did the Facebook post, so anyone who answered could vote for more than one band. The top 10 is as follows:

1. Nightwish: the band you voted the most. With or without their old vocalist, Tarja Turunen, Nightwish is the most beloved Finnish rock band by the friends of Big in Finland on Facebook.

Finnish bands: Nightwish.
Source (CC: by).

This is their most heard song on their label’s official Soundcloud account.

2. Sonata Arctica tied in votes with Nightwish, so they are as much the number one as the previous band. This Finnish metal band has been together since 1995 and is known worldwide as well.

Sonata Arctica - a Finnish metal band
Source (CC: by-sa).

This is their most played song on their label’s SoundCloud account.

3. Apocalyptica: joining Finnish metal and cellos? The four members of Apocalyptica thought it was a great idea and started this musical adventure in 1992. They are classical music graduates from the Sibelius University of Helsinki.

Apocalyptica - one of the best Finnish bands
Source (CC: by-sa).

This is the most played Apocalyptica song on their official SoundCloud account.

4. Ensiferum play metal music with a folk twist. They are from the capital of Finland and they have been playing for 20 years, since 1995. They have five albums, and being number four in this list made by you means that their style really connects with people.

5. The Rasmus are, along with the number six of this list, one of the first Finnish bands that were recognized outside of Finland (or at least that was always my personal impression). Founded in 1994 and led by charismatic Lauri Ylönen, these Helsinkians have sold millions of records and broke thousands of hearts. Most likely, The Rasmus are one of the reasons why many people got to know – and got excited about – Finland.

6. HIM is another of the best known Finnish bands in the world. Like The Rasmus, they feature a lead singer that has captured the human blood pumps – a.k.a. hearts – of girls worldwide. His name, of course, is Ville Valo. Founded in 1991, HIM is a Finnish rock band that performs “gothic rock”, and has sold millions of records throughout the world too. Another Finnish bestseller.

7. Teräsbetoni is a heavy metal music band. Founded in 2002 – they are therefore one of the youngest bands in this list – their style is influenced by bands such as Manowar. The name of the band, translated from the Finnish language, means “reinforced concrete”. They published four albums so far.

8. Finntroll, founded in 1997, has brought together different music styles, which makes them quite unique. They fusioned folk, black and death Metal (two metal music variations that are quite extreme), and the humppa, a kind of Finnish polka.

9. Stratovarius are perhaps the oldest band in the list: they’ve been around since 1984 (as I’ve been too). Their style combines elements of classical music with a kind of melodic power metal. In their long career – quite successful as proven by the number of votes they got from the friends of Big in Finland – they have released 17 studio albums, four live albums and four “best of” albums.

10. Children of Bodom: We close the list with a band that borrows its name from the murders that took place at the Bodom Lake, in the 1960s. From 1993 onwards, these guys from Espoo – a city neighboring Helsinki – have published 10 albums so far.

We have to give a special mention to 69 Eyes, who tied in score with the previous three bands, but top 10 lists are like that: We have to choose.

The bands that didn’t make it into the top 10 list of Finnish bands, but had more than one vote, were the following: Rubik band, Apulanta, Uniklubi, Korpiklaani, Ahola, the very popular and “Eurovisive” Lordi, Turisas and Northern Kings.

Our post about Finnish music groups
This is the post we put up on Facebook about Finnish bands: “Come hear. Finland.”

The top 10 Finnish bands according to Google

There is a second (and perhaps more democratic) way to know the number of fans that the bands have.

I went on Google and checked how many people, worldwide, look up the names of these bands during an average month. After the results went in, I re-did the list and this is what it looks like. These are the most beloved Finnish bands worldwide:

1. Nightwish, with 368.000 monthly searches, is also the number one Finnish band worldwide. Congratulations for their good job!

2. HIM, with 165.000 monthly searches.

3. Apocalyptica with 110.000 searches per month. As we can see, two out of the three best bands according to the readers of Big in Finland are also the most popular worldwide.

4. Tarja Turunen, ex-singer of Nightwish, rides along the band’s fame to boost her solo career and scores 90.500 searches per month.

5. Lordi, the monsters, average 74.000 searches/month.

6. Children of Bodom: 60.500.

7. Sonata Arctica: 60.500 searches.

8. Stratovarius: 49.500 searches.

9. The Rasmus: 49.500 searches.

10. Korpiklaani close the list with 33.100 searches/month.

The data came in, and we reported it.

Which list do you agree most with? What are your favorite Finnish bands? Tell us in the comments!

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Topics: Finnish Music | 11 comments | Print This Post Print This Post